Charlwood
Encyclopedia
Charlwood is a village and civil parish
in the Mole Valley
district of Surrey
, England. It is immediately northwest of London Gatwick Airport
in West Sussex
, close west of Horley
and north of Crawley
. The historic county boundary
between Surrey and Sussex ran to the south of Gatwick Airport. Boundaries were reformed in 1974 so that the county boundary between Surrey and West Sussex, delineated by the Sussex Border Path
, now runs along the northern perimeter of the airport, and the southern extent of Charlwood. The village has more crown post timber framed houses than any other village in Britain
The village anciently lay within the Reigate
hundred
. In 2001, Charlwood had a population of 2,027.
and together with Hookwood, it has its own parish council. It was moved from Surrey to West Sussex in a local government reorganisation and is notable for having an eponym
ous act of parliament
- the Charlwood and Horley Act 1974
- to move it back into Surrey.
which was moved from the village of Lowfield Heath
when it was threatened with demolition in the 1970s to make room for the expansion of Gatwick Airport.
The village is centred around the "rec" which now contains an excellent redeveloped children's playground. The rec is the home of Charlwood F.C., Charlwood Village F.C. and Ifield Cricket Club.
The village used to have its own cricket club (Charlwood C.C.) which for many years was seen playing on both Saturdays and Sundays on the green. In latter years the club only put out one side, on a Sunday but managed to achieve the distinction of not losing a single game for over 3 seasons (between 1989 and 1991) - this record still stands. The cricket ground became known as "The Field of Dreams" in the media after the famous film. The club closed in 2002.
The village has its own infant school
, a small number of shops and three pubs - The Greyhound, The Rising Sun and The Half Moon - and a restaurant, Limes Bistro, as well as two hotels and numerous Bed and Breakfasts
on its outskirts. It has a sister village in Hookwood, at the southern tip of the A217, between Charlwood and Horley
.
, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
is located close west of Charlwood, and is noted for its bluebell
displays in springtime.
had beaten it with 36.5 °C (98 °F).
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the Mole Valley
Mole Valley
Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking.The district, named after the River Mole, was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the urban districts of Dorking and Leatherhead and most of the Dorking and Horley...
district of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England. It is immediately northwest of London Gatwick Airport
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, close west of Horley
Horley
Horley is a town in Surrey, England, situated south of the twin towns of Reigate and Redhill, and north of Gatwick Airport and Crawley.With fast links by train to London from Horley railway station, it has grown popular with commuters in recent years...
and north of Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
. The historic county boundary
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
between Surrey and Sussex ran to the south of Gatwick Airport. Boundaries were reformed in 1974 so that the county boundary between Surrey and West Sussex, delineated by the Sussex Border Path
Sussex Border Path
The Sussex Border Path is a 256 kilometres long-distance footpath in southern England that connects Thorney Island to Rye.The footpath uses existing rights of way to follow the Sussex county border and is waymarked....
, now runs along the northern perimeter of the airport, and the southern extent of Charlwood. The village has more crown post timber framed houses than any other village in Britain
The village anciently lay within the Reigate
Reigate (hundred)
Reigate was a hundred in what is now Surrey, England. It includes the town of Reigate.The Reigate hundred includes the parishes of: Betchworth, Burstow, Buckworth, Charlwood, Chipstead, Gatton, Horley, Leigh, Merstham, Nutfield and Reigate....
hundred
Hundred (division)
A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...
. In 2001, Charlwood had a population of 2,027.
Governance
Charlwood is located in Mole ValleyMole Valley
Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking.The district, named after the River Mole, was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the urban districts of Dorking and Leatherhead and most of the Dorking and Horley...
and together with Hookwood, it has its own parish council. It was moved from Surrey to West Sussex in a local government reorganisation and is notable for having an eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous act of parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
- the Charlwood and Horley Act 1974
Charlwood and Horley Act 1974
The Charlwood and Horley Act 1974 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that amended the Local Government Act 1972 to move the villages of Charlwood and Horley from West Sussex to Surrey....
- to move it back into Surrey.
Features
Charlwood is the home of the Lowfield Heath WindmillLowfield Heath Windmill
Lowfield Heath Windmill is a grade II listed post mill at Charlwood, Surrey, England which has been restored to working order.-History:Lowfield Heath Windmill was originally built at Lowfield Heath . Its origins are uncertain, a rumour that it was moved from Hookwood in the 1760s is not borne out...
which was moved from the village of Lowfield Heath
Lowfield Heath
Lowfield Heath is a former village within the boundaries of the Borough of Crawley, a local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. Situated on the main London to Brighton road approximately south of London and north of Crawley, it was gradually rendered uninhabitable by...
when it was threatened with demolition in the 1970s to make room for the expansion of Gatwick Airport.
The village is centred around the "rec" which now contains an excellent redeveloped children's playground. The rec is the home of Charlwood F.C., Charlwood Village F.C. and Ifield Cricket Club.
The village used to have its own cricket club (Charlwood C.C.) which for many years was seen playing on both Saturdays and Sundays on the green. In latter years the club only put out one side, on a Sunday but managed to achieve the distinction of not losing a single game for over 3 seasons (between 1989 and 1991) - this record still stands. The cricket ground became known as "The Field of Dreams" in the media after the famous film. The club closed in 2002.
The village has its own infant school
Infant school
An Infant school is a term used primarily in the United Kingdom for school for children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular locality....
, a small number of shops and three pubs - The Greyhound, The Rising Sun and The Half Moon - and a restaurant, Limes Bistro, as well as two hotels and numerous Bed and Breakfasts
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
on its outskirts. It has a sister village in Hookwood, at the southern tip of the A217, between Charlwood and Horley
Horley
Horley is a town in Surrey, England, situated south of the twin towns of Reigate and Redhill, and north of Gatwick Airport and Crawley.With fast links by train to London from Horley railway station, it has grown popular with commuters in recent years...
.
SSSI
Glover's WoodGlover's Wood
Glover's Wood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest located just outside Charlwood in Surrey, England. -External links:*...
, a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
is located close west of Charlwood, and is noted for its bluebell
Common Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...
displays in springtime.
Record-breaking temperature
On 19 July 2006, it was believed that Charlwood had recorded the highest UK July temperature of 36.3°C (97. 3°F); however, it was later confirmed that WisleyWisley
Wisley is a small village in Surrey, England. It lies between Cobham and Woking. It is the home of the Royal Horticultural Society's Wisley Garden. The River Wey runs through the village....
had beaten it with 36.5 °C (98 °F).
Notable people
- Don CharlwoodDon CharlwoodDonald Ernest Cameron Charlwood OAM is an Australian author. He has also worked as a farm hand, in air traffic control, and most notably as an RAAF navigator in Bomber Command during the Second World War....
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-born author and aviator, visited the village during the war and discovered that his ancestors were buried in the cemetery there. - Phil CreswickPhil CreswickPhilip Creswick is an English musician and songwriter, and a former member of the boy band, Big Fun ....
of the boyband Big Fun was born in Charlwood - Barry SheeneBarry SheeneBarry Stephen Frank Sheene MBE was a British World Champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.-Early life:...
MBE, former BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
World Champion of Grand Prix motorcycle racingGrand Prix motorcycle racingRoad Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...
lived in Charlwood before his move to AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in the late 1980s - David SheppardDavid SheppardDavid Stuart Sheppard, Baron Sheppard of Liverpool was the high-profile Bishop of Liverpool in the Church of England who played cricket for Sussex and England in his youth...
, former Bishop of LiverpoolBishop of LiverpoolThe Bishop of Liverpool is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool in the Province of York.The diocese stretches from Southport in the north, to Widnes in the south, and from the River Mersey to Wigan in the east. Its see is in the City of Liverpool at the Cathedral Church of...
and England cricket captain was brought up in Charlwood. - E H Shepard, the illustrator of Winnie the Pooh lived for a time with his sister in Charlwood
- Charles CardellCharles CardellCharles Cardell was an English Wiccan who propagated his own tradition of the Craft, which was distinct from that of Gerald Gardner. Cardell's tradition of Wicca was based around a form of the Horned God known as Atho, and worked with a coven that met in the grounds of his estate in Surrey. His...
lived at Dumbledene estate in Charlwood.