Frimley is a small
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
town situated 2 miles (3 km) south of
CamberleyCamberley is a town in Surrey, England, situated 31 miles southwest of central London, in the corridor between the M3 and M4 motorways. The town lies close to the borders of both Hampshire and Berkshire; the boundaries intersect on the western edge of the town where all three counties...
, in the extreme west of
SurreySurrey 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...
, adjacent to the border with
HampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. It is about 31 miles (50 km) west south-west of Central
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It is part of the Borough of Surrey Heath. The town is connected to the M3 motorway by the Blackwater Valley Road and the Frimley bypass.
History
The name
Frimley is derived from the
SaxonAnglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
name
Fremma's Lea, which means "Fremma's clearing". The land was owned by
Chertsey AbbeyChertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey.It was founded by Saint Erkenwald, later Bishop of London, in 666 AD and he became the first abbot. In the 9th century it was sacked by the Danes and refounded from Abingdon Abbey...
from 673 to 1537 and was a farming village. More recently it was a coach stop on the main London to Portsmouth road for about four hundred years.
Frimley was not listed in
Domesday BookDomesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, but is shown on the map as
Fremely, its spelling in 933AD.
Frimley lunatic asylum was opened in 1799; it catered for both male and female patients, and received four patients from
Great FostersGreat Fosters is a 16th century mansion which originally lay within Windsor Great Park and is still adjacent to the town of Egham, Surrey, England. It is a Grade I listed building, close to Heathrow and the M25 London orbital motorway.-History:...
. Magistrates visited in 1807 and ordered the proprietors to stop chaining the patients.
An 1811 inventory from Frimley
WorkhouseIn England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
can be seen on the
Surrey County Council website.
The present St. Peter's Church was built in 1837 replacing earlier buildings. The building has a balcony running around three sides of the interior. Dame Ethel Smyth once preached from the pulpit.
In 1904, the
Brompton HospitalRoyal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the United Kingdom .The hospital is part of Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust is a national and international specialist heart and lung centre based in Chelsea, London and Harefield, Middlesex...
SanatoriumA sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
was established in Frimley to treat
tuberculosisTuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
patients; it closed in 1985. Dr Marcus Sinclair Paterson (1870–1932) was the first medical superintendent, and he developed a system of treatment called 'graduated labour' which generated a lot of interest from other health professionals. The treatment used controlled levels of physical activity.
In 1931 the staff at Frimley Cottage Hospital were unable to save the life of Lieutenant Hubert Chevis, who had been admitted, along with his wife Frances, after eating poisoned partridge meat. He died of
strychnineStrychnine is a highly toxic , colorless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine causes muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia or sheer exhaustion...
poisoning. The case remains an unsolved murder mystery.
In 1959 the Cadet Training Centre at Frimley Park was formed following the 1957 publication of the Amery Report.
Facilities
The main shopping street includes a branch of
WaitroseWaitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
and some smaller shops, several restaurants, banks, charity shops, a post office, a number of estate agents, solicitors, opticians, betting shops, an insurance broker and two
public houseA public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s, the Railway Arms and the
White HartThe White Hart was the personal emblem and livery of Richard II, who derived it from the arms of his mother, Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent", heiress of Edmund of Woodstock...
.
Frimley Park HospitalFrimley Park Hospital is a large, 720-bed NHS hospital in Frimley, Surrey, part of the Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.It opened in 1974 to provide a full range of district general hospital services for North East Hampshire and West Surrey, a catchment population of about 365,000...
is situated in the town. One of the major employers in the town is
BAE SystemsBAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
Integrated System TechnologiesBAE Systems Integrated System Technologies was formed on May 3, 2005, by bringing together BAE Systems' interests in C4ISR and the UK operations of AMS following the Eurosystems Transaction....
, which occupies a building in Lyon Way.
SiemensSiemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
opened its main UK headquarters in Frimley in 2007.
Frimley Business Park is situated just to the west of the town on the A331 Blackwater Valley Relief Road. Frimley Business Park houses offices of the
Environment AgencyThe Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
, Genesys Telecommunications, AMD and
Novartis PharmaceuticalsNovartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
.
Transport
Frimley railway stationFrimley railway station is a railway station in the town of Frimley in Surrey, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by South West Trains...
provides access to
GuildfordGuildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
,
AscotAscot is a village within the civil parish of Sunninghill and Ascot, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting...
and
London WaterlooWaterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
.
Frimley Lodge Park RailwayThe Frimley Lodge Miniature Railway is operated by the Frimley and Ascot Locomotive Club and is located within Frimley Lodge Park, Surrey. It is approximately 1km long in total, looping around an area of trees next to the Basingstoke Canal. The journey takes about 5 minutes and is an attraction to...
(a tourist attraction) is also nearby.
The town is situated close to the junction of the A325 Farnborough Road and A331 Blackwater Valley Relief Road, which provides a link to the M3 Motorway junction 4.
Education
There are a number of schools in Frimley including: The Grove Primary School, Lakeside Primary School, Ravenscote Junior School,
Tomlinscote SchoolTomlinscote School and Sixth Form College is a state secondary school and sixth form college located in Frimley, Surrey, England for 11-18 year olds. The school holds Specialist Language College status.-History:...
and St Augustines RC Primary School.
Sport
Frimley Town Football Club was formed over 100 years ago. It runs four teams, and the first team competes in the Senior Division of the Aldershot & District Football League. The club is based at Chobham Road recreation ground.
Frimley GreenFrimley Green is a large village in Surrey, South East England, UK, close to the border with Hampshire. It is close to the towns of Camberley and Frimley, with the nearest major town being Guildford, approximately 10 miles away....
, a neighbouring village, has hosted the
British Darts OrganisationThe British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....
’s (BDO)
World Professional Darts ChampionshipThe World Professional Darts Championship is one of the most important tournaments in the darts calendar. Originally held as an annual event between 1978 and 1993, players then broke off into two separate organisations after a controversial split in the game...
since 1986 each January in the Lakeside complex.
Births
- James Cobbett
James Cobbett was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1826 to 1841....
, famous cricketerA cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
and considered by many as the finest all-rounderAn all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
of his day, was born in Frimley on January 12, 1804.
- Frimley Park Hospital was the birth place in 1979 of Jonny Wilkinson
Jonathan Peter "Jonny" Wilkinson OBE is an English rugby union player and member of the England national team. Wilkinson rose to acclaim from 2001 to 2003, before and during the 2003 Rugby World Cup and was acknowledged as one of the world’s best rugby players...
, a fly-halfIn the game rugby union, there are fifteen players on each team, comprising eight forwards and seven backs . Depending upon the competition, there may be up to eight replacement players. Early games consisted primarily of forwards that attacked plus a handful of "tends" that played back in defence...
for England Rugby UnionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and one of the most famous players in international professional rugby and Lady Louise WindsorThe Lady Louise Windsor is the elder child of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex. She is the youngest granddaughter and second-youngest grandchild of Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh...
in 2003.
- Jonny Wilkinson's England team-mate Toby Flood
Tobias Gerald Albert Lieven "Toby" Flood is an English rugby union player. He currently plays at fly half or inside centre for Leicester Tigers, having signed from Newcastle Falcons, and England.-Background:...
was born in Frimley in 1985.
- Chris Benham
Christopher 'Chris' Charles Benham is an English cricketer. Benham is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm off break. He was born at Frimley, Surrey. He attended Yateley School across the county border at Yateley in Hampshire...
(cricketer) was born in Frimley on 24 March 1983. He has played county cricket for Hampshire.
- Jyoti Guptara
Jyoti Guptara is a young novelist of British and Indian heritage, best known as co-author of the Insanity Saga .-Biography:...
and Suresh Guptara, young novelists of British and Indian heritage, were born in Frimley.
- John McFall
John McFall is a Cardiff-based British Paralympic sprinter. In 2000, when he was 19 years old, his right leg was amputated above the knee following a serious motorcycle accident. He took up running again after being fitted with a prosthesis, and participated in his first race in 2004...
, British Paralympic sprinter, was born on 25 April 1981 in Frimley.
- Other sportsmen born in Frimley include cricketers James Lawrell
James Lawrell was an English amateur cricketer who made 21 known appearances in major cricket matches from 1800 to 1810.-External sources:*...
(born 1780) and Richard Ingleby JeffersonRichard Ingleby Jefferson was a professional cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club....
(born 1941); and footballers Vic NiblettVictor "Vic" Niblett was an English professional football player. His clubs included Reading, West Ham United and Gillingham, where he made over 150 Football League appearances.-References:...
(born 1924) and Martin KuhlMartin Kuhl is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made 474 appearances in the Football League for Birmingham City, Sheffield United, Watford, Portsmouth, Derby County, Notts County and Bristol City...
(born 1965).
- Jacqueline Cass MBE, founder and head coach of the Thames Valley Kings Junior Wheelchair Basketball team was born in Frimley on 22 July 1985
Residents
Dame Ethel Smyth, English composer and
suffragette"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
grew up in nearby Frimley Green and later purchased One Oak Cottage in Frimley. Her family moved to
Frimley GreenFrimley Green is a large village in Surrey, South East England, UK, close to the border with Hampshire. It is close to the towns of Camberley and Frimley, with the nearest major town being Guildford, approximately 10 miles away....
in 1867 when her father was given command of the
Royal ArtilleryThe Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
at
AldershotAldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
.
Daphne du MaurierDame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
wrote most of her fourth novel,
Jamaica InnJamaica Inn is a novel by the English writer Daphne du Maurier, first published in 1936. It was later made into a film, also called Jamaica Inn, by Alfred Hitchcock...
, in 1935 in Frimley where her soldier husband
Frederick BrowningLieutenant-General Sir Frederick Arthur Montague Browning GCVO, KBE, CB, DSO was a British Army officer who has been called the "father of the British airborne forces". He is best known as the commander of the I Airborne Corps and deputy commander of First Allied Airborne Army during Operation...
was based.
Deaths
Notable people buried in the churchyard of St. Peter's Church, Frimley include:
- John Frederick Lewis
John Frederick Lewis was an Orientalist English painter. He specialized in Oriental and Mediterranean scenes and often worked in exquisitely detailed watercolour. He was the son of Frederick Christian Lewis , engraver and landscape-painter.Lewis lived in Spain between 1832 and 1834...
(d. 1876), a 19th-century painter
- (Francis) Bret Harte
Francis Bret Harte was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California.- Life and career :...
(d. 1902), the American author
- William George Cubitt
Colonel William George Cubitt VC DSO was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
(d. 1903), who won the Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in the Indian Mutiny for saving three men's lives at the risk of his own during the retreat from Chinhut
- Charles Wellington Furse
Charles Wellington Furse was an English painter.He was born at Staines, the son of the Rev. C. W. Furse, archdeacon of Westminster, and rector of St John's, Smith Square and descended collaterally from Sir Joshua Reynolds; and in his short span of life achieved such rare excellence as a portrait...
(d. 1904) a 19th-century painter
- Sir Doveton Sturdee
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee, 1st Baronet, GCB, KCMG, CVO was a British admiral.-Naval career:...
(d. 1925) a British admiralAdmiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
who decisively defeated the GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
squadron under Graf Maximilian von SpeeVice Admiral Maximilian Reichsgraf von Spee was a German admiral. Although he was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the counts von Spee belonged to the prominent families of the Rhenish nobility. He joined the Kaiserliche Marine in 1878. In 1887–88 he commanded the Kamerun ports, in German West...
at the Battle of the Falkland IslandsThe Battle of the Falkland Islands was a British naval victory over the Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 during the First World War in the South Atlantic...
in 1914, for which he was made a baronetA baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
- George Edward Lodge
George Edward Lodge FZS, was a British illustrator of birds and an authority on falconry.-Early life:...
, an illustrator of birds and an authority on falconry, died in Frimley on 5 February 1954.
Literary mentions
In one of the
"Just WilliamJust William is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for numerous television series, films and radio adaptations...
" books by
Richmal CromptonRichmal Crompton Lamburn was a British writer, most famous for her Just William humorous short stories and books.-Life:...
, William visits an aunt in Frimley for a few days.
Charles KingsleyCharles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
refers to
"a series of Letters on the Frimley murder" in his
Alton LockeAlton Locke is an 1850 novel, by Charles Kingsley, written in sympathy with the Chartist movement, in which Carlyle is introduced as one of the personages.-Overview:...
, Tailor And Poet
There is a brief mention of Frimley in
Stephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's
Nightmares & DreamscapesNightmares & Dreamscapes is a short story collection by Stephen King published in 1993.-Stories:-Adaptations:"The Night Flier" and "Dolan's Cadillac" were both adapted to films of the same respective names. "Chattery Teeth"' was adapted into a segment of the film Quicksilver Highway...
in the short story
Crouch EndCrouch End is a horror story by Stephen King, originally published in New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos , and republished in a slightly different version in King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes collection . It contains distinct references to the horror fiction of H. P. Lovecraft...
. It reads: 'He did indeed move into
council housingA council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
, a two-above-the-shops in Frimley'.
In
The Reminiscences of Sir Henry Hawkins (Baron Brampton)Henry Hawkins, 1st Baron Brampton PC, QC , known as Sir Henry Hawkins between 1876 and 1899, was an English judge. He served as a Judge of the High Court of Justice between 1876 and 1898.-Background and education:...
, chapter 18 tells of the trial of a bricklayer who, in a
prize fightBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
on Frimley Common, unfortunately killed his opponent. He appeared in court dressed as a young clergyman and was found innocent of the manslaughter charge because of doubts over his identity.
External links