Hascombe is a village in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, England. It contains a large cluster of cottages and country estates, St Peter's church, the

village green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...

, a fountain, pond, a central public house and is surrounded by steep wooded hillsides.

History

Above the village is Hascombe Hill which is the site of a ruined

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

built by the

ancient Britons The Britons ( *''Pritanī'', la, Britanni), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were people of Celtic language and culture who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age and into the Middle Ages, at which point the ...

and occupied by them during the 1st century BCE. The word "combe" is derived from ''cwm'' meaning "valley" in the Welsh language and this may indicate that the population of Hascombe remained predominantly

Brythonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...

for some time after the surrounding areas had been populated by

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

settlers. The name of the village is thought to come from ''Hægscombe'' meaning valley of the witch or "hag" in

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

. The village was not mentioned by name in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

and it is thought to have been part of the manor of Bramley.

Landmarks

The

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

, ''The White Horse'', a 16th or 17th century building with many later extensions, constructed from the local

Bargate stone __NOTOC__ Bargate stone is a highly durable form of sandstone. It owes its yellow, butter or honey colouring to a high iron content. In some contexts it may be considered to be a form of ironstone. However, in the context of stone buildings loca ...

, a local term for the hard masonry material which is a type of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

with traces of

greensand Greensand or green sand is a sand or sandstone which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called ''glauconies'' and co ...

. A short walk along the main street into the semi-rural southern part of the main street a metre-high, 4 metre square animal pound appears to the west, a stone 15th century construction according to English Heritage, and which is listed for its uniqueness in the county.

St Peter's church

St Peter's church, which is grade II* listed, was rebuilt during the mid-19th century, and the new church consecrated in June 1864. The original church dated from the 13th century but by 1862, when Canon Vernon Musgrave became rector, it was described as being in a poor condition. The architect of the new church was

Henry Woodyer Henry Woodyer (1816–1896) was an English architect, a pupil of William Butterfield and a disciple of A. W. N. Pugin and the Ecclesiologists. Life Woodyer was born in Guildford, Surrey, England, in 1816, the son of a successful, highly resp ...

, a pupil of

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

. The church is built of local Bargate stone, with a simple nave, chancel, and lady chapel. The roof rafters are cusped and gilded. The stained-glass is mostly by Hardman Powell and the decoration is by J A Pippet, a freelance artist employed by Hardman. The

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

rood screen, made from

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ' ...

trees and featuring elaborate carvings and paintings, remains from the old church and was restored in 1864 and decorated by Hardman and Powell. The

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a " sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mo ...

of Purbeck marble dates back to 1690.

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

Sir John Betjeman described the church as "a Tractarian work of art". The walls of the nave are decorated with the scene of the ‘miraculous draught of fishes’ with 'one hundred and fifty and three' fishes caught in a net dragged by the six disciples. Above the chancel arch is a painting of the Last Judgement, and on the inside of the arch is a picture of our Lord with angels. The walls of the Choir and Sanctuary have scenes from the Bible depicting the ministry of Angels. The stained glass in the chancel are scenes from the life of our Lord. The central window shows Christ on the cross. The reredos above the altar shows the Adoration of the Lamb. At the entrance to the chancel is a Victorian brass to Canon Vernon Musgrave. The pulpit panels show our Lord together with Noah, St Peter, and St John the Baptist. The west window by William Holland shows Jesus in the fishing boat calming the storm, in memory of

Conyers Middleton Conyers Middleton (27 December 1683 – 28 July 1750) was an English clergyman. Mired in controversy and disputes, he was also considered one of the best stylists in English of his time. Early life Middleton was born at Richmond, North Yorkshir ...

who was rector from 1747 to his death in 1750. The Lady Chapel was created in 1935 and contains a squint window. The east window in the Lady Chapel is by

Clayton and Bell Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient British workshops of stained-glass windows during the latter half of the 19th century and early 20th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton (1827–1913) and Alfred Bell (1832 ...

and the lancet windows by Hardman Powell commemorating the Godman family. The damming of a stream in the 15th Century created the Church Pond. File:Hascombe, St Peter's church, from the churchyard.jpg, St Peter's church File:Hascombe, St Peter's church, interior of the nave.jpg, View of the nave File:St Peter, Hascombe, interior decoration 10.jpg, miraculous draught of fishes File:Hascombe, St Peter's church, reredos 1.jpg, The sanctuary File:Hascombe, St Peter's church, the rood screen and chancel arch.jpg, The rood screen File:Hascombe, St Peter's church, west window, Jesus in the fishing boat calming the storm.jpg, West window

Geography

Hascombe's natural fresh-water spring attracts many visitors: the

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

itself was commissioned in 1887 by local landowner Edward Lee Rowcliffe as a memorial to his late brother.

Hills

A promontory that adjoins Hascombe Hill from 1796 to 1816 Hascombe hosted a station in the shutter telegraph chain which connected the Admiralty in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to its naval ships in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

. Hascombe has the following summits in the large

Surrey Hills AONB The Surrey Hills is a Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which principally covers parts of the North Downs and Greensand Ridge in Surrey, England (approximately one quarter of the land area of the county). The AONB was designated in 1958 ...

Residents

Hascombe is in a

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, Bramley, Busbridge and Hascombe, which has much higher than average home ownership than the South East Region and nation.Key Statistics: Population; Quick Statistics: Economic indicators
. ( 2011 census and 2001 census) Retrieved 27 February 2015. Current and former residents include the film star

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as '' Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Org ...

; Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky; former member of

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1 ...

Bruce Foxton Bruce Douglas Foxton (born 1 September 1955) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Foxton's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as bassist and backing vocalist of mod revival band the Jam. ...

; boss of

McLaren F1 The McLaren F1 is a sports car designed and manufactured by British automobile manufacturer McLaren Cars, and powered by the BMW S70/2 V12 engine. The original concept was conceived by Gordon Murray. Murray was able to convince Ron Dennis to ...

Formula One racing team,

Ron Dennis Ronald Dennis CBE (born 1 June 1947) is a British businessman and Official British Business Ambassador for the United Kingdom. He is best known for his former role as owner, CEO, chairman and founder of McLaren Group. Dennis was removed from ...

; broadcaster Chris Evans; and actor

Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...

The wildlife artist

Archibald Thorburn Archibald Thorburn FZS (31 May 1860, Lasswade, Midlothian – 9 October 1935, Hascombe, Surrey) was a Scottish artist who specialised in wildlife, painting mostly in watercolour. He regularly visited Scotland to sketch birds in the wild, his fa ...

lived and died in the village. His grave lies in the parish churchyard. It was during a stay at Hoe Farm in 1915 that statesman and future

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

learned to paint. The

, one of the many natural landscapes of the county, which includes this parish contributes much to the county's mean high level of domestic incomes.

References

''A History of Hascombe – A Surrey Village'' by Winifred Ashton

External links

* {{authority control Borough of Waverley Villages in Surrey Civil parishes in Surrey