Runfold is a village in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, U.K., about ENE of

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

. Runfold lies on the

ancient trackway Historic roads (or historic trails in the US and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient track ...

known as the

Pilgrims' Way A pilgrims' way or pilgrim way is a standard route that pilgrims take when they go on a pilgrimage in order to reach their destination – usually a holy site or place of worship. These sites may be towns or cities of special significance such a ...

and on the former route of the

A31 road The A31 is a major trunk road in southern England that runs from Guildford in Surrey to Bere Regis in Dorset. Its best-known section is the Hog's Back, a ridge forming part of the North Downs between Guildford and Farnham in Surrey. Route de ...

, which has by-passed the village since the early 1990s. Loss of through traffic has made the village safer and quieter but has affected the village economy, with the loss of the service station,

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

and "Alf's Café", a notable

transport café In Britain, a cafe or café (), also known colloquially as a caff or greasy spoon, is a small eatery typically specialising in fried foods or home-cooked meals. Though it uses the same word origin as the term " café", it is distinct from ...

. One

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

remains; the Princess Royal, which also offers accommodation; the former Jolly Farmer is now a Chinese restaurant. The village has been affected by mineral extraction, subsequent infilling of the resultant sand and gravel pits, and the heavy vehicle movements associated with that industry. Runfold Manor is a large house in the east of the village, at the foot of the

Hog's Back The Hog's Back is a hilly ridge, part of the North Downs in Surrey, England. It runs between Farnham, Surrey, Farnham in the west and Guildford in the east. Toponym Compared with the main part of the Downs to the east of it, it is a narrow el ...

. Much of the contents were auctioned in 2005 when the owners decided to move away. John Henry Knight, a former resident of Barfield House in the village, built "The first petroleum carriage for two people made in England". Barfield School, an independent mixed Primary School, is now located there;

Mike Hawthorn John Michael Hawthorn (10 April 1929 – 22 January 1959) was a British racing driver who competed in Formula One from to . Hawthorn won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and won three Formula One ...

, Britain's first

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

motor racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

World Champion was educated here. Runfold, along with a number of other villages in the Surrey and Sussex

Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent. It has three parts, the sandstone "High W ...

(such as

Alfold Alfold is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England on the West Sussex border. Alfold is a dispersed or polyfocal village in the Green Belt, which is buffered from all other settlements. The Greensand Way runs north of the village along ...

Dunsfold Dunsfold is a villages in England, village and civil parish in the Waverley, Surrey, borough of Waverley, Surrey, England, south of Guildford. It lies in the Weald and reaches in the north the southern escarpment of the Greensand Ridge. It inc ...

, Durfold, Kingsfold and

Chiddingfold Chiddingfold is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Weald in the Waverley, Surrey, Waverley district of Surrey, England. It lies on the A283 road between Milford, Surrey, Milford and Petworth. The parish includes the h ...

) comprise the " Fold Villages", the suffix probably relating to the clearance of forest and its use as pasturage for sheep or cattle in Saxon times.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Surrey Borough of Waverley