Tongham Railway Station
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Tongham is a village northeast of the town 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 ...
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 ...
, England. The village's buildings occupy most of the west of the
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
, adjoining the A31 and the A331. The boundaries take in Poyle Park in the east and the replacement to
Runfold Runfold is a village in Surrey, U.K., about ENE of Farnham. Runfold lies on the ancient trackway known as the Pilgrims' Way and on the former route of the A31 road, which has by-passed the village since the early 1990s. Loss of through traff ...
's
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
in the west. Tongham is located on the north side 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 ...
, the narrowest part of the
North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...
. The largest independent brewery in Surrey, the
Hogs Back Brewery Hogs Back Brewery is a hops-growing brewery in Tongham, Surrey, United Kingdom. The company was founded in November 1991 by Tony Stanton-Precious and brothers Martin and John Hunt. The brewery, in Tongham, Surrey, is based in a barn that dates f ...
, takes its name from this eminence as does the Hog's Back Hotel. Tongham was the home of the Aldershot Stadium from 1950 to 1992.
Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
itself is to the west.


History and economy

Archaeological evidence suggests the area of Tongham has been occupied since
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
times, particularly close to 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 ...
which formerly covered in part the top of the Hogs Back, a ridge above the surrounding area, but which is now the
North Downs Way The North Downs Way National Trail is a long-distance path in South East England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham in Surrey to Dover in Kent, past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, through the Surrey Hills National Lan ...
on the south side. Notable finds in the parish include two Neolithic arrowheads and
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
farmstead A farmstead refers to the buildings and service areas associated with a farm. It consists of a house belonging to a farm along with the surrounding buildings. The characteristics of a specific farmstead reflect the local landscape, which provides ...
s.


Manor

The farmstead, and what few
peasants A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising f ...
' buildings there were, gain early mentions as ''Twangham'' from the 13th century to the 16th century in the rent rolls of successive Bishops of Winchester: Henry de la Poyle held court at Tongham manor in 1360. He had inherited the land from his grandfather, Walter de la Puille who held it rendering an annual small fee to the Bishop. The manor descended from the emblazoned, but not noble, Gaynesford and White families to holders in the Tichborne family. The family sold it in 1725 to a Richard Smith. In 1819 an exact namesake, with Thomas and Jane Barrett also having an interest, sold the manor to Stephen Boyce. On his death it passed to his stepson, Charles Barron, and the manor remained, albeit with portions gradually being sold off, with a Barron until at least 1906.


Poyle Park

The manor of Poyle Park which decayed from a wealthy gentleman's architecturally impressive farmhouse into no more than a farm, was in the north of Seale but now forms most of the east of Tongham. In the 14th century Tongham, seemingly inclusive of this area, was assessed in the
subsidy roll Subsidy rolls are records of taxation in England made between the 12th and 17th centuries. They are often valuable sources of historical information. The lists are arranged by county, and the description of each document indicates the area covere ...
at £3 8s 5.5d. The Poyle family owned a synonymous manor in a parish of Guildford, held of the King. After the Gaynesford and Vyne families, the family of Sir Nicholas Woodroffe,
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...
for 1579, held it until at least 1906, by passing to female-line descendants, the Chester family. In 1792 owner William Woodroffe (born Billinghurst) who was High Sheriff of Surrey for 1792 had his estate in bankruptcy (chancery) due to the expense of that office which he could not afford. Colonel
Ross Donnelly Mangles Ross Donnelly Mangles (1801 – 1877) was an English politician, Member of Parliament for Guildford between 1841 and 1857. In the latter year he became Chairman of the East India Company. Career and appointments He was the son of James Mangles ...
, the Chairman of the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
was a tenant in the mid-19th century. The Grade II listed 17th century Poyle Cottage sits below the former manor. Poyle Farm is largely intact in terms of uninterrupted farmland.


From the industrial revolution onwards

From the population abstracts from 1811 until its evolution into a parish the settlement was a rural one large enough in size to be official classed as a statistically recordable
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
. 's now dismantled railway was important for transporting materials to build the new military camp of
Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
from 1856 until 1870 and the row of shops developed from this line. The parish church was completed in 1865 and Tongham, which had previously been part of the parish of Seale, was made into a separate parish the following year. The military author and Honorary Remembrancer for the Borough of Aldershot (1963 to 1974), and Curator of the Aldershot Museum,
Howard N. Cole Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Norman Cole (22 March 1911 – 3 May 1983) OBE TD F.R.Hist.S DL was a serving officer in the British Army during the Second World War and was an author of books on military subjects. Life Cole was born in Peckham in ...
, lived in the village.


Hogs Back Brewery

Tongham is home to the largest independent brewer in Surrey, the Hogs Back Brewery (established 1992), which produces 3,800
barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...
s per year (2012 figures) from its large 18th-century premises. The brewery uses
fuggles This is a list of varieties of hop (''Humulus lupulus''). As there are male and female plants, the flowers (cones) of the female plant are fertilized by the pollen of the male flowers with the result that the female flowers form seeds. These se ...
hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...
from the Hampton Park estate in Seale. The Hogs Back Brewery complex is also home to other small businesses, including Terra Tempo Brewing a gym and the Surrey Hills butchers.


Amenities

The Hog's Back Hotel, now owned by Legacy Hotels, features white stone
quoin Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th-century encyclopedia, ...
ing and
dutch gable A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and which has a pediment at the top. The gable may be an entirely decorative projection above a flat section of roof line, or may be the terminat ...
s giving its 20th-century structure a character reminiscent of the former
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
on the site. There are two pre-19th-century
pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
in Tongham: ''The White Hart'' on The Street, and ''The Cricketers'' on Oxenden Road. There is a small shopping parade in the village centre. The brewery operates an off-licence stocking non-proprietorial ales as well as its own. The 1865
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church of St Paul, designed by
Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery (London), National Portrait Gallery. He was Arch ...
, is Grade II listed and was chiefly funded by John Back who owned
Aldershot Park Aldershot Park is an urban park in the town of Aldershot in Hampshire. The park is located on Guildford Road near Aldershot#Cricket, Aldershot Cricket Club and the Lido and is owned and maintained by Rushmoor Borough Council.
, a large public park with many leisure facilities accessible via a track from the village, crossing the double divide of a river valley (with the Blackwater Valley Path) and dual carriageway.
Cyril Garbett Cyril Forster Garbett (6 February 1875 – 31 December 1955) was an Anglican bishop and author. He was successively Bishop of Southwark (1919–32), Bishop of Winchester (1932–42) and Archbishop of York (1942–55). Early life Garbett was ...
, the son of its first vicar, and later
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...
, was born in Tongham in 1875, a leader in the liturgy and charitable works of a large part of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
.


Sport and leisure

Tongham has a
Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...
club Tongham F.C. who play at Poyle Road. According to the Guinness World Records 2003, Tongham also holds the world record for holding the most indisciplined Football Match ever against Hawley Youth Club on 3 November 1969. The referee booked all 22 players, including one who went to hospital and one of the linesman. The match, which was won by Tongham 2-0, was described by a participating player as a "good hard game".


Aldershot Stadium

Tongham was the home of Aldershot Stadium which hosted
greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...
,
stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...
(and other short-oval
motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...
s), including
speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...
. The stadium lasted from 1950 until it was demolished for construction of the A331 road at the end of 1992.


Demography and housing

The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average for apartments was 22.6%. The proportion of households in the civil parish who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free).


Commuter/local work statistics

As part of the outer
London Commuter Belt The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to work area, Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London' ...
, and well within the
Aldershot Urban Area Farnborough/Aldershot built-up area and Aldershot Urban Area are names used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to refer to a conurbation spanning the borders of Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire in England, and covering an area of 81.9 km2. ...
, the means of travel shows most people aged 16–74 either use a motor vehicle to work outside of the village or to commute within it.


Nearest other settlements


References


External links


Tongham Village Hall
{{authority control Villages in Surrey Borough of Guildford Civil parishes in Surrey