SUNDAY REFLECTION

Life is slowly getting back to something like “normal”. But we know that many things will have changed forever. There is, therefore, some comfort in reflecting on the past. In this week’s Reflection, Jane Woolley reminds us that our little village has a rich heritage. On this website, and within the Heritage archive that Jane keeps at her home, much can be discovered.

Ever wondered what your house used to look like?   The chances are that it was one of Hambledon’s many small cottages, probably with no modern utilities, before it was “developed” to create a fair-sized family home complete with wi-fi and superfast broadband.    Ever imagined what the noise must have been like when the empty expanse of what is now “Nutbourne Park” was a thriving brickworks?  Ever been curious to know whether The Hydons and Hambledon Park always looked the way they do to-day?

Well, thanks to the Hambledon Heritage archive, it’s easy to find the answers to these and many more questions about the village, its activities, its inhabitants and its institutions.   By charting the development of the village over the best part of 200 years, the archive also demonstrates how much the Hambledon of to-day owes to the Hambledon of the past:  there’s nothing new about Hambledon’s community spirit.

The material in the archive has accumulated gradually over the last 60 or so years.  It’s a real social  history, in words and pictures, of families from all walks of life, their homes, their workplaces, their farms;  of the village hubs – the shop, the Post Office (they weren’t always the same thing and the village had more than one shop in the past), the Village Hall, the church and the pub;  the changing landscape; the sporting and social clubs, past and present;  and the institutions (including the Hydestile Hospital and the Hambledon Institute, the predecessors of The Hydons and Hambledon Park respectively – and the Institute was originally the workhouse). 

Disasters (from bombing raids to storms) are recorded;  so are successes such as winning best-kept village competitions and saving the village shop and the school (now the Nursery School).  Village fetes and celebrations of national events ranging from VE Day to jubilees are chronicled in detail.   There are scrapbooks, booklets written by villagers, photographic albums, press cuttings and numerous individual contributions.  On the whole they paint a picture of an ideal village – but don’t be fooled:  less than 10 years ago the Surrey Advertiser reported that “A village regarded by police as one of the safest places to live in Surrey has proved to be the ideal base for two cannabis factories” – which led to the arrest of six people under the Misuse of Drugs Act.   Never let it be said that the archive is a dull read. 

When my mother bought Cobblers, little did she (or I) realise that the two outbuildings that go with it were almost more spacious than the cottage itself.

  This means that I have been able to provide a home for the archive in the sun room.  Anyone is welcome to visit and browse.  You can find a list of all the documents with, in some cases, a list of their contents, on the village web site:  just click on history/historical village documents/the Hambledon heritage albums.  And do please consider whether you can add to this invaluable village resource:  although everything that happens now is media-recorded, that used not to be the case.  Our history is still dependent on paper documents and photographs. 

Relief Road Across The Surrey Hills – Proposal Is Scrapped

Following efforts by the parish council and several Hambledon residents an assurance has been given that the proposal for a new relief road to be built across the Surrey Hills Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty will not be pursued.

An organisation called the Guildford Society had put forward the idea as a means of relieving traffic on the A281 when Dunsfold Aerodrome is developed into a large housing estate. It proposed a new road should be built linking the development with an enlarged Milford station and the A3, routed through the Surrey Hills at Burgate Farm, Feathercombe and Hydestile. See earlier news story here:

The idea was presented to a meeting of the Surrey County Council Waverley Local Committee and Colin Kemp, deputy leader of SCC, said he would ask his officers to consider whether to conduct a feasibility study into the proposal.

Continue reading

Parish Council Challenges Dunsfold Relief Road Proposal Across Surrey Hills AONB

A proposal to drive a new road through the heart of the Surrey Hills at Hambledon to relieve anticipated traffic congestion and HGV issues when Dunsfold Aerodrome is developed into housing is being fiercely opposed by Hambledon Parish Council.

The suggestion from the Guildford Society was presented at a recent meeting at Waverley council and despite Surrey Highways officers rejecting the idea, county councillors agreed to give the matter further consideration.

It envisages a new highway from Loxhill on the outskirts of Dunsfold at Hook House Lane, across the hills and fields of Burgate Farm and round the flanks of Hydon’s Ball to emerge on to the Hambledon Road at Feathercombe. It would then use Hambledon Road and Station Lane to reach a new “Milford Parkway” station and the A3

The Guildford Society, a registered charity with the stated aim of preserving and enhancing the environment of Guildford, submitted a written question to the Waverley Local Committee, which comprises members of both Surrey and Waverley councils.

In a covering letter, Alistair Smith, chairman of the society, wrote: “The link scheme we propose, some 12 kms long, is likely to be complex, expensive and controversial, as part of it would necessarily pass through some sensitive countryside and would need to be treated appropriately”.

Continue reading

Training offered in Hambledon for use of life-saving defibrillators

Training in the use of defibrillators (AEDs) is being offered to residents following the installation of one inside the former telephone kiosk at the Hydestile Crossroads.

This takes the number of defibrillators in the village area to five; outside the village shop, on the exterior wall of the Merry Harriers, at St Peter’s Church, at Hambledon Football Club’s ground at Badger Park, and now at Hydestile.

Alison Martin, a Busbridge Parish councillor who helped arrange for the AED (automated external defibrillator) to be installed in the traditional red kiosk – which has also undergone renovation in the process – has arranged for a training session to be held in the meeting room at St Peter’s Church, Church Lane, Hambledon, on Saturday September 28th.

The training will be given by an expert from the London-based Barts City Life Saver organisation, a charity that teaches life saving skills and originated from St Bartholomew’s Hospital. The session begins at 11am with basic life saving training, then AED training at 2pm followed by baby and child resuscitation at 3pm. Participants can opt to attend the whole session, or part.

AED’s are used on people suffering from sudden cardiac arrest and, along with Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation, can greatly increase survival rates.

Training will be free to the Hydestile volunteers on the Busbridge Parish Council-sponsored rota, but to all others there will be a nominal cost of £20 per person to cover the costs of the trainer travelling to and from London and a donation to the charity’s work.

Anyone in the village can register to attend. Please contact Alison Martin at email amtillies417@gmail.com or by phone on 01483 893619.

If you would like to know more about the work of the charity please visit www.bartscitylifesaver.org

 

 

Hydestile Celebrates With A Party In A Phone Box

Hydestile Crossroads residents have held a party in a phone box to celebrate the renovation of the traditional red kiosk and its new role as a location for a defibrillator.

Almost two dozen Crossroaders, past and present, raised a glass of champagne to toast the completed restoration before moving on to a garden party.

The kiosk, a familiar landmark on the approach to Hambledon, looked resplendent with new paint and a new sign around the top of the glass sides stating “Defibrillator”.

The transformation of the former payphone is the work of neighbouring Busbridge Parish Council. The crossroads forms a part of the boundary between it and Hambledon Parish Council. Many rural payphones see little use and Busbridge PC decided it was no longer prepared to pay a maintenance fee to BT for it to remain operational.

Instead it negotiated for BT to remove the phone apparatus and to hand over ownership to the council. It then had the kiosk professionally restored, inside and out (see earlier news story on this website), and for the defibrillator to be installed. The box will continue to illuminate at night.

The initiative was led by Busbridge councillors Alison Martin and John Graves. John, who lives at the crossroads, and his wife Elaine hosted a garden dinner party following the kiosk celebration.

The gathering brought together almost all of the current crossroads residents and the welcome return of a few who have moved away. Continue reading

Local Beers, Local Bands – It’s The Merry Harriers Beer Festival

Local beers and ciders and local bands will feature at a Spring Beer Festival to be held at the village pub over the weekend of Friday May 30th to Sunday June 2nd.

The Merry Harriers has sourced a range of bitters and ciders from breweries in Surrey and neighbouring counties which will be served from a marquee in the pub garden.

In addition, Toxic Sausage will be playing on the Saturday evening. A popular covers band which regularly performs at the fete ball, it features village resident Mike Blanchard on keyboard.

On Sunday afternoon another local favourite, the LuxDeLux blues band, will be performing. Featuring Jim Luck on vocals, this band has been playing in the Godalming area for many years to great acclaim.

Music will be outside if weather permits.

It is expected that comedy routines will be performed on the Friday evening, yet to be confirmed.

Hot dogs will be served from a barbecue throughout the festival.

Entry is free. The festival hours are 4pm to 11pm on Friday and Saturday and 4pm to 8pm on Sunday.

Merry Harriers Installs Defibrillator To Pub Wall For Use In An Emergency

A defibrillator has been installed on the external wall of the Merry Harriers pub and is available for public use in an emergency.

Danielle Montgomery-Page, pub manager, said that it had been decided to provide the potentially life-saving device as the pub now caters for an increasing number of guests staying in its accommodation as well as local customers, cyclists and walkers.

Our photograph shows the defibrillator in position secured to the pub’s front wall, on the left side of the building.

Defibrillators, also known as AEDs (Automated External Defibrillator), are used on people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, a major cause of premature death. The device detects the heart’s rhythm and, if necessary, delivers an electric shock (defibrillation) to re-establish the heartbeat.

They are increasingly common, in places of work and in public. In Hambledon there are already defibrillators available on the wall outside the village shop, at St Peter’s Church and at Hambledon Football Club’s ground at Badger Park.

It is expected that another will soon be installed inside the decommissioned red telephone kiosk at the Hydestile Crossroads, which is currently undergoing renovation.

Although the devices are easy to use and instructions are given when it is activated, courses are also available and a number of villagers have already received basic training in their operation.

Further information can be found here

 

 

A New Lease Of Life For Hydestile’s Red Telephone Kiosk

The red telephone kiosk at Hydestile crossroads is being given a make-over after it was decommissioned as a working pay phone.

The kiosk is a familiar and much-loved landmark at the entrance to the village and was at risk of being removed by BT. It is on the border of Hambledon parish but just inside the boundary of neighbouring Busbridge.

 

Fortunately, Busbridge Parish Council has undertaken to preserve the box by financing a renovation before the expected installation of a defibrillator for public use in an emergency.

This work is currently underway and is being carried out by a professional restorer (Ralph Restorations) who works from the back of his 1960s Austin A35 van, which is pictured here parked at Hydestile beside the kiosk.  A familiar sight on Britain’s roads in years gone by, it was an Austin A35 that featured more recently in several Wallace and Gromit animated films.

 

 

For several years Busbridge Parish Council has paid towards BT’s continued maintenance of the kiosk as a working pay phone. However, so few calls were made that the council decided to end this agreement and instead to “adopt” the box under a BT scheme, to ensure it remained in place as a distinctive feature of the rural cross roads landscape.

Under this scheme the ownership of the kiosk is transferred to the parish council for a nominal fee and BT undertake to maintain the working light inside.

The only other red kiosk left in the immediate area is the one in Hambledon, outside the shop and Post Office on Cricket Green. Hambledon Parish Council succeeded in getting the box “Listed” as a heritage feature by Historic England and it remains in working order although it no longer accepts coins.