surrey county council

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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. 

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Hambledon Nursery School is “Outstanding”…Again

Hambledon Nursery School has entered 2020 in a mood of celebration after receiving an “Outstanding” grading following its latest Ofsted inspection.

Kate Walford, the head teacher, said that she, her staff and parents were all delighted with the news. The school, at Rock Hill, was judged Outstanding in all four categories; quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

She said: “I feel so very proud of the team of fantastic individuals with whom I have the pleasure of working with. This outcome is only achieved with the collective hard work, drive, passion and commitment of all staff members.” Kate, front row in green jacket, is pictured below with her staff.

The report is extremely complimentary about all areas of school life. It can be found here:

https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50138477

Ofsted – the Office for Standards in Education – is a non-ministerial body that carries out official inspections and regulation of schools and other places of learning. After visiting a school, usually with very little notice, it then issues it with a grade: 1. Inadequate, 2. Requires Improving, 3. Good and 4. Outstanding.

The nursery school was last inspected in 2014, when it was also given an “Outstanding” rating.

In summary, the latest report, carried out in December, said:

* The head teacher and her extremely enthusiastic staff succeed in achieving their strong ethos, which they describe as providing a highly stimulating environment ‘where skills to last a lifetime are taught and lifelong memories are made.’

* Children demonstrate exceptionally high levels of confidence and security in the setting.

* Children have immense fun as they learn. They behave impeccably.

* Staff demonstrate exemplary teaching skills through which they provide children with wonderful opportunities to use critical thinking skills and to extend their thoughts

* Staff have an extensive understanding of each child, their interests, abilities, cultures and backgrounds. They ensure every child has the best possible opportunities to meet their full potential.

Kate added: “The level of support from the parents was overwhelming. Their positive feedback and testimonials, shared with the inspector on the day of the inspection, was mentioned as being especially unique to the nursery when she delivered her feedback.

“We are very lucky to work with such inspiring young people and their families and we will continue to strive to provide the very best possible early years’ environment that we can as we look to the future and continue with the very important task each day at the nursery…. of having plenty of fun!

  • The school was originally the village state primary school. When it closed in the 1980s residents were determined to see it remain at the heart of the community as a place of learning.  A campaign led to the acquisition of the Victorian school house complete with playground and its reopening as a nursery school run as a business by a charitable trust. It caters for children aged 2 to 5 and retains its strong links with the village, the church and the parish council.
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THE 503 BUS – WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

The fate of Hambledon’s only bus service, the 503, will be decided by Surrey County Council in May and, unless the proposal to axe the route is overturned, it will cease operating in September.

However, SCC has acknowledged the strong opposition to the proposal by Hambledon Parish Council and residents and indicated that it may be prepared to meet to see if there is an alternative to outright closure. The parish has suggested that the 503 could be merged with the 523 Milford Hospital service, which is also under threat, and rerouted to take in new housing developments.

In its latest Local Transport Review SCC – faced with having to make budget cuts -has been examining rural routes in West Surrey with the aim of reducing the level of subsidy it pays to operators to keep the services running.  Under this review it proposed scrapping the 503, which runs three days a week and connects Hambledon with Milford, Godalming and Guildford.

The 503 is important to the village and its immediate neighbourhood, and especially to some of its older residents and those without cars. Starting and ending at Lane End it connects Hambledon and Hydestile with supermarkets, banks and surgeries. Most of its users have bus passes but face losing the only bus they can travel on.

Village Bus 3 - Copy

Under the review SCC is also proposing scrapping the 523, which operates twice a week to Milford Hospital from Godalming via Busbridge.  Both services are operated by Stagecoach on behalf of the County Council, using low-floor buses suitable for the elderly and infirm.

SCC has been consulting on the proposed changes to these and other services. In its submission Hambledon Parish Council urged the county to keep the 503. It also suggested that the 503 and 523 could be merged to serve the new 100-plus homes being built beside Milford Hospital, other areas of new development and be re-timetabled to make it more widely available.

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