Coordinates: 51°06′41″N 0°37′42″W / 51.1113°N 0.6282°W
| Chiddingfold | |
 Chiddingfold Village Green |
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  Chiddingfold
Chiddingfold shown within Surrey |
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| Population | <3,000 |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | Waverley |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Godalming |
| Postcode district | GU8 |
| Dialling code | 01428 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | South West Surrey |
| List of places: UK • England • Surrey | |
Chiddingfold is a village and civil parish in the heart of The Weald in the Waverley district of Surrey, England. It lies on the A283 between Milford and Petworth. Chiddingfold Forest is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) lying nearby.
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History
The name of Chiddingfold "Chadynge's fold", "Chiddingefoulde", is derived from the Saxon, probably meaning the fold (enclosure for animals) "in the hollow".[1]
Chiddingfold became famous for its glass-making - during the reign of Elizabeth I, there were no fewer than eleven glass works on the green. Chiddingfold glass was used in some of the finest buildings in the land, including St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster, and St George's Chapel, Windsor.
The Guy Fawkes festivities has an interesting past. In 1929, bonfire-related delinquency led to the last recorded reading of the riot act in the UK. In 2005, notorious local youth Keith The Thief, burned down the bonfire 1 month before the day (October 5) and it had to be hastily rebuilt. He was planning to do the same this year but, thanks to a loyal local man, he was stopped in his tracks, arrested and put in prison for life which was a great relief for the bonfire committee.[2]
Chiddingfold has opened an archive which shows the history of Chiddingfold and the previous owners of Chiddingfold houses.
The Crown Inn
The Crown is one of the oldest inns in England, built as a rest house for Cistercian monks on their pilgrimage from Winchester to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. Dating back at least 600 years, it has seen many distinguished visitors down the years. In 1522, King Edward VI, the `boy king', stayed here, and it is reputed that in 1591, Queen Elizabeth I was a guest.
Today
A church (St Mary's), 14th-Century pub (The Crown Inn),forge, pond, shops and cottages lie on three sides of a large village green. There was also a brick works. In late 2007, The Crown Inn went into receivership and the pub closed. The Surrey Advertiser reported that a number of families arriving for their Christmas lunch found the pub closed; despite having paid for their meal in advance.[citation needed] The pub has now been refurbished and has re-opened under new management.
The village is known for its torchlit procession, bonfire and fireworks display on a Saturday evening closest to November 5 (Guy Fawkes Day). The bonfire takes weeks to build and is generally as big as a block of flats. A village festival is also held every year on the village green on a Sunday in June. There is an art festival in the village hall over a weekend in September or October; this year it will be held on 11 and 12 October. Chiddingfold Horticultural Society holds competitions. There is a very active scout group in the village with about seventy boys and girls as members.
The Chiddingfold doctors' surgery serves an area of about 100 square miles.[3]
Media links
Rock group The Stranglers - then called The Guildford Stranglers, and prior to that The Chiddingfold Chokers - were based in Chiddingfold for a while during the early seventies and frequented 'The Crown'.[citation needed] The rock band Genesis built their studio The Farm here in the early 1980s.
Chiddingfold is referred to in a Mr Cholmondley-Warner sketch from Harry Enfield's TV series, in which a newsreel - supposedly from 1940 - looks forward to "life in 1990" and predicts that the United States would have come back under British rule, with New York City renaming itself "Chiddingfold-on-Sea".
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chiddingfold |
External links
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