Chobham

Chobham
Chobham war memorial and cannon
Population	3,800 (2001)
OS grid reference	SU973619
Civil parish	Chobham
District	Surrey Heath
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Woking
Postcode district	GU24
Dialling code	01276
Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Surrey Heath

Not to be confused with Cobham, Surrey.

Chobham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, about 15 minutes drive from the London railway line stations at Woking to the south and Sunningdale to the north. The River Bourne runs through the village and floods it occasionally.

History

The village lay within the Godley hundred, a Saxon administrative area.

Chobham appears in Domesday Book as Cebeham. It was held by Chertsey Abbey. Its Domesday assets were: 10 hides; 1 church, 1 chapel, 16 ploughs, 10 acres (40,000 m²) of meadow, woodland worth 130 hogs. It rendered £15 10s 0d.

St Lawrence Church is on the High Street. Its earliest parts date from about 1080 although there may have been an earlier church on the site. It is dedicated to St Lawrence, who was martyred in Rome in 258.

Then surrounded by Chobham Common, which was heathland of little agricultural value, the village was a poor rural isolated community. During mediaeval times, Chobham was part of the Chertsey Abbey estates. The abbots' management was conservative and restrictive.

When the railways were built in the 19th century, the main lines went north and south of the village, passing through the nearby then smaller villages of Sunningdale and Woking. Thus Chobham has remained largely undeveloped whilst Woking has grown into the large town it is today. Chobham is probably most famous for the tank factory that was once carved out of Chobham Common and created Chobham armour. However, there are also the reputed "treacle mines" (where it is said soldiers buried their treacle tins before going off to the Crimean war). Queen Victoria visited their camp.

Today

This corner of Surrey is one of the fastest developing areas in Britain with house prices to match. Its location between the M3 and M25 motorways and the expansion of nearby Heathrow Airport combine to increase the demand for land for industry and housing as well as greatly increasing the traffic that the village is required to bear.

The five pubs & clubs in the area are:

• Chobham Social Club, Windsor Road, with a large free hire function hall, snooker tables, darts & entertainment
• The Grove, towards Knaphill, with a public bar and a saloon bar, holds regular live music and karaoke.
• The Red Lion, Burrowhill, recently renovated and over 21s only.
• The Sun Inn, the last remaining pub in the High Street - saved by local villagers who bought it to prevent it being converted to a restaurant.
• The Four Horseshoes, at Burrowhill - classical English village green setting, complete with a baker and blacksmith. There is an area to sit outside in the summer time.
• Chobham Rugby Club, regular live sport and a large modern clubhouse and grounds for hire. The 1st XV play in London Division 1 South.

Chobham F.C. were members of the Combined Counties Football League until the end of the 2010-11 season, when they were relegated to the Surrey Elite Intermediate League.

Chobham also has a thriving Cricket club that run 4 League teams on a Saturday and 2 social sides on a Sunday, both playing at a good standard of cricket. The Cricket club also has a fast growing colt section and run teams at U9 level through to U17. All ages groups are competing in West surrey youth cricket league and has representatives at west surrey colts teams.

Chobham & District Rifle Club is celebrating its centenary this year (2009). Throughout its 100 years of shooting the Club actively enters teams and individuals in County and National Club league competitions and all members are encouraged to shoot competitively. Many members actively participate in Open Meetings organised by other clubs across the south-east. These Open competitions are held at weekends, throughout the summer months, for .22 prone rifle over 50 yards/meters and 100 yards outdoors. The highpoint of the shooting year is in August when the British Championships are held at Bisley - shooters of any ability can enjoy the atmosphere of an international competition and compete in a week full of events.

Notable residents

• Peter Gabriel of the band Genesis was born here.
• Simon Posford aka Hallucinogen was born here.
• Nicholas Heath, archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor of England (buried here)
• John William Navin Sullivan, the popular science writer and literary journalist, lived and worked for some years at Paradise Farm, He died there in August 1937 and is buried at Brookwood cemetery.
• Graham Mitchell, former Deputy Director General of the Security Services MI5 during the period 1956-1963 lived in a large house on the edge of Chobham Common, Chobham, Surrey. He took early retirement in 1963 under a cloud of suspicion that he was a Soviet agent. See 'Molehunt' by acclaimed author Nigel West.

External links

• Chobham Village Portal
• Virtual Chobham
• Surrey Advertiser Woking and Chobham edition
• St Lawrence Church
• Chobham & District Rifle Club
• Chobham Property