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Looking at Cranleigh High Street today it is hard to imagine that
it was once a poor farming community. The heavy Wealden clay and
damp conditions provided ideal conditions for the growing of oak,
birch and alder. In prehistoric times the area where Cranleigh now
stands was covered by dense inhospitable forest. When man first
appeared on the scene he settled on the high ground surrounding
the valley of the Tillingbourne stream but, with the increasing
need to provide fodder for cattle, forays into the forest became
necessary and clearings were made for summer grazing. Over succeeding
generations the settlements became permanent and gradually developed
into centres for artisans and craftsmen employed on the medieval
manors and farmsteads in the locality.
When the Romans invaded the need to supply their expanding army
became a priority The road between Chichester and London, known
as Stane Street, passed nearby at Ockley part of the A29. A branch
road led off from Rowhook and passed over Winterfold on its way
to the temple at Farley Green. The occupation lasted for nearly
400 years and during this time the local clay proved ideal for the
production of bricks, tiles and pipes. A fine example of a Romano-British
villa and bathhouse was discovered at Rapsley, near Ewhurst, in
the 1960’s. The remains of a tile kiln were also excavated
near to this branch road. The skills of brickmaking brought over
by the Roman legions were lost for over a thousand years but once
the value of the local clay had been rediscovered brick and tile
making once again became a major industry in the area. Evidence
of these former sites can be seen today in the industrial complexes
of Manfield Park, Smithbrook Kilns and the fishing ponds used by
the local Angling Society.
When the Norman tax assessors surveyed the country on the authority
of William the Conqueror, Cranleigh was part of Blackheath Hundred
but is not recorded in Domesday as a separate entity. Historians
now believe that the western portion of the village was included
under Bramley and the remainder under Shere. The centuries following
the Norman conquest brought an ordered society centred on the church
and the Lord and his manor. The earliest parts of Cranleigh’s
church date from around 1170, the year when Thomas a Becket was
murdered at Canterbury. It seems likely that a place of worship
was established for the artisans and craftsmen needed to sustain
the burgeoning estates in the locality.
Early farmsteads were established on areas of high ground where
outcrops of sandy soil gave better natural drainage. As farming
methods and land drainage progressed and benefits of adding lime
were realised, the fertility of the soil gradually improved. This
progression continued into the twentieth century to the extent that
Cranleigh loam became much sought after by landscape gardeners and
builders of sports fields. Loam from the area is claimed to have
been used on the lawns of Wimbledon and the soccer pitch of the
former Wembley Stadium.
One of Cranleigh’s earliest industries was the making of baskets
from the osier trees, a relative of the willow. Later it was discovered
that the abundant alder trees made the best charcoal used for fuel
in the making of glass and iron smelting, traces of which can still
be found in the local area. In the Tudor period oak was used for
this purpose until forbidden by Henry VIII, who feared the loss
of prime oak for the building of ships. When coal was discovered
elsewhere industry migrated northwards and much of the wealden industry
came to an abrupt end. The names Smithbrook, Smithwood Common, Hammer
Farm probably indicate the sites of early iron workings.
Today, the centre of village life is focussed on the High Street
and its shops, supermarkets and commercial services. This disguises
the early origins of village life, which were based around the common
on the western end and around the church at the eastern end. For
many centuries the church dedicated to St Nicolas has provided a
nucleus for religious and secular activities. Its records of births,
marriages and deaths date from 1566 and now provide a valuable resource
for those studying social and family histories.
At the other end of the village, now dominated by the cricket green,
the common was used by the villagers for grazing their stock and
exercising many other ancient rights. Clustered around the common
were several early dwellings dating from the Tudor period of which
Old Tokefield, Spratts, Mercers and Pear Tree Cottage still survive.
The farmsteads of Stonewall, Common House and Vine abutted the common,
which possessed its own windmill until it was dismantled in 1917.
(see page 22)
The road joining these two centres was until recently known simply
as The Street.
By 1801 the population of the parish exceeded 1,000 souls but the
community remained virtually isolated from regular traffic by dint
of the heavy clay and poor state of the roads, which limited communications
with the outside world. But all that was about to change in the
19th century. First came the Wey and Arun canal between Shalford
and Newbridge on the River Arun, which opened in 1816. It was originally
intended to provide an alternative route between the sea port of
Shoreham and the Thames at Weybridge. For half a century bulky materials
such as lime, sand, coal and building materials were unloaded at
Elmbridge Wharf and as the canal wound its way through the woods
locally produced timber products were loaded straight on to barges.
However, the canal was never a commercial success and frequently
suffered from insufficient water.
The turnpike road between Rooks Hill near Bramley and Rudgwick in
Sussex was given official sanction in 1818 and when opened some
years later it opened up the village to regular communication with
both Guildford and Horsham. The carriers ran regular trips between
the two centres and once a week to London. This greatly encouraged
local trade and began to make commuting to London a possibility
for the more affluent individuals settling in the area. However,
as in the case of the canal, the punitive tolls put the use of the
roads beyond the means of the ordinary farmers and labourers of
Cranleigh. One toll house stood at Gaston Gate and another on Cranleigh
Common and the many ditches which criss-cross the common stand as
a testimony to those who tried to avoid paying their dues by by-passing
the toll-keeper’s barrier. During the 1870s the collection
of tolls was abandoned, but inhabitants benefited from improved
connections to the local villages of Bramley, Shamley Green, Wonersh,
Ewhurst, Rowhook and Ellens Green.
The real spur to growth and prosperity came with the arrival of
the railway in 1865. This allowed not only rapid movement of goods
but a convenient and cheap mode of travel. During the last quarter
of the 19th century the proportion of the immigrant population increased
substantially and by 1901 the population had increased to 2750.
During this time the village was advantaged by the addition of the
National School in 1847, the Village Hospital in 1859, Cranleigh
School in 1865 and the Lady Peek Institute in 1885. Mr Stephen Rowland
was the individual who did most to develop the village and he brought
in gas and water and laid out the Woodlands Estate in 1894.
In the twentieth century Cranleigh continued to grow steadily as
its advantages became appreciated by a population not relying entirely
on the land for a living but able to travel to London, Guildford,
Kingston, Croydon and other commercial centres. Local trades and
shops also expanded and by 1961 the population had doubled. In the
various Surrey Development Plans, Cranleigh was identified as suitable
for expansion and land was released for the building of the Parkmead,
Hitherwood and Summerlands estates. The railway was closed in 1965,
a victim of the “Beeching Axe”, but despite this the
population has doubled again and industrial suppliers, supermarkets,
schools and sports and leisure facilities have faced up to providing
for this burgeoning population.
Cranleigh High Street has undergone some major improvements during
the last few years with the aim of creating a more welcoming shopping
experience for both residents and visitors alike.
So what of the future? There is nothing to suggest that Cranleigh
will do other than go from strength to strength. The challenge is
to maintain a balance between providing for the needs of the community
without despoiling the environment and heritage that we will have
to hand on to future generations.
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