Visit Wonersh Places

Welcome to Visit Wonersh Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Wonersh

  

Wonersh Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Wonersh

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Wonersh history

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Etymology

State records show the name as Wonherche, (14th century); Ognersh and Ignersh, (16th and 17th centuries) The form Woghenersh, in a Charter roll of 1305, indicates the (Old English) formation (aet) wogan ersce, ‘at the crooked field’

Pre Roman settlement

Finds have been found in the hamlet and forest of Blackheath of mesolithic (Stone Age) flint implements and near Chinthurst Hill.

Dark and Middle Ages

Based on foundations and core of the church, a settlement has existed in Wonersh village centre since Anglo-Saxon times. An ilex (holly) tree stood in the garden of Green Place and estimates of its age ranged up to 1200 years. All the six manors were later built on lands then in Bramley and Shalford.

Post Renaissance

Wonersh was one of the flourishing seats of the clothing trade in West Surrey. Manorial fortunes became more muted from 1700–1900 during the Industrial Revolution – seeing almost all of their farm lands sold up for lack of scale or produce.

Wonersh landmarks

Wonersh Conservation Area contains 27 listed buildings – at least ten of which are early and late Tudor period – however none in the highest Grade I category. Just north of the village centre however is the only Grade I listed building, Great Tangley Manor.

The Dower House

Dower House is the largest building on a long residential lane off Cranleigh Road, Barnett Lane at the end east of the street. In 1710 most all of its exterior was built – the date of foundations and chimneys is uncertain – in red brick with plain hipped tiles.

Wonersh Court

At the opposite end of The Street behind a large listed entrance arch, are eight courtyard townhouses, the original stables and parade ring to the demolished mansion Wonersh Park, converted and divided in 1745–1759 by the owner Sir Fletcher Norton, first Lord Grantley.

Great Tangley Manor

Great Tangley Manor is open for film shoots, board meetings and has Victorian gardens. Main portion of the manor was built by Richard Caryll in 1584 and main portion was built in 15th century. Wickham Flower employed Philip Webb to restore and extend the house in 1884.

Barnett Hill

Barnett Hill’s social history is described in History, its architect was Arnold Mitchell who chose an expensive and ornate masonry Carolean style. Purple/brown bricks with red brick and yellow stone dressings form its walls.

Christ Church, Shamley Green

Christ Church is towards the end of the main street (B road) towards Cranleigh in the south of Shamley Green. The churchyard is the resting pace of television presenter Tony Hart who lived in the village for more than 40 years.

St Martin’s Church Blackheath

Colourful stained glass and imposing arches are in Blackheath’s Grade II-listed church, St Martin’s. The murals are by the American artist Anna Lea Merritt.

Chinthurst Hill

Surrey Wildlife Trust manage the 31st highest hill in the county. A 1930s folly tower tops the 397-foot (121-metre above sea level) knoll. The Greensand Ridge restarts in parishes east and west on its course from Hampshire to Kent.

Wonersh geography / climate

Two-thirds of the pine heath and mixed forest-covered high ground Blackheath is included in Wonersh. The centre of the village is 28 miles (45 km) southwest of London. The village centre ranges between 40–50 m above sea level.

Elevations, geology and soil

The Greensand Ridge forms the highest hills in the south east, excluding the southwest Berkshire Downs. Elevations vary from 39 m AOD by the Bramley/Wonersh bridge over the Cranleigh Water to 207 m at the car park on Winterfold Hill, Winterfold Heath. Soil is slowly permeable loamy/clayey slightly acid but base-rich soil.

You can visit Wonersh places with Walkfo Wonersh to hear history at Wonersh’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Wonersh has 29 places to visit in our interactive Wonersh map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Wonersh, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Wonersh places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Wonersh & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 29 audio facts unique to Wonersh places in an interactive Wonersh map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Wonersh Places Map
29 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Wonersh historic spots	Wonersh tourist destinations	Wonersh plaques	Wonersh geographic features
Walkfo Wonersh tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Wonersh

  

Best Wonersh places to visit

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Wonersh has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Wonersh’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Wonersh’s information audio spots:

River Tillingbourne River Tillingbourne runs along the south side of the North Downs and joins the River Wey at Guildford. Source is a mile south of Tilling Springs to the north of Leith Hill at grid reference TQ143437. The catchment is situated on sandstone which has a low rate of weathering.

St Catherine’s Hill, Surrey St Catherine’s Hill is a hill south of Guildford in Surrey, England, with a ruined chapel on its top. The hill is on a sandstone outcrop near the Pilgrims’ Way, at the crossing on the river.

Shalford Mill Shalford Mill is an 18th-century Grade II* listed watermill. It was endowed to the National Trust by a group of eccentric young female philanthropists called Ferguson’s Gang.

St John’s Seminary, Wonersh St John’s Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. Established in 1891, it was announced in 2020 it would close in mid-2021. The seminary occupied a building listed Grade II on the National Heritage List.

St Augustine’s Abbey, Chilworth St Augustine’s Abbey, formerly Chilworth Abbey, was built in 1892. It was formerly a Franciscan friary and a novitiate for the order. The abbey church is open to the public 365 days a year.

Chilworth railway station Chilworth railway station is on the North Downs Line, 39 miles 15 chains (63.07 km) measured from London Charing Cross via Redhill. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by the Great Western Railway.

Law Brook, Surrey The Law Brook or Postford Brook is a stream in the Surrey Hills AONB which feeds the Tillingbourne which in turn feeds the River Wey. It is notable in its own right chiefly for its industrial vestiges and records.

Visit Wonersh plaques