West Byfleet
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Coordinates: 51°20′17″N 0°30′12″W / 51.3380°N 0.5033°W
| West Byfleet | |
 St John's church, West Byfleet |
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 West Byfleet
West Byfleet shown within Surrey |
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| Population | 5,054 [1] |
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| OS grid reference | TQ043609 |
| District | Woking |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | West Byfleet |
| Postcode district | KT14 |
| Dialling code | 01932 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Woking |
| List of places: UK • England • Surrey | |
West Byfleet is a village in Surrey. Forming part of the Greater London Urban Area it lies in the stockbroker belt just outside the M25 motorway, 19 miles from Charing Cross, 8 miles from London Heathrow. The village grew up around the station on the London & South Western Railway. The station, originally "Byfleet and Woodham", opened in 1887.[2] Since it was more than mile from the ancient village of Byfleet, the new development soon established its own character as a commuter suburb. The village church was dedicated in 1912 and a separate parish of West Byfleet was established in 1917. The station lies between Woking and Byfleet & New Haw. The village is bounded to the north by the Basingstoke Canal and to the east by the M25 and the Wey Navigation Canal.
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[edit] Today
The retail centre has declined in diversity over the last 30 years losing many true shops such as hardware, wine merchants, electrical stores and greengrocer. The Waitrose supermarket has revitalised the village's retail attaction. The village retail shops are now replaced with service businesses including restaurants, estate agents and hairdressers. All the major banks are represented. The village has become a focal point for other neighbouring villages such as Pyrford, New Haw, Woodham, Byfleet and Ripley; an alternative to Woking. In 2010 Aviva, the landlord, repossessed the former Woolworths store and relet approximately half the space to Costa Coffee and the other half to Lloyd Pharmacy. Recently there has been a small renaissance of fashion and style shops.
Old Avenue is one of the most desirable residential areas in the district. This prosperous road has been designated a Conservation Area and has an arcadian environment supporting detached family homes with spacious gardens. Easy of access by foot or car to West Byfleet Station has encouraged many Central London workers to move into the road and enjoy the frequent and rapid service to and from Waterloo.
http://www.woking.gov.uk/council/safety/survey/byfleet Woking Borough crime survey]</ref>
Most secondary school students attend Fulbrook School, St John the Baptist School or Bishop David Brown School. The local independent school is St George's College. For younger students there is the West Byfleet Junior School or the Marist School. There is the Anglican St John's Church[3], originally part of the Byfleet parish until West Byfleet was established as a separate parish in 1917.[4] There is also the Roman Catholic Our Lady Help of Christians Church located on Madeira Road. Additionally there is St Mary's Church on Church Road and a Methodist church on Rectory Lane.[5] The West Byfleet Golf Club is located on Sheerwater Road, providing a Golf Pro Shop, whilst also offering catering, society and open golf events. [1] In 1949 a Supermarine Spitfire crashed and exploded in flames beside West Byfleet Golf Course after a mid-air collision with another Spitfire over Woking.
[edit] Notable inhabitants
- Sir Sydney Camm, Hawker aircraft designer.
- Sir George Edwards, Vickers aircraft designer.
- Ron R Paine, air racing pilot and founder of Derby Aviation, later British Midland Airways (now BMI).
- Cyril Peckham, aviation photographer
- J C Stobart (1878–1933), author of The Glory That Was Greece lived latterly by West Byfleet Golf Course, and is buried at Old Byfleet.
- Frederick C Stoop, local benefactor and owner of West Hall.
- Helen Batley, designer, Minnie Bats design
[edit] References
- ^ Population Data
- ^ http://www.ourladyswb.org/history/history.htm
- ^ St John's Church
- ^ St John's history
- ^ Churches
[edit] Bibliography
Gardner, Robert (2006) ‘From Bouncing Bombs to Concorde – The Authorised Biography of Aviation Pioneer Sir George Edwards, OM’ (Sutton Publishing Ltd, Stroud, Gloucs.)
Stevens, Leonard, R (2001) ‘A Village of England – Byfleet’
Wakeford, Iain (2004) ‘West Byfleet – A Self-Guided Heritage Walk With Notes and Illustrations on the History of the Village and the Basingstoke Canal’ (Iain Wakeford, Old Woking, Surrey).
[edit] External links
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