Westcott, Surrey
Coordinates: 51°13′27″N 0°21′42″W / 51.2242°N 0.3617°W
| Westcott | |
 Westcott
Westcott shown within Surrey |
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| Population | 2,142 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | TQ145485 |
| District | Mole Valley |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Dorking |
| Postcode district | RH4 |
| Dialling code | 01306 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Mole Valley |
| List of places: UK • England • Surrey | |
Westcott is a village situated on the A25 between Dorking and Guildford in Surrey, England. Neighbouring villages include Friday Street, Wotton, Abinger Common and Abinger Hammer. It was the nearest village to John Evelyn's Wotton Estate, and was well known by the diarist in the mid to late 17th century. In 1694 Evelyn moved in at Wotton, a mile further west.
The village is approximately 2 miles west of Dorking and rests in a valley at the foot of the steep slopes of Ranmore and the North Downs to the north and the slopes of Leith Hill to the south. The most recognisable symbol in Westcott is the thatched dovecot on the village green. The weather vane on top of the dovecot has had the N replaced by a T such that it now shows the letters W.E.S.T
Many pre-1800 houses are to be found in the lanes leading off the A25, including Leslie Howard's (mid-1900s screen actor) at Stowe Maries (built in the 1550s) in Balchins Lane. Milton Street and Westcott Street are also sites for several further old buildings.
Of the original three public houses only The Prince of Wales remains. In 2007 the Cricketers became an Indian restaurant and, after a long period of decline, The Crown finally closed its doors in September 2011.
It has an art gallery, a number of small stores, a bicycle shop and two general stores, one with a small post office. The village is busy with cyclists every weekend as the area offers some of the best mountain biking in Southern England.
Westcott's village school celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2004. In 2010 it was merged with the nearby Abinger Common to create a two-campus school known as the Surrey Hills Church of England Primary School.
In 2009 a skate ramp and football goals were installed in the village park.
[edit] Village hoarder
Westcott's main claim to fame is long term resident Richard Wallace who is an obsessive collector and hoarder. His hoarding is so extreme that local residents and councillors tried to take him to high court for "destroying their idyllic village" to try to force him to clear up his mess which has now flooded out of his two houses into his garden and neighbouring areas, however he defended himself in court and won.
Wallace was the subject of Obsessive Compulsive Hoarder, Channel 4 TV documentary shown on 21 December 2011, in which viewers got to look into his life and home and experience his extreme hoarding first hand. Most rooms in his house are filled floor to ceiling with old newspapers, cardboard and plastic bottles.
Residents of Westcott have since tried to help him clear up the mess.[2]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Media related to Westcott, Surrey at Wikimedia Commons
- Obsessive Compulsive Hoarder Channel 4 programme that features Westcott, reviewed here
- Court victory for eccentric homeowner Daily Mail story about Westcott resident
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