The area around the town of Guildford in the Surrey Hills is recognised as one of the top technology centres in Europe. It hosts companies such as EA Games, is home to the University of Surrey which is leading the way with 5G technology and in the University main square stands a statue of Enigma Code breaker and Guildfordian, Alan Turing. What is less well known is that the person recognised as the first computer programmer in the world was also from this area – and a very famous lady she was too!

Ada Lovelace was born in 1815, daughter to the infamous poet Lord Byron and wealthy heiress Annabella Milbanke. She was an extremely talented mathematician and writer who collaborated with Charles Babbage on his work creating the first mechanical general purpose computer. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculations and to publish the first algorithm intended to be carried out by this machine. The first modern widely used computer language was named in her honour – ADA.

Ada married William King-Noel, 1st Earl of Lovelace and they lived for many years at Horsley Towers in West Horsley, just outside Guildford. This is an extraordinary Tudorbethan fashioned building, designed by the same architect who created the Houses of Parliament – Charles Barry. It is now a hotel, conference centre and wedding venue.

Surrey Hills Society members were recently treated to a fascinating talk on Ada Lovelace by local historian, Roger Price. This was followed by a tour of the garden before returning for lunch on the terrace. After lunch we were able to access the exquisitely decorated family chapel.
It is amazing to think that a local Surrey Hills resident helped lead the way to modern computer technology. In fact, Ada Lovelace is known as ‘the mother of computing’.

The UK quarrying industry is one of the oldest industries in the country and for hundreds of years was an integral part of our industrial heritage. Several formerly active quarries in Surrey have now been transformed into conservation areas and recreational facilities.

Tice’s Meadow Nature Reserve, a 150 acre site near Farnham and former quarry, has recently come under the ownership of Surrey County Council with funding support from several other councils. Designated a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), it is one of the best bird watching sites in Surrey.

While the old chalk quarry and lime kilns at Betchworth ceased production in the 1960s and is now a stunning chalk grassland site rich in flora managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust. Nearby Buckland Park Lake, a 100-acre site between Reigate and Dorking, is an interesting case study of major quarry transformation.

A fascinating conversation with Dominic Sanders, Managing Director at Buckland Estate, which owns Buckland Park Lake, highlighted the challenges in transforming what was a major supplier to the national glass sand market into a wonderful outdoor recreational space.

The “Folkestone beds” along the foot of the North Downs contain some of the purest silica sand deposits in the country. Its low metal content makes it useful in a range of industries including glass and foundry casting. At its peak Buckland Sand & Silica Co. Ltd, owned by the Sanders family since 1925, had up to 15% of the national sand market. The sand had interesting uses from casting the propellers of the Queen Mary through to the moonscapes on the set of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey.

Dominic explained why the change of use. “The advent of plastic bottles and the offshoring of much of the foundry industry put the demand for silica sand into gradual decline.” Quarrying ceased at Buckland Park Lake in the late 1980s, although it served as the processing plant for sand extracted from nearby Tapwood until 2014.

A decision had to be made about the Buckland site’s future use. The size and easy access to the A25 offered various opportunities, but of course a key issue was planning consent within the green belt. As quarries are tempting but highly dangerous places to swim, supervised swimming was one option. In 2018 the planners agreed to provide access to the public, including water sports, refreshments and other facilities. The development, like many others, was hindered by Covid and finally opened in May 2021. Our Society’s Chairman’s day brought it to the attention of many of our members in July 2021.

There are plenty of ongoing challenges. “Higher footfall means a better return on the large investment, but overcrowding would spoil the ambience,” said Dominic. Do they think they have succeeded? “Overall, we are very pleased with the results. Although we have had far more visitors than we expected we believe we have been successful in not overcrowding the site. However, we are trying to remain honest about how much lies ahead and what we must do to achieve the standards to which we aspire for our visitors.” And what about Tapwood on the other side of the A25? According to Dominic it is unlikely it will ever be suitable for general public enjoyment due to its topography and location.

It’s always intriguing to discover how and why certain industries rose to prominence in a particular area, such as glassmaking in Chiddingfold. During the reign of Elizabeth I there were already around 11 glassmakers on Chiddingfold Green, all benefitting from the local geology; the ground being exceptionally sandy while local woodlands provided plenty of firewood for the furnaces.

The industry was however still small scale in the 1500s, it took an influx of Huguenot refugees for it to take off in a big way. Huguenot glassmakers brought with them new technologies and techniques including the production of coloured glass. One refugee, Jean Carre, was determined to make window glass in the Weald. It was only once he received a licence from Queen Elizabeth I to produce glass for glazing similar to that made in France that the industry flourished.

What then caused its decline? Firstly, local inhabitants complained that the furnaces were causing a nuisance, though this was possibly more about the unpopularity of the foreigners who owned the furnaces than the industry itself. Secondly, in 1615 King James I prohibited the burning of wood for glassmaking as it was uneconomical and the wood could be used more profitably in other industries. However, this was not before Chiddingfold glass was used in famous buildings such as St Stephen’s Chapel in Westminster and St George’s Chapel in Windsor.

Not surprisingly, the tradition in glass has continued to this day though in different forms. One local artist, Rachel Mulligan is based near Godalming specialising in stained glass and runs classes as well as producing artworks for exhibitions and working to commission.

Another, Amanda Blair, works from her garden studio using blown sheet glass and other flat glass to create stained glass windows for ecclesiastical and secular settings. Her current project is to create a large rose window for All Saints Church in Fleet. She has also just relaunched her ever popular classes following a 2 year break.

Perhaps one of the most well-known is Adam Aaronson considered one of the UK’s leading glass artists.  At his studio in West Horsley, he specialises in free-blown glass, runs beginners’ courses in glassblowing and designs and makes a range of interior design accessories. Visitors to the studio are welcome Tuesday through Sunday.

Given that many of these artists run specialist courses in glassmaking hopefully this wonderful art form will be very much kept alive and enjoyed by future generations.

Godstone is a delightful village with links back to Ethelred the Unready. Underneath the North Downs is Godstone mine, also referred to as Godstone Caves. In the 17th century mining began and the flintstone that was extracted was used for buildings and furnaces because of its extremely fire-resistant properties. It gained the name firestone from its unusual qualities. During the Industrial Revolution flintstone became recognised as a prime material for construction and the mine was expanded. One of the mine’s advantages was its close proximity to the railway and London. Some of London’s oldest buildings contain stone mined at Godstone.

The mine is made up of 5 different networks, the Roman Road Series, Main Series, Sawmills, Whitefield Quarry and Jones, but these were eventually made into one which became known as the main series over the course of the 18th century. Together they comprise 7 miles of tunnels. Marks on the walls were carved out by the yokes of oxen dragging carts around the mines and in the 19th century metal tracks were laid down as the process became industrialised.

The quarries provided a useful income for their owners, the Clayton family, but when more durable stones were found further afield firestone lost some of its market value. However, the mine continued to be worked and hearthstone was uncovered. This is a soft sandstone. In the mid 19th century fashion changed and people wanted to whiten their doorsteps, window ledges and hearths and used the hearthstone to do this as it left a white deposit once dried. Godstone mine supplied many hundreds of thousands of tons of hearthstone to retailers, many of whom were in London.

As hearthstone continued to be mined in the east of the county in the early 20th century, at Godstone some parts of the mine were completely altered and subsequently used for growing mushrooms by French mushroom growers. Compost was laid out in long piles called ridge beds, the walls were painted with limewash to disinfect the mines and doors and barriers were put in place to control the ventilation. The humidity needed to be carefully controlled and pipes were installed to distribute water to the various parts of the mines to keep the mushrooms in perfect growing condition.

In  between the great wars the mines became derelict and parts of the mines were used for storage during WW2 and also as an unofficial air raid shelter. The Home Office was aware of the existence of the caves and as they were between 80 – 200 feet below the surface and above ground were covered with trees it would provide a natural camouflage against any attack by air. There were also natural water springs in the caves which could provide drinking water. It appears that, for whatever reason, the mines were not authorised by the Government for use by Londoners as an air raid shelter but certainly locals took advantage of it as a shelter in WW2. There were 4 entrances to the mines one being in Caterham 1½ miles from Godstone.

The Society is lucky enough to visit the caves on 29th July 2023.

Sall Baring

Forty per cent of the Surrey Hills is designated as agricultural land, and fascinating technological changes are afoot in the world of arable farming so it’s likely some of them may be coming to our own AONB.

The first agricultural revolution took place when humans first started farming about 12,000 years ago, the second was the end of feudalism and subsequent reorganisation of farmland and the third took place in the 1950s and 1960s with the advance of heavy machinery, fertilisers, pesticides and new high yield crops. The fourth revolution refers to expected changes with the arrival of new technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) poised to solve some of farming’s current challenges.

These solutions could not only help with sustainable food production but also in the fight against climate change. Currently, most farmers decide when to drill, spray or fertilise their crop in ways that would still be recognised by their grandparents or great grandparents. They can only walk a small proportion of their fields and decide when to act based on what they can see, experience and gut instinct.

Rowan Duckworth of the Small Robot Company explains how companies like theirs are using AI to help farmers make more informed and precise decision

Its vision of ‘Per Plant Farming’ uses its intelligence robot, Tom, to accurately image every plant in the field before Wilma, the artificial intelligence interface, provides valuable insights such as crop count, crop biomass assessment, and weed detection. The data from Wilma is integrated with traditional farm equipment to produce highly accurate sprayer maps.

The Small Robot Company is also designing its own non-chemical weeding robot to reduce the use of synthetic weed killers. This gives farmers an important tool against rising levels of herbicide resistant weeds such as black grass. It also allows classification and targeting of beneficial weeds to be left in situ, building soil structure and fertility and providing obvious advantages to pollinators and natural predators.

So watch out for the first robots to tend crops in the Surrey Hills near you.  If you see one, you may well have read about it first here!

Last week, the Surrey Choices Growth Team did a marvellous job revamping concrete cisterns used by Canadian soldiers during the Second World War, into important wildlife ponds.

Working with the landowner of Shere Woodlands, the Growth Team set about clearing debris from an empty cistern, including carefully ushering out a couple of field mice that had made their home there! They were pleased to find that the base seemed completely undamaged, and it is hoped that this will naturally fill (when it finally rains!) to create a water source for wildlife.

They also created a set of wildlife steps for a second cistern which is already full of water and harbouring aquatic plants. It is hoped that this will improve access to the water source for a whole range of wildlife. This was created using old logs, which will also create habitat for invertebrates.

Great work!

On the 7th August 2022 we held our usual Sunday free walk of the month around the outskirts of Godalming. There was a lot to see on this relatively short walk. We met at the Beefeater car-park on the main road between Guildford to Godalming which was the site of the largest tannery in the area. The main industry around the area was in fact wool with the local mills using large mechanical hammers to pulp the wool. The river Wey joins the Thames at Weybridge and then the barges could travel with their various cargos up and into London.

A short walk towards Godalming we came upon 10 Almshouses which were the brainchild of Richard Wyatt who was a wealthy business merchant in Dunsfold. The stipulated that none of the tenants should be drunkards, swear or blaspheme and that every Sunday they would attend the local church in Godalming to hear prayers.

Catteshall Lock, a little further into our walk, is the first lock on the Godalming Navigation. To the left of the river are the ancient Lammas Lands which are historic common land and floodplain. It is still used as common land today with people bringing their cattle and horses to the fields to graze.

The flood defences at the far end of the field were completed in October 2019 at a cost of £4.5M. All the houses which were on the same level as the flood plains would flood and the water would come up through their floors. On at least one occasion the river levels ere so high that the main road between Godalming and Guildford was impassable. They have installed a pumping station which can pump 84 litres per second into a small stream in front of the barrier called hells ditch.

Catteshall Mill which was further into our walk is listed in the Domesday book and used to house the largest Fourneyron enclosed turbine ever built. He was the first maker of hydropower turbines and these were used to replace the water wheels.

Towards the halfway point of our walk we came upon The Ram Cider House which was built in the 16th Century and people came from miles around to sample some of their 35 different types of ciders. Unfortunately it is now a private dwelling.

Crossing back over the river we used Trowers Footbridge which was probably the entrance to Unstead Park. It was bought at auction in 1873 for around £37,5000.00. It had electricity installed in 1912 but its water was obtained from a hydraulic ram gravity pump near the Cider house and this was piped up the hill to the estates own reservoir and hence the pub got it’s name The Ram Cider House.

We ended up walking around broadwater lake which is owned by Godalming Angling Society and covers around 10 acres. It is well stocked with carp, rudd and perch weighing up to 30 pounds. On hot days they come to the surface and we watched as a family fed them like tame ducks.

We then participated in some very welcome and delicious waffles and coffee before strolling back along the lake to the start of the walk.

Sall Baring

On Tuesday 24th May Surrey Hills Society hosted its first Volunteer Open Evening at Zero Carbon in Guildford. The opening evening started with a short presentation from our Chairman, Gordon Jackson and Project and Volunteer Coordinator, Christa Emmett. Prospective volunteers were then invited to find out more about the wide variety of volunteering opportunities on offer. The Society is incredibly varied in its activities, and we were very excited at the amount of interest shown in different roles, ranging from helping at shows, conservation, putting on events and assisting with administration.

Following on from the interest shown at the open evening, the Society is now working closely with the Surrey Hills AONB Board and Surrey County Council to develop a new team of volunteers called ‘Surrey Hills Conservation Volunteers’. This is all based around working with responsible communities and individuals to enhance the Surrey Hills landscape for people and nature.

An area of focus for this summer is to work with volunteers to monitor and maintain several promoted walking and multi-user routes within the Surrey Hills. This includes auditing existing routes, looking at signage and the condition of paths, completing accessibility audits and identifying areas where improvements could be made. Towards the end of the summer, we are running a training course to complement this, and we are very excited to be working with Surrey County Council’s Access and Countryside teams to deliver this.

We are always keen to engage more people with the Surrey Hills so if you think this could be of interest, or you would like to find out more about other volunteering roles within the Society, then please get in touch.

Christa Emmett
Project and Volunteer Coordinator
Surrey Hills Society
Mobile: 07548 831574