Bagshot shown within Surrey
| Bagshot | |
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Bagshot shown within Surrey |
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| Population | 5,365[1] |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | Surrey Heath |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Bagshot |
| Postcode district | GU19 |
| Dialling code | 01276 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| European Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Surrey Heath |
| List of places: UK • England • Surrey | |
Bagshot is a village in the South-East of England. It is situated in the North-West corner of Surrey near the border of Royal Berkshire, and is also in the diocese of Guildford. In the past Bagshot served as an important staging post between London, Southampton and the West Country, evidence of this can been seen in some of the original coaching inns that are still there today. It is situated 43 km (27 miles) southwest of London, adjacent to junction 3 of the M3 motorway and on the A30 road, between Camberley and Sunningdale. Much of the surrounding land is owned by the Ministry of Defence and is part of Windsor Great Park, the area is in the Green Belt that surrounds London. The village is served by Bagshot railway station.
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Recent excavations have shown that first occupants of Bagshot date back as far as pre-Roman, before these excavations it was thought that the earliest settlements in Bagshot were late Saxon. Late Bronze Age settlements have been identified in the area, and iron smelting appears to have been a major 'industry' in the locality. Bagshot has had a Royal hunting lodge certainly through Stuart and Tudor times, now called Bagshot Park and is now the residence of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
In Elizabethan times (late 16th century) Bagshot prospered due to its position on the main London to the West Country road (The Great West Road, now classified as the A30). As with many villages on main coaching routes inns developed to provide services to the stage coach passengers, and stables to provide the coaches with fresh horses. The prosperity of the Great West Road created its share of highwaymen, one of the most notorious being William Davis, a local farmer who lived near what known local as the Jolly Farmer roundabout. He was eventually caught at the White Hart Inn in Bagshot and hanged. Not one to avoid suspicion he always paid his debts in gold! It was after him that the pub was called the Golden Farmer.
Bagshot has five churches: Church of England (St. Anne's); Roman Catholic (Christ the King); Methodist, Evangelical (Brook Church) and Jehovah's Witnesses.
St Anne's Church is 120 years old[2] and was built in a neo-gothic style under the patronage of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught[3] who lived in the nearby Bagshot Park. It is a red brick building in red brick with stone detail under a slate roof. There is a bell tower with a peal of eight bells. It is a grade II listed building and is situated in a conservation area.
Bagshot has two multi-purpose sports fields and a cricket field.
Curley Park Rangers, the youth football club, meet regularly and play on pitches in both Lightwater and Bagshot. The CPR clubhouse is locatated at the Bagshot pitch.
Bagshot Cricket Club runs a number of adult and under 16 teams and complete in the Thames Valley League, the Three Counties League and the West Surrey Youth League.
Bagshot Tennis Club has four floodlit courts and fields teams in the Woking League.
Swinley Forest, which borders Bagshot to the north, provides some of the best mountain biking in South-East England, with many off-road 'single-track' trails available as well as plenty of fire roads. Mountain biking is permitted with a permit and walking is free. Swinley Woods was considered as a venue for the mountain biking event of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Other clubs and organisations include Bagshot Concert Band, the Surrey Heath Archaeology and Heritage Trust, Bagshot Gymnastics Club, Camberley and Bagshot Metal Detecting Club and local branches of the Scouts, Royal Air Forces Association and Women's Institute
Bagshot library is situated on the High Street and in addition to the usual library services provides Story and 'Rhymetimes' for the local toddler community.
Pennyhill Park Hotel located in the village is where the England rugby team train[4]. Bagshot Park, home of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. The A30 leaving Bagshot to the southwest for Camberley has a large roundabout on it called the Jolly Farmer after a public house that used to stand in its centre.
The local Borough, Surrey Heath, is mainly a Conservative area and it has held a Conservative Council for the past 50 years.
Local businessman Peter Long (owner of Longacres Nursery) holds an annual ploughing competition on his land next to Longacres Nursery, on the A30.[citation needed]