Burpham (pronounced ‘Burf-um’) probably pre-dated the Romans. A trackway ran down New Inn Lane, Burpham Lane and Bowers Lane was an important route even then, crossing the River Wey at a narrow point. Our greatest archaeological evidence of this early use was the discovery of a Samian vase which can be seen today in Guildford Museum. It was found close to the crossing point.

Developing the River Wey

The wealthy Weston family who lived at Sutton Place attracted work and celebrity to the area for most of the C16th. The house sits just near our border and is an impressive brick Tudor palace and still stands. Henry VIII was a frequent visitor and it is rumoured that he met Anne Boleyn there.

It was Sir Richard Weston who, in 1618, bought up land by the river so that he could exploit it to bring fertile river soil to his own impoverished soil at Sutton Place and make it better for growing. This was the first move to develop the Wey as a means of irrigation.

It wasn’t long before he realised the potential to do further work to straighten the river and make it navigable. Once barges could move along the river, goods could be carried down to the Thames and on to London. Though we think of the Wey as a canal, it was actually a moving river whose course had been improved. The fact that it floods was a benefit because it laid down rich alluvial deposits across meadows which were then used to produce hay and graze animals. The course of the original ditch has recently been restored due to work by our BCA technical adviser, Jim Allen.

It was around this time that the whole of Guildford developed as a major centre for sheep farming and the lucrative weaving of wool. The barges that moved up and down the Wey became the main artery of trade for Guildford.

London Road

Burpham sits on another great transport artery: the London Road. London Road links London and the historic port of Portsmouth which has been a naval centre for centuries. The road also passes close to other important centres such as the army base in Aldershot. It is better known as the A3 today, but the local stretch of it is a very recent bypass arrangement. The original road runs straight through Burpham.

For generations, soldiers, sailors and royalty passed down our main road to their bases. Horse-drawn coach service ran between the two great centres of political and naval power and Guildford was a convenient stopping place to rest or change horses or to stay the night in a coaching in such as The Angel Inn on the High Street.  Burpham serviced this road with inns (notably on the Green Man on the Aldi site) and a blacksmith who could re-shoe horses near the current Anchor and Horseshoes pub.

Farming

Until 1900, Burpham was still just a small farming community with farmhouses such as Winterhill Farm now occupied by Winterhill Way, and whose orchard once occupied Orchard Road.  There was also Gosden Hill Farm and Burpham Court Farm. Sainsburys was built on the site of Bowers Farm. Some of our older members remember being sent as children to collect milk from the farmhouse.

The population had grown enough by 1859 to warrant the building of St Luke’s Church so that parishioners did not have to walk to Worplesdon to worship. A humble parish boundary stone can be viewed on the London Road opposite the chapel (now the Emporium).

It is remarkable that eighteen men from Burpham – mostly farm hands – died in the first world war. Given the size of the population, this was a terrible toll. One pair were brothers. They were memorialised afterwards by the creation of Sutherland Park and more recently by the leaf sculptures. The war memorial can be found in St Luke’s churchyard on Burpham Lane. On the other side of the memorial we can see that eleven men lost their lives.

Growth

But Guildford was growing rapidly and the council eyed the land around centre. Burpham first began to develop around existing houses near current park, where we can still see the distinctive redbrick and tile-hung style of the times. Pimms Row Cottages on the elbow of Burpham Lane is one of our oldest terraces, but London Road also boasts some fine older houses such as Marlyns which had its own chapel at the back.

The Abbotswood estate was developed on what was the edge of Guildford in the early part of the C20th. The entire estate is an arts-and-crafts masterpiece created by the notable architect Alfred Claude Burlingham and is now a conservation area. Using traditional materials, unique designs, beautiful timbered finishes and artistic flourishes, the estate is one of the most beautiful and distinctive estates in Surrey.

At the intersection of New Inn Lane and London Road was a lido complete with tea rooms and open-air swimming pool. The reception building still stands (Thrifty Car Hire) but the pool was filled in to make way for the Kingpost parade of shops. The post box on the parade is notable for being one of a handful of postboxes carrying the crest of Edward VIII shortly before he abdicated his short reign.

In the 1930s, another arts-and-crafts development at Gandhill followed the success of Abbotswood, whilst Burlingham himself went on to design affordable cottages at the Orchard Estate which is now the left hand side of Orchard Road and some houses near the adjacent roundabout.

The more conventional estates which lead off Woodruff Avenue and Charlock Way brought in a sudden influx of residents and was swiftly followed in the 1950s by government-funded council estates in Gosden Hill/Glendale Drive and a large number of police houses around Coltsfoot, Bryony and Burnett Avenues. These were sold off under the first Right-To-Buy legislation.

From the 1970s onwards, Weylea and Weybrook private estates were developed on the north side of London Road to offer a range of residential houses and there was further building towards the A3 end of the road at the Great Oaks Park area. After this, most of the building land was occupied so subsequent developments have been smaller infills. The traffic thundering down London Road was one of the reasons why a bypass was built, diverting traffic away from Guildford onto the enlarged A3 opened in 1978.

In the future, we can expect the boundaries of Guildford to push out. Plans are afoot to build a large estate at Gosden Hill.

Still here

History Is not dead and gone. It is all around us. Between the housing estates, there are many green spaces left as they were, such as Burpham Woods at the elbow of New Inn Lane. Large mature trees have survived the decades; pleasure barges still make their way down Weston’s navigation; churches, farmhouses and fine homes have survived.

We have tried hard to preserve our green spaces in the Burpham Neighbourhood Plan, and later this year we will be publishing a range of walks close to home to enjoy them and the rest of our heritage.