Frimley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately 30 mi (48 km) southwest of central London. The town is of Saxon origin, although it is not listed in Domesday Book of 1086.
The name Frimley is derived from the Saxon name Fremma's Lea, which means "Fremma's clearing". The land was owned by Chertsey Abbey from 673 to 1537 and was a farming village.[2] More recently it was a coach stop on a road between London and Portsmouth and Southampton for about four hundred years.[n 1]
Frimley was not listed in Domesday Book of 1086, but is shown on the map as Fremely, its spelling in 933 AD.[3]
Frimley Lunatic Asylum was opened in 1799; it catered for both male and female patients, and received four patients from Great Fosters, Egham. Magistrates visited in 1807 and ordered the proprietors to stop chaining the patients.[4]
An 1811 inventory from Frimley Workhouse, can be seen on the Surrey County Council website.
The present St. Peter's Church was built in 1826 replacing earlier buildings. The building has a balcony running around three sides of the interior. Dame Ethel Smyth once preached from the pulpit.[5]
In 1904, the Brompton HospitalSanatorium was established in Frimley to treat tuberculosis patients; it closed in 1985. Dr Marcus Sinclair Paterson (1870–1932) was the first medical superintendent, and he developed a system of treatment called 'graduated labour' which generated a lot of interest from other health professionals. The treatment used controlled levels of physical activity.[6]
In 1930 Marjorie Foster became the first woman to win the Sovereign's Prize for shooting. She received £250, a gold medal and a personal telegram from the King.[7][8] She was carried in a chair by the spectators while she was filmed by Pathe News.[9] She was returned to Frimley on their fire engine and toured the village. Frimley gave her a car paid for by public subscription.[10]
In 1931 the staff at Frimley Cottage Hospital were unable to save the life of Lieutenant Hubert Chevis, who had been admitted, along with his wife Frances, after eating poisoned partridge meat. He died of strychnine poisoning. The case remains an unsolved murder mystery.[11]
On 2 December 1958, a Hunting-ClanVickers Viscount 732 (registration G-ANRR) crashed on a test flight following a major overhaul. While flying at 1,000 ft (300 m) 10 minutes after takeoff from London Airport, the aircraft lost its starboard wing. This caused the aircraft to crash near the village and catch fire, killing all six occupants. Accident investigators established the reverse operation of the elevatorspring tab as the probable cause. Incorrect maintenance of the spring tab mechanism and failure to notice the tab's faulty operation as a result of negligence on the part of maintenance personnel, who were responsible for inspecting the aircraft before returning it to service, involved the pilot in command in involuntary manoeuvres that overstressed the aircraft. This in turn resulted in the aircraft's right wing breaking off.[12]
In 1959 the Cadet Training Centre at Frimley Park was formed following the 1957 publication of the Amery Report.[13]
Facilities
The main shopping street includes a branch of Waitrose and some smaller shops, several restaurants, charity shops, a post office, a number of estate agents, solicitors, opticians, betting shops, an insurance broker and two public houses, the Railway Arms and the White Hart. Frimley Park Hospital is within the boundaries. One of the major employers in the village is BAE Systems, which occupies a building off Lyon Way. Siemens opened its main UK headquarters in Frimley in 2007.
The usual number of residents in the ward, 6,178, belies the observation that this is the largest and most commercial settlement of the GU16 postcode which also covers the southernmost, Heatherside/Parkside, neighbourhoods Camberley of (its post town) and the distinct villages of Frimley Green, Mytchett and Deepcut.[1][14]
Industries of Work
The working population worked as set out below in the official industry categorisations in 2011:[1]
Sector
% in Frimley
South East
UK
A Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
0.1
0.7
0.8
B Mining and Quarrying
0.1
0.1
0.2
C Manufacturing
7.0
7.2
8.8
D Electricity, Gas Steam and Air Conditioning Supply
0.2
0.6
0.6
E Water Supply; Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities
0.4
0.7
0.7
F Construction
7.2
8.0
7.7
G Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motor Cycles
14.8
15.6
15.9
H Transport and Storage
5.3
5.2
5.0
I Accommodation and Food Service Activities
4.2
5.0
5.6
J Information and Communication
6.6
5.5
4.1
K Financial and Insurance Activities
4.2
4.5
4.4
L Real Estate Activities
1.2
1.4
1.5
M Professional Scientific and Technical Activities
7.2
7.5
6.7
N Administrative and Support Service Activities
4.9
5.2
4.9
O Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security
5.1
6.0
5.9
P Education
8.1
10.1
9.9
Q Human Health and Social Work Activities
18.6
11.6
12.4
R to U (Other)
4.8
5.1
5.0
Nationality
The ward is relatively representative of the nation as a whole in terms of national identity:[1]
% of Usual Residents who stated in 2011 they had a non-British identity only
Surrey Heath
South East
England
8.2
6.6
7.1
8.3
Economic Status
The proportions of those retired, unemployed and who were students in 2011 were extremely close to the regional average whereas those in the economically inactive (other) category were fewer:[1]
Category
Frimley
Surrey Heath
South East
England
Retired
13.6
13.5
13.7
13.7
Unemployed
3.4
2.8
3.4
4.4
Full-time Student
3.3
2.9
3.3
3.4
Economically inactive: other
1.3
1.8
1.8
2.2
Economically inactive: looking after home or family
4.0
4.4
4.4
4.4
Those who replied that again there were no people in the household with English as their main language formed a proportion of the population 0.1% less than the national average.[n 2][1]
The village is situated close to the junction of the A325 Farnborough Road and A331 Blackwater Valley Relief Road, which provides a link to the M3 Motorway junction 4.
Education
There are a number of schools in Frimley including: The Grove Primary School, Ravenscote Junior School, Tomlinscote School and St Augustine's Roman Catholic Primary School.
Sport
Frimley Town Football Club was formed over 100 years ago. It runs four teams, and the first team competes in the Senior Division of the Aldershot & District Football League. The club is based at Chobham Road recreation ground.[15]
Arthur Cocks (d.1944), first-class cricketer and the first British Army officer to be killed on D-Day
George Edward Lodge, an illustrator of birds and an authority on falconry, died in Frimley on 5 February 1954.
John Pennycuick (d. 1911), was a British East India Engineer who is remembered for his work in Colonial South India. He sold his personal assets to complete the construction of Mullaiperiyar Dam. Even today, many of the farmer families of the Theni and Madurai districts still keep portraits of Pennycuick and worship him as a god.
In The Reminiscences of Sir Henry Hawkins (Baron Brampton), chapter 18 tells of the trial of a bricklayer who, in a prize fight on Frimley Common, unfortunately killed his opponent. He appeared in court dressed as a young clergyman and was found innocent of the manslaughter charge because of doubts over his identity.[25]
Notes and references
Notes
^The alternative London-Southampton road passed by Chobham Common which had more highwaymen than the A30 and from West Middlesex, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the Midlands this formed a popular Portsmouth Road also, linking to the most direct one from London via Guildford to Portsmouth.[citation needed]
^Surrey Heath Borough Council (2005). "History of Surrey Heath". surreyheath.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 23 April 2006. Retrieved 19 May 2006.
^ abThe Parish Office. "St Peter's Church". The Parish of Frimley. Archived from the original on 2 May 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2006.
^Julie Tancell (2001). "National Heart and Lung Institute". AIM25: Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. Archived from the original on 20 June 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2006.
Places listed are articles or sections notable as settlements, arranged by post town Camberley is the administrative centre and largest single settlement