Ripley has existed as a village in Surrey, England since Norman times â€" the chancel of the church of St. Mary Magdalen shows construction of circa 1160 there and supporting feet of fines and ecclesiastical records mention the village at the time. Ripley’s sister village of Send to the south-west was the governing parish over the village for almost a thousand years until 1978 when they became two separate ecclesiastical parishes, having become separate civil parishes in 1938.
Lying on the main road from London to Portsmouth (from the 1930s referred to as the A3), Ripley was the post town for the whole area (including Woking) from 1813 to 1865. With the coming of the railway to what was then Woking Common in 1838, Ripley’s importance diminished and Woking became its post town in 1865. As motor traffic increased during the 1960s and 70s, the Portsmouth Road at Ripley became a notorious bottleneck, relieved by the building of the Ripley bypass in 1976. The A3 was renamed the B2215, and what has always been a major trunk road was expanded into six lanes north of Guildford, allowing Send and Ripley.
The distance is 3.5 miles (5.6Â km) to the M25 motorway. It is centred 6.2 miles (10.0Â km) southeast of Woking, 6.8 miles (10.9Â km) northeast of Guildford and 22.5Â mi (36.2Â km) southwest of London. Neighbouring villages Send and Send Marsh to the South-West and Ockham to the East have fewer shopping facilities.
Amenities
The village includes a coaching inn, The Talbot Hotel which dates back to 1453. as well as Drake's restaurant, which has been awarded a Michelin star and 3 AA rosettes. The village high street includes a small supermarket, cobblers and bakery. Aside from the Talbot Hotel/Inn there is the Jovial Sailor as a further larger than average, food-serving public house. Two further pubs in the village are The Anchor and The Half Moon.
The village church, St Mary Magdalen has a fine Norman chancel and is a Grade II* listed building (the second highest of the three categories). Among the more than 20 listed buildings and cottages in the village are Pinnocks Café the building the 'Ship Inn and Ye Old Sweet Shoppe', J Hartley Antiques, Sage Antiques (Green Cottage) and Clock House.
Cedar House Gallery, in another listed building, Cedar House often has exhibitions and stocks predominantly watercolour and oil landscapes.
Ripley has two schools, non-secondary in each case:
- Ripley C of E Primary School
- Ripley Court Preparatory School (a private school)
Literary references
Ripley is mentioned in H. G. Wells' novels The War of the Worlds and The Wheels of Chance.
Famous residents
Ripley is the birthplace of the great rock/blues guitarist Eric Clapton, and resting place of his son, Conor, who died after falling from his mother's New York apartment window.
Sport
Cricket
Cricket has been a popular sport in the village for 200 years and is played on the Green.
Cycling
Cycling heritage
In the 1870s, cycling also became a popular activity in the South of England and Ripley was a convenient distance from London so that many cyclists would stop there for a break at the Anchor Inn. Sisters Annie and Harriet Dibble encouraged the cyclists so much that, in some years in the following decade, their visitors' book was signed with over 7,000 names - all arriving on penny-farthings or boneshakers.
Cycling routes today
The 2012 Summer Olympics road races started at The Mall in central London, passed Richmond and extended into Surrey to the south via Hampton Court Palace, Weybridge, Byfleet, West Byfleet, Ripley, West Horsley and Dorking then returned to The Mall via Leatherhead, Oxshott, Hampton Court Palace and Kingston-upon-Thames.
Demography and housing
The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%.
The proportion of households in the civil parish who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free).
References
- ^ a b c d Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density United Kingdom Census 2011 Office for National Statistics Retrieved 21 November 2013
- ^ http://www.sendandripleyhistorysociety.co.uk/historyofsend/documents/HistoryPDF_000.pdf Send and Ripley History
- ^ Talbot Inn
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1029372)". National Heritage List for England. The Talbot Inn
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1188603)". National Heritage List for England. The Church - St Mary Magdalen
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1029365)". National Heritage List for England. Pinnocks Café
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1188585)". National Heritage List for England. Ship Inn and Ye Old Sweet Shoppe
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1029366)". National Heritage List for England. Clock House
- ^ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1029375)". National Heritage List for England. Cedar House
- ^ "In An English Country Churchyard, Eric Clapton and Friends Mourn the Death of His Son, Conor, 4". People. Retrieved 2 July 2012
- ^ "Eric Clapton marries in Secret : BBC News". 3 January 2002. Retrieved 13 January 2012.Â
- ^ "History of Ripley Cricket Club". Retrieved 13 January 2012.Â
- ^ "Surrey History : Exploring Surrey's past - Cycling". Retrieved 13 January 2012.Â
- ^ "London 2012 website on road cycling". London2012.com. Retrieved 15 October 2011.Â
Published Sources
McCann, Clare (editor) (2009) 'Memories of War' (Send and Ripley History Society, ISBN 978-0-9562929-0-2)
External links
- Ripley Parish Council
- Ripley Village Community website
- Ripley Village Community and Culture
- 1st Ripley Scout Group
- http://www.thegoodmoveguide.com/Locations/Surrey/Boroughs/Guildford/Guides/Villages/Ripley.htm
