History of Merrow

History Group
The Merrow History Group meeting in February 2019 took the form of an illustrated talk by local military historian, John Glanfield, on the prisoner of war camp on Merrow Downs.

History Group email

Map of Merrow 1839
Maps of Merrow showing field names in 1839 from a collection of old maps. Drawn by J. Gould 1948.

Mr Speaker Onslow
Arthur Onslow was born on 1 October 1691 in Kensington, the son of Foote Onslow and nephew of Richard Onslow who was subsequently a speaker of the House of Commons (1708-1710). He was also the great grandson of Sir Richard Onslow the purchaser of Clandon Park in 1641.

Hall Place Farm
The Swayne Family Occupancy of Hall Place Farm.

The Swayne Family in Merrow
William Swayne was working for Thomas Greathurst in Effingham in 1766. However he moved into Hall Place Farm in about May that year.

Edgar Tunnell
Autobiography of Edgar Tunnell 1904-1988.

John Woodger
1846 Merrow Parochial School was opened by John Woodger under the Direction and Superintendence of the Revd A Mclean.

Images of Merrow
A collection of old photographs from 1904 onwards. Some from the Francis Frith collection.

Clandon Park Gates
Gates early C18, contemporary with Clandon Park House. Lodges 1776 by Capability Brown & high resolution images.

More about Guildford, Surrey
Town of the Golden Ford. Guildford is a market town and the county town of Surrey, and is located in a gap in the North Downs where the River Wey breaks through the hills.

Merrow POW Camp
The camp was originally built in 1941-42 to house Italians from the North Africa campaign and only later in the war did it house German POWs.

Merrow Downs
A brief history from 1086 to 1991 including the geological formation of the N & S Downs and the Weald.

Merrow Downs Race Course
From 1701 to 1870 Guildford Races, flat and jump racing, were held annually in Whitsun week on Merrow Downs. The first official race was held in 1727.

Merrow Down
from Just So Stories by R. Kipling.

Memories of Merrow
This book looks at Merrow through the eyes of its present-day residents. Many of the articles here were originally published in Merrow Matters during 1998 and 1999, although some are published here for the first time.