Holmbury St. Mary | |
---|---|
Holmbury St. Mary |
|
Holmbury St. Mary shown within Surrey | |
OS grid reference | TQ112441 |
Civil parish | |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | DORKING |
Postcode district | RH5 |
Dialling code | 01306 |
Police | Surrey |
Fire | Surrey |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
EU Parliament | South East England |
UK Parliament | |
Holmbury St. Mary is a village in Surrey, England, located around 4.5 miles (7.2 km) southwest of Dorking and around 8 miles (13 km) southeast of Guildford. The greater part of the village lies in the borough of Guildford, within Shere civil parish, but a small part to the east lies in the district of Mole Valley, within Abinger civil parish.
Holmbury St. Mary is located within the Hurtwood, which is the largest area of common land in Surrey. Nearby to the south is Holmbury Hill, which at 857 feet (261 m) is the fourth highest point in Surrey. The village is named after both the hill and the large Victorian church at its heart. St. Mary's Church, which overlooks the Village Green, was initiated and paid for in 1879 by George Edmund Street, who had built himself a large house in the village between 1873 and 1876, also known as Holmdale. Holmdale later became home to Thomas Sivewright Catto, the Governor of the Bank of England from 1944 to 1949.
From 1947 to 1986, the village was home to the Webb Memorial Trust, a memorial to Beatrice Webb. The Beatrice Webb House was opened by Clement Attlee and served as an important education and discussion facility for the Fabian Society, British Labour Party and trade unions. The Fabian Window, designed by George Bernard Shaw (who Co-Founded the London School of Economics (LSE) with Sidney and Beatrice Webb) hung in the house until it was stolen in 1978. The window was later recovered and is now on loan to the LSE.