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Present
Day Aspect and Character
 small
village just south of the A3 is the original Ockham which is largely
made up of mid 19th century decorated-brick estate cottages set back from the road in
well-kept gardens. The
estate originally belonged to the Lovelace family, who altered Horsley
Towers (see East Horsley) and village improvements, it is
claimed, was one of their hobbies!
The Church of All Saints is almost hidden in the big trees of
Ockham Park and the best distant views of it are from Guileshill
Lane, an
enchanting single track road, that twists and weaves with a truly
rural feel. At the the central triangle of three village
roads is the very well known Hautboy restaurant and country
hotel which
attracts a clientele from a wide catchment area and forms a focus
for this widespread village opposite the Recreation Ground and
cricket pitch.
Dotted along Ockham Lane are many desirable homes of
character backing onto farmland to Martyr's Green with the Black Swan Public House
at the junction with Old Lane, the regular haunt of locals
and visitors alike.
Immediately to the north of the village is the now disused Wisley
Airfield and the tiny hamlet of Elm Corner, which is no
more than a delightful collection of detached homes standing on
large plots with exceptionally easy and fast access to the main A3,
but the road is hidden from view. The old Oakham Village Green
and Bolder Mere, a large lake, are also located close by with
the A3 as their northern boundary. Ockham Common is still a
wonderful open space of pine forests and sandy soil tracks formed by
wide fire breaks set on a rise in the ground. This area
was much larger still until relatively recently with the intrusion
of the A3 widening programmes and then the coming of the M25 and one
of its most important junctions which carved a huge area of
delightful common land into four. There are various car parks
around the Common and the general area is popular with horse-riders,
despite the reduction in its size. Chatley Heath Semaphore
Tower stands in the forests here close to the area known as Hatchford.
History
All Saints Church has a 13th century framework and stands within the grounds
of the Ockham Park Estate where once stood the fine Jacobean mansion,
Ockham Park. A
serious fire in 1948 destroyed everything except for the orangery, stables, kitchen wing, and a solitary Italianate tower.
The Hautboy Hotel dates back to 1864
and Ockham Mill dates at 1862.
The Hautboy is one of Surrey's most distinctive
country hotels and the building itself dates from
the mid 19th century, like so many in the village. The details of the interior
are by the Victorian architect
William, the 1st Earl of Lovelace, which have been carefully preserved.
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Location
for a home ~ Comment: Highly
recommended
Watch
out warnings: Close to both M25 and A3 with
use of local roads by commuters
