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Pirbright ~ Guildford Borough north west border    6 miles north west of Guildford    3 miles west of Woking on the A324

Location for a home ~ Comment:  Highly Recommended

Present Day Aspect and Character

irbright is an attractive open village surrounding an unusually large green near miles of heathlands of poor soil.  The army however finds good use for these extensive commons for rifle ranges and training.  Perifrith was a name first recorded for Pirbright, which is a compound of the two words pyrige (pear tree) and fryth (wooded country).  Pirbright contains many listed buildings, including several medieval farmsteads.

The village is rather cut-off from the rest of Guildford Borough positioned as it is on the borders of the neighbouring Boroughs of both Woking and Surrey Heath.  The large expanse of green is at the centre with the houses photographed positioned on the west side.  

Along Church Lane leading from the green the country lane leads to St Michael's Church, built with stones dug from t he local commons, with its squat tower  and charming position overlooking flat fields. This medieval church was rebuilt in a Georgian style in 1784 after a fire.

Pirbright is well presented and regularly features in the Best Kept Village competition, its parish council being dedicated to keeping the village neat and tidy. Visitors will notice it is indeed an attractive and well cared for  spot despite the busy A324 Aldershot Road which runs across the green.   To the east on the green is a large pond and just beyond is the vast Brookwood Cemetery standing within Woking Borough. There are several golf courses in the immediate area

Public Houses

The Royal Oak, The Green, Pirbright.  The centre of the building is over 300 years old and it has been sensitively restored. Tel: 01483 232466

The White Hart Aldershot Road, Pirbright is a 17th century tavern that is said to have a resident ghost and visitors may also be interested to know that the cellar of the building was once a morgue.  It thought that the premises could once have been in use as a police station as ' the snug' seems to have been a cell at one time.   Tel: 01483 472366

Schools:   Pirbright County Primary             Tel: 01483 473884 

History

Until the mid 19th century, Pirbright remained a hamlet of scattered homesteads until the railway came with a station at nearby Brookwood which lead to an expansion in the population.  On the green stands Lord Pirbright's Hall.  It was built at his lordship's expense in 1899 two years after Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee had been celebrated with a fete on the green.  The hall was given by Lord and Lady Pirbright who commemorated the occasion by donating a drinking fountain to the village.   The couple lived at Henley Park and were generous benefactors.  In 1901 to mark the accession to the throne of Edward VII they provided the community with the land for a recreation ground.

Just inside the churchyard is a much larger piece of granite which marks the grave of Henry Morton Stanley, the Welsh born American journalist who came to live in Pirbright.   He  had, however, wanted to be buried in Westminster Abbey next to Dr Livingstone, the Scottish explorer with whom he will for ever be associated.   " Dr Livingstone I presume" has become part of our vocabulary having first been uttered by Stanley in 1871 on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Stanley, then 30, had been sent to Africa in search of Livingstone and in true journalistic style he got his scoop and made his name.  Brookwood Cemetery opened in 1854 by Act of Parliament is close to Pirbright and the scene of the last resting place for thousands of civilians and service personnel.  Its upkeep and future arouses strong feelings attracting worldwide interest.