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would run all the way from the Medway to Chichester and
there was even a plan in the 1820s to link dear old Deptford
with Chichester via the Mole Gap at Dorking. Zut alors!
as we almost never say in Deptford. Imagine letting all
those Dorking types paddle up to Deptford.
The River Tillingbourne runs along the South side of the
North Downs from Leith Hill and bubbles though the truly
delightful village of Shere on its way to join the River Wey
at Guildford. The Tilling Bourne, as it is sometimes styled,
used to power a number of gunpowder, paper and flour
mills and today still earns its keep growing watercress and
trout for a thriving angling and fly fishing trade much of it
controlled by the Albury Estate. Albury Park Mansion is
now twelve top-drawer retirement apartments with 24 hour
concierge service but the manor first noted in the Domesday
survey began as the seat of the Howard family, Earls of
Arundel and Dukes of Norfolk. They continued to be
Roman Catholics even after the Reformation so there’s
bound to be a priest hole or two here. The house went
through a succession of owners with architectural input
from such luminaries as Sir John Soane and Augustus Pugin
before it passed by marriage into the Percy family, Dukes of
Northumberland whose ancestral home Syon Park on the
Thames in West London is London’s last surviving great
ducal residence. In and around the village of Albury you’ll
see a gold crescent sitting like the ring through a bulls nose
against a background of racing car green. This is sign of the
Duke of Northumberland’s Albury Estate. It looks slightly
sinister branding the countryside and its ancient buildings
like the mark of a darkly dangerous organisation that James
Bond might go after. They mightn’t live hereabouts
anymore but the Percys still have major clout in the area:
who else could have got planning permission for a
landfill site inside an Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty?
There are seven properties for sale in the village of Shere
at the moment, as represented on the property website
www.rightmove.com. They range from £2.85 million for
a Victorian former doctors house on the edge of the
village with 5 bedrooms, swimming pool, au-pair flat in
the old coach house and 1.75 acres of gardens to a three
bed cottage in the heart of the village for £460,000.
Here’s what the estate agents have to say about Shere:
The picturesque village of Shere is nestled in the Surrey
Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and
provides for daily needs with charming local shops,
village nursery and primary schools, a museum, a church
and two public houses and a fine restaurant. The village
is steeped in local history with much of its housing being
Grade II listed. Shere has been the location for several
films including The Holiday, The Wedding Date, and
Bridget Jones. This idyllic location is conveniently placed
for access to commuter routes and services. An extensive
range of amenities may be found at Dorking and
Guildford, together with frequent fast trains to London
with journey times from around 36 minutes. The area is
surrounded by beautiful countryside, which is ideal for
walking, cycling and riding.
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