About the town » Hascombe, Surrey, England, Great Britain

Hascombe is a village in Surrey, England. It contains a cluster of cottages and country estates, St Peter's church, the village green and The White Horse pub, all nestling between wooded hillsides in Surrey, England. Even by the standards of the surrounding area, Hascombe is remarkably affluent: current and former residents include the film star Dirk Bogarde; Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky; television presenter Anthea Turner; actress Billie Piper; boss of McLaren F1 Formula One racing team, Ron Dennis; and broadcaster/producer Chris Evans. Hascombe is situated approximately midway between Godalming and Cranleigh. Hascombe is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Winkworth Arboretum, with its collection of rare trees and shrubs, is nearby and there are walks through the surrounding hills and along the greensand way. Above the village is Hascombe Hill which is the site of a ruined hillfort built by the ancient Britons and occupied by them during the 1st century BC. The word "combe" is derived from cwm meaning "valley" in the Welsh language and this may indicate that the population of Hascombe remained predominantly Brythonic for some time after the surrounding areas had been populated by Anglo-Saxon settlers. The name of the village is considered to come from Hægscombe meaning valley of the witch or "hag" in Old English. The village was not mentioned by name in the Domesday Book and it is thought to have been part of the manor of Bramley. The damming of a stream in the 15th Century created the Church Pond, close to which stands the village pub, The White Horse, a 16th/17th century building, with many later additions, constructed from the local Bargate stone. St Peter's church was rebuilt during the mid-19th century, but retains its medieval screen, made from Jerusalem olive trees and featuring elaborate carvings, and a font dating back to 1690. Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman described the church as "a Tractarian work of art". Because of its elevation, from 1796 to 1816 Hascombe hosted a station in the shutter telegraph chain which connected the Admiralty in London to its naval ships in Portsmouth. Hascombe's natural fresh-water spring attracts many visitors: the fountain itself was commissioned in 1887 by local landowner Edward Lee Rowcliffe as a memorial to his late brother. It was during a stay at Hoe Farm in 1915 that statesman and future Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill learned to paint.