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Runfold village
Runfold village
Mentioned in the Domesday Book as a “Place where trees have been felled” Hrunigfeall (Old English “hruna + (ge)feall”), Runfold lies on the ancient trackway known as the Pilgrims’ Way, about 2 miles (3.2 km) ENE of Farnham.
A tithing (one tenth of a hundred) in Farnham parish, Surrey, Runfold was prominent in hop culture and lies on the former route of the A31 road (leading up to the Hog’s Back, part of the ancient route from London to Winchester), the replacement for which by-passed the village in the early 1990s.
It is an example of a Fold Village - the suffix probably relating to the clearance of forest and its use as pasturage for sheep or cattle in Saxon times. The village centre is in Guildford Road (the old A31) but it also covers part of Crooksbury Road.
Loss of through traffic made the area safer and quieter but it also lost its post office, service station and "Alf's Café" (a notable transport café), over the years (and arguably its centre).
Runfold has also been seriously affected by mineral extraction in surrounding areas, subsequent infilling of the resultant sand pits (landfill), and the heavy vehicle movements associated with them. See Suez and Runfold South.
Crooksbury Hill
Crooksbury Hill
OS Map Ref SU 878 459, this is a nature reserve managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) for Surrey County Council - height 163 metres, with stunning views over southwest Surrey and east Hampshire, across to the South Downs.
(Photo by SWT).
Runfold Wood
Runfold Wood
A nature reserve, managed by SWT for Suez, and was once a beech nursery and plantation, but the great storms of 1987 and 1990 destroyed many of its trees.
Now a mixed woodland, young trees have naturally seeded into the open areas.
Reputedly an area for blackcaps, nuthatches, owls, the rare nightjar and other woodland birds. It also supports a number of rare invertebrates, important lichens and some particularly rare fungi, as well as the hazel dormouse.
Runfold, 2020
Runfold, 2020
Guildford Road
See further photos in Gallery
See further photos in Gallery
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