HERITAGE PROJECT UPDATE

1. Introduction
This month we have an article on St Nicholas’ Church, by Ian Whittle, a snippet on church history courtesy of Tony Paice and we conclude with a report on our conservation area assessment activities in Aviary Road. The focus of the latter will be why we are doing this and what the benefits are expected to be.

2. St Nicholas' Church - Pyrford

St Nicholas’ Church stands on a knoll at the Northern edge of the shallow valley formed by the river Wey. As ‘the crow flies’, it is about 2km Northwest of Ripley Village and 2km South of Woking Centre. It is thought to have been constructed adjacent to a pre-Roman track and possibly on the site of a pagan chapel. Parts of this track are thought to be what we now know as The Sheep Walk.

In the 12C, when it is generally thought the church was built, it overlooked a ford named Pirianforde (Pear tree ford). This is the name, now modified to Pyrford, which is applied to the then extensive village served by the

church. The exact date of construction is unknown, but is thought to have been around 1140 – with the caveat in the final paragraph below. If it was built in the mid-12C, it would have been during the reign of King Stephen. It was certainly built before the establishment of nearby Newark Priory in 1199.
In present times, the (old) village of Pyrford is greatly reduced and consists of a few cottages and converted farm buildings. The outer extremities of this tiny community are marked by Stone Farm to the North and Wheelers Farm to the East. The very much larger and separate conurbation that has arisen close by and to the North of the old village is also

known as Pyrford.
In 1976, a Conservation Area was established to encompass the church and some of the surrounding land. To the North, the area extends about 200m to include the old village and Stone Farm. 50m to the East it includes a house

named The Prae – newly constructed in about 1967. This property stands on the site of two ancient farm cottages that bore the same name and which (unfortunately) were demolished to make room for the present-day development.
The church building is small and may have originally been considered as a chapel. It seats a congregation of little more than 100 and is very similar to the slightly older church in nearby Wisley. The main fabric is of mortared flint and would originally have been without buttresses but had three of these supports added when the bell tower was constructed in

in the 15C/16C. The porch at the north-facing (Norman) entrance is similarly dated. Ancient wall-paintings, dated from Norman or pre-Norman times were uncovered in 1967 - assumed to have been painted over at the time of puritan depradations.

The estimated date of some of these wall-paintings has thrown doubt on the above mentioned date of construction – suggesting the church may have been built during the 11C. Certainly, Saxon remains have been uncovered during renovations, so it is best to keep an open mind when attempting to date this small and ancient archaeological gem of a church.

Courtesy of Ian Whittle

3. Heritage Snippet – St Nicholas Church Origins

I stand to be corrected, but there is no archaeological evidence for a church on the site before St Nicholas. Yes, it is true that churches were often built on promontories, as were many pagan/pre-Christian places of worship. There is, however, no mention of a church at Pyrford in Domesday, in striking contrast to Wisley where Anglo/Saxon footings have been discovered (see Bullen's history of Wisley with Pyrford). And that is why the official parish title is Wisley with Pyrford: Wisley is a pre-Conquest lay foundation (rectory) while Pyrford was a chapel, serviced by ordained monks from Newark before the Dissolution. It then became a perpetual curacy/vicarage after the Reformation.

Courtesy of Anthony Paice

4. Heritage Project Update

The news this month is that we completed an assessment of the Aviary Road Conservation Area. A useful result of this work was that the question was asked why was it being done and what did we hope to achieve?
The answer to the first question is that, for good reasons, places change over time and maybe the heritage importance of an area changes accordingly.

The Aviary Road area was created as a conservation area in 1992 and should be reassessed from time to time as part of Woking Borough Council stewardship responsibilities for the designated area. No record of any subsequent assessments are available and yet an accurate and up to date view of local heritage is a mandatory

up to date view of local heritage is a mandatory consideration in planning development processes. So if we are to defend development adjacent to the area we should have a current and accurate assessment of our heritage in the area.

With regard to what we will achieve: the assessment will result in an up to date character appraisal of the area and supplementary design guidance to planners considering development applications within or adjacent to the area with regard to form and materials and setting.

I do hope you enjoy this addition of the Newsletter and if you have any queries then please contact us at info@pyrfordforum.org or go to the Forum website at http://www.pyrfordforum.org and take the Heritage tab for further details.

Geoff Geaves – for and on behalf of the Forum Heritage Team
18 April 2024

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