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Headley's Past in Pictures
Wishanger and Frensham Pond
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Wishanger Lodge, pre-1907 |
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Wishanger Lodge, pre-1907
Wishanger Lodge (now renamed Wishanger Manor) was once the home of Mrs Branson, whose son James became a great local benefactor-Branson Road in Bordon is named after him. He was also the great-uncle of Richard Branson, the modern entrepreneur. |
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Wishanger Pond, c.1904
Neither so well-known nor so accessible as the string of ponds at Waggoners Wells, those at Wishanger have a charm of their own. They are fed largely from springs, and form a small tributary of the River Wey.
This view of the bottom pond is taken from what is now private land next to Frensham Lane. There is public access to a viewpoint of the middle pond from Bridleway No.14, which runs between Wishanger Lane and Smithfield Lane. |
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Wishanger Pond, about 1904 |
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Frensham Pond Hotel, 1902 |
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Frensham Pond Hotel, 1902
Seen here, and from across the pond on the opposite page, the Frensham Pond Hotel used to be known as The White Horse, one of the eight inns of Headley parish that Mr Beck mentions in the Introduction. It was run by the Marden family for many years from before 1800. |
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Until the boundary changes of 1991, it stood in Hampshire, in the parish of Headley. Now it is in Surrey-but still in Headley as far as the Church of England is concerned. Since the advent of Parish Councils in 1894, civil and church parishes have kept separate boundaries, and this has led in many cases to anomalies arising between the two. So, until the Church Commissioners decree differently, the parish church for this hotel remains in Headley, Hampshire not Frensham, Surrey. |
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Frensham Great Pond, 1901 |
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Sailing at Frensham Great Pond, 1901
The pond is not natural, but was created along with several others in the 13th century to provide fish stocks for the Bishop of Winchester. These used to be drained in rotation every five years or so, and barley grown for a season on the exposed bed. It was said that this cleansed it, and prevented growths such as blue-green algae from appearing. |
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During the Second World War the pond was drained for a different reason-to confuse German air raiders who had it marked on their maps.
The antiquity of Headley's old parish boundary is shown by the fact that it goes in a loop along the bed of the stream which ran here before the pond was created. |
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Introduction
Wishanger and Frensham Pond
