Deepcut
Deepcut | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | Camberley | |
Postcode district | GU16 | |
Dialling code | 01276 | |
Police | Surrey | |
Fire | Surrey | |
Ambulance | South East Coast | |
UK Parliament | ||
Deepcut is a village in the borough of
Deepcut was the location of the Princess Royal Barracks and its predecessors from 1906 until the barracks was decommissioned after closure was announced in 2013.
The nearest railway stations are Frimley on the line between Ascot and Aldershot, Farnborough North on the North Downs Line and Farnborough (Main) on the South West Main Line.
History
In 1537 the abbey granted Ash with its other lands to
Deepcut from 1894 was in the administrative area Frimley and Camberley Urban District until the establishment of Surrey Heath in 1974. Blackdown camp, which became the Deepcut barracks was established by the Royal Engineers in late 1903 to accommodate artillery and infantry, centred on Winchester House, renamed Blackdown House when it was bought from the Pain family of Frimley Green by the War Office for military use.[3]
The Victoria County History (1911) provides an overview of all parts of the country and of Frimley only surrounding features of the parish gained a mention, including the prehistoric artefacts above:
[Frimley] contains 7,800 acres, and measures 4 miles from north to south, and 3 miles from east to west. The parish covers the western side of Chobham Ridges, and extends down into the valley of the Blackwater, which bounds the county. The soil is, therefore,
a notorious highwayman, the road to Farnham branches south from it, and passes through Old Frimley village[2]
Economy
Deepcut had a major training base of the
The only other sectors of employment in 2001 with more than 100 workers were Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motor Cycles and Human Health and Social Work and Activities.[1]
Village hall
The Deepcut Village Centre is the main community building. It hosts a number of local voluntary community groups and exercise classes. The village hall is used for classes and performances by the Surrey Performing Arts School for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre.[4]
Geography
Elevations
In common with
Watercourses
As a high watershed on mostly permeable soil, the crest drains mostly below ground into the Blackwater or the River Bourne, Addlestone, depending if land is sloped towards the east or the west of the village. The south of the community is bisected by the Basingstoke Canal which has a cycle and pedestrian route alongside (its towpath).
Soil
The soil here is naturally wet acid and sandy soil, producing
Notable residents
Malacologist Major Matthew Connolly lived at Lock House at Deepcut where he brought up his son, writer and literary critic Cyril Connolly.[5]
English/American singer Graham Parker was raised in the area and named his 2001 studio album Deepcut to Nowhere.
Dame Ethel Smyth, 1858 to 1944, notable and feisty Suffragette who was imprisoned for campaigning and who wrote the Suffragette song, "March of the Women", in 1911. Also composer of operas and author.
Marie Spartali Stillman, 1844–1927, Pre-Raphaelite artist and model. A pupil of Ford Madox Brown, she became a regular model for Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, but was also a prolific and talented artist in her own right. Lived in Deepcut between 1898 and about 1910 at a house called Deepdene, now renamed Longwood.
William James Stillman, 1898–1901, an American with a varied career, starting as an artist and associate of John Ruskin and then becoming a diplomat for the US government as an envoy to the Balkans. Later a foreign correspondent for The Times. Lived his later years and died in Deepcut at a house called Deepdene, now renamed Longwood, which was designed by notable London architects Treadwell and Martin and commissioned by Stillman's daughter, Bella Middleton in about 1986.
Deepcut barrack deaths 1995–2002 and the play Deep Cut
From 1995 to 2002 a series of four deaths in seven years, each of gunshot wounds (
In 2013, following the Defence Training Review and the merger of tri-service training to a single location, it was confirmed that the barracks were to close with the land being released for housing development.[6] Part of the barracks has been demolished to facilitate the construction of 1,200 homes in the Mindenhurst neighbourhood.[7]
Demography
The population of 2,477 lived in 803 households at the time of the
Main ethnic groups
Ethnicity | Deepcut | Surrey Heath | South East | England |
---|---|---|---|---|
White: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British | 82.3 | 84.9 | 85.2 | 79.8 |
Asian/Asian British: Other Asian | 4.1 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 1.5 |
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British; African | 1.9 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.8 |
Other Ethnic Group; Any Other Ethnic Group | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
Asian/Asian British: Indian (Persons) | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.6 |
Politics
In local government, the relevant
References
- ^ a b c 2011 Census Archived 11 February 2003 at the Wayback Machine Super Output Area: Surrey Heath 012C
- ^ a b c d H.E. Malden, ed. (1911). "Parishes: Ash". A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
- ^ "Walk around Deepcut Surrey". North Lane Green Steps. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
- ^ Surrey Performing Arts accessed 21 April 2013
- ^ Jeremy Lewis Cyril Connolly: A Life Jonathan Cape 1997
- ^ "Deepcut Barracks plan approved by councillors". Get Surrey. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
- ^ "About Mindenhurst: the vision". Mindenhurst. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
External links
Media related to Deepcut at Wikimedia Commons