Fairlands

Fairlands
Hamlet
Fairlands Farm
Fairlands
Location within Surrey
Population1,444 [1]
OS grid referenceSU964525
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townGuildford
Postcode districtGU3
Dialling code01483
PoliceSurrey
FireSurrey
AmbulanceSouth East Coast
UK Parliament

Fairlands is the largest settlement in the civil parish of Worplesdon in the Borough of Guildford, Surrey, England. The neighbourhood is centred 2.6 miles (4.2 km) north-west of Guildford, to which it is linked by a relatively straight road. The arbitrary centre of Worplesdon, a linear settlement, its church, is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) north-east.

Amenities

Fairlands has a parade of eight shops, a post office, a doctor's surgery, primary school, recreation ground and community centre. The latter is used for resident's association meetings, meetings of other groups of cross-sections of the community, and private hire events.

Directly north of Fairlands is Merrist Wood College, which specialises in practical and theoretical landscape-related careers and agricultural vocational courses.[2] The campus encompasses 400 acres (160 ha) of land.

Residents Association

The Fairlands, Liddington Hall and Gravetts Lane Community Association (FLGCA) is formed of residents of Fairlands and nearby residential areas. The FLGCA administer the community centre, form an umbrella organisation for various groups specific to the neighbourhoods, and more generally act for the benefit of residents. A free monthly magazine is delivered to every house within its scope.

Youth outreach

The Normandy Youth Center serves the area by sponsoring community-based programs targeting youth in the area (especially marginal groups and minorities) for the purpose of increasing exposure to educational opportunities and building a stronger community.[3]

History

Fairlands and Littlefields Farms, together comprising around 250 acres (100 ha), were sold for development in 1926.[4] Plans for an estate of around 1,000 houses were approved by the borough council in December 1934 and construction began the following year.[5][6][7] A second phase of housebuilding began in the late-1950s[8] and Fairlands County Primary School, designed by the architect, Raymond Ash, opened in 1966.[9] The settlement is not bisected by any main roads and continues to reject street lighting.[10] Today 12 residential roads and closes form a clustered hamlet.[10]

Transport

Road

The A323 Aldershot road adjoins Fairlands and provides an almost straight route from the community to Guildford, merging with the A322 road from Bagshot shortly before the A3's Wooden Bridge interchange. Stagecoach South's route 20 connects Fairlands with Guildford, Ash and Aldershot.[11]

Rail

Worplesdon railway station, with direct trains to London, is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north-east. Ash railway station, on the North Downs Line is about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) to the west.

References

  1. ^ Surrey County Council Census data Archived October 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "AOSEC Website". Archived from the original on 28 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  3. ^ Award for Mother Who Transformed Her Village Archived October 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine; 18 October 2010 article; at (Surrey Herald etc titles via Get Surrey) News; retrieved 30 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Notice of Sale". Surrey Advertiser and County Times. Vol. CV, no. 8859. 31 July 1926. p. 1.
  5. ^ "Guildford Town topics". Surrey Advertiser and County Times. Vol. CXXXI, no. 9726. 15 December 1934. p. 10.
  6. ^ "Big estate development near Guildford". Surrey Advertiser and County Times. Vol. CXXXII, no. 9763. 27 April 1935. p. 9.
  7. ^ "Fairlands Estate, Guildford". Surrey Advertiser and County Times. Vol. CXXXII, no. 9763. 27 April 1935. p. 2.
  8. ^ "Kingstons Estate Developers". Surrey Advertiser and County Times. No. 11935. 26 December 1959. p. 14.
  9. ^ "First of new schools is opened". Surrey Advertiser. No. 12475. 19 November 1966. p. 13.
  10. ^ a b [1] Ordnance survey website
  11. ^ "Guildford, Godalming and Haslemere bus timetables". Surrey County Council. Retrieved 19 March 2026.