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Burpham, Surrey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- There is also a Burpham in West Sussex, near Arundel
Burpham is a suburb of Guildford, a town in Surrey, England. It includes George Abbot School, a parade of small shops, and the nationally-recognised Sutherland Memorial Park. It also benefits from a Sainsbury's superstore, Church of England church (Church of the Holy Spirit) and, until it closed recently, a former coaching inn, The Green Man.
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The Green Man was owned by the 'Harvester' restaurant chain but was sold for redevelopment early in 2006. It has been proposed that the former pub be demolished and replaced by an Aldi supermarket, but this is currently being opposed by local residents.
Burpham is bordered by the neighbouring villages of Merrow (to the south-east) and Jacobs Well (to the north-west). Burpham is separated from Merrow by the New Guildford Line, the railway line between Guildford and Effingham Junction.
Between Burpham and Jacobs Well is Burpham Court Farm Park, a rare breeds conservation centre that straddles the River Wey.
Guildford's eastern-most junction with the A3 trunk road is named The Burpham Interchange, despite the fact that there is only one on-ramp and one off-ramp. It is a restricted junction, only providing access for traffic heading to or from the London direction. This restriction has long been a cause of annoyance to residents, as local Guildford-bound traffic has no option but to pass through the village.[2]
Burpham is on several bus routes that start or finish in Guildford. It is also a stop for some services heading to or from London on the A3.
Burpham Lock is some distance from the village, on the River Wey Navigation.
In the centre of the village is the Sutherland Memorial Park a 6.53 hectare open space which is a focus of community life in Burpham. The formal landscaped gardens provide for passive recreation alongside the many sporting facilities offered, and an area has been set aside and planted as a wildflower meadow.
The Park was adopted by Guildford Corporation in 1954 after the land was donated by the Duke of Sutherland under a Deed of Gift. It was given as a dedicated War Memorial in memory of the residents of Burpham who were killed on active service during the Second World War. Adjoining land was developed and incorporated in the 1990s, including a car park.
The Park has won Green Flag Awards in 2004, 2005 and 2006, in recognition of it being "an excellent example of a community park as it addresses the needs and wishes of the local community and current users".[3][4]
The multi-use pavilion is home to a local nursery school, and provides changing and other facilities for the sports undertaken in the park. There are playgrounds for all ages, including a separate toddler area and a basketball court for the teenagers.
Sports facilities include: a cricket pitch (plus practice nets); two 11-a-side and two (junior) 7-a-side football pitches; two petanque courts; lawn bowls; and a floodlit artificial pitch providing either three tennis courts or two 5-a-side football pitches.
The Park is the home ground of Burpham FC football club, who play in the Premier League of the Guildford and Woking Alliance League.
The section of the A3 that runs through Burpham is extremely busy, and there have been a number of accidents over the years. Therefore, on Wednesday December 11, 2002, it was no surprise to the Surrey Police when several motorists phoned to report that a car had veered off the A3 with its headlights blazing.
Officers were dispatched to investigate, but could find no sign of a crashed vehicle at the scene. Further searching was ordered and police uncovered the wreckage of a Vauxhall Astra, containing the remains of a man, no more than 20m from the supposed "crash scene". The car was buried in twisted undergrowth, nose-down in a ditch and invisible from the road. The car's lights were off – the battery had long since gone flat – and the man's body was little more than a skeleton. A police spokesman later said: "We believe the car left the road and ended up in the ditch during July. It doesn't appear that any other vehicles were involved. The car was discovered as a result of a report from members of the public who thought they saw a car's headlights veering off the road." The driver was later identified from dental records.
One officer called the discovery of the five-month old corpse "spine-chilling", and the motorists who reported the incident have been left wondering whether they saw a ghostly re-inactment of the original crash.[5][6]
- ^ Census data
- ^ Hardy, Graham (4 November 2002). Memorandum by Burpham Community Association (SHC 50). Select Committee on: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
- ^ Confirmation of award from Nov 2006 issue of 'About Guildford', newspaper published by Guildford Borough Council
- ^ Green Flag Award- The national standard for parks and green spaces. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
- ^ Blenford, Adam, Chris Millar. "A3 crash skeleton is 'wanted robber'", Evening Standard, 13 Dec 2002. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
- ^ "Man lies dead five months", Photograph of crash scene, The Sun Online. Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
- Guildford City F.C. – formerly Burpham F.C.
- Sutherland Memorial Park – Green Flag Award
- Sutherland Memorial Park – at Guildford Borough Council website