An Illustrated History of Ottershaw Park, Surrey

(1761 to the present day)


I have now published a book about Ottershaw Park Estate drawing on the material on ths Website. If you would like purchase a copy please click here.


This website was created to present information about Ottershaw Park which I have collected over a period of several years. It is continually being updated as I find out more information. I intend to make the contents available on CD at local record archives.

The project started in response to a casual remark by my wife that she would like to find an old photograph of a horse peering out of a stable at the Bothy! In this objective I have so far failed but in the process I have unearthed many documents concerning The Bothy and learned a lot about life and times in Ottershaw Park since the first Mansion was built on this site in about 1762.

Ottershaw Park has changed considerably in extent over the years and one of the problems I had was in defining the the study area. I finally settled on the triangle of land defined by the Chobham Road, Cross Lane, the Guildford Road, the River Bourne and Bonseys Lane. This includes not only the Mansion but also The Bothy, The Gothic Chapel (now demolished), The North Lodges, The South Lodge(s), The Inner Lodge(s), Garden Court Cottage, the cottages in Bonsey's Lane and various buildings near Durnford Bridge. Christ Church, the vicarage, junior school and houses on the Guildford Road which were also built on land at one time part of Ottershaw Park have also been included in this survey. Buildings erected since WWII receive less attention but are sometimes noted in passing.

Please note that I am not a professional historian but I hope you will find this document informative.

I would like to thank all those who have helped, particularly the archivists at The Surrey History Centre in Woking, Chertsey Museum, The Surrey Archaeological Society in Guildford, RIBA library in London and NMRC in Swindon. I am also very grateful to Helen Gilbert of Surrey County Council, Kingston, Christopher Talbot of Defence Estates, Aldershot, Barry Wintour, archivist of the S.A.Oliver collection and Maryna Fraser of Barlow Ltd in Johannesburg for their help. I would also like to thank Sally Kirby for pictures of Woodwind and members of the Ottershaw School Old Boys Society for providing additional items. John Browning, architect and several local estate agents are to be thanked for providing much useful material.

Just as the project was flagging along came Mike Jones who has been a source of inspiration and enthusiasm ever since. Last but not least I thank my wife Carol not only for her support and encouragement but also for getting me into all this in the first place!

I have acknowledged where appropriate the sources of information used in this study, particularly documents, maps and photographs. If I have inadvertently infringed someone's copyright I apologise and hope that I will be excused in the cause of promoting an interest in history and sharing our local heritage.

This site is continuously being updated, so please visit from time to time to see new additions. If you have any material to add or corrections to make please contact me.