View source for Surrey

{{Short description|County of England}}
{{About|the county of England|the Canadian city|Surrey, British Columbia|other uses|Surrey (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox English county
| official_name = Surrey
| image_caption = Clockwise from top: the [[North Downs]] from [[Wotton, Surrey|Wotton]], [[Guildford Cathedral]], and the clock tower in [[Epsom]]
| arms_link = 
| locator_map = {{Switcher
 |[[File:Surrey UK locator map 2010.svg|250px]]<br />''Ceremonial Surrey within England''<hr />
 |Ceremonial Surrey
 |[[File:Surrey - British Isles.svg|250px]]<br />Historic Surrey in the British Isles<hr />
 |Historic Surrey
 }}
| coordinates = {{Coord|51.25|N|0.45|W|region:GB-SRY_type:adm1st|display=inline,title}}
| region = [[South East England|South East]]
| established_date = [[Historic counties of England|before 1066]]
| lord_lieutenant_office = Lord Lieutenant of Surrey
| lord_lieutenant_name = Michael More-Molyneux
| high_sheriff_office = High Sheriff of Surrey
| high_sheriff_name = Julie Llewelyn (2021–22)<ref name=HighSheriffSurrey>{{cite web |url=https://www.highsheriffofsurrey.com/ |title=Home - High Sheriff of Surrey |access-date=5 January 2022 |archive-date=5 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105210903/https://www.highsheriffofsurrey.com/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
| ethnicity = {{ubl|76.6% White British|8.9% Other White|7.7% Asian|1.7% Black|3.4% Mixed|1.7% Other|(2021)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.surreyi.gov.uk/census-2021/ethnic-group/|title=Ethnic Group from the 2021 Census |publisher=Surrey County Council |access-date=26 May 2025}}</ref>}}
| county_council = [[Surrey County Council]]
| admin_hq = [[Woodhatch Place, Reigate]]
| largest_town = [[Woking]]
| area_council_km2 = 1663
| iso_code = GB-SRY
| gss_code = E10000030
| nuts_code = UKJ23
| districts_map = [[File:Surrey councils.svg|200px]]
| districts_key = 
| districts_list = # [[Borough of Spelthorne|Spelthorne]]
# [[Borough of Runnymede|Runnymede]]
# [[Surrey Heath]]
# [[Woking]]
# [[Borough of Elmbridge|Elmbridge]]
# [[Borough of Guildford|Guildford]]
# [[Borough of Waverley|Waverley]]
# [[Mole Valley]]
# [[Epsom and Ewell]]
# {{nowrap|[[Reigate and Banstead]]}}
# [[Tandridge District|Tandridge]]<br>
Post-2027 [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authorities]]:<br> 
* [[West Surrey]] (pink)
* [[East Surrey]] (light green)
| MPs = [[List of Parliamentary constituencies in Surrey|List of MPs]]
| police = [[Surrey Police]]
| website = {{URL|surreycc.gov.uk}}
| image_main = {{multiple images
|border=infobox|perrow=1/2/2/2 |total_width=250px
 |image1 = Edge of the North Downs - geograph.org.uk - 7610138.jpg
 |image2 = Spring in Epsom (6980024124) - cropped.jpg
 |image3 = Guildford , West front, Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit - geograph.org.uk - 8084748.jpg
 }}
}}

'''Surrey''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ʌr|i}})<ref>{{cite web |title=Surrey {{!}} Definition of surrey in English by Oxford Dictionaries |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/surrey#Surrey_Noun_001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=7 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008030938/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/surrey#Surrey_Noun_001 |archive-date=8 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> is a [[Ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial county]] in [[South East England]]. It is bordered by [[Greater London]] to the northeast, [[Kent]] to the east, [[East Sussex|East]] and [[West Sussex]] to the south, and [[Hampshire]] and [[Berkshire]] to the west. The largest settlement is [[Woking]].

The county has an area of {{convert|1663|km2|abbr=in}} and had an estimated population of {{English cerem counties|POP=Surrey}} in {{English cerem counties|TXT=Year}}. The north of the county, which includes the towns of [[Staines-upon-Thames]] and [[Epsom]], is densely populated and forms part of the Greater London conurbation. A second conurbation along the western border of the county includes [[Camberley]] and [[Farnham]] and extends into Hampshire and Berkshire. Woking is located in the north-west, and [[Guildford]] in the centre-west. The south of the county is rural, and its largest settlements are [[Horley]] in the south-east and [[Godalming]] in the south-west. For [[Local government in England|local government]] purposes Surrey is a [[non-metropolitan county]] with eleven districts. The county historically included much of south-west Greater London but did not include what is now the [[borough of Spelthorne]], which was part of [[Middlesex]]. It is one of the [[home counties]].

The defining geographical feature of the county is the [[North Downs]], a chalk escarpment which runs from the south-west to north-east and divides the densely populated north from the more rural south; it is pierced by the rivers [[River Wey|Wey]] and [[River Mole|Mole]], both tributaries of the [[Thames]]. The north of the county is a lowland, part of the Thames basin. The south-east is part of the [[Weald]], and the south-west contains the [[Surrey Hills AONB|Surrey Hills]] and [[Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons]], an extensive area of [[heath]]. The county has the densest woodland cover in England, at 22.4 per cent.

== Geography ==
[[File:Boxhill surrey viewfromtop.jpg|thumb|left|View from [[Box Hill, Surrey|Box Hill]]|alt=view of hills, trees and fields across a meadow]]
{{Main|Geology of Surrey}}

Surrey is divided in two by the chalk ridge of the North Downs, running east–west. The ridge is pierced by the rivers Wey and Mole, tributaries of the Thames, which formed the northern border of the county before modern redrawing of county boundaries, which has left part of its north bank within the county.<ref name=Natural_England>{{cite web |url=http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/geodiversity/englands/counties/area_ID34.aspx |publisher=Natural England |title=Geodiversity of Surrey |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002010627/http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/geodiversity/englands/counties/area_ID34.aspx |archive-date=2 October 2013 |access-date=2 October 2013}}</ref> To the north of the Downs the land is mostly flat, forming part of the basin of the Thames.<ref name=Natural_England/> The geology of this area is dominated by [[London Clay]] in the east, [[Bagshot Sands]] in the west and [[alluvial]] deposits along the rivers.

To the south of the Downs in the western part of the county are the sandstone Surrey Hills, while further east is the plain of the Low Weald, rising in the extreme southeast to the edge of the hills of the High Weald.<ref name=Natural_England/> The Downs and the area to the south form part of a concentric pattern of geological deposits which also extends across southern Kent and most of Sussex, predominantly composed of [[Wealden Group|Wealden Clay]], [[Lower Greensand]] and the chalk of the Downs.<ref name=Natural_England/>

Much of Surrey is in the [[Metropolitan Green Belt]]. It contains valued reserves of mature [[woodland]] (reflected in the official logo of Surrey County Council, a pair of interlocking oak leaves). Among its many notable beauty spots are [[Box Hill, Surrey|Box Hill]], [[Leith Hill]], [[Frensham Ponds]], [[Newlands Corner]] and [[Puttenham & Crooksbury Commons]].<ref name=Natural_England/>

Surrey is the most wooded county in England, with 22.4% coverage compared to a national average of 11.8%<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/culture-and-leisure/countryside/management/woodlands/surveys |title= Woodland surveys |author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|publisher= surreycc.gov.uk |access-date=October 30, 2025 |url-status=live
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20251030084443/https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/culture-and-leisure/countryside/management/woodlands/surveys |archive-date=October 30, 2025}}</ref> and as such is one of the few counties not to recommend new woodlands in the subordinate planning authorities' plans. In 2020 the [[Surrey Heath]] district had the highest proportion of tree cover in England at 41%.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stephenson |first1=Wesley |title=Gardens help towns and cities beat countryside for tree cover |work=BBC News |date=17 October 2020 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54311593 |access-date=20 October 2020 |archive-date=19 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019023014/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54311593 |url-status=live}}</ref> Surrey also contains England's principal concentration of lowland [[heath]], on sandy soils in the west of the county.

[[File:Leith hill tower.JPG|thumb|right|[[Leith Hill]] Tower|alt=beige stone tower with cylindrical tower attached standing on a grassy hill]]
Agriculture not being intensive, there are many [[Common land|commons]] and access lands, together with an extensive network of [[Rights of way in England and Wales|footpaths and bridleways]] including the [[North Downs Way]], a scenic [[long-distance path]]. Accordingly, Surrey provides many rural and semi-rural leisure activities, with a large horse population in modern terms.{{CN|date=October 2025}}

The highest elevation in Surrey is Leith Hill near Dorking. It is {{cvt|295|m|ft}} above sea level{{sfn|Bathurst|2012|pp=132-137}} and is the second highest point in southeastern England after [[Walbury Hill]] in [[West Berkshire]] which is {{cvt|297|m|ft}}.{{sfn|Bathurst|2012|pp=148-154}}

===Surrey rivers===
The longest river to enter Surrey is the [[Thames]], which historically formed the boundary between the county and [[Middlesex]]. As a result of the [[Historic counties of England#1965 and 1974|1965 boundary changes]], many of the Surrey boroughs on the south bank of the river were transferred to Greater London, shortening the length associated with the county. The Thames now forms the Surrey–[[Berkshire]] border between [[Runnymede]] and [[Staines-upon-Thames]], before flowing wholly within Surrey to [[Sunbury-on-Thames|Sunbury]], from which point it marks the Surrey–Greater London border as far as [[Surbiton]].

The River Wey is the longest [[tributary]] of the Thames above London. Other tributaries of the Thames with their courses partially in Surrey include the Mole, the [[River Bourne, Addlestone|Addlestone branch]] and [[River Bourne, Chertsey|Chertsey branch of the River Bourne]] (which merge shortly before joining the Thames), and the [[Hogsmill River]], which drains [[Epsom]] and [[Ewell]].

The upper reaches of the [[River Eden, Kent|River Eden]], a tributary of the [[River Medway|Medway]], are in [[Tandridge District]], in east Surrey.

The [[River Colne, Hertfordshire|River Colne]] and its [[anabranch]], the [[Wraysbury River]], make a brief appearance in the north of the county to join the Thames at Staines.

===Climate===
Like the rest of the [[British Isles]], Surrey has a [[maritime climate]] with warm summers and cool winters. The Met Office weather station at [[Wisley]], about {{convert|6.5|mi|km}} to the north-east of Guildford, has recorded temperatures between {{convert|37.8|C|F}} (August 2003)<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[UKMO]] |url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/aug03maxtemps.html |title=2003 temperature |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209163022/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/aug03maxtemps.html |archive-date=9 December 2010}}</ref> and {{convert|-15.1|C|F}} (January 1982).<ref>{{cite web |publisher=PlantNetwork |url=http://plantnetwork.org/directory/royal-horticultural-society-garden-wisley/ |title=1982 temperature |access-date=16 June 2022 |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122225803/https://plantnetwork.org/directory/royal-horticultural-society-garden-wisley/ |url-status=live}}</ref> From 2006 until 2015, the Wisley weather station held the UK July record high of {{convert|36.5|C|F}}.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[UKMO]] |url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/july2006/ |title=2006 temperature |access-date=9 November 2011 |archive-date=18 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018051826/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/july2006/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Weather box
|location = [[Wisley]], Guildford (1981–2010)
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan high C = 7.9
|Feb high C = 8.3
|Mar high C = 11.2
|Apr high C = 14.1
|May high C = 17.7
|Jun high C = 20.6
|Jul high C = 23.0
|Aug high C = 22.7
|Sep high C = 19.5
|Oct high C = 15.4
|Nov high C = 11.0
|Dec high C = 8.2
|Jan low C = 2.1
|Feb low C = 1.7
|Mar low C = 3.4
|Apr low C = 4.4
|May low C = 7.3
|Jun low C = 10.1
|Jul low C = 12.4
|Aug low C = 12.1
|Sep low C = 9.8
|Oct low C = 7.4
|Nov low C = 4.2
|Dec low C = 2.3
|Jan precipitation mm = 61.8
|Feb precipitation mm = 45.4
|Mar precipitation mm = 44.1
|Apr precipitation mm = 47.1
|May precipitation mm = 51.3
|Jun precipitation mm = 44.4
|Jul precipitation mm = 46.3
|Aug precipitation mm = 52.8
|Sep precipitation mm = 54.4
|Oct precipitation mm = 77.8
|Nov precipitation mm = 67.9
|Dec precipitation mm = 64.4
|Jan rain days = 11.4
|Feb rain days = 8.9
|Mar rain days = 9.3
|Apr rain days = 9.3
|May rain days = 9.2
|Jun rain days = 8
|Jul rain days = 7.1
|Aug rain days = 7.7
|Sep rain days = 8.6
|Oct rain days = 11.1
|Nov rain days = 10.8
|Dec rain days = 10.9
|Jan sun = 54.8
|Feb sun = 75.2
|Mar sun = 110.9
|Apr sun = 161.9
|May sun = 192.6
|Jun sun = 195.4
|Jul sun = 206.3
|Aug sun = 200.4
|Sep sun = 144.1
|Oct sun = 113.6
|Nov sun = 65.1
|Dec sun = 44
|source 1 = Met Office<ref>{{cite web |title=UK Climate Averages Wisley (Surrey) |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gcpevmgzn |website=Met Office |access-date=19 October 2020 |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122214655/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gcpevmgzn |url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

== Settlements ==
{{see also|List of places in Surrey|List of settlements in Surrey by population}}
[[file:Woking town centre from the west.jpg|thumb|The skyline of Woking, the most populous settlement in Surrey, as seen from the western approach by railway|alt=multiple rail tracks leading away between tall buildings under a blue-grey sky]]
Surrey has a population of approximately 1.1&nbsp;million people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/2008+mid-year+estimates+of+population?opendocument |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404024518/http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/2008%2Bmid-year%2Bestimates%2Bof%2Bpopulation?opendocument |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 April 2010 |publisher=Surrey City Council |title=2008 mid-year estimates of population |access-date=15 January 2009}}</ref> Its largest town is Woking with a population of 105,367, followed by Guildford with 77,057, and [[Walton-on-Thames]] with 66,566. Towns of between 30,000 and 50,000 inhabitants include [[Ewell]], and Camberley.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/747.aspx |title=2011 census table: ONS |access-date=24 March 2022 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107062420/http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/747.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref>

Much of the north of the county, extending to Guildford, is within the Greater London Built-up Area. This is an area of continuous [[urban sprawl]] linked without significant interruption of rural area to Greater London. In the west, there is a developing [[conurbation]] straddling the Hampshire/Surrey border, including the Surrey towns of Camberley and Farnham.

Guildford is often regarded as the historic [[county town]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guildford.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=918&p=0 |publisher=Guildford Borough Council |title=Medieval Guildford—"Henry III confirmed Guildford's status as the county town of Surrey in 1257" |access-date=30 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101054620/http://www.guildford.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=918&p=0 |archive-date=1 November 2013}}</ref> although the county administration was moved to [[Newington, London|Newington]] in 1791 and to [[Kingston upon Thames]] in 1893. The county council's headquarters were outside the county's boundaries from 1 April 1965, when Kingston and other areas were included within Greater London by the [[London Government Act 1963]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10152902 |publisher=Vision of Britain |title=Relationships / unit history of Surrey |access-date=16 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014091425/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10152902 |archive-date=14 October 2007}}</ref> until the administration moved to Reigate at the start of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/surrey-county-council-set-based-19102357 |title=County council base will be in Surrey for first time in 55 years |date=15 October 2020 |access-date=26 February 2021 |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303204444/https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/surrey-county-council-set-based-19102357 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== History ==
=== Ancient British and Roman periods ===
[[File:Stane Street.JPG|right|thumb|The Roman [[Stane Street (Chichester)|Stane or Stone Street]] runs through Surrey|alt=map of southeast England with red line from mid-south to northwest]]
Before Roman times the area today known as Surrey was probably largely occupied by the [[Atrebates]] tribe, centred at [[Calleva Atrebatum]] ([[Silchester]]), in the modern county of Hampshire, but eastern parts of it may have been held by the [[Cantiaci]], based largely in Kent. The Atrebates are known to have controlled the southern bank of the Thames from Roman texts describing the tribal relations between them and the powerful [[Catuvellauni]] on the north bank.

In about AD 42 King [[Cunobelinus]] (in Welsh legend [[Cunobelin|Cynfelin ap Tegfan]]) of the Catuvellauni died and war broke out between his sons and King [[Verica]] of the Atrebates. The Atrebates were defeated, their capital captured and their lands made subject to [[Togodumnus]], king of the Catuvellauni, ruling from [[Camulodunum]] ([[Colchester]]). Verica fled to [[Gaul]] and appealed for Roman aid. The Atrebates were allied with Rome during the invasion of Britain in AD&nbsp;43.{{sfn|Bird|2004|pp=21-24}}{{sfn|Bird|2004|pp=30-31}}

During the Roman era, the only important settlement within the historic area of Surrey was the London suburb of [[Southwark]] (now part of Greater London), but there were small towns at [[Staines]], [[Ewell]], Dorking, [[Croydon]] and [[Kingston upon Thames]].{{sfn|Bird|2004|pp=49-72}}Remains of Roman rural temples have been excavated on [[Farley Heath]] and near [[Wanborough, Surrey|Wanborough]] and [[Titsey]], and possible temple sites at [[Chiddingfold]], [[Betchworth]] and [[Godstone]].{{sfn|Bird|2004|pp=151-168}} The site of a Roman villa was discovered in 1892 on Broad Street Common by a local farmer; subsequent excavations discovered traces of a second villa nearby.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roman Remains – Villa and Farm, Broad Street Common |url=https://worplesdon-pc.gov.uk/museum/roman-remains-villa-and-farm-broad-street-common/ |website=Worplesdon Parish Council |access-date=29 October 2025}}</ref> The area was traversed by [[Stane Street (Chichester)|Stane Street]] and other Roman roads.{{sfn|Bird|2004|pp=37-48}}

=== Formation of Surrey ===
During the 5th and 6th centuries Surrey was conquered and settled by [[Saxons]]. The names of possible tribes inhabiting the area have been conjectured on the basis of place names. These include the {{lang|ang|Godhelmingas}} (around [[Godalming (hundred)|Godalming]]) and {{lang|ang|Woccingas}} (between Woking and [[Wokingham]] in Berkshire). It has also been speculated that the entries for the {{lang|ang|Nox gaga}} and {{lang|ang|Oht gaga}} peoples in the [[Tribal Hidage]] may refer to two groups living in the vicinity of Surrey. Together their lands were assessed at a total of 7,000 [[hide (unit)|hides]], equal to the assessment for [[Kingdom of Sussex|Sussex]] or [[Kingdom of Essex|Essex]].

Surrey may have formed part of a larger [[Middlesex|Middle Saxon]] kingdom or confederacy, also including areas north of the Thames. The name Surrey is derived from {{lang|ang|Sūþrīge}} (or {{lang|ang|Suthrige}}), meaning "southern region" (while [[Bede]] refers to it as {{lang|ang|Sudergeona}}){{sfn|Yorke|1990|p=47}} and this may originate in its status as the southern portion of the Middle Saxon territory.
{{sfn|Cannon|2009|p=618}}{{sfn|Drewett|Rudling|Gardiner|1988|p=275}}

If it ever existed, the Middle Saxon kingdom had disappeared by the 7th century, and Surrey became a frontier area disputed between the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Kent|Kent]], Essex, Sussex, [[Wessex]] and [[Mercia]], until its permanent absorption by Wessex in 825. Despite this fluctuating situation it retained its identity as an enduring territorial unit. During the 7th century Surrey became Christian and initially formed part of the East Saxon [[diocese of London]], indicating that it was under East Saxon rule at that time, but was later transferred to the West Saxon [[diocese of Winchester]]. Its most important religious institution throughout the [[Anglo-Saxon]] period and beyond was [[Chertsey Abbey]], founded in 666. At this point Surrey was evidently under Kentish domination, as the abbey was founded under the patronage of [[Ecgberht of Kent|King Ecgberht]] of Kent.{{sfn|Kirby|2000|p=36}}{{sfn|Kirby|2000|p=83}} However, a few years later at least part of it was subject to Mercia, since in 673–675 further lands were given to Chertsey Abbey by [[Frithuwald of Surrey|Frithuwald]], a local sub-king ({{lang|la|subregulus}}) ruling under the sovereignty of [[Wulfhere of Mercia]].{{sfn|Kirby|2000|pp=96-97}} A decade later Surrey passed into the hands of [[Caedwalla|King Caedwalla]] of Wessex, who also conquered Kent and Sussex, and founded a monastery at Farnham in 686.{{sfn|Kirby|2000|pp=102-103}}

The region remained under the control of Caedwalla's successor [[Ine of Wessex|Ine]] in the early 8th century.{{sfn|Kirby|2000|p=105}} Its political history for most of the 8th century is unclear, although West Saxon control may have broken down around 722, but by 784–785 it had passed into the hands of [[King Offa]] of Mercia.{{sfn|Kirby|2000|pp=111-112}}{{sfn|Kirby|2000|p=139}} Mercian rule continued until 825, when following his victory over the Mercians at the [[Battle of Ellandun]], [[King Egbert]] of Wessex seized control of Surrey, along with Sussex, Kent and Essex.{{sfn|Kirby|2000|p=152}}{{sfn|Kirby|2000|pp=155-156}}{{sfn|Swanton|2000|pp=60-61}} It was incorporated into Wessex as a [[shire]] and continued thereafter under the rule of the West Saxon kings, who eventually became kings of all of England.

==== Identified sub-kings of Surrey ====
*[[Frithuwold of Surrey|Frithuwald]] ({{circa|673–675}})
*Frithuric? ({{circa|675|686|lk=no}})

=== West Saxon and English shire ===

[[File:Surrey hundreds.svg|thumb|right|A map showing the traditional boundaries of Surrey ({{circa|800–1899|lk=no}}) and its constituent hundreds]]

In the 9th century England was afflicted, along with the rest of northwestern Europe, by the attacks of [[Norsemen|Scandinavian]] [[Vikings]]. Surrey's inland position shielded it from coastal raiding, so that it was not normally troubled except by the largest and most ambitious Scandinavian armies.

In 851 an exceptionally large invasion force of [[Danes]] arrived at the mouth of the Thames in a fleet of about 350 ships, which would have carried over 15,000 men. Having sacked [[Canterbury]] and London and defeated [[Beorhtwulf of Mercia|King Beorhtwulf]] of Mercia in battle, the Danes crossed the Thames into Surrey, but were slaughtered by a West Saxon army led by [[King Æthelwulf]] in the [[Battle of Aclea]], bringing the invasion to an end.{{sfn|Swanton|2000|pp=64-67}}

Two years later the men of Surrey marched into Kent to help their Kentish neighbours fight a raiding force at [[Thanet District|Thanet]], but suffered heavy losses including their [[ealdorman]], Huda.{{sfn|Swanton|2000|pp=64-67}} In 892 Surrey was the scene of another major battle when a large Danish army, variously reported at 200, 250 and 350 ship-loads, moved west from its encampment in Kent and raided in Hampshire and Berkshire. Withdrawing with their loot, the Danes were intercepted and defeated at Farnham by an army led by [[Alfred the Great]]'s son [[Edward the Elder|Edward, the future King Edward the Elder]], and fled across the Thames towards Essex.{{sfn|Swanton|2000|pp=84-85}}

Surrey remained safe from attack for over a century thereafter, due to its location and to the growing power of the West Saxon, later English, kingdom. [[Kingston upon Thames|Kingston]] was the scene for the coronations of [[Æthelstan]] in 924 and of [[Æthelred the Unready]] in 978, and, according to later tradition, also of other 10th-century Kings of England.{{sfn|Swanton|2000|p=105}}{{sfn|Swanton|2000|pp=122-123}} The renewed Danish attacks during the disastrous reign of Æthelred led to the devastation of Surrey by the army of [[Thorkell the Tall]], which ravaged all of southeastern England in 1009–1011.{{sfn|Swanton|2000|pp=139-141}} The climax of this wave of attacks came in 1016, which saw prolonged fighting between the forces of [[Edmund Ironside|King Edmund Ironside]] and the Danish king [[Cnut]], including an English victory over the Danes somewhere in northeastern Surrey, but ended with the conquest of England by Cnut.{{sfn|Swanton|2000|pp=150-151}}

Cnut's death in 1035 was followed by a period of political uncertainty, as the succession was disputed between his sons. In 1036 [[Alfred Ætheling|Alfred]], son of King Æthelred, returned from [[Normandy]], where he had been taken for safety as a child at the time of Cnut's conquest of England. It is uncertain what his intentions were, but after landing with a small retinue in Sussex he was met by [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex]], who escorted him in apparently friendly fashion to Guildford. Having taken lodgings there, Alfred's men were attacked as they slept and killed, mutilated or enslaved by Godwin's followers, while the prince himself was blinded and imprisoned, dying shortly afterwards. This must have contributed to the antipathy between Godwin and Alfred's brother [[Edward the Confessor]], who came to the throne in 1042.

This hostility peaked in 1051, when Godwin and [[House of Godwin|his sons]] were driven into exile; returning the following year, the men of Surrey rose to support them, along with those of Sussex, Kent, Essex and elsewhere, helping them secure their reinstatement and the banishment of the king's [[Normans|Norman]] entourage. The repercussions of this antagonism helped bring about the [[Norman Conquest]] of England in 1066.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uk.geocities.com/guildfordian2002/AngloSaxon/PrinceAlfred.htm |title=Martyr-Prince Alfred Of England |author=Vladimir Moss |access-date=16 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225020126/http://uk.geocities.com/guildfordian2002/AngloSaxon/PrinceAlfred.htm |archive-date=25 February 2007}}</ref>{{sfn|Swanton|2000|pp=158-160}}

The [[Domesday Book]] records that the largest landowners in Surrey (then ''Sudrie'')<ref>{{cite web |title=Current page: Surrey, page 1 |url=https://opendomesday.org/book/surrey/01/ |website=Open Domesday |access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref> at the end of Edward's reign were [[Chertsey Abbey]] and [[Harold Godwinson]], Earl of Wessex and later king, followed by the estates of King Edward himself. Apart from the abbey, most of whose lands were within the shire, Surrey was not the principal focus of any major landowner's holdings, a tendency which was to persist in later periods.{{#tag:ref|Domesday Book valued the Surrey estates of Chertsey Abbey in 1066 at £189 a year, the abbey's only other holdings being £11 worth in Berkshire. Harold's lands in Surrey were valued at £175 a year, while another £15 worth were still entered under the name of his late father Earl Godwin. The revenues of King Edward's Surrey estates totalled £117, Queen Edith's £76, the Archbishopric of Canterbury's £66 and the Bishopric of Winchester's £55, all fractions of vast national holdings. The earl with jurisdiction over Surrey, Harold's brother Leofwine, held only £17 there, from a national total of £290, whose greatest concentrations were in Kent and Sussex, while his mother, Godwin's widow Gytha, held £16 from a total of £590, chiefly clustered in Devon, Wiltshire and Sussex.

The other great landowners with Surrey estates were the thegns Ætsere, Ægelnoð and Osward. Ætsere held £61 in Surrey, from a total of £271 including £163 in Sussex, Ægelnoð held £40, from a total of £260 including £71 in Kent, £58 in Sussex and £50 in Oxfordshire, and Osward held £26, from a total of £109 including £65 in Kent, where he was also sheriff. Donald Henson, ''The English Elite in 1066: Gone but not forgotten'' (Hockwold-cum-Wilton 2001), pp. 20–23, 26–27, 32–34, 39, 49–50, 64–65, 70, 73, 85, 179–181.|group= n}} Given the vast and widespread landed interests and the national and international preoccupations of the monarchy and the earldom of Wessex, the Abbot of Chertsey was therefore probably the most important figure in the local elite.

The Anglo-Saxon period saw the emergence of the shire's internal division into 14 [[hundred (division)|hundreds]], which continued until [[Victorian era|Victorian]] times. These were the hundreds of [[Blackheath, Surrey (hundred)|Blackheath]], [[Brixton (hundred)|Brixton]], [[Copthorne (hundred)|Copthorne]], [[Effingham (half hundred)|Effingham Half-Hundred]], [[Elmbridge (hundred)|Elmbridge]], [[Farnham (hundred)|Farnham]], Godalming (hundred)|Godalming, [[Godley (hundred)|Godley]], [[Kingston (hundred)|Kingston]], [[Reigate (hundred)|Reigate]], [[Tandridge (hundred)|Tandridge]], [[Wallington (hundred)|Wallington]], [[Woking (hundred)|Woking]] and [[Wotton (hundred)|Wotton]].

==== Identified ''[[ealdormen]]'' of Surrey ====
*Wulfheard ({{circa|823|lk=no}})
*Huda (?–853)
*Æðelweard (late 10th century)
*Æðelmær (?–1016)

=== Later Medieval Surrey ===

After the [[Battle of Hastings]], the [[Norman people|Norman]] army advanced through Kent into Surrey, where they defeated an English force which attacked them at [[Southwark]] and then burned that suburb. Rather than try to attack London across the river, the Normans continued west through Surrey, crossed the Thames at [[Wallingford, Oxfordshire|Wallingford]] in Berkshire and descended on London from the north-west. As was the case across England, the native ruling class of Surrey was virtually eliminated by Norman seizure of land. Only one significant English landowner, the brother of the last English Abbot of Chertsey, remained by the time the Domesday survey was conducted in 1086.{{#tag:ref|This was Oswald, whose brother Wulfwold, Abbot of Chertsey and Bath, died in 1084. Oswald was one of the small number of English landowners who managed to increase their holdings in the wake of the conquest: his estates, centred on Effingham, were valued at £18 a year in 1066, but the acquisition of additional manors raised this to £35 by 1086. His descendants, the de La Leigh family, relinquished the majority of their Surrey lands in the 12th century, but remained landowners in the county until the early 14th century. One of them, William de La Leigh, served as Sheriff of Surrey in 1267.|group= n}} At that time the largest landholding in Surrey, as in many other parts of the country, was the expanded royal estate, while the next largest holding belonged to [[Richard fitz Gilbert]], founder of the [[de Clare]] family.

[[File:RunnymedeMagnacartaisle.jpg|left|thumb|[[Runnymede]], where [[Magna Carta]] was sealed|alt=wooden gate with field and low hill beyond]]
In 1088, [[William II of England|King William II]] granted [[William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey|William de Warenne]] the title of [[Earl of Surrey]] as a reward for Warenne's loyalty during the [[Rebellion of 1088|rebellion that followed the death of William I]]. When the male line of the Warennes became extinct in the 14th century, the earldom was inherited by the [[Fitzalan]] [[Earls of Arundel]]. The Fitzalan line of Earls of Surrey died out in 1415, but after other short-lived revivals in the 15th century the title was conferred in 1483 on the [[Howard family]], who still hold it. However, Surrey was not a major focus of any of these families' interests.

[[File:Guildford - Great Tower - geograph.org.uk - 3912930.jpg|thumb|alt=roofless stone castle keep in parkland]|[[Guildford Castle]]]]
[[Guildford Castle]], one of many fortresses originally established by the Normans to help them subdue the country, was rebuilt in stone and developed as a royal palace in the 12th century.{{#tag:ref|Besides the castles built or rebuilt in stone, remains of Norman castles of earth and timber have been identified at Abinger, Cranleigh, Thunderfield, and Walton-on-the-Hill.{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|pp=46-48}}|group= n}} [[Farnham Castle]] was built during the 12th century as a residence for the [[Bishop of Winchester]], while other stone castles were constructed in the same period at [[Bletchingley Castle|Bletchingley]] by the de Clares and at [[Reigate Castle|Reigate]] by the Warennes.{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|pp=46-48}}

During [[John of England|King John]]'s [[First Barons' War|struggle with the barons]], [[Magna Carta]] was issued in June 1215 at [[Runnymede]] near [[Egham]]. John's efforts to reverse this concession reignited the war, and in 1216 the barons invited [[Louis VIII of France|Prince Louis]] of [[France]] to take the throne. Having landed in Kent and been welcomed in London, he advanced across Surrey to attack John, then at [[Winchester]], occupying Reigate and Guildford castles along the way.

Guildford Castle later became one of the favourite residences of [[Henry III of England|King Henry III]], who considerably expanded the palace there. During the [[Second Barons' War|baronial revolt]] against Henry, in 1264 the rebel army of [[Simon de Montfort]] passed southwards through Surrey on their way to the [[Battle of Lewes]] in Sussex. Although the rebels were victorious, soon after the battle royal forces captured and destroyed Bletchingley Castle, whose owner [[Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester|Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester]], was de Montfort's most powerful ally.

By the 14th century, castles were of dwindling military importance, but remained a mark of social prestige, leading to the construction of castles at [[Starborough Castle|Starborough]] near [[Lingfield, Surrey|Lingfield]] by [[John de Cobham, 2nd Baron Cobham (of Kent)|Lord Cobham]], and at [[Betchworth Castle|Betchworth]] by [[John Fitzalan, 1st Baron Arundel|John Fitzalan]], whose father had recently inherited the Earldom of Surrey. Though Reigate and Bletchingley remained modest settlements, the role of their castles as local centres for the two leading aristocratic interests in Surrey had enabled them to gain [[Ancient borough|borough]] status by the early 13th century. As a result, they gained representation in [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] when it became established towards the end of that century, alongside the more substantial urban settlements of Guildford and Southwark.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/bletchingley |publisher=History of Parliament Trust |title=Bletchingley 1386–1421 |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517075519/http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/bletchingley |archive-date=17 May 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/reigate |publisher=History of Parliament Trust |title=Reigate 1386–1421 |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416125942/http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/reigate |archive-date=16 April 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Surrey's third sizeable town, Kingston, despite its size, borough status and historical association with the monarchy, did not gain parliamentary representation until 1832.

Surrey had little political or economic significance in the Middle Ages. Its agricultural wealth was limited by the infertility of most of its soils, and it was not the main power-base of any important aristocratic family, nor the seat of a bishopric.<ref>Brandon and Short, ''The South East from AD 1000'', pp. 8–10, 62–64, 127–131.</ref> The London suburb of Southwark was a major urban settlement, and the proximity of the capital boosted the wealth and population of the surrounding area, but urban development elsewhere was sapped by the overshadowing predominance of London and by the lack of direct access to the sea. Population pressure in the 12th and 13th centuries initiated the gradual clearing of the Weald, the forest spanning the borders of Surrey, Sussex and Kent, which had hitherto been left undeveloped due to the difficulty of farming on its heavy clay soil.{{sfn|Brandon|1998|pp=15-18}}{{sfn|Brandon|1998|pp=37-42}}

Surrey's most significant source of prosperity in the later Middle Ages was the production of woollen cloth, which emerged during that period as England's main export industry. The county was an early centre of English textile manufacturing, benefiting from the presence of deposits of [[fuller's earth]], the rare mineral composite important in the process of finishing cloth, around Reigate and [[Nutfield, Surrey|Nutfield]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/Reigate |publisher=History of Parliament Trust |title=Reigate 1386–1421 |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416125942/http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/reigate |archive-date=16 April 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The industry in Surrey was focused on Guildford, which gave its name to a variety of cloth, ''gilforte'', which was exported widely across Europe and the Middle East and imitated by manufacturers elsewhere in Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/Guildford |publisher=History of Parliament Trust |title=Guildford 1386–1421 |access-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416125804/http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/constituencies/guildford |archive-date=16 April 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, as the English cloth industry expanded, Surrey was outstripped by other growing regions of production.

[[File:Waverleyabbeydormitory.jpg|thumb|left|Ruins of the monks' dormitory at [[Waverley Abbey]]|alt=grey stone walls leading to an end wall with three tall window openings]]
Though Surrey was not the scene of serious fighting in the various rebellions and civil wars of the period, armies from Kent heading for London via Southwark passed through what were then the extreme north-eastern fringes of Surrey during the [[Peasants' Revolt]] of 1381 and [[Cade's Rebellion]] in 1450, and at various stages of the [[Wars of the Roses]] in 1460, 1469 and 1471. The upheaval of 1381 also involved widespread local unrest in Surrey, as was the case all across south-eastern England, and some recruits from Surrey joined the Kentish rebel army.

In 1082 a [[Cluniac]] abbey was founded at [[Bermondsey Abbey|Bermondsey]] by Alwine, a wealthy English citizen of London. [[Waverley Abbey]] near Farnham, founded in 1128, was the first [[Cistercian]] monastery in England. Over the next quarter-century monks spread out from here to found new houses, creating a network of twelve monasteries descended from Waverley across southern and central England. The 12th and early 13th centuries also saw the establishment of [[Augustinian Order|Augustinian]] priories at [[Merton Priory|Merton]], [[Newark Priory|Newark]], [[Tandridge Priory|Tandridge]], [[Southwark Cathedral|Southwark]] and Reigate. A [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] friary was established at [[Guildford Black Friary|Guildford]] by Henry III's widow [[Eleanor of Provence]], in memory of her grandson who had died at Guildford in 1274. In the 15th century a [[Carthusian]] priory was founded by [[King Henry V]] at [[Sheen Priory|Sheen]]. These would all perish, along with the still important [[Benedictine]] abbey of [[Chertsey Abbey|Chertsey]], in the 16th-century [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]].

Now fallen into disuse, some English counties had nicknames for those raised there such as a [[Yorkshire|'tyke' from Yorkshire]], or a [[Yellowbelly (Lincolnshire)|'yellowbelly']] from [[Lincolnshire]]. In the case of Surrey, the term was a 'Surrey capon', from Surrey's role in the later Middle Ages as the county where chickens were fattened up for the London meat markets.{{cn|date=July 2024}}

=== Early Modern Surrey ===
[[File:Nonsuch Palace watercolour detail.jpg|thumb|[[Nonsuch Palace]]|alt=watercolour of long building flanked by two large cylindrical towers with a clock on a smaller central tower]]
Under the early [[Tudor dynasty|Tudor]] kings, magnificent royal palaces were constructed in northeastern Surrey, conveniently close to London. At [[Richmond Palace|Richmond]] an existing royal residence was rebuilt on a grand scale under [[King Henry VII]], who also founded a [[Franciscan]] [[Sheen Friary|friary]] nearby in 1499. The still more spectacular palace of [[Nonsuch Palace|Nonsuch]] was later built for [[Henry VIII]] near Ewell.{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|pp=197-198}} The palace at Guildford Castle had fallen out of use long before, but a royal hunting lodge existed outside the town. All these have since been demolished.

During the [[Cornish Rebellion of 1497]], the rebels heading for London briefly occupied Guildford and fought a skirmish with a government detachment on Guildown outside the town, before marching on to defeat at [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]] in Kent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.btinternet.com/~john.whitbourn/Cornish.htm |title=The Day the Cornish Invaded Guildford |publisher=The Surrey Advertiser |date=2 June 1989 |access-date=16 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070621175054/http://www.btinternet.com/~john.whitbourn/Cornish.htm |archive-date=21 June 2007}}</ref> The forces of [[Wyatt's Rebellion]] in 1554 passed through what was then northeastern Surrey on their way from Kent to London, briefly occupying Southwark and then crossing the Thames at Kingston after failing to storm London Bridge.

[[File:Cantium southsexia surria meddlesexia Atlas.jpg|thumb|250px|Hand-drawn map of Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Middlesex from 1575]]

Surrey's cloth industry declined in the 16th century and collapsed in the 17th, harmed by falling standards and competition from more effective producers in other parts of England. The iron industry in the Weald, whose rich deposits had been exploited since prehistoric times, expanded and spread from its base in Sussex into Kent and Surrey after 1550.{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|pp=186-190}} New furnace technology stimulated further growth in the early 17th century, but this hastened the extinction of the business as the mines were worked out.{{sfn|Brandon|1998|pp=55-57}} However, this period also saw the emergence of important new industries, centred on the valley of the [[River Tillingbourne|Tillingbourne]], south-east of Guildford, which often adapted watermills originally built for the now moribund cloth industry. The production of brass goods and wire in this area was relatively short-lived, falling victim to competitors in [[the Midlands]] in the mid-17th century, but the manufacture of paper and [[gunpowder]] proved more enduring. For a time in the mid-17th century the Surrey mills were the main producers of gunpowder in England.{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|pp=185-190}}{{sfn|Brandon|1998|pp=51-55}}{{sfn|Brandon|1998|pp=60-61}}{{sfn|Crocker|Crocker|2000|pp=5-40}}

A glass industry also developed in the mid-16th century on the southwestern borders of Surrey, but had collapsed by 1630, as the wood-fired Surrey glassworks were surpassed by emerging coal-fired works elsewhere in England.{{sfn|Brandon|1998|pp=57-58}}{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|pp=185-190}} The [[Wey Navigation]], opened in 1653, was one of England's first canal systems.{{sfn|Hadfield|1969|pp=118-119}}{{sfn|Vine|1996|p=10}}

[[File:George Abbot from NPG cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[George Abbot (bishop)|George Abbot]]|alt=17th century middle-aged bearded man in black cap and jacket over a white shirt]]
[[George Abbot (bishop)|George Abbot]], the son of a Guildford clothworker, served as [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] in 1611–1633. In 1619 he founded [[Abbot's Hospital]], an [[almshouse]] in Guildford, which is still operating. He also made unsuccessful efforts to revitalise the local cloth industry. One of his brothers, [[Robert Abbot (bishop)|Robert]], became [[Bishop of Salisbury]], while another, [[Maurice Abbot|Maurice]], was a founding shareholder of the [[East India Company]] who became the company's Governor and later [[Lord Mayor of London]].

Southwark expanded rapidly in this period, and by 1600, if considered as a separate entity, it was the second-largest urban area in England, behind only London itself. Parts of it were outside the jurisdiction of the government of the [[City of London]], and as a result the area of [[Bankside]] became London's principal entertainment district, since the social control exercised there by the local authorities of Surrey was less effective and restrictive than that of the City authorities.{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|pp=153-154}} Bankside was the scene of the golden age of [[English Renaissance theatre|Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre]], with the work of playwrights including [[William Shakespeare]], [[Christopher Marlowe]], [[Ben Jonson]] and [[John Webster]] performed in its playhouses.{{sfn|Brandon|1998|p=76}} The leading actor and impresario [[Edward Alleyn]] founded the [[College of God's Gift]] in [[Dulwich]] with an endowment including an art collection, which was later expanded and opened to the public in 1817, becoming [[Dulwich Picture Gallery|Britain's first public art gallery]].
[[File:Hollar Long View detail.png|thumb|right|The second [[Globe theatre]], built 1614|alt=hand drawn view of buildings including a circular one with another building within]]

Surrey almost entirely escaped the direct impact of fighting during the [[First English Civil War|main phase]] of the [[English Civil War]] in 1642–1646. The local [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] gentry led by [[Sir Richard Onslow]] were able to secure the county without difficulty on the outbreak of war. Farnham Castle was briefly occupied by the advancing [[Cavaliers|Royalists]] in late 1642, but was easily stormed by the Parliamentarians under Sir [[William Waller]]. A new Royalist offensive in late 1643 saw skirmishing around Farnham between Waller's forces and [[Ralph Hopton]]'s Royalists, but these brief incursions into the western fringes of Surrey marked the limits of Royalist advances on the county. At the end of 1643 Surrey combined with Kent, Sussex and Hampshire to form the [[South-Eastern Association]], a military federation modelled on Parliament's existing [[Eastern Association]].{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|p=148}}

In the uneasy peace that followed the Royalists' defeat, a political crisis in summer 1647 saw [[Sir Thomas Fairfax]]'s [[New Model Army]] pass through Surrey on their way to occupy London, and subsequent billeting of troops in the county caused considerable discontent.{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|p=148}} During the brief [[Second English Civil War|Second Civil War]] of 1648, the [[Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland|Earl of Holland]] entered Surrey in July, hoping to ignite a Royalist revolt. He raised his standard at Kingston and advanced south, but found little support. After confused manoeuvres between Reigate and Dorking as Parliamentary troops closed in, his force of 500 men fled northwards and was overtaken and routed at Kingston.

Surrey had a central role in the history of the radical political movements unleashed by the civil war. In October 1647 the first manifesto of the movement that became known as the [[Levellers]], ''[[The Case of the Armie Truly Stated]]'', was drafted at Guildford by the [[Agitators|elected representatives]] of army regiments and civilian radicals from London. This document combined specific grievances with wider demands for constitutional change on the basis of [[popular sovereignty]]. It formed the template for the more systematic and radical ''[[Agreement of the People]]'', drafted by the same men later that month. It also led to the [[Putney Debates]] shortly afterwards, in which its signatories met with [[Oliver Cromwell]] and other [[Grandee (New Model Army)|senior officers]] in the Surrey village of [[Putney]], where the army had established its headquarters, to argue over the future political constitution of England. In 1649 the [[Diggers]], led by [[Gerrard Winstanley]], established their communal settlement at [[St. George's Hill]] near [[Weybridge]] to implement egalitarian ideals of common ownership, but were eventually driven out by the local landowners through violence and litigation. A smaller Digger commune was then established near [[Cobham, Surrey|Cobham]], but suffered the same fate in 1650.<ref name=Winstanley_ODNB>{{Cite ODNB |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/29755 |title=Winstanley, Gerrard |first1=J. C. |last1=Davis |first2=J. D. |last2=Alsop}}</ref>{{sfn|Campbell|2009|p=129}}

=== Modern history ===

Prior to the [[Reform Act 1832]], Surrey returned fourteen [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament]] (MPs), two representing the county and two each from the six boroughs of Bletchingley, [[Gatton, Surrey|Gatton]], Guildford, [[Haslemere]], Reigate and Southwark. For two centuries before the Reform Act, the dominant political network in Surrey was that of the [[Earl of Onslow|Onslows]] of [[Clandon Park]], a gentry family established in the county from the early 17th century, who were raised to the [[Peerage of Great Britain|peerage]] in 1716. Members of the family won at least one of Surrey's two county seats in all but three of the 30 general elections between 1628 and 1768, while they took one or both of the seats for their local borough of Guildford in every election from 1660 to 1830, usually representing the [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig Party]] after its emergence in the late 1670s. Successive heads of the family held the post of [[Lord Lieutenant of Surrey]] continuously from 1716 to 1814.

[[File:Kew Palace from Thomas Dugdale's Curiosities of Great Britain (1835).jpg|thumb|left|[[Kew Palace]] in 1835|alt=drawing of large seven bay three storey building]]
One of the principal residences of the British monarchy in the 18th century was [[Kew Palace]] in north Surrey, leased by Queen [[Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach]] in 1728 and inhabited by her son [[Frederick, Prince of Wales]], and later by King [[George III]] and Queen [[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]. After the latter's death at the palace in 1818 it was sold. The White House was demolished about this time, but the Dutch House survives and is now a museum.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|1992|p=443}}

In 1765 the [[Richmond Theatre (Surrey)|Richmond Theatre]] was built in Surrey under the supervision of [[David Garrick]]. It was modelled after the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]] and served as one of Surrey's main theatre's until it was demolished in 1884.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Celebrated Old Playhouse: The History of the Richmond Theatre in Surrey from 1765 to 1884|location=London|publisher=Henry Vickers|year=1886|first=Frederick|last=Bingham}}</ref>

Until the modern era Surrey, apart from its northeastern corner, was quite sparsely populated in comparison with many parts of southern England, and remained somewhat rustic despite its proximity to the capital. Communications began to improve, and the influence of London to increase, with the development of [[Turnpike trust|turnpike]] roads and a [[stagecoach]] system in the 18th century.{{sfn|Brandon|1998|pp=84-88}}{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|pp=247-251}} A far more profound transformation followed with the arrival of the railways, beginning in the late 1830s.{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|pp=290-291}} The availability of rapid transport enabled prosperous London workers to settle all across Surrey and travel daily to work in the capital. This phenomenon of commuting brought explosive growth to Surrey's population and wealth, and tied its economy and society inextricably to London.

There was rapid expansion in existing towns like Guildford, Farnham, and most spectacularly [[Croydon]], while new towns such as Woking and [[Redhill, Surrey|Redhill]] emerged beside the railway lines.{{sfn|Brandon|1998|pp=118-121}}{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|pp=310-313}} The huge numbers of incomers to the county and the transformation of rural, farming communities into a "[[commuter belt]]" contributed to a decline in the traditional local culture, including the gradual demise of the distinctive [[Surrey dialect]]. This may have survived among the "Surrey Men" into the late 19th century, but is now extinct.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

[[File:Woking Crematorium - geograph.org.uk - 161645.jpg|thumb|Britain's first crematorium, in the [[Borough of Woking]]|alt=chapel-style red brick building with steep pitched slate roof]]
Meanwhile, London itself spread swiftly across north-eastern Surrey. In 1800 it extended only to [[Vauxhall]]; a century later the city's growth had reached as far as [[Putney]] and [[Streatham]]. This expansion was reflected in the creation of the [[County of London]] in 1889, detaching the areas subsumed by the city from Surrey. The expansion of London continued in the 20th century, engulfing Croydon, Kingston and many smaller settlements. This led to a further contraction of Surrey in 1965 with the creation of Greater London, under the [[London Government Act 1963]]; however, [[Staines]] and [[Sunbury-on-Thames]], previously in Middlesex, were transferred to Surrey, extending the county across the Thames.{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|pp=274-290}} Surrey's boundaries were altered again in 1974 when [[Gatwick Airport]] was transferred to West Sussex.{{sfn|Gwynne|1990|p=1}}

In 1849 [[Brookwood Cemetery]] was established near Woking to serve the population of London, connected to the capital by [[London Necropolis Railway|its own railway service]]. It soon developed into the largest burial ground in the world{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}. Woking was also the site of Britain's [[Woking Crematorium|first crematorium]], which opened in 1878, and its [[Shah Jahan Mosque, Woking|first mosque]], founded in 1889.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} In 1881 Godalming became the first town in the world with a public electricity supply.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tarplee |first1=Peter |year=2007 |title=Some public utilities in Surrey: Electricity and gas |url=https://www.surreyarchaeology.org.uk/sites/default/files/Surrey%20History%207-5.pdf |journal=Surrey History |volume=7 |issue=5 |pages=262–272 |access-date=10 January 2021 |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205224313/https://www.surreyarchaeology.org.uk/sites/default/files/Surrey%20History%207-5.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

The eastern part of Surrey was transferred from the [[Diocese of Winchester]] to that of [[Diocese of Rochester|Rochester]] in 1877. In 1905 this area was separated to form a new [[Diocese of Southwark]]. The rest of the county, together with part of eastern Hampshire, was separated from Winchester in 1927 to become the [[Diocese of Guildford]], whose [[Guildford Cathedral|cathedral]] was consecrated in 1961.

[[File:Guildford Cathedral, Stag Hill, Guildford (Seen from Onslow Village) (May 2014) (1).JPG|thumb|[[Guildford Cathedral]], designed by [[Edward Maufe]]|alt=tall and long red brick cathedral with green roofs and square tower topped with gold angel]]
During the later 19th century Surrey became important in the development of architecture in Britain and the wider world. Its traditional building forms made a significant contribution to the vernacular revival architecture associated with the [[Arts and Crafts Movement]], and would exert a lasting influence. The prominence of Surrey peaked in the 1890s, when it was the focus for globally important developments in domestic architecture, in particular the early work of [[Edwin Lutyens]], who grew up in the county and was greatly influenced by its traditional styles and materials.{{sfn|Nairn|Pevsner|Cherry|1971|pp=68-73}}{{sfn|Brandon|1998|pp=104-107}}{{sfn|Brandon|Short|1990|pp=353-355}}

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the demise of Surrey's long-standing industries manufacturing paper and gunpowder. Most of the county's paper mills closed in the years after 1870, and the last survivor shut in 1928. Gunpowder production fell victim to the [[First World War]], which brought about a huge expansion of the British munitions industry, followed by sharp contraction and consolidation when the war ended, leading to the closure of the Surrey powder mills.

[[File:XX9591.jpg|thumb|left|1924 Dennis open top double decker bus]]
New industrial developments included the establishment of the vehicle manufacturers [[Dennis Specialist Vehicles|Dennis Brothers]] in Guildford in 1895. Beginning as a maker of bicycles and then of cars, the firm soon shifted into the production of commercial and utility vehicles, becoming internationally important as a manufacturer of fire engines and buses. Though much reduced in size and despite multiple changes of ownership, this business continued to operate in Guildford until 2020.<ref>{{cite news |title=ADL confirms upwards of 160 job losses as restructure begins |url=https://cbwmagazine.com/adl-confirms-upwards-of-160-job-losses-as-restructure-begins/ |access-date=3 August 2025 |work=Coach & Bus Week |date=21 August 2020 |location=Peterborough}}</ref> Kingston and nearby [[Ham, London|Ham]] became a centre of aircraft manufacturing, with the establishment in 1912 of the [[Sopwith Aviation Company]] and in 1920 of its successor H.G. Hawker Engineering, which later became [[Hawker Aviation]] and then [[Hawker Siddeley]].

[[File:Dragons teeth.jpg|thumb|"Dragon's teeth" antitank obstacles by the [[River Wey]]|alt=lines of concrete pyramids in woodland]]
During the [[Second World War]] a section of the [[GHQ Line|GHQ Stop Line]], a system of [[Bunker#Pillbox|pillboxes]], gun emplacements, anti-tank obstacles and other fortifications, was constructed along the North Downs. This line, running from [[Somerset]] to [[Yorkshire]], was intended as the principal fixed defence of London and the industrial core of England against the threat of invasion. German invasion plans envisaged that the main thrust of their advance inland would cross the North Downs at the gap in the ridge formed by the Wey valley, thus colliding with the defence line around Guildford.

Between the wars [[Croydon Airport]], opened in 1920, served as the main airport for London, but it was superseded after the Second World War by [[Heathrow]], and closed in 1959. [[Gatwick Airport]], where commercial flights began in 1933, expanded greatly in the 1950s and 1960s, but the area occupied by the airport was transferred from Surrey to West Sussex in 1974.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

In June 1972, [[British European Airways Flight 548]] crashed near [[Staines]] just after taking off from Heathrow Airport.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/4-1973%20G-ARPI.pdf |title=Civil Aircraft Accident Report 4/73: Trident I G-ARPI: Report of the Public Inquiry into the Causes and Circumstances of the Accident near Staines on 18 June 1972 |publisher=Accident Investigation Branch, Department of Trade and Industry. HMSO |location=London |year=1973 |access-date=24 October 2021 |archive-date=5 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005005649/http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=%2F4-1973%20G-ARPI.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> This remains the worst air accident in the UK.

== Historic architecture and monuments ==
[[File:Bell Barrow, Horsell Common, Woking.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bronze Age Britain|Bronze Age]] [[bell barrow]] on [[Horsell Common]] near Woking<ref>{{NHLE|num=1009483|desc=Bell barrow and disc barrow on Horsell Common|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>|alt=mound covered with bracken and heather with coniferous forest beyond]]
Few traces of the ancient British and Roman periods survive in Surrey. There are a number of [[round barrow]]s and [[bell barrow]]s in various locations, mostly dating to the [[Bronze Age]]. Remains of [[Iron Age]] [[hillfort]]s exist at [[Holmbury Hill]], [[Hascombe Hill]], [[Capel, Surrey#Anstiebury|Anstiebury]] (near [[Capel, Surrey|Capel]]), [[Dry Hill (Surrey)|Dry Hill]] (near [[Lingfield, Surrey|Lingfield]]), [[St. Ann's Hill, Chertsey|St Ann's Hill]] ([[Chertsey]]) and [[St George's Hill]] ([[Weybridge]]).{{sfn|Drewett|Rudling|Gardiner|1988|pp=157-161}} Most of these sites were created in the 1st century BC and many were re-occupied during the middle of the 1st century AD.{{sfn|Dyer|1982|pp=235-239}} Only fragments of [[Stane Street (Chichester)|Stane Street]] and [[Ermine Street]], the [[Roman roads]] which crossed the county, remain.

Anglo-Saxon elements survive in a number of Surrey churches, notably at Guildford ([[St Mary's Church, Guildford|St Mary]]), Godalming ([[Church of St. Peter & St. Paul, Godalming|St Peter & St Paul]]), Stoke D'Abernon ([[St Mary's Church, Stoke d'Abernon|St Mary]]), [[Thursley]], [[Witley]], [[Compton, Guildford|Compton]] and [[Albury, Surrey|Albury]] (in ''Old Albury'').<ref>Nairn, Pevsner and Cherry, ''The Buildings of England: Surrey'', pp. 91, 166, 255–256, 273, 465, 484–485, 529.</ref>

Numerous medieval churches exist in Surrey, but the county's parish churches are typically relatively small and simple, and experienced particularly widespread destruction and remodelling of their form in the course of [[Victorian restoration]]. Important medieval<ref>See their highest grade I listings when searching for the places on the [http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/mapsearch.aspx English Heritage Listed Buildings map] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424060625/http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/mapsearch.aspx |date=24 April 2012 }}</ref> church interiors survive at [[Chaldon]], [[Lingfield, Surrey|Lingfield]], [[Stoke D'Abernon]], [[Compton, Guildford|Compton]] and [[Dunsfold]]. Large monastic churches fell into ruin after their institutions were dissolved, although fragments of [[Waverley Abbey]] and [[Newark Priory]] survive. Southwark Priory, no longer in Surrey has survived, though much altered, and is now [[Southwark Cathedral]]. Farnham Castle largely retains its medieval structure, while the keep and fragments of the curtain walls and palace buildings survive at Guildford Castle.<ref>Nairn, Pevsner and Cherry, ''The Buildings of England: Surrey'', pp. 25–35, 140–141, 166–168, 200–201, 347–349, 380–381, 465–469, 502–504.</ref>

Very little non-military secular architecture survives in Surrey from earlier than the 15th century. Wholly or partially surviving houses and barns from that century, with considerable later modifications, include those at [[Wanborough Manor]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Alexander |first1=Matthew |title=The Great Barn at Wanborough |publisher=Guildford County Council}}</ref> [[Bletchingley]], [[Littleton, Spelthorne|Littleton]], [[East Horsley]], [[Ewhurst, Surrey|Ewhurst]], [[Dockenfield]], [[Lingfield, Surrey|Lingfield]], [[Limpsfield]], [[Oxted]], [[Crowhurst Place]], [[Haslemere]] and [[Old Surrey Hall]].<ref>Nairn, Pevsner and Cherry, ''The Buildings of England: Surrey'', pp. 30, 35–36, 115–116, 177, 194, 227, 307, 344–345, 349–350, 352, 396, 403–404.</ref>

[[File:Abbot Hospital, Guildford, front (perspective adjusts).JPG|thumb|Abbot's Hospital, Guildford]]Major examples of [[Tudor period|16th-century]] architecture include the grand mid-century country houses of [[Loseley Park]] and [[Sutton Place, Surrey|Sutton Place]] and the old building of the [[Royal Grammar School, Guildford]], founded in 1509.<ref>Nairn, Pevsner and Cherry, ''The Buildings of England: Surrey'', pp. 278, 353–356, 476–479.</ref> A considerable number of smaller houses and [[public house]]s of the 16th century are also still standing. From the 17th century the number of surviving buildings proliferates further. [[Abbot's Hospital]], founded in 1619, is a grand edifice built in the [[Tudor architecture|Tudor style]], despite its date. More characteristic examples of major 17th-century building include [[West Horsley Place]], [[Slyfield Manor]], and the [[Guildford Guildhall|Guildhall]] in Guildford.<ref>Nairn, Pevsner and Cherry, ''The Buildings of England: Surrey'', pp. 36–40, 42–47, 275–276, 278–280, 459–460, 512–513.</ref>

== Local government ==

=== History ===
{{Infobox historic subdivision|
| Name                   = Surrey
| HQ                     = [[Newington, London|Newington]] 1889–1893<br>[[Kingston upon Thames]] 1893–2020<br>[[Reigate]] since 2020
| Status                 = [[Administrative county]]
| Start                  = {{circa|825|lk=no}}
| End                    = 
| Replace                = 
| image                  = Flag of Surrey in Guildford.jpg
| image_caption          = [[Flag of Surrey|The flag of Surrey]] flown at the [[Guildford Guildhall]], 2022
| Civic                  = [[File:Surrey shield.svg|150px|The coat of arms of Surrey County Council]]
| PopulationFirst        = 452,218<ref>Census of England and Wales 1891, General Report, Table III: Administrative counties and county boroughs</ref>
| PopulationFirstYear    = 1891
| PopulationLast         = 1,002,832<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10152902 |title=Surrey AdmC through time - Census tables with data for the Administrative County |access-date=17 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070827022435/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10152902 |archive-date=27 August 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| PopulationLastYear     = 1971
}}

The [[Local Government Act 1888]] reorganised county-level local government throughout England and Wales. Accordingly, the [[administrative county]] of Surrey was formed in 1889 when the Provisional Surrey County Council first met, consisting of 19 [[aldermen]] and 57 [[councillors]]. The county council assumed the administrative responsibilities previously exercised by the county's [[justice of the peace|justices]] in [[quarter sessions]]. The county had revised boundaries, with the north east of the historic county bordering the [[City of London]] becoming part of a new [[County of London]]. These areas now form the London Boroughs of [[London Borough of Lambeth|Lambeth]], [[London Borough of Southwark|Southwark]] and [[London Borough of Wandsworth|Wandsworth]], and the [[Penge Urban District|Penge]] area of the [[London Borough of Bromley]]. At the same time, the [[County Borough of Croydon|borough of Croydon]] became a [[county borough]], outside the jurisdiction of the county council.

For purposes other than local government the administrative county of Surrey and county borough of Croydon continued to form a "county of Surrey" to which a [[Lord Lieutenant]] and [[Custos Rotulorum of Surrey|Custos Rotulorum]] (chief [[magistrate]]) and a [[High Sheriff of Surrey|High Sheriff]] were appointed.

Surrey had been administered from [[Newington, London|Newington]] since the 1790s, and the county council was initially based in the sessions house there. As Newington was included in the County of London, it lay outside the area administered by the council, and a site for a new county hall within the administrative county was sought. By 1890 six towns were being considered: Epsom, Guildford, Kingston, Redhill, [[Surbiton]] and Wimbledon.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Times |location=London |date=27 March 1890 |title=Surrey County Council. |page=13}}</ref> In 1891 it was decided to build the new [[County Hall, Kingston upon Thames|County Hall]] at Kingston, and the building opened in 1893,<ref>David Robinson, ''History of County Hall'', Surrey County Council</ref> but this site was also overtaken by the growing London conurbation, and by the 1930s most of the north of the county had been built over, becoming [[Outer London|outer suburbs of London]], although continuing to form part of Surrey administratively.

In 1960 the report of the [[Herbert Commission]] recommended that much of north Surrey (including Kingston and Croydon) be included in a new "Greater London". These recommendations were enacted in highly modified form in 1965 by the [[London Government Act 1963]]. The areas that now form the London Boroughs of [[London Borough of Croydon|Croydon]], [[Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames|Kingston]], [[London Borough of Merton|Merton]], and [[London Borough of Sutton|Sutton]] and that part of [[London Borough of Richmond upon Thames|Richmond]] south of the River Thames, were transferred from Surrey to Greater London. At the same time part of the county of [[Middlesex]], which had been abolished by the legislation, was added to Surrey. This area now forms the borough of Spelthorne.

Further local government reform under the [[Local Government Act 1972]] took place in 1974. The 1972 Act abolished administrative counties and introduced [[non-metropolitan counties]] in their place. The boundaries of the non-metropolitan county of Surrey were similar to those of the administrative county with the exception of [[Gatwick Airport]] and some surrounding land which was transferred to West Sussex. It was originally proposed that the parishes of Horley and [[Charlwood]] would become part of West Sussex; however this met fierce local opposition and it was reversed by the [[Charlwood and Horley Act 1974]].

=== Today ===
Following the elections of May 2021 the County Councillors' party affiliations were as follows:<ref>{{cite news |url=https://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/mgElectionResults.aspx?ID=16&RPID=44867600 |work=Surrey County Council |title=County Council Election 2021 - Thursday, 6 May 2021 |date=6 May 2021 |access-date=3 February 2022 |archive-date=3 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203145351/https://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/mgElectionResults.aspx?ID=16&RPID=44867600 |url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan=2 | Party
! Seats
|-
! style="background-color: #0087DC" |
| [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| align=right | 47
|-
! style="background-color: #DDDDDD" |
| [[Independent (politician)|Residents Association/Independent]]
| align=right | 16
|-
! style="background-color: #FDBB30" |
| [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]
| align=right | 14
|-
! style="background-color: #99CC33" |
| [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green]]
| align=right | 2
|-
! style="background-color: #DC241f" |
| [[Labour (UK)|Labour]]
| align=right | 2
|}

As of 2 May 2019, the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] local councillors controlled 4 out of 11 councils in Surrey, the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] controlled Mole Valley, the [[Residents Associations of Epsom and Ewell]] controlled Epsom and Ewell, and the remaining 5 are in [[No Overall Control]]. Of the five No Overall Control councils, Elmbridge and Waverley were both run by coalitions of Residents and Liberal Democrats, Guildford was run by a Liberal Democrats minority administration, and Tandridge and Woking were both run by Conservative minority administrations.

As part of the proposed local government reorganisation in 2026, the existing twelve councils would be amalgamated into two unitary councils, East and West Surrey. [[East Surrey]] would consist of the former boroughs of Elmbridge, Mole Valley, Epsom and Ewell, Reigate and Banstead, and Tandridge. [[West Surrey]] would comprise Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Runnymede, Woking, Guildford and Waverley. The change, once brought into law by parliament, would take effect in April 2027.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 October 2025|accessdate=28 October 2025|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/surrey-residents-to-benefit-from-improved-public-services|title=Surrey residents to benefit from improved public services
|website=gov.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Caulfield |first1=Chris |title=Surrey to be split in two in council reorganisation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gj0we5lz4o |website=BBC News |access-date=29 October 2025}}</ref>

At Westminster the county is represented by [[List of Parliamentary constituencies in Surrey|13 Parliamentary constituencies]] within the county borders. The [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] holds seven seats and the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] hold six.
<ref>{{cite web |title=Your MPs |url=https://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/mgMemberIndexMP.aspx |website=Surrey County Council |access-date=12 August 2025}}</ref>

== Economy ==
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2025}}
[[File:ExportHouse2.JPG|thumb|[[Export House]] in Woking, one of Surrey's tallest buildings|alt=view upwards to tall pale multi-storey building under a cloudy sky]]

Surrey has a number of organisational and company headquarters, including electronics manufacturers [[Canon (company)|Canon]], [[Toshiba]], [[Samsung]] and [[Philips]] distributors [[Burlodge]], [[Future Electronics]], [[Kia Motors]] and [[Toyota]] UK, the medico-pharma companies [[Pfizer]] and [[Sanofi-Aventis]] and oil giant [[Esso]]. Some of the largest [[fast-moving consumer goods]] multinationals in the world have their UK and/or European headquarters here, including [[Unilever]], [[Procter & Gamble]], [[Superdrug]], [[Nestlé]], [[SC Johnson]], [[Kimberly-Clark]] and [[Colgate-Palmolive]]. NGOs including [[World Wide Fund for Nature|WWF]] UK & [[Compassion in World Farming]] are also based here.

== Transport ==

=== Road ===
Three major motorways pass through the county. These are:
*[[M25 motorway|M25]] (London Orbital) runs through the county, including a long [[cutting (transportation)|cutting]] into the [[Reigate|Reigate Hill-Walton Down]] scarp of the North Downs and has 8 junctions in the county.<br/>It connects among others to the [[M1 motorway|M1]], [[M11 motorway|M11]], [[M20 motorway|M20]], [[M26 motorway|M26]], [[M4 motorway|M4]] and [[M40 motorway|M40]]. The motorway runs close to [[Heathrow Airport]] and the motorway network can be used to access [[Gatwick]], [[Stansted]] and [[Luton Airport|Luton]] Airports and the [[Channel Tunnel]] motor vehicle service.
*[[M3 motorway (Great Britain)|M3]] crosses the north-west of the county. It connects London to [[Southampton]] and the [[South West of England]] having in Surrey the Sunbury-on-Thames, M25 interchange and the [[Lightwater]] and [[Bagshot]] junctions.
*[[M23 motorway|M23]] (north–south) in effect connects [[Croydon]] to [[Brighton]] as the dualled A23 trunk road to the north and beyond [[Crawley]]. It has junction to a spur to [[Gatwick Airport]] on the Surrey/Sussex border. It has a Surrey junction, the M25 [[Merstham]] interchange, close to the Reigate M25 junction.

Other major roads include:

*The [[A3 road|A3]] trunk road from [[Portsmouth]] to London. The road now bypasses and historically assisted in the growth of [[Haslemere]], [[Godalming]], Guildford, [[Esher]] and Kingston upon Thames. The [[Hindhead Tunnel]] bypasses a former bottleneck at Hindhead and the Devil's Punchbowl.
*The [[A24 road (England)|A24]] from London to [[Littlehampton]] and [[Worthing]]. In Surrey, it passes through or around [[Ewell]], [[Epsom]], [[Ashtead]], Leatherhead and Dorking. It passes Box Hill, near Dorking. Unlike the A3, which is almost completely dual carriageway, the A24 is, apart from a central Surrey stretch, single carriageway; it bypasses Leatherhead, Dorking and [[Horsham]].
*The [[A31 road|A31]] trunk road heads west from Guildford to [[Bere Regis]] via Farnham and is connected to the M3 near [[Winchester]] and via the A331 near [[Aldershot]]. It is dual carriageway along the Hog's Back from the A3 to Farnham. It is one of the ancient routes from London to [[Winchester]], see [[Pilgrims' Way]].
*The short A331 connects the A31 to the M3. It runs along the Surrey-Hampshire border, bypassing [[Aldershot]], Frimley and [[Farnborough, Hampshire|Farnborough]].

=== Rail ===
Much of Surrey lies within the [[London commuter belt]] with regular services into [[Central London]]. [[South Western Railway (train operating company)|South Western Railway]] is the sole train operator in Elmbridge, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Woking and Waverley, and the main train operator in the Borough of Guildford, running regular services into {{stnlink|London Waterloo}} and regional services towards the south coast and South west. [[Southern (train operating company)|Southern]] is the main train operator in Mole Valley, Epsom and Ewell and Reigate and Banstead and the sole train operator in Tandridge, providing services into {{stnlink|London Bridge}} and {{stnlink|London Victoria}}.

There are many railway lines in the county, those of note include the [[Waterloo to Reading Line]], [[South West Main Line]], [[Portsmouth Direct Line]], [[Sutton and Mole Valley Lines]] (from Horsham, West Sussex itself on the [[Arun Valley Line]] from [[Littlehampton]]) and the [[Brighton Main Line]].

The Waterloo to Reading Line calls at {{stnlink|Virginia Water}}, {{stnlink|Egham}}, and {{stnlink|Staines}} in Surrey. The South West Main Line calls at {{stnlink| Woking}} and up to six other Surrey stops including {{stnlink| Walton-on-Thames}}. The Portsmouth Direct Line is significant in linking {{stnlink|Haslemere}}, {{stnlink|Godalming}} and {{stnlink|Guildford}} to the South West Main Line at Woking. The Sutton and Mole Valley Lines link {{stnlink|Dorking}}, {{stnlink|Leatherhead}}, {{stnlink|Ashtead}}, {{stnlink|Epsom}} to Waterloo via {{stnlink|Ewell West}} or London Victoria via {{stnlink|Ewell East}}. The [[Brighton Main Line]] calls at {{stnlink|Horley}} and {{stnlink| Redhill}} before reaching either London Bridge or London Victoria. {{stnlink|Reigate}} is on the east–west [[North Downs Line]].

Consequently, the towns [[Staines]], Woking, Guildford, [[Walton-on-Thames]], [[Epsom]] and [[Ewell]] and [[Reigate]] and [[Redhill, Surrey|Redhill]], statistically the largest examples,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk |title=Local statistics - Office for National Statistics |website=neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk |access-date=4 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030211201309/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/ |archive-date=11 February 2003 |url-status=live}}</ref> are established [[rapid-transit]] commuter towns for Central London. The above routes have had a stimulative effect. The relative development of Surrey at the time of the [[Beeching cuts]] led to today's retention of numerous other commuter routes except the [[Cranleigh Line]], all with direct services to London, including:
# [[Chertsey Branch Line|Chertsey Line]] linking the first two of the above national routes via {{stnlink|Chertsey}} and {{stnlink| Addlestone}}
# [[New Guildford Line]] via {{stnlink|Claygate}} and {{stnlink| Effingham Junction}} from {{stnlink| Surbiton}}
# [[Hampton Court Branch Line]] to {{stnlink|Hampton Court}} via {{stnlink|Thames Ditton}} from Surbiton
# {{stnlink|Shepperton}} [[Shepperton Branch Line|Branch Line]] via [[Sunbury railway station, Surrey|Sunbury]]
# Ascot to Guildford Line via {{stnlink|Wanborough}}, {{stnlink|Ash}}, into Hampshire via Aldershot and back into Surrey to serve {{stnlink|Frimley}}, {{stnlink|Camberley}} and {{stnlink|Bagshot}}.
# [[Alton Line]] calls at the far southwest Surrey town, {{stnlink|Farnham}}.
# [[Epsom Downs Branch]] from [[Sutton Common railway station|Sutton]] and then Belmont in Greater London to {{stnlink|Banstead}} and {{stnlink|Epsom Downs}}.
# [[Tattenham Corner Branch Line]] calls at {{stnlink|Chipstead}}, {{stnlink|Kingswood}} and {{stnlink|Tadworth}}.
# [[Oxted Line]] calls at {{stnlink|Oxted}} and {{stnlink|Hurst Green}}.
# [[Redhill to Tonbridge Line]] serves {{stnlink|Redhill}} and {{stnlink|Godstone}}.

The only diesel route is the east–west [[North Downs Line]], which runs from Reading via Guildford, {{stnlink|Dorking Deepdene}}, {{stnlink|Reigate}} and Redhill, thence to [[Gatwick Airport]]

The major stations in the county are [[Guildford railway station (Surrey)|Guildford]] (8.0&nbsp;million passengers), [[Woking railway station|Woking]] (7.4&nbsp;million passengers), [[Epsom railway station|Epsom]] (3.6&nbsp;million passengers), [[Redhill railway station|Redhill]] (3.6&nbsp;million passengers) and [[Staines railway station|Staines]] (2.9&nbsp;million passengers).<ref name="ror-pass">{{cite web |url=http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/xlsx/station_usage_estimates_1112.xlsx |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130513151827/http://www.rail%2Dreg.gov.uk/upload/xlsx/station_usage_estimates_1112.xlsx |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 May 2013 |title=Rail Regulator Station Usage Estimates |format=XLSX |website=Rail-reg.gov.uk |access-date=24 October 2013}}</ref>

=== Air ===
Both [[Heathrow]] (in the [[London Borough of Hillingdon]]) and [[Gatwick]] (in [[Crawley Borough Council|Crawley Borough, West Sussex]]) have a perimeter road in Surrey. [[First Berkshire & The Thames Valley]] operates a [[RailAir]] coach service from Guildford and Woking to Heathrow Airport and there are early-until-late buses to nearby Surrey towns.

[[Fairoaks Airport]] on the edge of Chobham and Ottershaw is {{convert|2.3|mi|km}} from Woking town centre and operates as a private airfield with two training schools and is home to other aviation businesses.

[[Redhill Aerodrome]] is also in Surrey.

== Education ==

{{see also|List of schools in Surrey}}
The UK has a [[Comprehensive school|comprehensive]], state-funded education system, accordingly Surrey has 37 state secondary schools, 17 [[Academy (English school)|Academies]], 7 [[sixth form college]]s and 55 state primaries. The county has 41 independent schools, including [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]] (one of the nine independent schools mentioned in the [[Public Schools Act 1868]]) and the [[Royal Grammar School, Guildford]]. More than half the state secondary schools in Surrey have sixth forms. Brooklands (twinned with a site in Ashford, Surrey), Reigate, Esher, Egham, Woking and Waverley host sixth-form equivalent colleges each with technical specialisations and standard sixth-form study courses. [[Brooklands College]] offers aerospace and automotive design, engineering and allied study courses reflecting the aviation and motor industry leading UK research and maintenance hubs nearby.

=== Higher education ===
{{see also|Category:Education in Surrey}}

*The [[University of Surrey]] is based in Guildford
*The [[University for the Creative Arts]] (UCA) has campuses in Farnham and [[Epsom]]
*[[Royal Holloway, University of London]] is based in [[Egham]]
*[[The University of Law]] has a campus in Guildford
*The [[Guildford School of Acting]] is located on the Surrey University campus

== Emergency services ==
Surrey is served by the following emergency services:
*[[Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex]]
*[[Surrey Police]]
*[[British Transport Police]]
*[[South East Coast Ambulance Service]]
*[[Surrey Fire & Rescue Service]]
*[[SURSAR]]

== Places of interest ==
Significant landscapes in Surrey include Box Hill just north of Dorking; the [[Devil's Punch Bowl]] at [[Hindhead]] and [[Frensham]] Common. [[Leith Hill]] southwest of Dorking in the [[Greensand Ridge]] is the second highest point in southeast England. [[Witley Common]] and [[Thursley Common]] are expansive areas of ancient heathland south of [[Godalming]] run by the [[National Trust]] and [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]]. The [Surrey Hills are an area of outstanding natural beauty ([[AONB]]).

[[File:Lawns at Wisley.jpg|thumb|left|Lawns at [[RHS Garden, Wisley]]|alt=green lawn with trees to the left and a house on the right]]
More manicured landscapes can be seen at [[Claremont Landscape Garden]], south of [[Esher]] (dating from 1715). There is also [[Winkworth Arboretum]] southeast of [[Godalming]] and [[Windlesham Arboretum]] near [[Lightwater]] created in the 20th century. [[Wisley]] is home to the [[Royal Horticultural Society]] [[RHS Garden, Wisley|gardens]]. [[Kew]], historically part of Surrey but now in Greater London, features the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]], as well as [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] for England & Wales.

There are 80 Surrey Wildlife Trust reserves with at least one in all 11 [[non-metropolitan district]]s.<ref>[http://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/reserves] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012153034/http://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/reserves|title=Surrey Wildlife Trust|date=12 October 2014}} Surrey Wildlife Trust reserves</ref>

Surrey's important country houses include the [[Tudor period|Tudor]] mansion of [[Loseley Park]], built in the 1560s and [[Clandon House]], an 18th-century [[Palladian]] mansion in [[West Clandon]] to the east of Guildford. Nearby [[Hatchlands Park]] in [[East Clandon]], was built in 1758 with [[Robert Adam]] interiors and a collection of keyboard instruments. [[Polesden Lacey]] south of [[Great Bookham]] is a [[regency architecture|regency]] villa with extensive grounds. On a smaller scale, [[Oakhurst Cottage]] in [[Hambledon, Surrey|Hambledon]] near [[Godalming]] is a restored 16th-century worker's home. [[Shalford Mill]], on the Tillingbourne, is an 18th-century water-mill.

A canal system, the [[Wey and Godalming Navigations]] is administered at [[Dapdune Wharf]] in Guildford, where an exhibition commemorates the work of the canal system and is home to a restored Wey barge, the Reliance. The [[Wey and Arun Canal]] is being restored by volunteers with hopes of a future full reopening.

[[Runnymede]] at [[Egham]] is the site of the sealing of [[Magna Carta]] in 1215.

[[Guildford Cathedral]] is a 20th-century cathedral built from bricks made from the clay of the hill on which it stands.

[[Brooklands]] Museum recognises the motoring and aeronautical past of Surrey. The county is also home to the [[Thorpe Park]] theme park.

== Sport ==
[[File:James Pollard - Epsom Races- The Race Over - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|Epsom is famous for the Epsom Downs Racecourse which hosts the Epsom Derby; painting by [[James Pollard]], {{circa|1835|lk=no}}|alt=mid-nineteenth-century colour painting of race-course, racehorses and race-goers with buildings either side of the course under a partly-cloudy sky]]
*[[Cricket]] makes its first appearance in history in Surrey, in a reference to the game being played at the [[Royal Grammar School, Guildford]] in the 16th century (see [[History of English cricket to 1696]]). [[Mitcham Cricket Club]], formed in 1685 and the oldest documented club in the game's history, was within Surrey's borders until 1965.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/after-400-years-history-is-made-next-to-the-a323-184142.html |last=Shaw |first=Phil |date=2 January 2014 |title=After 400 years, history is made next to the A323 |work=The Independent |access-date=24 October 2021 |archive-date=28 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328164848/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/after-400-years-history-is-made-next-to-the-a323-184142.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Surrey County Cricket Club]] has been based at [[The Oval]] in [[Kennington]], now part of Greater London, since its foundation in 1845. The club also uses [[Whitgift School]] in [[South Croydon]] and [[Woodbridge Road]] in Guildford for some games. It was one of the original participants in the [[County Championship]] and has won the competition 19 times outright and once jointly, more than any other county except [[Yorkshire County Cricket Club|Yorkshire]].
*[[Epsom Downs Racecourse]] is the venue for the most prestigious event in British flat horse-racing, the [[Epsom Derby|Derby]], which has been held there most years since 1780. Surrey is also home to [[Lingfield Park Racecourse|Lingfield]], [[Kempton Park Racecourse|Kempton]] and [[Sandown Park Racecourse|Sandown]] Park Racecourses, presenting an unusually high concentration in one county.<ref>See [[List of horse racing venues]]</ref>
*[[Brooklands]] between Woking and Weybridge was the world's first purpose-built [[motorsport]] race circuit, opened in 1907.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Autocar |volume=127 |issue=3731 |last=Sammy |first=Davis |author-link=S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis |title=How Brooklands started |page=43 |date=17 August 1967}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/explore/our-history/birth-brooklands |title=Birth of Brooklands |author=<!--Not stated--> |year=2020 |publisher=Brooklands Museum |access-date=31 August 2021 |archive-date=20 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820010639/https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/explore/our-history/birth-brooklands |url-status=live}}</ref> The headquarters of the [[McLaren]] [[Formula One]] team are at Woking. [[James Hunt]], the 1976 Formula 1 World Driver's Champion was born in Belmont, Sutton, then part of Surrey, in 1947.
*The [[All England Lawn Tennis Club]], venue for the [[Wimbledon Championships]], and the headquarters of the [[Lawn Tennis Association]] were within Surrey until 1965.
*Surrey's leading [[Rugby union|rugby]] club, [[Esher RFC|Esher]], currently compete in the [[National League 1]], the third tier of English rugby. [[Harlequins F.C.]] and [[Harlequins Women]] train at the [[Surrey Sports Park]] in Guildford.
*Surrey is one of a handful of English counties with no teams in the top 92 [[Association football|football]] teams, the [[Football League]]. Its leading team is [[Woking F.C.|Woking]], currently playing in the fifth-tier [[National League (division)|National League]].
*Surrey is home to the [[ice hockey]] team the [[Guildford Flames]], who compete in the top-tier [[Elite Ice Hockey League]].
*The [[basketball]] team [[Surrey Scorchers]], based in Guildford, play in the top tier of British basketball, the [[British Basketball League]].
*The [[netball]] team [[Surrey Storm]], based in Guildford play in the [[Netball Superleague]]. They are the franchise for the Greater London area and the South East.<ref name="Storm">{{cite web |url=http://surreystormnetball.co.uk/ |title=Surrey Storm |access-date=20 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520090415/http://surreystormnetball.co.uk/ |archive-date=20 May 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
*[[Golf]] has been played in the county since before 1900 most notably as international venue [[Wentworth Club|Wentworth]]; by 2013 a 142nd co-existing Surrey golf course was in planning consultation; 141 were recorded by ''The Daily Telegraph'' newspaper.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/leisure/10106202/Does-gorgeous-Surrey-need-golf-course-No-142.html |title=Does gorgeous Surrey need golf course No 142? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303215922/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/leisure/10106202/Does-gorgeous-Surrey-need-golf-course-No-142.html |date=3 March 2018 |archive-date=3 March 2018 |access-date=3 March 2018 |last=Davidson |first=Max |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}}</ref>
*Rowing clubs include [[Molesey Boat Club|Molesey]] (with an elite development programme hosting several leading [[British Rowing]] crews), [[Walton Rowing Club|Walton]], (one of the UK's top clubs in the junior category), [[Weybridge Rowing Club|Weybridge]], Weybridge Ladies,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weybridgeladies.org.uk/ |title=Welcome to WLARC |publisher=Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club |access-date=11 August 2023 |archive-date=27 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427192741/https://www.weybridgeladies.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Weybridge Mariners,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weybridgemariners.co.uk/ |title=Weybridge Mariners Club |publisher=Weybridge Mariners Club |access-date=11 August 2023 |archive-date=27 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427192736/http://www.weybridgemariners.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Rowing on the River Thames|Burway]], [[Staines Boat Club|Staines]] and Guildford<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guildfordrowingclub.org.uk/ |title=Home |publisher=Guildford Rowing Club |access-date=11 August 2023 |archive-date=10 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410054406/http://guildfordrowingclub.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> whose top female quad boat won [[Henley Women's Regatta|Henley Women's]] in 2012.
*[[Volleyball]] teams include [[British Airways|BA]], [[Friends Provident]] and Guildford International Volleyball Club<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guildfordvolleyball.org.uk/ |title=Welcome to Guildford International Volleyball Club |publisher=Guildford International Volleyball Club |access-date=11 August 2023 |archive-date=25 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525034856/http://www.guildfordvolleyball.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> (whose elite men's team has won the [[Volleyball England|1st of the 4 National Divisions]]), while twelve clubs in Surrey and three in south-west Greater London compete in the Surrey Volleyball League.

=== Surrey football clubs ===
The county has numerous football teams. In the [[Combined Counties League]] can be found the likes of [[Ash United]], [[Badshot Lea F.C.|Badshot Lea]], [[Banstead Athletic]], [[Camberley Town]], [[Chessington & Hook United F.C.|Chessington & Hook United]], [[Cobham F.C.|Cobham]], [[Epsom & Ewell F.C.|Epsom & Ewell]], [[Epsom Athletic]], [[Farleigh Rovers]], [[Farnham Town]], [[Frimley Green F.C.|Frimley Green]], [[Horley Town F.C.|Horley Town]], [[Knaphill F.C.|Knaphill]], [[Mole Valley SCR]], [[Molesey F.C.|Molesey]], [[Sheerwater F.C.|Sheerwater]], [[Spelthorne Sports F.C.|Spelthorne Sports]] and [[Westfield F.C. (Surrey)|Westfield]]; [[Lingfield F.C.|Lingfield]] play at the same level but in the [[Southern Combination]]; [[Ashford Town]], [[Chertsey Town]], [[Godalming Town]] and [[Guildford City]] play higher in the [[Southern Football League|Southern League]]; equally [[Leatherhead F.C.|Leatherhead]], [[Merstham F.C.|Merstham]], [[Redhill F.C.|Redhill]], [[South Park F.C.|South Park]], [[Staines Town]], [[Walton Casuals]] and [[Walton and Hersham]] are in the [[Isthmian League|Isthmian]]; [[Dorking Wanderers]] and [[Woking F.C.|Woking]] are currently the highest ranked Surrey based clubs, playing in the [[National League (division)|National League]].

[[Chelsea F.C.]] practice at the [[Cobham Training Centre]] located in the village of [[Stoke d'Abernon]] near [[Cobham, Surrey]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chelsea - Cobham Training Centre Photos |url=http://www.footballtraininggrounds.com/chelsea.html |access-date=2020-06-15 |website=Premier League Training Grounds |archive-date=8 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808100552/http://www.footballtraininggrounds.com/chelsea.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> The training ground was built in 2004 and officially opened in 2007.

== In popular culture ==
[[File:Woking tripod.JPG|thumb|upright|right|Statue of a [[Tripod (The War of the Worlds)|Martian tripod]] in Woking|alt=modern street scene with tall silver metal three-legged structure]]
The opening of [[H. G. Wells]] 1898 novel ''[[War of the Worlds]]'' is set on [[Horsell Common]] near Woking, the author's home town.

A key scene of [[Jane Austen]]'s 1815 novel ''[[Emma (novel)|Emma]]'' takes place on Box Hill.

The county is the setting of the fictional town of Little Whinging, where [[Harry Potter]] was raised in the books by [[J.K. Rowling]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rowling |first=JK |title=Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone |date=26 June 1997 |publisher=Scholastic |isbn=978-0-7475-3269-9 |location=United Kingdom |publication-date=26 June 1997 |pages=1-17 |language=English}}</ref>

The county has also been used as a film location. In the 1976 film [[The Omen (1976 film)|''The Omen'']], the scenes at the cathedral were filmed at [[Guildford Cathedral]].<ref name="omen">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/jun/04/religion.film |title=Church fears return of Omen curse |access-date=31 August 2007 |date=4 June 2004 |work=The Observer |location=London |first=Rob |last=Sharp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070821101558/https://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0%2C%2C1789988%2C00.html |archive-date=21 August 2007}}</ref>

==Notable people==
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2023}}

===Royal Family===
*[[Lady Louise Windsor]] (born 2003) and [[James, Earl of Wessex]] (born 2007), children of [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh]] and grandchildren of Queen [[Elizabeth II]], were born in [[Frimley Park Hospital]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3240966.stm |title=Royal Wessex baby finally named |work=BBC News |date=27 November 2003 |access-date=7 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7148830.stm |title=Countess gives birth to baby boy |work=BBC News |date=17 December 2007}}</ref>

===Literature===
Besides its role in [[English Renaissance theatre|Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre]], many important writers have lived and worked in Surrey.

*''[[The Owl and the Nightingale]]'', one of the earliest [[Middle English]] poems; Nicholas of Guildford is mentioned in it several times.<ref name=Cartlidge2001>{{Cite book |title=The owl and the nightingale: Text and translation |date=2001 |publisher=University of Exeter Press |last=Cartlidge |first=Neil |isbn=0-85989-690-0 |location=Exeter |oclc=47356230}}</ref>
*[[John Donne]] (1572–1631) lived and worked for a time in [[Pyrford]].<ref>{{cite ODNB |last=Colclough |first=David |title=Donne, John (1572–1631) |id=7819 |date=19 May 2011}}</ref>
*[[John Evelyn]] (1620–1706) was born and spent much of his life in [[Wotton, Surrey|Wotton]], and is buried there.<ref>{{Citation |author=English Heritage | author-link=English Heritage | url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-290082-wotton-house-wotton | title=Wotton House | publisher=BritishListedBuildings.co.uk | access-date=10 October 2016}}</ref>
*[[Daniel Defoe]] (1659/61–1731) was educated in Dorking.<ref>{{cite web|title=Biography of Daniel Defoe|url=http://www.gradesaver.com/author/daniel-defoe/|access-date=31 October 2025}}</ref>
*[[William Cobbett]] (1763–1835) was born and raised in Farnham, later lived in [[Wyke, Surrey|Wyke]], where he died, and is buried in Farnham; Surrey features prominently in his ''[[Rural Rides]]''.<ref name="ODNB">[[Ian Dyck]], '[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/5734 Cobbett, William (1763–1835)]', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 23 July 2011.</ref>
*[[Thomas Love Peacock]] (1785–1866) lived in [[Lower Halliford]], then part of Middlesex, now in Surrey.
*[[Benjamin Disraeli]] (1804–1881) wrote ''[[Coningsby (novel)|Coningsby]]'' while living in Dorking.
*[[Alfred Tennyson]] (1809–1892) spent the latter part of his life, and died, in [[Haslemere]].
*[[Charles Dickens]] (1812–1870) wrote part of ''[[The Pickwick Papers]]'' in Dorking, and refers to the town in the novel.
*[[Robert Browning]] (1812–1889) was born in [[Camberwell]], then part of Surrey.
*[[George Eliot]] (1819–1880) wrote most of ''[[Middlemarch]]'' while living in Haslemere.
*[[Matthew Arnold]] (1822–1888) lived in [[Laleham]], then part of Middlesex, now in Surrey.
*[[George Meredith]] (1828–1909) lived at Box Hill.
*[[Lewis Carroll]] (1832–1898) spent much of his time at his sisters' home in Guildford, where he wrote ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]''; he died there and is buried in the town.
*[[Isabella Beeton]] (1836–1865) lived for several years in Epsom, where her step-father was clerk of the racecourse.
*[[George Bernard Shaw]] (1856–1950) lived in Woking and later in [[Hindhead]], where he wrote ''[[Caesar and Cleopatra (play)|Caesar and Cleopatra]]''.
*[[Arthur Conan Doyle]] (1859–1930) lived and wrote many of his books in Hindhead and served as [[deputy lieutenant]] of Surrey; the county forms a setting for several of the [[Sherlock Holmes]] stories.
*[[J. M. Barrie]] (1860–1937) lived in [[Tilford]], and based ''The Boy Castaways'', which later evolved into ''[[Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up|Peter Pan]]'', in the nearby countryside.
*[[H. G. Wells]] (1866–1946) wrote ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' while living in Woking; much of northern Surrey is laid waste in the course of the story.
*[[John Galsworthy]] (1867–1933) was born in Kingston and the ''[[Forsyte Saga]]'' is partly set in the area.
*[[E. M. Forster]] (1879–1970) lived and wrote in [[Weybridge]] and [[Abinger Hammer]].
*[[P. G. Wodehouse]] (1881–1975) was born in Guildford and baptised there in [[St. Nicolas' Church, Guildford|St Nicolas' Church]].
*[[A. P. Herbert]] (1890–1971) was born in [[Ashtead]].
*[[Aldous Huxley]] (1894–1963) was born and raised in [[Godalming]] and his ashes are interred at Compton; the end of ''[[Brave New World]]'' is set in Surrey.
*[[Robert Graves]] (1895–1985) was born in [[Wimbledon, London|Wimbledon]], then part of Surrey.
*[[Rosemary Sutcliff]] (1920–1992) was born in [[East Clandon]].
*[[Clive King]] (1924–2018) was born in [[Richmond, London|Richmond]], then part of Surrey.
*[[John Osborne]] (1929–1994) grew up in [[Stoneleigh, Surrey|Stoneleigh]].
*[[Kazuo Ishiguro]] (born 1954) grew up in Guildford.

===Arts and sciences===
*[[William of Ockham]] ({{circa|1288–1347}}), [[scholasticism|scholastic]] philosopher, most famous for "[[Occam's Razor]]", came from [[Ockham, Surrey|Ockham]].
*[[Thomas Malthus]] (1766–1834), pioneer of [[demography]], was born and raised in [[Westcott, Surrey|Westcott]], and later lived in Albury.
*[[Ada Lovelace]] (1815–1852), mathematician, lived at [[East Horsley]].
*[[Eadweard Muybridge]] (1830–1904), photographer, was born and raised in Kingston, then part of Surrey.
*[[Gertrude Jekyll]] (1843–1932), garden designer, lived for much of her life at Munstead near Godalming, created significant gardens in Surrey and is buried in [[Busbridge]].
*[[Ethel Frances Chawner]] (1866-1943) Entomologist born in Surrey who lived there 1866-1888.<ref name="Dipterists Digest">{{cite journal |last1=Chandler |first1=Peter J. |title=Dr John Henry Wood and Colonel John William Yerbury - their different lives as dipterists |journal=Dipterist's Digest |date=13 November 2015 |volume=21 |page=47 |url=https://dipterists.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf/Dipterists%20Digest%202014%20Vol%2021%20Supplement.pdf |access-date=25 March 2025}}</ref> 
*[[Edwin Lutyens]] (1869–1944), architect, grew up in [[Thursley]]; many of his early works were built in Surrey, including collaborations with Gertrude Jekyll.
*[[Ralph Vaughan Williams]] (1872–1958), composer, grew up at Leith Hill and later lived in Dorking.
*[[Laurence Olivier]] (1907–1989), actor, was born in Dorking.
*[[Peggy Ashcroft]] (1907–1991), actress, was born and raised in Croydon, then part of Surrey.
*[[David Lean]] (1908–1991), film director, was born in Croydon.
*[[Alan Turing]] (1912–1954), mathematician and pioneer of [[computer science]], lived for much of his early life in Guildford.
*[[Jimmy Perry]] (1923–2016), actor and screenwriter, was born in [[Barnes, London|Barnes]], then part of Surrey.
*[[Richard Briers]] (1934–2013), actor, was born in [[Raynes Park]], then part of Surrey.
*[[Brian Blessed]] (born 1936), actor, lives in [[Lightwater]] and was ambassador to the 2024 'Surrey Day' event.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-15 |title=Surrey Day: Brian Blessed announced as ambassador for celebration |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1ej4gg204wo |access-date=2025-09-21 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>
*[[Roy Hudd]] (1936–2020), comedian and actor, was born and raised in Croydon.
*[[Alex Kingston]] (born 1963), actress, was born and raised in [[Epsom]].
*[[Tracey Emin]] (born 1963), artist, was born in Croydon.
*[[Simone Ashley]] (born 1995), actress, was born in Camberley.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCormack |first=Kirsty |date=2022-03-25 |title=Bridgerton season 2: Who is Kate Sharma actress Simone Ashley in Netflix series? |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/bridgerton-season-2-who-kate-26531019 |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=mirror |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Tom Holland (actor)]] (born 1996) came from [[Kingston Upon Thames]].

===Military===
*[[Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke]] (1705–1781), admiral, lived at [[Sunbury-on-Thames]], then part of Middlesex, now in Surrey.
*[[F. C. Ricardo]] (1852–1924), colonel, was born in Guildford.
*[[Francis Aylmer Maxwell]] (1871–1917), brigadier, was born in Guildford.
*[[Alfred Carpenter]] (1881–1955), admiral, was born in [[Barnes, London|Barnes]], then part of Surrey.
*[[Martin Dunbar-Nasmith]] (1883–1965), admiral, was born in Barnes, then part of Surrey.
*[[Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg]] (1889–1963), lieutenant-general, was born in [[Richmond, London|Richmond]], then part of Surrey.
*[[Alfred Victor Smith]] (1891–1915), lieutenant and [[Victoria Cross]] recipient, was born in Guildford.
*[[Raymond Sandover]] (1910–1995), brigadier, was born in Richmond, then part of Surrey.
*[[Gilbert White (British Army officer)|Gilbert White]] (1912–1977), brigadier, was born in Farnham.
*[[Dominic Bruce]] (1915–2000), flight lieutenant and Colditz escapee, lived for most of his life after the Second World War in Sunbury-on-Thames.
*[[John Cunningham (RAF officer)|John Cunningham]] (1917–2002), air ace, was born in [[Croydon]], then part of Surrey.

===Popular music===
The "Surrey Delta" produced many of the musicians in 1960s British blues movements. [[The Rolling Stones]] developed their music at the Crawdaddy Club in [[Richmond upon Thames|Richmond]].

*[[Roger Waters]] (born 1943) was born in [[Great Bookham]], a village in Surrey.
*[[Jimmy Page]] (born 1944) spent much of his early life in [[Epsom]].
*[[Jeff Beck]] (1944–2023) was born in [[Wallington, London|Wallington]], then part of Surrey.
*[[Eric Clapton]] (born 1945) was born and grew up in [[Ripley, Surrey|Ripley]].
*[[Peter Gabriel]] (born 1950) was born in [[Chobham]] and grew up in Surrey. His band [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] was formed at the [[Charterhouse School]] in Godalming.
*[[Paul Weller]] (born 1958) was born and grew up in Woking, which inspired the song "[[Town Called Malice]]" and formed [[The Jam]] at [[Sheerwater Secondary School]] in 1972.
*[[The Stranglers]] were formed in Guildford in 1974.
*[[Sham 69]] were formed in [[Hersham]] in 1975.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/sham_69_history.htm |title=The history of Sham 69 Part 1 - Punk Rock legends. |website=Punk77.co.uk |access-date=9 April 2018 |archive-date=24 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824072109/https://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/sham_69_history.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[The Vapors]] were formed in Guildford in 1978.
*[[Kirsty MacColl]] (1959–2000) was born in Croydon, then part of Surrey.
*[[Norman Cook]], also known as Fatboy Slim (born 1963), grew up in Reigate.
*[[Andrew Ridgeley]] (born 1963), member of [[Wham!]], was born in [[Windlesham]].<ref name="rttnews12">{{cite web |title=1963 – Andrew Ridgeley Born |url=http://www.rttnews.com/Media/SlideShow/SlideShow.aspx?ID=1141&Slide=5 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924121437/http://www.rttnews.com/Media/SlideShow/SlideShow.aspx?ID=1141&Slide=5 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=24 December 2012 |publisher=Rttnews.com}}</ref>
*[[Georgia Buchanan]], also known as [[Call Me Loop]] (born 1991), was born in Surrey.<ref>{{cite news |title=get to know: call me loop |url=https://www.mtv.co.uk/news/abtcbd/get-to-know-call-me-loop |access-date=9 July 2020 |work=[[MTV]] |archive-date=9 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709194539/http://www.mtv.co.uk/mtv-push/news/get-to-know-call-me-loop |url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Hard-Fi]] members [[Richard Archer]], Ross Phillips and [[Kai Stephens]] are from Staines-upon-Thames.
*[[Justin Hawkins]], lead singer of rock band [[The Darkness (band)|the Darkness]], was born in Surrey.
*[[Disclosure (band)|Disclosure]] members Guy and Howard Lawrence are from Reigate.
*[[Keith Relf]] (1943–1976) was born and grew up in [[Richmond, London|Richmond]], then part of Surrey.
*[[Jane Relf]] (born 1947) was born and grew up in Richmond, then part of Surrey.
*[[Holly-Anne Hull]] (born 1994), singer and actress, was born in Camberley<ref name="The Telegraph-20092">{{Cite web |date=28 April 2009 |title=My Camp Rock: Disney Channel star Demi Lovato interview |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5235229/My-Camp-Rock-Disney-Channel-star-Demi-Lovato-interview.html |access-date=9 February 2025 |website=The Telegraph |language=en}}</ref> with the group meeting whilst studying at [[Sixth Form College, Farnborough]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Country trio Remember Monday to represent UK at Eurovision 2025 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cvg1pdne45qt |access-date=2025-09-21 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Wishing the best of luck to our girls @remembermonday_ in the EUROVISION FINALS tonight!!!! We know you will smash it 💜🇬🇧 #teamuk #eurovision #proudtobeF6 |url=https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJwOL9csSsP/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=www.instagram.com}}</ref><!--Note that some secondary sources wrongly say Farnham, see Talk:Remember_Monday#Which_sixth_form_college?.-->
*[[Henry Moodie]] (born 2004) was born in Guilford.

===Sport===
*[[Max Hall (cricketer)|Max Hall]] (born 1975), cricketer<ref>{{cite web|title=Cricinfo: Max Hall|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/max-hall-15207|access-date=26 March 2024}}</ref>
*[[Graham Thorpe]] (1969–2024), cricketer, was born in and played for Surrey.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thorpe |first=Graham |date=1 September 2005 |title=Rising from the Ashes |url=https://archive.org/details/grahamthorperisi0000grah |location=London |publisher=CollinsWillow |isbn=978-0007205974 |oclc=65202849}}</ref>
*[[Luke Shaw]] (born 1995), footballer, was born in [[Kingston upon Thames]]<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lemieux|first=Hannah|date=10 July 2021|title='Humble' England star Luke Shaw a 'natural leader' say former Surrey teachers and junior club|website=GetSurrey|url=https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/humble-england-star-luke-shaw-21011500|access-date=12 July 2021}}</ref>
*[[Harvey Elliott]] (born 2003), footballer<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.11v11.com/players/harvey-elliott-259928/ |title=Harvey Elliott |website=11v11.com |publisher=AFS Enterprises |access-date=28 July 2019}}</ref>
* [[Gregory Slade]] (born 2002), Wheelchair Tennis Player, was born in [[Redhill, Surrey]]<ref>{{cite web|title=' The Surrey Paralympians going for gold this summer'|website=BBC News|date=30 August 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg41exge0xo.amp |access-date=5 September 2024 }} </ref>

=== Other ===
* [[Ethel Caterham]] (born 1909), a [[Supercentenarian]], and current [[List of oldest living people|oldest living person]], aged {{age in years and days|1909|8|21|df=y}} old. The last known surviving individual born in the [[1900s|1900s decade]], Caterham has livied in a care home in [[Lightwater]] since 2020.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Williamson |first=Lucy |date=2024-08-22 |title=UK's oldest woman celebrates 115th at Surrey home |url=https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/real-life/uks-oldest-woman-celebrates-115th-29788111 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250511132838/https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/real-life/uks-oldest-woman-celebrates-115th-29788111 |archive-date=11 May 2025 |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=Surrey Live |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=SCC |date=2020-08-24 |title=Surrey's oldest resident Ethel, celebrates 111th birthday |url=https://news.surreycc.gov.uk/2020/08/24/surreys-oldest-resident-ethel-celebrates-111th-birthday/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408133324/https://news.surreycc.gov.uk/2020/08/24/surreys-oldest-resident-ethel-celebrates-111th-birthday/ |archive-date=8 April 2023 |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Surrey News |language=en}}</ref> On 18 September 2025, Caterham met [[Charles III|King Charles III]].<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Murphy |first=Cash |date=21 September 2025 |title=King Charles meets world's oldest person Ethel Caterham |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3qqqe15kzo |access-date=21 September 2025 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=King meets world's oldest person – who remembers when 'all the girls were in love with him' 50 years ago |url=https://news.sky.com/story/king-meets-the-world-s-oldest-person-who-remembers-when-all-the-girls-were-in-love-with-him-50-years-ago-13435123 |access-date=2025-09-21 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Steve Backshall]] (born 1973), naturalist and television presenter, was born in [[Bagshot]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Corner |first=Lena |date=7 September 2014 |title=TV wildlife presenter Steve Backshall is about to face his biggest fear ... Strictly Come Dancing |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/tv-wildlife-presenter-steve-backshall-is-about-to-face-his-biggest-fear--strictly-come-dancing-9709447.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/tv-wildlife-presenter-steve-backshall-is-about-to-face-his-biggest-fear--strictly-come-dancing-9709447.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |access-date=5 October 2014 |newspaper=[[The Independent]]}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Surrey}}
*[[Lord Lieutenant of Surrey|List of Lord Lieutenants of Surrey]]
*[[High Sheriff of Surrey|List of High Sheriffs of Surrey]]
*[[List of English and Welsh endowed schools (19th century)#Surrey]]
*[[Custos Rotulorum of Surrey]]—Keepers of the Rolls
*[[Surrey (UK Parliament constituency)]]—Historical list of MPs for Surrey constituency
*[[Surrey (carriage)]]
*[[Healthcare in Surrey]]
*[[Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=n}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Bathurst |first=David |year=2012 |title=Walking the county high points of England |location=Chichester |publisher=Summersdale |isbn=978-1-84-953239-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Bird |first=David |title=Roman Surrey |location=Stroud |publisher=Tempus |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-75-242889-5}}
*{{cite book |last1=Brandon |first1=Peter |last2=Short |first2=Brian |title=The South East from AD 1000 |location=London |publisher=Longman |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-58-249245-5}}
*{{cite book |last=Brandon |first=Peter |title=A History of Surrey |location=Chichester |publisher=Phillimore |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-85-033303-9}}
*{{cite book |editor-first=Heather M |editor-last=Campbell |year=2009 |title=The Britannica Guide to Political Science and Social Movements That Changed the Modern World |location=New York |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-61-530062-4}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=A Dictionary of British History |editor-last=Cannon |editor-first=John |edition=Revised |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2009 |title=Surrey}}
*{{cite book |last1=Crocker |first1=Crocker |last2=Crocker |first2=Alan |year=2000 |title=Damnable Inventions: Chilworth Gunpowder and the Paper Mills of the Tillingbourne |location=Guildford |publisher=Surrey Industrial History Group |isbn=978-0-95-381220-2}}
*{{cite book |last1=Drewett |first1=Peter |last2=Rudling |first2=David |last3=Gardiner |first3=Mark |title=The South East to AD 1000 |location=London |publisher=Longman |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-58-249272-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Dyer |first=James |title=Penguin Guide to Prehistoric England & Wales |year=1982 |publisher=Penguin |location=Harmondsworth |isbn=978-0-14-046351-4}}
*{{cite book |title=A History of Crawley |last=Gwynne |first=Peter |publisher=Phillimore & Co |year=1990 |isbn=0-85033-718-6 |edition=1st |location=Chichester}}
*{{cite book |last=Hadfield |first=Charles |year=1969 |title=The canals of south and south east England |location=Newton Abbott |publisher=David & Charles |isbn=978-0-71-534693-8}}
*{{cite book |last=Kirby |first=D. P. |title=The earliest English Kings |edition=Revised |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-41-524211-0 |year=2000}}
*{{cite book |last1=Nairn |first1=Ian |last2=Pevsner |first2=Nikolaus |last3=Cherry |first3=Bridget |series=The Buildings of England |title=Surrey |location=London |publisher=Penguin |edition=2nd |year=1971 |isbn=978-0-14-071021-2}}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Swanton |editor-first=Michael |title=The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles |location=London |publisher=Phoenix |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-84-212003-3}}
*{{cite book |title=London's lost route to the sea: An historical account of the inland navigations which linked the Thames to the English Channel |last=Vine |first=P.A.L. |year=1996 |publisher=Middleton Press |location=Midhurst |isbn=1-873793-782 |edition=5th}}
*{{cite book |last1=Weinreb |first1=Ben |last2=Hibbert |first2=Christopher |author-link2=Christopher Hibbert |title=[[The London Encyclopaedia]] |edition=reprint |year=1992 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]]}}
*{{cite book |last=Yorke |first=Barbara |year=1990 |title=Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdom |location=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn= 9780415166393}}

{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Surrey}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
*[http://www.surreycc.gov.uk Surrey County Council]
*[http://surreymaps.surreycc.gov.uk/public/viewer.asp Surrey Interactive Map] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722104207/http://surreymaps.surreycc.gov.uk/public/viewer.asp |date=22 July 2017 }}
*[http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk Exploring Surrey's Past]
*[http://www.sursar.org.uk Surrey Search & Rescue (SurSAR)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515151913/http://www.sursar.org.uk/ |date=15 May 2011 }}
*[http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreyhistorycentre Surrey History Centre]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20181003215009/http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/results.aspx?index=0&mainQuery=&searchType=all&form=basic&theme=&county=SURREY&district=&placeName= Images of Surrey] at the [[English Heritage Archive]]
*[https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/SRY Further historical information and sources on GENUKI]

{{Geographic Location
|title     = '''Neighbouring counties'''
|Centre    = Surrey
|North     = [[Berkshire]], Greater London
|Northeast = [[Greater London]]
|East      = [[Kent]]
|Southeast = [[East Sussex]]
|South     = [[West Sussex]]
|Southwest = [[Hampshire]]
|West      = [[Hampshire]]
|Northwest = [[Berkshire]]
}}

{{Surrey}}
{{England counties}}
{{Heptarchy}}
{{Transport in Surrey}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Surrey| ]]
[[Category:Non-metropolitan counties]]
[[Category:South East England]]
[[Category:Home counties]]
[[Category:Counties of England established in antiquity]]