Surrey

Surrey [ˈsʌɹɪ] is a county (county) in the south of England. It consists of the districts of Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Guildford, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Tandridge, Waverley and Woking. The county borders Hampshire, Berkshire, Greater London, Kent, East Sussex and West Sussex.

Surrey has about one million inhabitants. The traditional capital of the county was Guildford, here is also the University of Surrey. Since 2020 the administrative seat has been in Reigate. Until 2020 the administrative seat was in Kingston upon Thames, which since 1965 is no longer in the county, but in Greater London.

Thanks to its proximity to London, Surrey has many commuter communities. The population density is very high and residents are on average wealthier than other UK citizens.

Much of Surrey lies within the Green Belt. As the soil is very sandy and has limited agricultural use, there are a large number of footpaths and bridleways. Therefore, Surrey offers many opportunities for rural leisure activities. The region's gardens and parks are included in the European Garden Heritage Network.

Surrey is also home to many celebrities. Musicians such as Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Bryan Ferry and Ringo Starr live in Surrey. TV stars like Liz Hurley and former McLaren chairman Ron Dennis have their country home in Surrey.

Geography

Surrey is divided by the chalk ridge of the North Downs, which runs east-west. The ridge in turn is crossed by Surrey's main rivers, the Wey and the Mole, which are tributaries of the Thames. The Thames formed Surrey's northern boundary prior to state reorganisation. North of the Downs, Surrey is largely flat and forms part of the Thames basin. Geologically this area is defined by London Clay to the east, Bagshot Sand to the west and alluvial deposits along the rivers. South of the Downs and in the western part of the county are the Surrey Hills, composed of sandstone. Further east is the flat Low Weald landscape, which extends to the edge of the High Weald in the extreme south-east. The Downs and the southern area form part of a circular structure of geological deposits which also spreads across south Kent and large parts of Sussex. This structure is predominantly composed of Wealden Clay, Lower Greensand and the limestone of the Downs.

History

The name Surrey derives from the Saxon "Sūþrīge" or "Suthrige", the name for the "Southern Region" of the Kingdom of Middlesex ("Middle Saxony"). In fact, to this day Surrey lies south of the former County of Middlesex, i.e. today's Greater London.

Surrey was formerly divided into 14 hundreds. Until 1889, Surrey also included the boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth, which are now part of London. In 1965 the boroughs Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Richmond upon Thames and Sutton became parts of Greater London; in exchange Surrey received Spelthorne from Middlesex.

In the 1974 local government reform, London Gatwick Airport and the surrounding land were assigned to West Sussex. Horley and Charlwood were also to be added to West Sussex; however, this was reversed due to angry protests from the population.