Perhaps you noticed the sandy soil around Send. The name “Send” actually comes from the Old English word for “sandy place.” Sand was extracted here until the 1990s.
Send is a village buffered by the Metropolitan Green Belt. It separates Send from other towns except for Ripley’s Grove Heath. A rural part of Send adjoins the River Wey, including Cartbridge and Send Marsh. This land was drained, and the river was tamed by sluices.
Let’s step back in time. The first record of Send is from a 1063 copy of a survey from around 960. It appears as Sendan. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was recorded as Sande, Saunde, and Sonde.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, Send appears as Sande. It was held by Rainald from Alvred de Merleburgh. Its assets included a church, ten ploughs, and two mills. There were also five fisheries and woodland for 160 hogs. It rendered £15 10s 0d per year to its overlords.
Send saw a skirmish in 1497. Cornish rebels marched against Henry VII. They clashed with royal troops on the road from Guildford to London. The rebels outmaneuvered the troops.
Ripley was once a hamlet of Send. In 1878, Ripley gained its own parish. A chapel was built at Ripley around 1160.
Brickfields were developed in the south of Send by the 1870s. They operated until at least 1911.
The Leese baronets lived at Sendholme in Send. The title was created in 1908 for Joseph Leese. He was a Member of Parliament.
Send was also the base of Connaught Engineering. They were a Formula One and sports car constructor in the 1950s.
Today, Send is centred 23 miles south-west of Charing Cross. The A3 trunk road forms its south-eastern border. The A247 Woking to West Clandon road passes through the village.
The River Wey bounds the parish to the west and north. It is controlled by sluices. The Wey Navigation runs alongside, increasing capacity.
Send has a recreation ground, the Lancaster Hall, and the Church Rooms. You can find two pubs here: The New Inn and The Saddlers Arms.
Send National School was built in 1834. It’s now residential. Send Church of England Central School was built in 1939. It later became St Bede’s.
Send parish church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. It dates from around 1220. The nave was rebuilt around 1485. In 2008, it won awards for visitor attraction and access.
Send has three war memorials. One is a Celtic-style stone cross. Another is a brick memorial in the recreation ground. A stone tablet is inside the parish church.
In 2011, Send’s population was 4,245. That’s an increase of 107 since 2001.
The Send Barns Orchestra is credited on an Anthony Phillips album. Scenes from Catweazle and Emma were filmed at Send Parish Church.
HMP Send is a women’s prison in Ripley. It’s on the site of a former isolation hospital.
Send United is the local football team. There is sailing on Papercourt Lake and fishing on the River Wey.
Lieutenant-General William Evelyn lived at Send Grove. Admiral Sir Francis William Drake also made his home here.
Flight Lieutenant Robin R Skene is buried in the churchyard. He was one of the first members of the Royal Flying Corps.
Following flooding in 2000, a scheme was launched to reduce flood risk.
Notably, guitarist Eric Clapton attended school in Send. Musician Paul Weller lived in Vicarage Lane. Former Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips lived and recorded at Send Barns. Former Chancellor Philip Hammond lives in Send Barns too.
Send, a place where history, nature, and community intertwine. A quiet village that has played its part in England’s story.