Tilford Institute, Tilford, Surrey

We went and had lunch at the Garden Centre at Milford and went on to one at Frensham in Surrey today, as the weather wasn't good. Between the two is the village of Tilford which has two Medieval bridges over the River Wey and a superb village green. Fortunately when we passed, the rain had stopped and so I made a stop to take today's picture.

This superb building is the village hall of Tilford. However, it's not just any old village hall as it was built in the Arts & Crafts Style by the great Architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens (1869 - 1944) in 1893 in memory of Charles Archibald Anderson who lived at nearby Waverley Abbey House. There is a seat under the alcove on the left and there is plenty of half-timbering that echoes the vernacular architecture of this part of Surrey. There is also a clock and a bell that hangs in a little gabled shelter at the top. For me this is a really exciting building as it is quirky as well as reflecting the area and environment that it stands in. There was a Flower Show at the time which meant that I could have gone in, but there wasn't really time to do so.

Waverley Abbey is a ruin of the first Cistercian Abbey to be founded (in the 12th Century) in the UK. After it was dissolved by Henry VIII, a large mansion was built in the Palladian style with a lake in front nearby, which was where Charles Anderson lived. I think the house is now a Hotel and Events Venue. It's worth ending by saying the name was used by Sir Walter Scott in his 1814 novel Waverley and in turn the name was used to name one of Edinburgh's railway stations. So this quiet rural part of Surrey has influenced the lives of two great people of England and Scotland.