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WitleyWitley, in Surrey, United Kingdom, has existed as a village since at least Saxon times, as is clear from the surviving Saxon stonework in All Saints Church. The building was transformed by the Normans and enlarged into a cruciform shape towards the end of the 12th century, when its tower was also erected. The building contains an inscribed stone, set in the chancel wall, bearing the name of the Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV. He was the lord of the manor of Witley and this is believed to be part of an unfinished memorial to one of his bailiffs. Other occupants of the manor included Godwin, Earl of Wessex, father of King Harold; Peter of Savoy; and Edward I's wife, Queen Margaret, who supplied oaks from the village to make shingles for the roof of the king's hall at Westminster. In the graveyard you will find the last resting place of the artist Myles Birket Foster, buried in 1899, who made his home in Witley. The village contains many ancient buildings: Old Cottage and Step Cottage, dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, are close to the church. The village pub, the White Hart, is mostly Elizabethan, and is said to stand on the site of a Saxon inn. Witley Infants School, opposite the church, is a fine example of a 19th century school - constructed one year before Queen Victoria was crowned, in 1836. British Prime Minister Lloyd George had a house in Witley, called Timbers, which he would visit whenever he needed to escape from the stresses of high office.
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