Urbex ~ Derelict But Alarmed Meath Green Farm

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• published: 10 Aug 2016
• views: 1891

Explore of the derelict but alarmed & patrolled by security Meath Green Farm, built in the same period & style & close by the grade 2 listed Landens Farm, it is one of many farmsteads developed in the agricultural land surrounding Horley. Landens building is thought to be a Model Farm, built with the ideals of beauty not just utility. Workers health & education was also paramount in these farms, which strived to be an example of which others would follow. The granary is located on the north side of the complex and appears to comprise a combined cart shed and granary structure. It is constructed of brick, laid in a decorative chequer-board pattern, picked out in over burnt headers, with a hipped tile clad roof. The building survives in good condition with a well preserved king post roof and retains good characteristic features such as the windows and grain bin partitions. All of which are very similar to the Meath Green Farm buildings, currently undergoing redevelopment into the Westvale Park estate, providing over 1,500 homes. This was once all owned by a Lord Amherst but occupied by John Newnham on the 1848 Tithe Map. Amherst, The Rt. Hon. 1st. Earl of Arracan in the East Indies and Viscount Holmesdale, William Pitt Amherst. Born 1773 at Bath, Somerset, died at Knole House 1857. Firstly he married Sarah (nee Archer) widow of 5th Earl of Plymouth. Secondly he married Mary Sackville, they lived at Knole House, Sevenoaks, where he employed over 50 staff on his estate. In 1816 he was sent as ambassador extraordinary to China's Qing Dynasty, however he was not admitted, and he was shipwrecked on the way home. He had several interviews with Napoleon. In 1823 he was appointed Governor-General of India, and in September of the same year he ordered the troops into war with Burma at the cost of 15,000 British troops killed and £13 million. He was replaced in 1828. he inherited his title from his Uncle Jeffery Amherst Baron of Holmsdale, military governor of Canada. Jeffery's mother was Elizabeth Kerrill, who although born in Kent, may have been related to a Horley family of that name. According to the Tithe Apportionment 1846, he owned vast amounts of land in the Horley area including much of Meath Green. [Henry Smith Esq, Some Time Alderman of London and Lord Amherst's estates: enabling the trustees of Henry Smith to accept a rentcharge out of property belonging to Lord Amherst at Horley, in exchange for land at Sevenoaks. Tithes, (in theory 10% of a person’s income) were taxes paid since the medieval period to support the priest of the parish church. Under the Tithe Commutation Act of 1836, tithes could be turned into a rent charge. In villages where this happened a survey of the land was carried out and a large scale detailed plan was drawn up showing every house and area of land. Each plot was individually numbered. A book of reference, usually called the apportionment, lists the name of the owner and occupier of each plot of land, the acreage of the plot and its use (such as arable, pasture, wood, or house and garden). Tithe maps and apportionment schedules produced under the Tithe Act of 1836 are a unique national resource, possibly only surpassed in value by the Domesday Book. For almost every parish in the country, they provide accurate data on the geography, ownership, occupation, use and economic productivity of the land. These are often the earliest detailed maps that survive of a village and are of great use to archaeologists and historians. Reigate & Banstead Borough Council has confirmed it's outline planning consent for a major new community of 1,510 homes on land at Meath Green, north west Horley. The development will be delivered via a consortium comprising Crest Nicholson & A2Dominion, who will be delivering over 50% of the 1,510 homes, as well as Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes. The planning permission includes 1,510 homes, 25% of which will be affordable, for local people in housing need; A site for a new primary school; A neighbourhood centre with shops and a community hall and sites for a pub/restaurant, a place of worship, a medical centre and employment space; Public open space, play facilities and two allotment sites; Two new access roads linking the development to the A23 and A217, together with associated junction improvements; A bus service linking the development to the town centre and beyond; Improved pedestrian and cycle network linking the new neighbourhoods to town centre, local schools and the wider cycle network. Over £10m of infrastructure will be delivered jointly by the developers, along with an additional £30m paid to the Borough and County Councils for significant investment in highways, public transport, education, leisure & recreation & community infrastructure & service improvements. Preliminary work began on site in Spring 2015 & subject to the granting of detailed consent, the development will be built in four phases, taking approximately 10 years to complete.