Albury, Surrey
Historical Description
Albury, Aldbury, or Alderbury, a village and a parish in Surrey. The village stands on a tributary of the river Wey, under the North Downs, 1½ mile from Chilworth and Albury station on the S.E.R., and 5 ESE of Guildford, under which it has a post, money order, and telegraph office. Acreage, 4418; population of the civil parish, 1321; of the ecclesiastical, 1270. The parish church at it is an edifice of red brick, in the Norman style, after the model of a church at Caen. The author of "Proverbial Philosophy" resided at the village. The adjacent country abounds in charming walks and rides, and a spot called Newlands Corner commands a most extensive view. Albury estate belongs to the Duke of Northumberland. The grounds of its park possess interesting artificial features. The mansion was modernized from designs by Pugin. The old parish church, is Early Norman, with a tower, adjoins the mansion. The cathedral of the "Catholic Apostolic Church," a cruciform edifice in the Perpendicular style, built by Mr. Drummond at a cost of £10,000, stands in the park. The living of Albury is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester; net value, £500. Patron, the Duke of Northumberland. Brook and Parley Heath are in this parish. Many Roman coins and antiquities have been found here.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Surrey | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Albury St. Peter and St. Paul | |
| Hundred | Blackheath | |
| Poor Law union | Guildford |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1559.
Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Surrey History Centre, have images of the Parish Registers for Surrey online.
Churches
Church of England
SS. Peter and Paul (parish church)
The church of SS. Peter and Paul, erected in 1842, at the expense of the late Henry Drummond esq. M.P. of Albury Park, and restored and a chancel added by his son-in-law, the late Duke of Northumberland K.G. is of brick in the Romanesque style, and has a tower containing a clock and six bells: all the windows are filled with stained glass: and there are 350 sittings. The ruins of the ancient church, a good specimen of Norman work, stand in the park.
Roman Catholic
Catholic Apostolic Church
The Catholic Apostolic church is a cruciform building in the Decorated style, erected mainly at the expense of the late Henry Drummond esq, M.P. with a western tower and shallow transepts; the interior transepts are faced with open screen work: on the northside is a small octagonal chapter house.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Albury from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Albury (St. Peter and St. Paul))
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Surrey is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Albury are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Surrey papers online:
Parochial History
Under the provisions of the Divided Parishes Act, 1882, parts of Cranley, Shere and Wonersh were added to Albury, and a part of Albury transferred to Alfold.
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Surrey, 1662-1668 is available on the Heraldry page.