Grayshott, United Kingdom

History

The earliest reference to Grayshott found by Jack Hayden Smith, a Grayshott inhabitant and local historian, is in Winchester Bishopric records as Gravesetta (1185) and Graveschete (1200). In 1533 it was called Graveshotte, and the named changed to its current spelling probably in the 18th century. J H Smith's book was republished in 2002 by John Owen Smith. A detailed survey of the area made in the reign of Edward VI (1547–53) used the name Graueshot and describes large areas of "waste". The shott suffix in local names refers to springs flowing from the sandstone rock strata.

The village is mentioned in the Headley Parish Register of 1564 as Grashott, and as Grayshott in 1584. At this time the name applied to a hamlet about a mile to the west of the present village; the latter, apart from a few isolated dwellings, did not begin to develop until the 19th century when wealthy incomers began to settle there and encourage development. Previously, the area had a reputation for lawlessness.

At the earliest census, 1841, Grayshott had 114 inhabitants, increasing gradually over the rest of the century and then more than doubling between 1891 (238) and 1901 (666). This was the result of the growing popularity of the Hindhead area's healthy climate, the accessibility afforded by the railway coming to Haslemere in 1859 and the subsequent rise in trade to accommodate this popularity.

From the History section of Grayshott on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.