Surrey

Surrey is a county that is bordered by Kent to the east; East and West Sussex to the south and Hampshire and Berkshire to the west. Large parts of it are subsumed into Greater London, and it is of significance to genealogists because many places in parish records, BMD records and censuses will state they are in Surrey although they are part of London now. To the north of the county the River Thames formed the boundary to the old county of Middlesex. This boundary now incorporates London suburbs such as Lambeth and Southwark.

The proximity to London meant that many royal residences were built in the north east of the county, for example Richmond and Nonsuch.

Many tributaries of the Thames flow through Surrey, the most wooded county. The North Downs runs through the county and some landscape features are Box Hill and the Devil’s Punch Bowl. It also contains the horticultural centres of Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and Royal Horticultural Gardens at Wisley.

Consequently many of our ancestors will have been residents of Surrey at one time or other if they lived in what is now considered as London. Many of our ancestors lived in all of the surrounding counties so it is unsurprising that many names are associated with this county alongside the reflection of the move towards the capital in search of work: Andrews, Blakesely, Eggleton, Payne and Roper .