is a town in
Surrey ,
England , situated about twenty-nine miles south-west of
London , in the corridor between the
M3 and
M4 motorways. Its population in 2001 was 47,123.
A settlement which became known as Yorktown grew up around the gates of the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the
19th Century . It grew in size with the arrival of the branch-line railway (the main-line passes through nearby
Deepcut but there is no stop).
Later, the
Staff College was established to the east of the Academy, and a property speculator built the nearby Cambridge Hotel. The surrounding area became known as Cambridge Town, but was renamed Camberley in
1877 to avoid confusion with the better-known
Cambridge in
Cambridgeshire .
Camberley grew to become the largest town in the area, and Yorktown is now regarded as part of Camberley.
The name "Camberley" is derived from two local features: the
River Cam (Surrey) and Amber Hill, "ley" being
Old English for "pasture" or "clearing".
Camberley's
Town Centre is host to The Mall Main Square
Shopping Centre , anchored by stores such as
House Of Fraser and
Woolworths . The High Street has a number of
High Street shops as well as bars and clubs. There are a number of secondary shopping streets including Park Street, Princess Way and parts of London Road. The town has its own public library, theatre and is home to the council offices. The town's only cinema, owned by Robin's Cinemas, and situated on London Road, closed in 2003.
Construction will start by the end of 2006 on a new 7 acre mixed-use development west of Park Street. Named 'The Atrium', the new development will include residential, leisure and retail facilities, as well as a 900 space car park. There will be 217 'design-led' apartments divided into three areas within the complex (named Centro, Aspect and Courtyard). Fourteen new retail units will face directly onto Park Street, opposite Main Square shopping centre. The intention is to pedestrianise and landscape Park Street for the new development. Leisure facilities are to include a 9 screen cinema, bowling, a health and fitness club and cafés and restaurants.
The town is administered by
Surrey County Council and
Surrey Heath Borough Council . The parliamentary constituency is
Surrey Heath and the MP is
Michael Gove , a
Conservative .
The
Old Dean is a housing estate (part council) on the outskirts of Camberley, most of which was built in the
1950s on the "Old Dean Common" for residents of heavily bombed Surrey-areas homeless after
World War II . Many of the roads on that half of the Old Dean are named after those areas (the others are named after places on the common).
Camberley Railway Station is situated south of the town centre on the ''New Guildford line''. It is connected to
London Waterloo ,
Guildford and
Ascot by
South West Trains . Nearby
Blackwater Station (situated perpendicular to the
A30 on the border of
Hampshire , Surrey and
Berkshire ) on the
North Downs Line has direct services to
Reading and
Gatwick Airport .
Camberley can be reached by the
A30 and junction 4 of the
M3 Motorway .
There are two small airports nearby at
Blackbushe and
Farnborough , which is well known for its
International Air Show . Both
Heathrow and
Gatwick are only short distances away.
There are a number of schools in Camberley, the two secondary schools are Collingwood College (one of the largest in Surrey with over 2,000 pupils) and Kings College International (formerly France Hill). Other schools include Watchetts Junior School, Crawley Ridge Junior School, Cordwalles Junior School and The Grove Primary School.
The town of
Frimley , being so close to Camberley is often thought to be a part of Camberley by many visitors to the area.
