Hydestile

Hydestile is a medium-sized hamlet between the villages of Busbridge and Hambledon, straddling their civil parish borders, centred south of Godalming in Waverley, south west Surrey. Hydestile in its west has West Surrey Golf Club and in the east has three sets of woods and a Leonard Cheshire home. The other main landmark is Hydon's Ball, a large woodland and promontory of the Greensand Ridge, about which a very old poem has been written; the site is free to visitors.HistoryHydestile was the site for two hospitals: from 1921 King George V Hospital and from 1941 St. Thomas' Hospital . The hospitals were demolished and redeveloped in the late 1990s following years of disuse and dereliction. The only visible remains are the Gatehouse, former Superintendent's house, 6 staff cottages and a cluster of footings amongst the woods.GeographyWere it not for its long-held community ties with neighbouring proper villages Hydestile would be a village. The hamlet forms a ribbon development on all roads towards its crossroads. To the south-east is the steeper of two neighbouring outcrops of the Greensand Ridge. Elevations range from, 74m in the narrow wooded vale of the Shad Well spring that issues near the central crossroads of the hamlet and flows to the north, to 117m AOD less than a mile to the east. However, the road leading east, Salt Lane has a fork to access Hascombe but otherwise ascends further, it veers southeast after the Hydon's Ball promontory at 171m, past steep banks of woods (Hurt Wood and Breakneck Hill to the left side) to access Dunsfold village.