Early history '', issued in the reign of
Elagabalus (218–222), found in East Clandon in 2002 The word Clandon (first recorded as Clanedune) goes back to
Anglo-Saxon times, meaning "clean down" (open downland) from the
North Downs hills that rise to the south of the village. People settled here due to the availability of water that emerged where the high
chalk downs meet the lower lying
clay to the north.
Chertsey Abbey, a
Benedictine foundation, was patron of East Clandon from the
Norman Conquest of 1066 to the
Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. East Clandon appears in
Domesday Book as
Clanedun. It was held by Chertsey Abbey. Its assets were then: 4
hides; 7
ploughs, woodland for 6
hogs. It rendered
£6 per year to its
overlords. In ancient documents the village is also often referred to as
Clandon Abbatis (Abbot's Clandon). The church was built in the 12th and 13th centuries and is a
Grade I listed building (the highest category). The main addition to it has been a bell tower added in 1900. In 1544
Henry VIII granted East Clandon Manor to Sir Anthony Browne. The manor house, thought to have been close to where
Hatchlands Park now is, was moated since times of unrest in the early 14th century. The house, and with it the village, changed hands many times during the next 200 years. The oldest houses in the village, Frogmore Cottage, Lamp Cottage, Old Manor Farm, Tunmore Cottage among others, had already been built when the London brewer John Raymond sold the Hatchlands Park estate to
Admiral Boscawen in 1749. The present Hatchlands House was built for him with the help of
prize money from his victory over the French, and it was completed in 1758, only three years before the Admiral died.
1761 to present From 1768 the Sumner family owned the Hatchlands estate until it was bought at auction in 1888 by
Lord Rendel. In 1913 his eldest daughter's son Captain
Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel inherited the estate in trust. The captain was a professional architect and took a great interest in the village and its inhabitants. According to the writings of
Maurice Wiggin, Goodhart-Rendel was a tall,
spare, upright figure making his daily round in the village dressed in his grey tweed suit and soft brown
trilby shouting to his dogs in a real Grenadier's voice. Every Christmas this 'squire' gave a children's tea party at Hatchlands, complete with Christmas tree and gifts for all comers.
Christmas carol concerts are still held at Hatchlands for villagers today. Several houses in the village were built to his drawings, including Antler's Corner, Appletree Cottage, Meadow Cottage and 5 School Lane (1910), Prospect Cottages (1914), Snelgate Cottages (1926) and the St Thomas' Housing Society Cottages (1947). In 1945 the Hatchlands house, park and some land were given to the
National Trust. When Captain Goodhart-Rendel died in 1959 the estate passed into the hands of two relatives, a split he regarded with misgivings. Late 20th century owners, the Dunne-Ritche estate, sold most houses around 1970, but a few still remain in their possession. The TV series
Catweazle was shot in East Clandon (on Home Farm), West Horsley and the surrounding area in summer 1969. Home Farm still hosts the annual Hexwood Summer Fete.
Notable residents • Sir
Anthony Browne (1500–1548) standard bearer of England, owner of Manor of East Clandon •
Thomas Goffe (1591–1629) A minor Jacobean playwright. Rector of East Clandon • Admiral
Edward Boscawen (1711–1761) Builder of Hatchlands Park •
Stuart Rendel, 1st Baron Rendel (1834–1913) Founder of University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and owner of Hatchlands Park. •
Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel (1887–1959) Architect and
Slade Professor of Fine Art at
Oxford University. President of the
Royal Institute of British Architects. Owner of Hatchlands Park. •
Francis Octavius Grenfell (1880–1915) Recipient of the first Victoria Cross of the First World War; born at Hatchlands Park. • Sir
Freddie Laker (1922–2006). Airline pioneer. Lived at New Manor Farm. ==Demography and housing==