The Borough of Surrey Heath has only been in existence since 1974, when the Urban District of Frimley and Camberley, was merged with the Urban District of Bagshot and several adjacent villages.
Settlement of the area in the Stone Age is well documented, and there is evidence from the Bronze and Iron Ages and of Roman settlements. Several local place names indicate an Anglo-Saxon foundation. Chobham is mentioned in the first ever-English land register, the Domesday Book of 1086.
Nutrient-poor sandy soil meant that the heathland of Surrey was sparsely populated until the 18th century.
For hundreds of years it had been on a main transit route between London and the South Western area of England. The main A30 road, which passes through Bagshot and Camberley, was home to a number of inns and stables that were used by the many horse drawn carriages and their passengers who passed along the road from London to the South West. The route was also famous as a place where highwaymen would often stop coaches at gunpoint and rob the passengers. One of the most famous highwaymen who were active in the area was a Frenchman named Claude Duval (1643-1670). One of the Public Houses in the current Camberley High Street bears his name.
The area was given greater importance in 1812 with the establishment of the famous Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Camberley. This was, and is, the principal Officer training establishment for the British Army and the Armies of many other countries. The nearby Staff College, built in 1862, prepared Officers for Senior Staff duties.
Numerous shops and other suppliers became established to serve these large military establishments. That settlement was originally formed in two areas called York Town and Cambridge Town. The name Cambridge town was soon changed to Camberley to prevent postal confusion with the University town of Cambridge.
In 1878, the new South West Railway opened better transport routes to London.
Bus lines were established as early as 1913 and today Surrey Heath has easy direct access to the whole world: London‘s Heathrow and Gatwick Airports are both within easy reach.
