Effingham is a village in the Borough of Guildford in Surrey, reaching from the gently sloping northern plain to the crest of the North Downs and with a medieval parish church. The village was the home of notable figures, such as Barnes Wallis, who is buried here and Toni Mascolo. The M25 motorway is north-west of the middle of the village, which consists of new build homes and green space in the Metropolitan Green Belt.
An eponymous Junction railway station is north of its boundary in East Horsley, where a branch of the Sutton and Mole Valley Lines joins the New Guildford Line, which has services terminating at London Waterloo.
History
Late Stone Age
Long before Effingham was named by the Saxons, a prehistoric track now called the North Downs Way or Pilgrims' Way was an important prehistoric thoroughfare in Britain. Part of this ancient road forms the southern boundary of Effingham parish. It was used by early traders of flint and stone implements and there is evidence of stone age flint mining in the neighbouring village of Horsley.
Roman times
A Roman coin featuring Emperor Tiberius (r. AD 14–37) and his mother Livia was found in Effingham in 1970 by Dr Sutton in land being prepared as rugby fields in King George V Playing Fields. It is not known whether the coin was dropped on the land by a passing Roman or arrived in chalk from nearby Horsley used as foundations for the rugby pitches.
Effingham lay within the Saxon administrative district of Effingham.
Effingham appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Epingeham. It was held by Osuuold (Oswald) from Chertsey Abbey and Richard Fitz Gilbert. Its Domesday assets were: 4½ ploughs, of meadow, herbage and pannage worth 18 hogs. It rendered £8.
Medieval period to 18th century
thumb|St Lawrence's church is by and large of 1888 but has a [[chancel of the 14th century and south transept built in 1250.]]
By the 14th century, the main manor house stood on the site of a Regency mansion which is the clubhouse to Effingham Golf Course, then owned by Sir John Poultney, four times Lord Mayor of the City of London
By 1545, King Henry VIII was hunting on what is now Effingham Golf Course whilst staying at Hampton Court nearby. The manor house and lands were then owned by Lord William Howard (the Lord High Admiral, and later 1st Baron Howard of Effingham) and it was his son the 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham (later 1st Earl of Nottingham) who commanded the English fleet against the Spanish Armada.</blockquote>
George Pauling made a name and fortune in connection with the expansion of the railways throughout southern and central Africa under his great friend and confidant, Sir Cecil Rhodes. At the latter's request, Pauling accepted the portfolio of Mines and Public Works for Rhodesia and a member of the Executive Council, holding office from 1894–1896. The Lodge and surrounding land, including what is now the KGV playing fields, Pauling bought and spent a "large sum of money in adding to it and spoiling it". In 1912, George Pauling was granted the privilege of a Private Oratory in The Lodge by the then Pope, Pius X. Two dozen local Catholics worshipped there on Sundays and the Chapel became a church the year later. The other church he built in England was to the Sacred Heart at St Ives in 1902.
20th century
Sir Barnes Wallis lived most of his adult life here. He is best known as the inventor of the bouncing bomb which breached the Eder and Möhne dams in Germany during the Second World War. He also designed airships including the R100 and applied the geodetic construction methods to aeroplanes. in 1932 and served as their secretary for eight years until 1940.
About half of housing scales slopes south of the A246 (between Little Bookham and East Horsley) at the top of the small High Street "The Street". The village was founded by the church as a spring line settlement, at the foot of the North Downs. Two parallel roads, The Street and Church Street reflect this by their steep gradient. At the bottom wells exist, whereas towards the top, layers of permeable topsoil underlain with chalk and limestone prevent reaching water.
Sport
As well as the golf club, the village is home to Effingham Cricket Club and Effingham and Leatherhead Rugby Club.
In 2012 Howard of Effingham school became the first school from the south of England to qualify to play at Wembley Stadium in rugby league's Champion Schools tournament.
Demography and housing
{| class="wikitable"
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|+ 2011 Census Homes
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!Output area !!Detached !!Semi-detached!!Terraced!!Flats and apartments!!Caravans/temporary/mobile homes||shared between households