History of Whiteley Village

Following the death of William Whiteley, owner of the famous Bayswater department store, in 1907, a bequest of £1 million was left to create the village. Whiteley, who was 76 at the time of his death, was shot by a man who claimed to be his illegitimate son.

The man, Horace George Rayner, had demanded money he believed he was owed. When Whiteley refused, Rayner shot him before turning the gun on himself. Rayner survived and later stood trial for murder. He was initially sentenced to death, but this was reduced to a life sentence. He ultimately served 12 years.

Whiteley’s will left £1 million, approximately £120 million in 2020, to provide homes for elderly people of limited means. Whiteley Village was built between 1911 and 1917 on the 225-acre Burhill Estate between Weybridge, Walton-on-Thames and Cobham.

Whiteley Village Cricket Club

A dedicated portion of land was set aside at the north end of the estate to provide two full-sized pitches for the Cricket Club. A thatched pavilion, believed to be a listed building, was constructed at the corner of North Avenue and Coombe Lane.

During World War Two, the grounds were used to grow vegetables to support the war effort. This remains the only time in the club’s history that cricket was not played there during the summer.

After the war, the requirement for playing members to be wholly or mainly Whiteley Village employees was relaxed. The club became independent of the village and was properly constituted as a sports club, playing a strong list of friendly fixtures against local clubs and wandering sides from inner London.

In the mid-1960s, the club joined what later became the Morrant Wey Valley League. By the 1970s, Whiteley Village CC was regularly competing in the later stages of the Haig Cup, now known as the National Village Cup. The club reached the quarter-finals in 1974, playing in front of more than 500 spectators, the last 16 in 1978 and the Surrey Group Final in 1975.