Pirbright is a village in Surrey, located in the Borough of Guildford, north-west of Guildford town. The village is separated into three distinct parts; a southern dispersed village community dominated by heathland, the Army Training Centre Pirbright, and the Pirbright Research Institute (PRI), the nation’s centre for the study of infectious diseases in farm animals. As such, most of the land is either owned by the Ministry of Defence or the PRI. Although there are still large-scale country properties currently on the market in excess of over £1 million!

First recorded in 1166 Perifrith - a pormanteau of ‘pyridge’, meaning pear tree, and ‘frith’ meaning wooded country. Initially it formed a part of the Royal Hunting Forest of Windsor, and was largely an isolated agricultural community for many centuries. The Manor House, an impressive 15th century country abode, still stands today. The site was originally moated and has a cellar which dates back to the 10th century! In fact, this Manor House was included in Catherine of Aragon’s dowry upon her marriage to King Henry VIII! This is a grade II listed property, and is currently on the market for over £4.5 million.

Pirbright’s biggest occupier is the Pirbirght Camp, home to the Army Training Centre, Surrey. It has been owned by the government since 1875, when the government acquired over 3,000 acres of land in the Pirbright area to secure the land for their development and training centres. The second biggest, is the Pirbright Research Institute, which has been operational in the area since 1939.

Due to these factors, and particularly a large part of the area being owned by the Ministry of Defence, development in the area is altogether slow. However, several large renovated country houses with attached acreage have recently been listed on the property market with the ability to renovate further!