The town is situated on the Surrey border with Berkshire and Hampshire, 31 miles south-west of central London in the corridor between the M3 and M4 motorways. The Royal Military College arrived in the area in 1802 becoming the Royal Military Academy in 1947. Most of the Academy is in Berkshire.

A settlement known as Yorktown grew up around the gates of the College. Expansion came with the arrival of the Staff College in 1820 and the railway in 1878. A property speculator, Charles Raleigh Knight, built the nearby Cambridge Hotel and laid out the area which became known as Cambridge Town, changing to Camberley to avoid confusion with the university town.

The parish church of St.Michael at Yorktown was built by Henry Woodyer in 1848-49 with additions later in the 19th century. The church of St. Paul at Church Hill was built in 1902 by W D Caroe and is in a Scandinavian style.

The remains of a brick tower known as The Obelisk stand on top of The Knoll. It was built in the 1750s by John Norris of Blackwater. It may have been used for communications but there is no firm evidence.

The shopping centre of Camberley consists chiefly of ‘The Mall’, a 1980s development, and ‘The Atrium’, a development which commenced in 2006. The large Marks and Spencer store is actually over the border in Berkshire.

Click here to see the catalogue of the St George, Camberley, Parish Records (1891-1966) held at the Surrey History Centre.

Click here to see the catalogue of the St Michael, Yorktown, Parish Records (1851-1985) held at the Surrey History Centre.

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