Gomshall
A village where the River Tillingbourne once powered mills and industry, where leather shaped local life, and where today's railway station opens directly onto the walking landscape of the Surrey Hills.
Gomshall grew around water
Gomshall lies in the Tillingbourne Valley, east of Abinger Hammer and west of Shere, in the heart of the Surrey Hills.
It looks today like a quiet rural village, but its history is closely connected with industry.
The River Tillingbourne supplied a dependable source of water power, helping mills, tanneries and other businesses develop along the valley for centuries.
That history remains visible in surviving buildings, old mill sites, waterways and the shape of the village itself.
The Tillingbourne tells Gomshall's story
The Tillingbourne rises near Leith Hill and flows through a chain of Surrey villages before joining the River Wey. Along the way, its water powered one of the most intensely industrialised small valleys in southern England.
The river begins in the high ground around Leith Hill.
Water once powered the hammer forge that gave the village its name.
Mills and tanning became central to village life and employment.
The Tillingbourne continues east before eventually meeting the River Wey.
Nearly a thousand years of milling history
Milling at Gomshall is documented from the time of the Domesday survey in 1086.
That does not mean the building standing today dates entirely from the 11th century.
Historic England records a 17th-century core to the present complex, with later extensions and conversion for milling.
During the 18th century Gomshall developed into one of the important corn-milling locations in the valley.
The present mill is especially notable for its two waterwheels. Historic England records that machinery installed in 1839 changed the mill from an undershot system to an overshot arrangement.
Commercial milling eventually ended in the 20th century, but the building survives as one of the clearest reminders of the village's relationship with the river.
Gomshall and the tanning trade
Milling was only part of Gomshall's industrial story. The combination of livestock, oak bark from surrounding woodland and plentiful water made the village well suited to leather production.
Records already mention workers associated with animal skins in the parish.
Named tanning families begin appearing more clearly in surviving records.
The tannery that later became a major village employer developed in the centre of Gomshall.
The business expanded considerably, attracting workers and becoming an important part of local community life.
Falling demand during the economic depression led to the tannery's closure.
Tillingbourne Tales: Gomshall Trail
Surrey Hills National Landscape publishes a circular heritage walk beginning at Gomshall Station and exploring the historic village, mill sites, tannery buildings, river valley, open countryside and wooded paths.
Gomshall Railway Station
Gomshall has its own railway station, making the village particularly useful for linear countryside walks.
National Rail currently lists the station at Station Approach, Gomshall, GU5 9NX.
A gateway rather than an endpoint
From Gomshall, walkers can continue towards Shere, Abinger Hammer and the surrounding Surrey Hills.
The rail connection also makes Gomshall an excellent finishing point for longer linear routes beginning farther west around Holmwood and Leith Hill.
Finish your Surrey Hills walk in Gomshall
Our Holmwood to Gomshall via Leith Hill route starts at Holmwood and continues through Coldharbour, Leith Hill, woodland and Abinger Hammer before finishing here at Gomshall Railway Station.
Historical, landscape and transport information in this guide was checked against Surrey Hills National Landscape, Historic England, Surrey County Council and National Rail.