#1Famous people · Lingfield, Surrey
The 4 famous people born in Lingfield, led by Henry Surtees
Articles in 18 languages make the British racing driver Henry Surtees the best known. Second and third on the list are James Bonwick and Oliver Smedley. Henry Surtees, born in 1991, is the youngest, and James Bonwick, born in 1817, the first on record. For every 10,000 residents there are 11 on the list, well above the typical Surrey town’s 2.3.
Born here
4
notable people
Best known
Henry Surtees
in 18 Wikipedia languages
First
1817
James Bonwick
Youngest
1991
Henry Surtees
Most common field
Sports
1 people
The best known
Born in Lingfield
First, Henry Surtees (18 languages), then James Bonwick (3) and Oliver Smedley (3).
#1
#2Writing & Arts
James Bonwick
1817–1906English-born Australian historical and educational writer
3 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
OS#3
Business
Oliver Smedley
1911–1989British businessman and politician (1911-1989)
3 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Lingfield’s famous people were born
More of them were born in the 1990s than in any other ten years, 1 in all.
SportsWriting & ArtsBusinessScience & Medicine
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Lingfield is known for
The largest field is Sports, with 1 people.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Lingfield
1 more, best known first.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The best known from each town within 12 miles of Lingfield, with how many people each has.
Questions about famous people from Lingfield
Who is the most famous person from Lingfield?
Henry Surtees (British racing driver (1991–2009)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 18 languages. Next come James Bonwick and Oliver Smedley.
How many famous people were born in Lingfield?
4 people born in Lingfield have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace.
What is Lingfield known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 1 of the 4. That is 25% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Lingfield?
James Bonwick, born in 1817. The youngest on the list was born in 1991.
Who counts as from Lingfield?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Lingfield’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (5)
- Henry Surtees: Skully Collins, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Bonwick: Edward Cecil Porter, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Manley: Alexander Migl, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Laura Trott: David Woolfall, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Vowles: Wf1fan, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.