About · The archive and its editor
About this archive
An independent record of Bury Hill Fisheries near Dorking, put together from the fishery’s own pages and anglers’ reports, with a dated source beside every figure.
The editor
Tom Ashcombe
Tom Ashcombe is the pen name under which this archive is compiled and checked. The archive does not rely on the editor’s own word for anything: every figure is linked to a source you can open and check yourself.
A pen name is used to keep the focus on the sources rather than on the person, and to keep a private email inbox separate from the archive. The editor has no connection with the fishery’s former owners or operator.
Method
How facts are checked
Sources are used in this order:
- FirstThe fishery’s own web pages of 2001 to 2011, as saved by the Internet Archive, and the former operator’s later website. These are quoted word for word where possible.
- SecondAngling press reports, such as Angling Times.
- ThirdForum threads and films by anglers. These are marked as anglers’ accounts and never used alone for a weight or a date when a fishery source exists.
Where two sources give different figures, both are shown and neither is picked as correct. Where no source exists, the page says so instead of guessing. Closure dates are given to the month, because that is as precise as the sources allow.
Each page shows when it was last updated. The closure status was last checked against the former operator’s website on 26 October 2026.
Independence
What this archive is not
- Not the fishery’s website, and not connected with its former owners or operator.
- Not a booking service. Bury Hill is closed and nothing can be booked here.
Photographs
Where the photos come from
The photographs on the lake, fish and method pages come from the former fishery’s website, buryhillfisheries.co.uk, and are credited under each one. Drawings are labelled as illustrations.
If you own one of these photos and would like it credited differently or removed, email the archive and it will be changed. Photos sent in by readers are published only with the photographer’s agreement.
Contact
Getting in touch
The archive is run by email only: [email protected]. To fix a fact, use the corrections log. To share a memory, see Memories.
Email the archiveQuestions
Frequently asked
Who is Tom Ashcombe?
Tom Ashcombe is the pen name under which this archive is compiled. Every figure on the site links to a source, so nothing depends on the editor’s own word.
Is the archive connected with the former operator of Bury Hill?
No. The archive is not run by, or affiliated with, the fishery’s former owners or operator.