Ashtead
Encyclopedia
Ashtead is a village
situated within the Metropolitan Green Belt
of Surrey
, England, and is just outside of the suburbia
of London. It is separated from Leatherhead
by the M25
, and from Epsom
by Ashtead Common
.
hundred
, an administrative division devised by the Saxons
.
Ashtead appears in the Domesday Book
as Stede. It was held by the Canons of Bayeux
from the Bishop of Bayeux. Its Domesday Assets were: 3 hide
s and 1 virgate
; 16 plough
s, 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) of meadow
, woodland
worth 7 hogs. It rendered (in total): £12. Its main source of water at the time seems to have been the Rye
.
St Giles Church in Ashtead Park dates from the 12th century, and Ashtead is mentioned twice in Samuel Pepys
' diaries. Part of his entry for 25 July 1663 reads:
Ashtead is frequently misspelt, examples being "Ashsted" and "Ashstead". Until 1967, Ashtead Railway Station had both "Ashtead" and "Ashstead" displayed on station name plates hanging on opposite platforms.
The Ashtead Psalms were commissioned by Ashtead Choral Society to mark their fiftieth anniversary in the year 2000 from composer Robert Steadman
.
The village is the oldest part of Ashtead and has the main shopping and social area of the village, with two pubs and the Ashtead Village Club which is a C&IU affiliate.
The area north of the railway line is Ashtead Common
, managed by the City of London Corporation and subject to a long standing preservation order. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
.
Lower Ashtead is a flat area leading to Ashtead Common
, where there is a recreation ground, a youth club, a skate park, a pub and housing estates, all built near the railway station
.
Established for over 50 years, with two distinct elements:
1) Adult Ashtead Players, successfully presenting a whole range of popular theatrical productions.
2) Young Ashtead Players (12-18 years), offering a real performance experience for younger members.
1st Ashtead Scout
Group was incorporated on 21st June 1920 and is still offering adventurous and educational programmes to young people between the ages of 6 and 18. It has its own headquarters in Lower Ashtead near Ashtead Common. The group has over 250 members including young people, adult leaders and supporters.
with direct services to London Waterloo
, London Victoria, London Bridge
, Horsham
, Dorking
and Guildford
lines. It is served by both Southern and South West Trains services.
road, the A24
, runs through the village.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
situated within the Metropolitan Green Belt
Metropolitan Green Belt
The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It includes designated parts of Greater London and the surrounding counties of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey in the South East and East of England regions.-History:The...
of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England, and is just outside of the suburbia
SubUrbia
subUrbia is a play by Eric Bogosian chronicling the nighttime activities of a group of aimless 20-somethings still living in their suburban Boston hometown and their reunion with a former high school classmate who has become a successful musician...
of London. It is separated from Leatherhead
Leatherhead
Leatherhead is a town in the County of Surrey, England, on the River Mole, part of Mole Valley district. It is thought to be of Saxon origin...
by the M25
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
, and from Epsom
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
by Ashtead Common
Ashtead Common
Ashtead Common is a wooded area to the north of the village of Ashtead in England which is open to the public. It is owned and managed by the City of London Corporation at no cost to the public. There are 180.5 ha of this common in the National Nature Reserve...
.
History
There has been settlement in Ashtead since at least Roman times, with a Roman villa excavated in what is now Ashtead common. Ashtead lay within the CopthorneCopthorne (hundred)
Copthorne was a hundred in what is now Surrey, England. It includes the following places: Ashtead, Burgh, Cuddington, Epsom, Ewell, Fetcham, Headley, Leatherhead, Mickleham, Pachevesham , Tadworth, Thorncroft and Walton-on-the-Hill....
hundred
Hundred (division)
A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...
, an administrative division devised by the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
.
Ashtead appears in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as Stede. It was held by the Canons of Bayeux
Bayeux
Bayeux is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France.Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England.-Administration:Bayeux is a sub-prefecture of Calvados...
from the Bishop of Bayeux. Its Domesday Assets were: 3 hide
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
s and 1 virgate
Virgate
The virgate or yardland was a unit of land area measurement used in medieval England, typically outside the Danelaw, and was held to be the amount of land that a team of two oxen could plough in a single annual season. It was equivalent to a quarter of a hide, so was nominally thirty acres...
; 16 plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
s, 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) of meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
worth 7 hogs. It rendered (in total): £12. Its main source of water at the time seems to have been the Rye
The Rye (Brook)
The Rye is a stream rising east of Ashtead and flowing into the River Mole near Leatherhead, Surrey.The Rye Brook flows westwards across Ashtead Common, through the Ashtead Common National Nature Reserve, managed by the City of London Corporation...
.
St Giles Church in Ashtead Park dates from the 12th century, and Ashtead is mentioned twice in Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
' diaries. Part of his entry for 25 July 1663 reads:
Towards the evening we bade them adieu and took horse, being resolved that, instead of the race which fails us, we would go to Epsom When we come there we could hear of no lodging, the town so full, but which was better, I went towards Ashsted, and there we got a lodging in a little hole we could not stand upright in While supper was getting I walked up and down behind my cosen Pepys's house that was, which I find comes little short of what I took it to be when I was a little boy.
Ashtead is frequently misspelt, examples being "Ashsted" and "Ashstead". Until 1967, Ashtead Railway Station had both "Ashtead" and "Ashstead" displayed on station name plates hanging on opposite platforms.
The Ashtead Psalms were commissioned by Ashtead Choral Society to mark their fiftieth anniversary in the year 2000 from composer Robert Steadman
Robert Steadman
Robert Steadman is a British composerof classical music who mostly works in a post-minimalist style but also writes lighter music, including musicals, and compositions for educational purposes...
.
The Village
Locals commonly refer to three areas of Ashtead: The Village (The Village Centre, around The Street); Lower Ashtead; and The Common. There is also Ashtead Park, Ashtead Heath and Ashtead Downs.The village is the oldest part of Ashtead and has the main shopping and social area of the village, with two pubs and the Ashtead Village Club which is a C&IU affiliate.
The area north of the railway line is Ashtead Common
Ashtead Common
Ashtead Common is a wooded area to the north of the village of Ashtead in England which is open to the public. It is owned and managed by the City of London Corporation at no cost to the public. There are 180.5 ha of this common in the National Nature Reserve...
, managed by the City of London Corporation and subject to a long standing preservation order. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
.
Lower Ashtead is a flat area leading to Ashtead Common
Ashtead Common
Ashtead Common is a wooded area to the north of the village of Ashtead in England which is open to the public. It is owned and managed by the City of London Corporation at no cost to the public. There are 180.5 ha of this common in the National Nature Reserve...
, where there is a recreation ground, a youth club, a skate park, a pub and housing estates, all built near the railway station
Ashtead railway station
Ashtead railway station is a railway station serving the village of Ashtead in Surrey.-History:Designed by David Field in 1858 and opened by the Epsom and Leatherhead Railway, A part of the London and South Western Railway, it became a joint station between that railway and the London, Brighton...
.
Business
Ashtead Pottery was produced in the village from 1923 until the company ceased trading in 1935.Activities
Ashtead Players have a long and successful history with a distinguished artistic record equalled by few dramatic societies.Established for over 50 years, with two distinct elements:
1) Adult Ashtead Players, successfully presenting a whole range of popular theatrical productions.
2) Young Ashtead Players (12-18 years), offering a real performance experience for younger members.
1st Ashtead Scout
Scout
A scout is a soldier performing reconnaissance and other support duties.Scout may also refer to:-Aircraft:* Scout , pre-1920s terminology for a single-seat fighter...
Group was incorporated on 21st June 1920 and is still offering adventurous and educational programmes to young people between the ages of 6 and 18. It has its own headquarters in Lower Ashtead near Ashtead Common. The group has over 250 members including young people, adult leaders and supporters.
Schools
Ashtead has several schools, including:- Barnett Wood Infant School
- City of London Freemen's SchoolCity of London Freemen's SchoolCity of London Freemen's School is a coeducational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located at Ashtead Park in Surrey, England. It is the sister school of the City of London School and the City of London School for Girls, which are both independent single-sex schools located within...
- private school associated with City of London Corporation - St. Giles' (Church of England) Infant School
- The Greville Primary School
- West Ashtead Primary School
- Ashtead Lodge
Rail
Ashtead has a small modern railway stationAshtead railway station
Ashtead railway station is a railway station serving the village of Ashtead in Surrey.-History:Designed by David Field in 1858 and opened by the Epsom and Leatherhead Railway, A part of the London and South Western Railway, it became a joint station between that railway and the London, Brighton...
with direct services to London Waterloo
Waterloo station
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
, London Victoria, London Bridge
London Bridge station
London Bridge railway station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the London Borough of Southwark, occupying a large area on two levels immediately south-east of London Bridge and 1.6 miles east of Charing Cross. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the...
, Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
, Dorking
Dorking
Dorking is a historic market town at the foot of the North Downs approximately south of London, in Surrey, England.- History and development :...
and Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
lines. It is served by both Southern and South West Trains services.
Road
The London to WorthingWorthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
road, the A24
A24 road (Great Britain)
The A24 is a major road in England. It runs south from Clapham in southwest London through Morden before entering Surrey and heading through Ewell, Epsom, Ashtead, Leatherhead and Dorking...
, runs through the village.
Emergency services
Ashtead is served by these emergency services:- Surrey PoliceSurrey PoliceSurrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Surrey in the south of England.The force is led by Chief Constable Mark Rowley and has its headquarters at Mount Browne, Guildford, Surrey...
- South East Coast Ambulance ServiceSouth East Coast Ambulance ServiceThe South East Coast Ambulance Service is the NHS Ambulance Services Trust for south-eastern England, covering Kent , Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex . It also covers a part of north-eastern Hampshire around Aldershot...
- Surrey Fire & Rescue Service
- Ashtead Hospital, a small private hospitalHospitalA hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
with no A&EEmergency departmentAn emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
department. The nearest general hospital with an A&E department is in EpsomEpsomEpsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
.
Notable residents
- Evan Davis, presenter of Dragons' DenDragons' Den (UK)Dragons' Den is a British television series, hosted by Evan Davis. The format of the show is owned by Sony Pictures and is based on the original Japanese series, which has been sold around the world...
- Clara DowClara DowClara Millington Dow was an English operatic soprano of the early twentieth century. After a concert career, she appeared at the Savoy Theatre in the first repertory seasons of Gilbert and Sullivan operas mounted by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in 1906-09, under the direction of the author...
, singer, soprano for Gilbert and SullivanGilbert and SullivanGilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S... - Albert "Smiler" Marshall, the last British cavalryman to have ridden into battle on the Western Front, lived and died in Ashtead.
- Andrea McLeanAndrea McLeanAndrea McLean is a Scottish television presenter who shares the role of anchor on ITV's Loose Women and is a former GMTV weather girl.-Biography:...
, the ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
television presenter currently lives in the village. - Beverley NicholsBeverley NicholsJohn Beverley Nichols , was an author, playwright, journalist, composer, and public speaker.-Career:...
, whose Merry Hall trilogy is about his decade restoring a house in this area. - Samuel PepysSamuel PepysSamuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
, visited Ashtead in the 17th century and spent some time living there as a boy. - Alec StewartAlec StewartAlec James Stewart OBE is a retired English cricketer, a right-handed batsman-wicketkeeper and former captain of the England cricket team...
, the former England cricketer and wicketkeeper lives in the village. - Arthur DuckhamArthur DuckhamSir Arthur McDougall Duckham GBE, KCB was one of the founders of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, and its first President....
, founder and first President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, lived at High Warren, where he died at the age of 52 after a game of squash.
External links
- Save Ashtead's Village Environment
- Transition Ashtead - Working towards a sustainable Ashtead
- Read a detailed historical record about Ashtead Roman Villa
- Ashtead Parish Church and Village
- Ashtead Choral Society
- Ashtead Residents Association
- Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall
- Ashtead Hospital
- Local community magazine
- Stained Glass Windows at St. George Ashtead, Surrey
- Stained Glass Windows at St. Giles Ashtead, Surrey
- Stained Glass Windows at St. Michael (RC) Ashtead, Surrey
- Ashtead Players
- 1st Ashtead Scout Group