Burstow is a parish in Tandridge, 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

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is one of the largest parishes in the local government district of Tandridge and its principal settlement is the village of Smallfield

Smallfield

Smallfield is a village located in Surrey, England. The village is part of the census area Burstow which has a population of 4,301.Smallfield lies to the east of the M23 which runs between the M25 and London Gatwick Airport...

. The parish church of Burstow is situated some 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south-west of Smallfield village.

The earliest mention of Burstow appears in a church record of 1121 but it is practically certain that a church was in existence long before that time.

John Flamsteed

John Flamsteed

Sir John Flamsteed FRS was an English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal. He catalogued over 3000 stars.- Life :Flamsteed was born in Denby, Derbyshire, England, the only son of Stephen Flamsteed...

, who achieved fame through his appointment by Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 as his first Astronomical Observator (a title later changed to Astronomer Royal

Astronomer Royal

Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the second is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834....

) in 1675, was Rector of Burstow from 1684 until his death in 1719, and is buried in Burstow church. A star that commemorates him may be seen in the large window above the altar.

The decorated Second Boer War

Second Boer War

The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...

 and World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 officer Alexander Kearsey

Alexander Kearsey

Alexander Horace Cyril Kearsey DSO, OBE was a career highly decorated British Army officer who served in the Second Boer War and World War I. He was also an English cricketer, but his military career limited his cricketing appearances. The son of Francis Kearsey, he was born at Burstow Hall,...

 was born at Burstow Hall, which lies within the parish.

The parish lay within the Reigate

Reigate (hundred)

Reigate was a hundred in what is now Surrey, England. It includes the town of Reigate.The Reigate hundred includes the parishes of: Betchworth, Burstow, Buckworth, Charlwood, Chipstead, Gatton, Horley, Leigh, Merstham, Nutfield and Reigate....

 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...

.