Merstham
Encyclopedia
Merstham is a village in the Reigate and Banstead
borough of Surrey
, England
, in the London commuter belt
. It is just north of Redhill
, near the intersection of the M25
and M23
motorways, on the edge of the North Downs
and on the North Downs Way
.
times.
The village lay within the Reigate
hundred
, an Anglo-Saxon
administrative division. Its name was recorded in 947 as Mearsætham, which seems to be Anglo-Saxon Mearþ-sǣt-hām = "Homestead
near a trap set for arten]s or weasel
s".
Merstham appears in Domesday Book
of 1086 as Merstan. It was held by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury
. Its domesday assets were: 5 hide
s; 1 church, 1 mill
worth 2s 6d, 10 plough
s, 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) of meadow
, woodland
and herbage worth 41 hogs. It rendered £12.
The area has long been known for its quarries, and it was to serve these that the village became the terminus of the Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway, an extension of the horse-drawn Surrey Iron Railway
of 1803, the world's first public railway
. A small section of the railway is on display near Quality Street.
The village's oldest church, St. Katharine's, dates from approximately 1100, and the current building originates from approximately 1220.
Merstham's most historic street is called 'Quality Street'. This was so named after the male and female lead actors in J.M. Barrie's play
of the same name lived in the 'Old Forge' at the end of the street.
The earlier of the two Merstham railway tunnels
was the scene of a murder
on 24 September 1905. The mutilated body of Mary Sophia Money was found in the tunnel and was first thought to be a case of suicide. On inspection, however, a scarf was found in the victim's throat, and marks on the tunnel wall showed that she had been thrown from a moving train. The crime was never solved, but suspicion rested on Miss Money's brother, Robert Money.
After World War II
, a large housing estate was built to the south-east of Merstham village. This area has its own shops and amenities, and is usually known as Merstham Estate. South Merstham is south of both mentioned areas and is made up of mainly Victorian and Edwardian terraces, which served Albury Manor. There is currently a new development underway in South Merstham close to Mercers Park, called Water-Colour. The old village is sometimes known as Old or Top Merstham.
Rockshaw Road, in Top Merstham, was developed at the very end of the 19th century and between the World Wars was home to many notable people, among them senior Army and Navy figures, financiers and politicians.
At the junction of Battlebridge Lane and Nutfield Road is All Saints church, the original building of which was destroyed in the war. Volunteers from the Canadian regiments worked to build a temporary church for the village, which became known as Canada Hall and is used as a village hall and weekly meeting hall for some Merstham branches of the Girl Guides.
, Coulsdon
, Purley
and Redhill town centre.
The village is served by Merstham railway station
on the Brighton Main Line
, with services to Croydon, London Bridge
and London Victoria, and Gatwick Airport is a few miles to the south.
Reigate and Banstead
Reigate and Banstead is a local government district with borough status in east Surrey England. It covers the towns of Reigate, Banstead, Redhill and Horley....
borough 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
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...
, in the London commuter belt
London commuter belt
The London commuter belt is the metropolitan area surrounding London, England from which it is practical to commute to work in the capital. It is alternatively known as the Greater South East, the London metropolitan area or the Southeast metropolitan area...
. It is just north of Redhill
Redhill, Surrey
Redhill is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, England and is part of the London commuter belt. Redhill and the adjacent town of Reigate form a single urban area.-History:...
, near the intersection of 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 M23
M23 motorway
The M23 motorway is a motorway in England. The motorway runs from south of Hooley in Surrey, where it splits from the A23, to Pease Pottage, south of Crawley in West Sussex where it rejoins the A23. The northern end of the motorway starts at junction 7 on what is effectively a spur north from...
motorways, on the edge of the North Downs
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...
and on the North Downs Way
North Downs Way
The North Downs Way is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Godalming, Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Kent Downs AONB.East of Boughton Lees, the path splits...
.
History
The area has been settled since pre-RomanRoman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
times.
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...
, an Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
administrative division. Its name was recorded in 947 as Mearsætham, which seems to be Anglo-Saxon Mearþ-sǣt-hām = "Homestead
Homestead
-Property-related:*Homestead , a single building, or collection of buildings grouped together on a large agricultural holding*Homestead , a cluster of several single-family houses in southern Africa...
near a trap set for arten]s or weasel
Weasel
Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....
s".
Merstham appears in 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...
of 1086 as Merstan. It was held by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
. Its domesday assets were: 5 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; 1 church, 1 mill
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
worth 2s 6d, 10 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, 8 acres (32,374.9 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...
and herbage worth 41 hogs. It rendered £12.
The area has long been known for its quarries, and it was to serve these that the village became the terminus of the Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway, an extension of the horse-drawn Surrey Iron Railway
Surrey Iron Railway
The Surrey Iron Railway was a horse drawn plateway whose width approximated to a standard gauge railway that linked the former Surrey towns of Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham...
of 1803, the world's first public railway
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
. A small section of the railway is on display near Quality Street.
The village's oldest church, St. Katharine's, dates from approximately 1100, and the current building originates from approximately 1220.
Merstham's most historic street is called 'Quality Street'. This was so named after the male and female lead actors in J.M. Barrie's play
Quality Street (play)
Quality Street is a comedy in four acts by J. M. Barrie, written before his more famous work Peter Pan. The story is about two sisters who start a school "for genteel children"....
of the same name lived in the 'Old Forge' at the end of the street.
The earlier of the two Merstham railway tunnels
Merstham tunnels
The Merstham and Quarry tunnels are two railway tunnels on the Brighton main line between Merstham and Coulsdon in Surrey, Great Britain...
was the scene of a murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
on 24 September 1905. The mutilated body of Mary Sophia Money was found in the tunnel and was first thought to be a case of suicide. On inspection, however, a scarf was found in the victim's throat, and marks on the tunnel wall showed that she had been thrown from a moving train. The crime was never solved, but suspicion rested on Miss Money's brother, Robert Money.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a large housing estate was built to the south-east of Merstham village. This area has its own shops and amenities, and is usually known as Merstham Estate. South Merstham is south of both mentioned areas and is made up of mainly Victorian and Edwardian terraces, which served Albury Manor. There is currently a new development underway in South Merstham close to Mercers Park, called Water-Colour. The old village is sometimes known as Old or Top Merstham.
Rockshaw Road, in Top Merstham, was developed at the very end of the 19th century and between the World Wars was home to many notable people, among them senior Army and Navy figures, financiers and politicians.
At the junction of Battlebridge Lane and Nutfield Road is All Saints church, the original building of which was destroyed in the war. Volunteers from the Canadian regiments worked to build a temporary church for the village, which became known as Canada Hall and is used as a village hall and weekly meeting hall for some Merstham branches of the Girl Guides.
Transport
Buses run to CroydonCroydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, Coulsdon
Coulsdon
Coulsdon is a town on the southernmost boundary of the London Borough of Croydon. It is surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt of the Farthing Down, Coulsdon Common and Kenley Common...
, Purley
Purley, London
Purley is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is a suburban development situated 11.7 miles south of Charing Cross.The name derives from "pirlea", which means 'Peartree lea'. Purley has a population of about 72,000....
and Redhill town centre.
The village is served by Merstham railway station
Merstham railway station
Merstham railway station is in Surrey, England. It is on the Brighton Main Line, and train services are provided by Southern.- History :Merstham was on a stretch of line between Croydon and Redhill which Parliament insisted should be shared by the London and Brighton Railway route to Brighton, and...
on the Brighton Main Line
Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line is a British railway line from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton. It is about 50 miles long, and is electrified throughout. Trains are operated by Southern, First Capital Connect, and Gatwick Express, now part of Southern.-Original proposals:There were no fewer...
, with services to Croydon, 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...
and London Victoria, and Gatwick Airport is a few miles to the south.
External links
- Merstham Community Facility A Community Centre at the heart of Merstham, we have courses, local groups, meeting rooms and an I.T. cafe.
- Merstham Ward Councillors News, views and discussion from Merstham's Borough and County Councillors.
- Merstham online - the community website with a wealth of information
- Merstham Village
- Merstham Cricket Club
- Merstham F.C. online
- Reigate & Banstead Council
- County Council web site
- The Merstham Tunnel Mystery
- Reigate and Redhill Guide and Directory
- Merstham Massive Community Portal Merstham Community Portal Site
- Merstham's Neighbourhood Police Team
- The Moat House Doctors Surgery Merstham's local Doctors