Coordinates: 51°18′36″N 0°17′55″W / 51.3101°N 0.2986°W
| Ashtead | |
  Ashtead
Ashtead shown within Surrey |
|
| Population | 13,494 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Mole Valley |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Ashtead |
| Postcode district | KT21 |
| Dialling code | 01372 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Epsom and Ewell |
| List of places: UK • England • Surrey | |
Ashtead is a large village situated within the Green Belt of Surrey, England, and is part of the suburbia of London. It is separated from Leatherhead by the M25, and from Epsom by Ashtead Common.
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History
There has been settlement in Ashtead since at least Roman times, with a Roman villa excavated in what is now Ashtead common.[1] Ashtead lay within the Copthorne 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 hides and 1 virgate; 16 ploughs, 4 acres (16,000 m2) of meadow, woodland worth 7 hogs. It rendered (in total): £12.[2] 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:
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.
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, 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 park, a youth club, a skate park, a pub and large housing estates, all built near the railway station.
Business
Ashtead Pottery was produced in the village from 1923 until the company ceased trading in 1935.
Schools
Ashtead has several schools, including:
- Barnett Wood Infant School[3]
- City of London Freemen's School - private school associated with City of London Corporation
- St. Giles' (Church of England) Infant School
- The Greville Primary School[4]
- West Ashtead Primary School[5]
- Ashtead Lodge[6]
Transport
Rail
Ashtead has a small modern railway station on the London to Horsham, Dorking and Guildford lines. It is served by both Southern and South West Trains services.
Road
The London to Worthing road, the
Emergency services
Ashtead is served by these emergency services:
- Surrey Police
- South East Coast Ambulance Service
- Surrey Fire & Rescue Service
- Ashtead Hospital, a small private hospital with no A&E department. The nearest general hospital with an A&E department is in Epsom.
Famous residents
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009) |
- Evan Davis - presenter of Dragons' Den.
- Clara Dow- singer, soprano for Gilbert and Sullivan
- Albert "Smiler" Marshall- the last British cavalryman to have ridden into battle on the Western Front, lived and died in Ashtead.
- Andrea McLean- the Scottish television presenter currently lives in the village.
- Beverley Nichols- whose Merry Hall trilogy is about his decade restoring a house in this area.
- Samuel Pepys- visited Ashtead in the 17th century and spent some time living there as a boy.[7]
References
- ^ "Ashtead Common cultural heritage". City of London. http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Environment_and_planning/Parks_and_open_spaces/Ashstead_Common/. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
- ^ Surrey Domesday Book
- ^ "Barnett Wood Infant School". http://www.barnett-wood.surrey.sch.uk/. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
- ^ "The Greville School". http://www.greville.surrey.sch.uk/. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
- ^ "West Ashtead Primary School". http://www.west-ashtead.surrey.sch.uk/. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
- ^ "Downsend School". http://www.downsend.co.uk/. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
- ^ The Six Visits of Mr. Pepys
External links
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