Ashtead
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ashtead | |
  Ashtead shown within Surrey |
|
| Population | 13,494 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Mole Valley |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Ashtead |
| Postcode district | KT21 |
| Dialling code | 01372 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| European 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.
Contents |
[edit] 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 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 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.
[edit] 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 pub and large housing estates, all built near the railway station.
[edit] Business
Ashtead Pottery was produced in the village from 1923 until the company ceased trading in 1935.
[edit] 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[4]
- The Greville Primary School[5]
- West Ashtead Primary School[6]
[edit] Transport
[edit] Rail
Ashtead has a small modern railway station on the London to Horsham, Dorking and Guildford lines.
[edit] Road
The London to Worthing road, the A24, runs through the village.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Famous People
- Samuel Pepys visited Ashtead in the 17th century and spent some time living there as a boy.[7]
- Andrea McLean, the Scottish television presenter currently lives in the village.
[edit] Current Affairs
A number of Ashtead residents opposed a recent "change of use application" that has seen a private residence converted into a family support centre.[8] The intended purpose of the family centre was to offer the relatives of injured service personnel at Headley Court some short term accommodation.[9] Members of the The Army Rumour Service website started a coordinated campaign against the local residents objections[10] and a Downing St petition was initiated.[11] The application was unanimously approved by Mole Valley District Council Development Control Committee on 1 August 2007.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ Ashtead Common cultural heritage. City of London. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
- ^ Surrey Doomsday Book
- ^ Barnett Wood Infant School. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
- ^ St. Giles' School. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
- ^ The Greville School. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
- ^ West Ashtead Primary School. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
- ^ The Six Visits of Mr. Pepys
- ^ Daily Mail Article on Ashtead Residents objection to family support centre
- ^ Fury over home for soldiers' relatives
- ^ ARRSE Campaign
- ^ No 10 Downing Street Petition
- ^ BBC News - Service families' home approved
