Ashtead

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Ashtead
map_type= Surrey
latitude=51.3101
longitude=-0.2986
population = 13,494 [http://www.mole-valley.gov.uk/template/townscensus/towns/ashtead.pdf]
shire_district= Mole Valley
shire_county = Surrey
region= South East England
constituency_westminster= Epsom and Ewell
post_town= Ashtead
postcode_district = KT21
postcode_area= KT
dial_code= 01372
os_grid_reference= TQ1858

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.

History

There has been settlement in Ashtead since at least Roman times, with a Roman villa excavated in what is now Ashtead common. [cite web
url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/living_environment/open_spaces/Ashtead+Common+cultural+heritage.htm | title=Ashtead Common cultural heritage | publisher=City of London | accessdate=2008-04-24] 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, convert|4|acre|m2 of meadow, woodland worth 7 hogs. It rendered (in total): £12. [ [http://www.gwp.enta.net/surrnames.htm Surrey "Domesday Book"] ] 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 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 [cite web | url=http://www.barnett-wood.surrey.sch.uk/ | title=Barnett Wood Infant School | accessdate=2008-04-24]
* City of London Freemen's School - private school associated with City of London Corporation
* St. Giles' (Church of England) Infant School [cite web | url=http://parish.ashtead.org/special/stgschool.htm | title=St. Giles' School | accessdate=2008-04-24]
* The Greville Primary School [cite web | url=http://www.greville.surrey.sch.uk/ | title=The Greville School | accessdate=2008-04-24]
* West Ashtead Primary School [cite web | url=http://www.west-ashtead.surrey.sch.uk/ | title=West Ashtead Primary School | accessdate=2008-04-24]

Transport

Rail

Ashtead has a small modern railway station on the London to Horsham, Dorking and Guildford lines.

Road

The London to Worthing road, the A24, runs through the village.

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 People

*Samuel Pepys visited Ashtead in the 17th century and spent some time living there as a boy. [ [http://www.epsom.townpage.co.uk/bhmpepys.htm The Six Visits of Mr. Pepys] ]
*Andrea McLean, the Scottish television presenter currently lives in the village.

References

External links

* [http://parish.ashtead.org Ashtead Parish Church and Village]
* [http://www.ashteadresidents.org.uk/ Ashtead Residents Association]
* [http://www.apmh.org.uk Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall]
* [http://www.capio.co.uk/Find+a+hospital/chooseyourhospital/CapioHospitals/Capio+Ashtead+Hospital.htm Ashtead Hospital]