- Oxted
-
Coordinates: 51°15′27″N 0°00′24″W / 51.25738°N 0.00653°W
Oxted
High Street, Old Oxted
Oxted shown within Surrey
Population 12,576 [1] OS grid reference TQ392528 District Tandridge Shire county Surrey Region South East Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town OXTED Postcode district RH8 Dialling code 01883 Police Surrey Fire Surrey Ambulance South East Coast EU Parliament South East England UK Parliament East Surrey List of places: UK • England • Surrey Oxted is a commuter town in Surrey, England at the foot of the North Downs, north of East Grinstead and south-east of Croydon.
Contents
History
The town lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Tandridge hundred.
Oxted appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Acstede, meaning 'Place where oaks grew'. It was held by Eustace II of Boulogne. Its Domesday assets were: 5 hides; 1 church, 2 mills worth 12s 6d, 20 ploughs, 4 acres (16,000 m2) of meadow, pannage worth 100 hogs. It rendered £14 and 2d from a house in Southwark.[2]
The original village of Oxted (now Old Oxted) is a small village centred around a short high street with four pubs (The Old Bell, The George Inn, The Crown Inn and The Wheatsheaf) just off the A25. Oxted's oldest church (St Mary's) was built some distance north-east from the original settlement of Oxted, but it is almost surrounded by the new town. The church dates from at least Norman times and stands on a conspicuous mound, perhaps artificial. It is possible that a Saxon church of wattle and daub existed on the site before the later stone construction. With the arrival of the railway in 1884 (after many years' delay caused by lack of funds) Oxted boomed around its station, north-east of Old Oxted), and new buildings created "New Oxted". These new buildings were built in the Tudor style.
The Greenwich Meridian runs through Oxted School and Oxted.
In 2011 The Daily Telegraph listed Oxted as the twentieth richest town in Britian. [3]
Oxted is one of the few Surrey towns to retain its town brass band, Oxted Band, which has been a permanent fixture within the town since 1901. [4]
Notable residents
- Artist Albert Houthuesen lived and painted in Oxted in 1950.
- Since the 1970s businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed has lived at Barrow Green Court and farm near Oxted. [5]
- Band Rooster come from the Oxted area.
- Photographer Bert Hardy moved to Oxted in 1964 and died there in 1995.
- Palaeontologist, TV presenter and author, Alan Charig lived in Oxted from 1958 until his death in 1997.
- Singer Louise, formerly of the band Eternal and now married to footballer Jamie Redknapp, lived in Oxted during her childhood.
- Television presenter Kim Woodburn lives in Old Oxted [6]
- Footballers who have lived in Oxted include Julián Speroni, goalkeeper for Crystal Palace Football Club, Ian Pearce who is currently assistant manager at Lincoln City Football Club, Hull City A.F.C. striker Nicky Forster, former Manchester City and Middlesbrough midfielder, Jamie Pollock, and former Hearts winger, David Wagstaff, retired to Oxted in 1993.
- Reality star and former Atomic Kitten member, Kerry Katona.
Education
Oxted's main school is Oxted School (Oxted County School until 2000), which is a large secondary school. Opened in 1929, it has over 2000 pupils and is one of the largest in the country. There are two other state schools in Oxted, Downs Way primary school and St Mary's C of E junior school.
There is one private school, Hazelwood School (co-education 2.5 to 13 years).
Pram Race
Oxted is host to a charity pram race held annually. It was started in 1977 by Eric and Elsie Hallson, who ran it for nearly 20 years before retiring. Entrants wear fancy dress and must push a pram around the two thirds of a mile course, stopping at each of the seven licensed premises on the way to quaff a drink as quickly as they can. The race ends in Old Oxted high street where the road is closed for the evening and a street party is held.[7]
See also
- Oxted railway station
- Oxted School
- Titsey Place
References
- ^ Statstics.gov.uk
- ^ Surrey Domesday Book
- ^ "Britain's richest towns: 20 - 11". The Daily Telegraph (London). 18 April 2008. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/3361038/Britains-richest-towns-20-11.html.
- ^ OxtedBand.co.uk
- ^ Bower, Tom (1998). Fayed: The Unauthorized Biography. Macmillan. p. 43. ISBN 9780333745540.
- ^ Salmon, James. "Kim Woodburn: My Money". Daily Mail. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/celebrity/article.html?in_article_id=427491&in_page_id=181. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
- ^ Oxtedpramrace.co.uk
Towns, villages and hamlets in the Tandridge (district) District of Surrey, England Bletchingley · Burstow · Caterham · Caterham on the Hill · Caterham Valley · Chaldon · Chelsham · Crowhurst · Dormansland · Farleigh · Felbridge · Felcourt · Fickleshole · Godstone · Hamsey Green · Horne · Hurst Green · Limpsfield · Lingfield · Nutfield · Oxted · Smallfield · Tandridge · Tatsfield · Titsey · Warlingham · Whyteleafe · WoldinghamCategories:- Towns in Surrey
- Tandridge
- Civil parishes in Surrey
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.