Ashtead: Difference between revisions – Wikipedia

Village in Surrey, England

Human settlement in England

Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately 15.5 mi (25 km) south of central London. Primarily a commuter settlement, Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on the northern slopes of the North Downs and is in the catchment area of The Rye, a tributary of the River Mole.

The earliest archaeological evidence for human activity in the village is from the Stone Age. At several points in its history, including during the early Roman period, Ashtead has been a centre for brick and tile manufacture. From medieval times until the late 19th century, Ashtead was primarily an agricultural settlement. Residential development was catalysed by the opening of the railway line between Epsom and Leatherhead in 1859 and by the breakup of the Ashtead Park estate in the 1880s. Housebuilding continued into the 20th century, reaching a peak in the 1930s. Future expansion is now constrained by the Metropolitan Green Belt, which encircles the village.

There are two nature reserves in the village: Ashtead Common, to the north west of the centre, forms part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is owned by the Corporation of London; Ashtead Park, to the east of the centre is a Local Nature Reserve owned by the District Council.

Toponymy[edit]

In the Domesday Book of 1086, Ashtead is recorded as Stede,^[2] which simply means “place”.^[3] In later documents, the village appears as Estede,^[4] Akestede^[5] and Aschestede (13th century),^[4] Asshstede (1370s),^[6] Ashstede (14th century), Asshested (15th century)^[5] and Ashsted (1820).^[7] The name is generally agreed to mean “place of ash trees“.^{[4][note 1]}

Geography[edit]

Location and topography[edit]

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Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, approximately 25 km (16 mi) south of central London. It lies on the southern edge of the London Basin and the highest point in the parish is 129.5 m (425 ft) above ordnance datum. Both the Epsom to Leatherhead railway line and the A24 run from northeast to southwest through the settlement, broadly parallel to The Rye, a tributary of the River Mole.^[9][10]

The historic core of Ashtead is known locally as “The Village” and is focused around the main shopping area along The Street (A24).^[11] The residential area to the north west, closer to the railway station, is known as “Lower Ashtead” and incorporates secondary shopping centres on Craddocks Parade and Barnett Wood Lane.^{[11][12][note 2]}

There are two protected nature reserves in Ashtead: Ashtead Common, a 181 ha (450-acre) woodland, is owned and managed by the City of London Corporation and is to the north west of Lower Ashtead;^[15] the 54 ha (130-acre) Ashtead Park is to the east of The Village and is owned by Mole Valley District Council.^[16]

Geology[edit]

Like many of the villages between Croydon and Guildford, Ashtead is a spring line settlement. It is positioned at the point where the chalk of the North Downs dips beneath the London Clay. The chalk is a natural aquifer and numerous wells have been bored into the ground to obtain drinking water. Springs rise at several points along the boundary between the permeable and impermeable ground, some of which feed The Rye and its tributaries, while others feed the ponds on the Common and in the Park.^[9]

History[edit]

Pre-history[edit]

The earliest evidence of human activity is from the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods. A backed blade made of flint, dating from 50,000 to 12,000 years before present (BP), was found during pipeline excavations in Lower Ashtead, near Barnett Wood Lane^[17] and tranchet axes, dating from 15,000 to 5000 BP, have been discovered in Ottways Lane and Glebe Road.^[18][19] During the demolition of Parsons Mead School in 2009, pottery from the Neolithic was found which contained charcoal that was radiocarbon dated to 3775-3659 BP.^[20] Bronze Age artefacts discovered in the village include a spearhead^[21] and pottery sherds.^[22][23]

Roman and Saxon[edit]

Ashtead was the site of a major Roman brickworks in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The site on Ashtead Common consisted of a corridor villa and kilns adjacent to a series of claypits. A bath house was also provided for the use of the workers. The complex was excavated in the 1920s^[24][25] and it is now protected by scheduled monument status.^[26][27]

Bricks and tiles produced in Ashtead were most likely transported via a short branch road to Stane Street, the Roman road that runs to the south east of the village centre.^[28][29] Remains of a building close to St Giles’ Church, suggest that Roman occupation of Ashtead continued into the 4th century.^[30]

Although there is no archaeological evidence…