The Banstead Boy at Trafalgar George Perceval's letters to his parents Lord and Lady Arden 1805 to 1815 Published April 2011 Soft Back, 55 pages. Seventeen colour illustrations ISBN:978-0-9566313-1-2 Price: £7.99 Throughout most of the nineteenth century Nork House in Banstead was the country seat of the Perceval family. In 1805, the eleven-year old George Perceval joined the Navy, and within 3 months saw service at the Battle of Trafalgar. Letters that he wrote home to his parents over the first ten years of his naval service have been preserved and provide an intimate account of his experience. It is this unique collection of letters which form the body of this book. They vividly portray the highs and lows he experienced at sea, as well as the affection he felt for his family and his nostalgia for the fireside at Nork House.

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	Beechholme - A Children's Village Also known as The Kensington and Chelsea District School in Fir Tree Road, Nork, Banstead. Published December 2010 ISBN NO: 978-0-9550768-4-8 Soft back Price: £9.99 By Ralph Maciejewski of the Banstead History Research Group. (102 pages including illustrations) Beechholme in its day was a quite revolutionary residential school. Opened in 1880, it was originally called The Kensington and Chelsea District School and it was a home and school to children who would otherwise find themselves in barrack-like institutions, if not the workhouse. The school was situated on a strip of land to the east of Drift Bridge and to the west of Banstead railway station with the railway line to its north and Fir Tree Road to the south. The school adapted over the years. There were name changes to Banstead Residential School and latterly Beechholme.  It was closed in 1974 and demolished without trace to be replaced by the High Beeches housing estate.  This book tells the story of the Children's village.
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Banstead Past and Present The changing scene of Surrey village life in Banstead Published December 2010 Soft Back, 112 pages. Black and White images throughout ISBN:978-0-9550768-9-3 Price: £9.99 This publication is an updated version of the popular, Banstead -Then and Now, last published in 1998.  In the new version, the 'Present' photos were taken in 2009/10 whilst the 'Past' photos are mainly composed of old postcards most of which were published about 100 years ago. Many are new finds and not included in the original publication. The High Street continues to change and this book includes one of the biggest events in recent years, the fire at the Waitrose store, probably only superceded by the devestation caused by the flying bomb which fell at the eastern end of the High street in 1944, demolishing the forge and eventually leading to the rebuilding of The Woolpack.

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"Moving and inspiring . . . " Faith Bedford, daughter of Sergeant Clifford Remané shot in France whilst escaping from a Sherman tank. "I shed a tear when I read about the generosity of his Banstead Post Office colleagues." Jill Skinner, granddaughter of Leading Seaman Bertram Ives killed at Dunkirk. "An amazing touching detailed personal account with historical reference. "Most significant to me was the feeling that this man's life mattered, really mattered, to the author and to the family. I was reminded most poignantly of our responsibility as educators to pay due homage and to tell the stories so students grasp the complexity of sacrifice and are moved enough to act." Janet Crawford, organizer of the Blue Hydrangea Memorial Service at Chilliwack Middle School, B.C. (Canada) held to commemorate WWII airmen killed locally, including Sergeant Gordon Hammond from Banstead.

These Men of Banstead  Stories from the War Memorial. Published September 2010 ISBN NO: 978-0-9566313-0-5 Hardback Fully illustrated in colour  Price: £14.99 By Lewis N. Wood of the Banstead History Research Group. (256 pages including illustrations) You don't have to know about Banstead's War Memorial, the inspiration for this book, in order to appreciate these evocative accounts of thirty-four local men whose names are among those inscribed upon it. The stories introduce the reader into the rich and fascinating history of these men who fought for their country. Each account is complemented by personal and service photographs, images of mementoes and keepsakes, diary entries, and postcards and letters sent home, all the result of painstaking research over a period of four years. Lewis Wood, aided by other members of the Banstead History Research Group, has applied his energies to making contact with descendants, friends and neighbours of these men, as well as securing some telling and moving eye-witness testimonies. A banker, estate agent, farm worker, chaplain and many more men from the village, from all walks of life, gave their lives for their country. This book includes numerous previously unpublished photos obtained from relatives, original family albums or even collections of photos taken by the men themselves. Also included are reviews for each of the war years to add perspective to the unfolding stories; brief summaries which may encourage the reader to delve more into the substance behind the headlines. The subjects of this book all came from a small, semi-rural part of North Surrey, but their experiences were repeated across the nation and the world. If the stories of all those men were to be recorded, one would hope they might be as well presented as in These Men of Banstead.

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A Celebration — The story of the Banstead Arts Festival Society The First Thirty Years . Published April 2010 Soft Back 70 pages. Illustrated in colour ISBN: 978-0-9550768-8-6 Price: £7.99 Who better than Rowena Cox to compile this aptly titled 'Celebration'? As a long-standing committee member and chairman, she has an insider's knowledge of the way the Banstead Arts Society functions, and of the personalities who have shaped its development. Her access to the Society's archives and her own encyclopaedic memory gives the pages of this book special authority. Those with long memories will find the pleasure of past events recreated by text and photographs, while relative newcomers will be impressed by the roll-call of distinguished performers who have been welcomed to Banstead at the beginning of their careers and have gone on to become well known names.

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The Church of St Mary's, Burgh Heath. The first 100 years. Published November 2008 Soft Back 80pp. Illustrated in colour ISBN: 978-0-9550768-5-5 Price: £7.99 Towards the end of the 19th century the parish church of All Saints, Banstead was frequently overcrowded due to the gradual increase in the local population. A number of plans to enlarge the old church were proposed but none of them was regarded as anything but unsatisfactory as they would have destroyed its unique and picturesque character. The only viable alternative was to build a second church elsewhere in the parish. St. Mary's Church was finally built at Burgh Heath in 1909. Over the years the church witnessed many changes. It was also threatened with closure on a number of occasions. In particular, in late 1962, the newly incumbent Vicar felt that it would be in the best pastoral interests of the neighborhood to demolish the church and build a garage and filling station in its place. Thankfully, such an act of vandalism by a clergyman was rejected by the local urban district borough council. This book, which has numerous illustrations in colour, celebrates the centenary of a church which against all the odds has survived and which is more vibrant than ever.

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Garratts Hall, Banstead. The Story Of A Victorian Gentleman's Residence. Published November 2008 ISBN NO: 978-0-9550768-6-2 Soft back Price: £7.99 By John Sweetman of the Banstead History Research Group. (64 pages including illustrations) At the end of the 19th century Banstead was a moderately-sized village, notable chiefly for a few large houses with a comfortable or large amount of land attached to them. One of those houses was Garratts Hall, which was in Garratts Lane. The house was home for a large part of the preceding two centuries of a branch of the prosperous and prolific Lambert family. This lavishly illustrated book contains photographs from the archives of the Lambert family which have never been seen before. It traces the fascinating history of the mansion and its occupants from the earliest days to its use as a school for ladies during its latter years to its final demolition to make way for a housing development in the 1930s.

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The History of All Saints Church Banstead Published May 2007 ISBN No: 978-0-9550768-3-1 Price: £7.99 Author - Geoffrey Robinson a member of the Banstead History Research Group. 62 pages including 40 colour plates, 14 Black and White and 7 Line drawings. The parish church of Banstead in Surrey is by far the oldest building in the district. Situated just off the High Street, it is most likely that there has been a church on the site for at least 1,000 years. The book traces the history of the church from the time of the Domesday Survey of 1086 through the restoration in the 1860s to the present day. It also covers the history of the Manor House which stood nearby in the 13th and 14th centuries.

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	BANSTEAD Three Lectures on its History Published 2006 ISBN NO: 0-9550768-2-X Price: £9.99 By the Banstead History Research Group. (117 pages including illustrations) This book contains a reprint of the lectures given by Sir Henry Lambert K.C.M.G., C.B. in 1923 at the Council schools Banstead. The lectures are supplemented in this edition by articles written by Sir Henry Lambert and published in the Banstead Quarterly between 1933 and 1935. The new version also includes many photographs of places mentioned in the text. BHRG are grateful to Sir Henry Lambert's great grandson, Michael Lambert, for contributing the foreward to this book. The first lecture starts..." When I was building my present house (Originally known as LARKLANDS, now New Place in Park Road) and making a garden, the ground being on a slope, it was necessary to cut into the hill. On returning from town one evening, I was told that the men had found some old bones............". The picture on the left shows a rare copy of the original book.
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World War II The Banstead Ammunition Depot Published 2006 Price: £2.99 BHRG (20 pages) Banstead seemed to be of little interest from a military point of view. It was an open residential area with no industrial plant or military establishment; It was not on or near a mainline railroad or trunk road. Perhaps it was for those very reasons, along with its position, beyond but not too far from the outskirts of London, that an important and potentially very dangerous military depot came to be sited in the area. This was what came to be described as "No. 116 Equipment Ammunition Depot". This little book tells a brief story of EAD 116, describes the location and includes many current pictures..
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	THE HISTORY OF BANSTEAD Vol I (Published 2005) Price: £8.50 By J Sweetman. (164 pages including illustrations) The story of Banstead starts with what is known about the occupation of the Romans and the Anglo Saxons in the district. It then proceeds to describe century by century, the major events, people and conditions in Banstead up until 1840, set against the general historical background of the times. THE HISTORY OF BANSTEAD Vol II (Published 2005) Price: £9.50 By J Sweetman. (246 pages including illustrations) This is a revised and updated version of 'Banstead - a History' published by the Banstead History Research Group in 1993. After a brief summary of the village's early history, this book deals in detail with the story of Banstead from 1841 to the present day. AMAZING VALUE! BHRG is a non profit making Group and the prices of these two books have been set to simply recover our publication costs. save a further £3 by buying both books together for just £15. .
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A History of Poor Law and Charity Relief in Banstead Published 2004 Price: £5.00 By John Sweetman (36 pages) This book looks at the efforts made through the Poor Law or by charity to relieve at least the extremes of poverty in the Banstead area. It includes the significant contribution made by organisations such as the Epsom Union Workhouse and individuals such as Henry Smith also known as 'Dog Smith'.
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	Memories of Wartime Banstead District Published 2002 Price: £7.50 By E J Bond. (88 pages including illustrations) Amply illustrated, this book contains the recollections of people who lived in the Banstead Urban District area during the 1939/1945 war, told in their own way. The result is a convincing account of what it was like to live under a constant threat of bombing and with all the difficulties of rationing and other aspects of wartime. The book includes stories of Home Guard and other Emergency Service activities.
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EARLY BANSTEAD (Published 2001) Price:£4.00 (27 pages including 12 pages of photographs) This booklet is an edited edition of talks given by Mark Cory and Richard Mantle. It provides readers with an easy introduction to the story of the Banstead area from the earliest days until the time of the rapid developments between the two World Wars. Illustrations show various aspects of village life.
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	BEECHHOLME. (Published 1998) OUT OF PRINT # This booklet has been replaced by a brand new 100-page book published in Dec 2010. Click here. By Geoff Marshall. (32 pages including plan and photographs) This was a pioneering Residential School for children from London who were orphans, deserted or otherwise in need. It was planned on the lines of a conventional Boarding School, with strict discipline but good facilities. Changing with the times, the School was ultimately closed in 1974. This is the story of the school, including the recollections of some of the pupils who went there.
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WORLD WAR II - THE BANSTEAD WOOD CAMP (Published 1995) Original Price: £2.50 - Now £2.00 By John Sweetman (25 pages) For the whole of the war Banstead Wood was requisitioned by the War Department. Huts were built, and the Camp was used first for the Canadian Army and afterwards as a prisoner-of-war camp for Italians and then for Germans. This is the story of those occupations, based on information from people who were inside or outside the camp.
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	BANSTEAD - A HISTORY (Published 1993) OUT OF PRINT (148 pages with index, maps and illustrations) The book shows how the village and community of Banstead, including Nork and areas from Tattenham Corner to Preston Lane, have grown into their present form. Part 1 starts with a brief account of early history, followed by a description of the village in the 1840s and then, step by step, its growth until recent times. Part II deals with various subjects without limitations of time - e.g. prominent families and persons, transport and the mail.
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Banstead - Then and Now (Published 1987, with 1998 Supplement) Original Price: £8.50 OUT OF PRINT This booklet has been replaced by a brand new 112-page book published in Dec 2010. Click here. After a short introduction to the history of Banstead, and a map, the book proceeds to illustrate main features of the village and how they have changed over the years, by means of photographs taken long ago and others taken from the same spot some eighty or ninety years later, with explanatory captions. The result is a pictorial passage from the old village to the new. This book includes many old photos and postcards not shown on this website.
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	Village School, Banstead and Henry Knibbs, Victorian Schoolmaster (Published 1981) By Irene O'Shea (12 pages) Price:£2.00 This small book tells the story of the School which was opened in 1858, and which in 1862 was taken charge of by Henry Knibbs, aged 20. It shows how Knibbs, a man of great energy, played a major part in the life of the village. He remained Headmaster until 1904.
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For further details and orders please mail the Publications secretary at BHRG books . Please note - prices quoted above exclude p&p
Publications in print can be obtained from:
The IBIS Bookshop, 109 High St Banstead. tel 01737 353260 .
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Home Hills & Beyond by Wendy Henningsson a member of BHRG. The book starts with my schooldays in Banstead village school. It includes a chapter describing neighbours in Croydon Lane where I lived until I was about 18. Also included is a group photograph of the VE-day celebration party for children with fancy dress competition which I believe is unique to this book. One chapter describes my seven years at Wallington Grammar school, and although not Banstead history one could say it is social history of Surrey. The rest of the book describes student days in the UK and abroad, and then how I adapted to a new life in Sweden where I still live. Wendy Henningsson. For further details please visit www.Norkbooks.com
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It's simple to order a publication Just send us an email! We only need FOUR bits of information :-         - Your full name         - Your address         - The book title or titles you wish to purchase and                - The number of copies. Email the above details to books@bansteadhistory.com. Your book/s will be sent to you with an invoice which will include the actual postage cost. We normally publish several books each year so do remember to visit our site again. Thank you. Banstead History Research Group ^^ Back to book list ^^