Historical houses in Banstead Village

Grand Houses

Last updated: 9 Dec 2022

Banstead Hall Large Victorian house built about 1870 near the Brighton Road as a residence, with about 4 acres of land. From about 1889 became private preparatory school with playing fields, run by E J Maitland. The playing fields were later extended. After Mr Maitland's death in 1903, the School was carried on by his widow and then by their son. He bought the adjoining houses, Basing House and Banstead House and their grounds for the school. The School closed in 1936 and was bought by the Surrey County Council for use as an 'Approved School'for boys, which continued until 1970.
In about 1980 the buildings were demolished and part of the site and grounds was used for blocks of flats and houses in Dunnymans Road. Other parts of the grounds are now occupied by a tennis club, a wildlife field off Basing Road and a housing estate on the northern side near the Brighton Road. The picture comes from a postcard sent in July 1905

Banstead Place

Banstead Place in Park Road was thought to have been built in 1790 by John Motteux a member of the Huguenot family however a recent (2020) in depth piece of research by Archealogy South-East says as follows:

"The main building at Banstead Place has been ascribed various dates by different sources. . . . However, the Historic England list description attributes it with an early 18th century construction date, with 19th and 20th century additions, which is supported by the Surrey HER data which records a date of 1720"

The picture is from a postcard sent in 1913.

Later owners were John Lambert and Sir Ralph Neville who eventually bequeathed the house to the Worshipful company of Skinners for charitable purposes.

The Queen Elizabeth's Foundation for the disabled ran it as a mobility assessment centre but the property has been sold and is likely to be developed into an elderly care home. It is understood that many of the original features will be retained wherever possible.

Bentley Lodge
This was a large Victorian house with gardens, ground and lodge, built about 1865 and occupied by Allen Sarle 1867-1874.

It is now the site of Ridgemount Old People's Home, Sheltered Workshop, Social Services Centre and Council flats in "The Horseshoe".

Buff House
This was a large residence with seven bedrooms, stabling, chauffeur's cottage, gardens and a 3 acre paddock, plus other cottages and grounds. An interesting feature was a window above the fireplace, allowing the residents to sit around the fire and look out over London at the same time. It is now the site of a parade of shops and business premises fronting on to the northern side of the High Street, with flats or offices over them. A housing estate was built on the land.

Castle House

The original building was a house called Rooks Nest and built in 1770.

The frontage was later considerably extended and the front door moved. The earliest known occupant was Simon Wilmot but it soon passed to the Lambert family who eventually rented it out.

In 1903 it was purchased by Mr. A. Browning to house his preparatory school and was renamed Rosehill. In 1939, the school was moved to Gloucestershire and the building was then used as offices.

In 2002 part of the original building, then known as Castle House, was demolished and rebuilt in the same style as residential flats.

The property is now known as Castle House and the wing shown on the right hand side was demolished and rebuilt in the same style. They are now luxury apartments.

Garratts Hall
This was a large country house lying back south of Garratts Lane with stables, outbuildings, including 'Little Garratts', lodges, gardens, ponds and parkland amounting to over 30 acres. The house was demolished in the 1930's and the area became a housing estate, bounded by Garratts Lane, Shrubland Road, the footpath from Pound Road to Holly Lane, and Holly Lane.

See our book on this property here.

The original house was the home of one branch of the Lambert family from 1534 until 1744, when it was passed out of the family. In 1857 John Lambert bought back the estate and enlarged and improved the house which remained in the family's ownership until 1925.

Some years before that, it had been let to Mrs Mary Louisa Davies who carried on there a high class girls boarding school. She bought the property in 1925 but on her death in 1930, the property was bought for development by a company called Garratts Hall Estate Ltd.

Of the old estate, there remains 'Little Garratts', and the two Lodges, one at the junction of Garratts Lane with Holly Lane, and the other with Shrubland Road, the latter bearing the Lambert insignia. The stable block was divided into three houses in Colcokes Road, called "The Stables".

Heath House
(Later Greenacre School, then Banstead Preparatory School)

The buildings are on the eastern side of Sutton Lane on land which in the 16th and 17th centuries was known as Millway Piece. A path over it led to the Windmill on the Hundred Acres. By the 18th century, the name had become 'Mellow Piece'.

In 1841, Mellow Piece was owned by William Lambert and farmed by William Reigate. The house, a large residence, with gardens,an outbuilding and a paddock, covering in all about 3 acres, was probably built in the 1880's. It was bought by Daniel Maynard Taylor in 1887 and the family occupied the property for many years.

Heath House, now Greenacre school. Sutton Lane Banstead

The drawing comes from 'The Builder' dated 27 October 1888 and shows the new stables and cottage adjoining Heath House which is the building on the far right hand side.

In 1932, the house and most of the grounds were sold to Miss Sabine Paisley and Miss Wagstaffe, who opened a private school for girls called Greenacre. Further adjoining property was later bought and alterations and extensions made. the school closed in 2017.

In September of that year, Priory Preparatory and Greenacre Juniors, both in Banstead, and Bramley School, Walton-on-the-Hill, become Banstead Preparatory School, and moved into the entire Greenacre site, in Sutton Lane.

The Lodge
The Lodge was built in 1860 as a farmhouse on the fields known as Collins Lands. It fronted Brighton Road between Lyme Regis Road and Chipstead Road. Later, the house was enlarged and became a private residence with ample grounds and facilities including stables, outbuildings, cottage, and gardens.
In 1881 it was occupied by Mr Harrington Hudson JP, a widower, with his two daughters and four servants.

The Lodge (East view), Banstead. Postcard from Lewis Wood collection.

The main parts of the property (i.e. all except a piece of land at the corner of Lyme Regis Road) were purchased by Miss Mary Ellen Mason in 1898 and 1900 respectively. Miss Mason made considerable extensions and alterations to the building and opened there a high class "finishing college" for young ladies. In 1904 a further storey was added to the building.

In 1930 the college was closed and subsequently let by Miss Mason for use as a Boys' Preparatory School.
In 1933 the newly formed Banstead Urban District Council bought the property for use as the Council house.
In 1986 the house was enlarged and used as offices for Reigate and Banstead Borough Council.
In 2002 all the buildings were demolished and a block of flats called "Holmewood House" was erected on the site of the main building. The new frontage closely resembles the original.

Nork House
This residence was built in 1740 by Sir Christopher Buckle.
In later years, it underwent considerable alteration when owned by the 6th and 7th Earl of Egmont and subsequently, Mr and Mrs Colman.
The picture was taken in 1925 and sadly there is nothing left of the property now except a mound of earth in Nork Park.

Parkside
(Boys surgical Home)
The original house, erected in about 1894, was a large house built for use as a residence or for an institution, with coachyard, stable, gardens, etc. The site was described in 1896 as containing about 3 roods and 6 perches, with a road frontage of about 172 feet.

Parkside,Banstead. Postcard from Lewis Wood collection.

In 1891 the site was sold to a builder, William Taylor, who erected the house. In March 1896 Louise Taylor, granted a 21 year lease of the property to be used as a "Convalescent Home for Young Children"; it was set up by public subscription in or about 1896 as "The Boys' Surgical Home" for boys who from temporary physical disability were unable to attend normal schools.
It appears that no proper trust scheme was set up at the time; but in 1961 this was rectified by a Scheme made by the Charity Commissioners and the title of "The Edith Edwards Home" was authorised for the establishment.
In 1984 the Home was closed by the Trustees and later the same year it was reopened with extended premises, as the "Parkside Nursing Home".

Well House
A large residence facing the east end of Banstead High Street, dating from the 16th century. Owned in turn by three leading Banstead families - the Killicks, the Wilmots and the Lamberts.

Sir Daniel Lambert, Lord Mayor of London in 1741, lived there, as did his descendants until the 1950s.

It was then sold and demolished, the site being used for the block of flats known as Well House Flats.

Yewlands

A large house and grounds on the east side of Park Road, opposite Castle House.

In 1729 Yewlands was bought by Isaac Hughes from the Lamberts. He built the house the following year.

Later owners were the Aubertin family who occupied the house for at least 70 years until 1870. In the later years the Aubertin sisters ran a girls school.

From about 1879, J M Robertson owned the property. He was the main plaintiff in the action (Robertson v Hartopp), to preserve the Banstead Commons from being built over. From the turn of the century until 1930, Mr Robertson Rodgers J P lived there.

In 1937, the house was demolished and is now the site of Yewlands Close.