| |
| Banstead from the 13th Century |
| Banstead is in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead in the County of Surrey. |
| The old village was part of the Manor of Banstead, held by Royalty from the 13th century for nearly 400 years. |
| The ancient Parish of Banstead was extensive, including areas which are now part of the Parishes of Tadworth and Kingswood. For centuries up to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the advowson of the Parish Church of All Saints was held by the Augustinian Canons of St Mary Overie, who had a Rectory and Chapel at Burgh Heath. |
| Banstead in more recent times |
|
With the arrival of the railway, first to Sutton and then to Banstead and Epsom Downs, in the 19th century, the small village, best known till then for the quality of the sheep grazing on the Downs and its healthy air away from the smoke and stink of London, became a place to which people could commute from the City. But it was not until the Inter-war period (1910 to 1939) that the area became the subject of very large and rapid development.
|
| The open character of the village itself and its surrounding on all sides by open land remains its finest attributes - to be preserved at all costs, as they have been in the past. |
During WWII a flying bomb caused considerabble damage at the eastern end of the High street. This area has been totally redeveloped, and aside from the memorial, it is completely unrecogniseable from 100 years ago. The shape of the rest of the High street remained unaltered with the main change being the replacement of the Village school by a new Waitrose supermarket which has since burnt down and been rebuilt. In more recent times, shop closures followed by the opening up of new businesses has been the norm. |
| Medieval Map of Banstead |
 |
| Section across Surrey geology showing the position of Banstead on the North Downs |
|
Source: A local history workshop run by Ron Michel from the Worker's Education Association who run Adult Education classes.
|
