Remembered for its wildlife and serene environment Epsom Common offers an escape. I welcome you to Epsom Common. It is a Local Nature Reserve. Epsom Common spans 177.4 hectares. That equals 438 acres.
Epsom Common has a history as common land. It was associated with the Manor of Epsom. This dates back to the medieval period. After 1537 Henry VIII granted the manor to Nicholas Carew. It then passed through private owners.
In 1794 Epsom Common was described as wild. Furze brambles and hawthorn bushes covered it. There were also hornbeams and other pollards. Parts were sour and wet pasture. Local people had free access. They had rights of pasture. They could cut turf and gather gorse for fuel. They could not cut down trees for timber.
Epsom and Ewell Urban District Council bought the common in 1936. They bought it for £4000. Today Epsom and Ewell Borough Council owns and manages Epsom Common.
The first cottages on Epsom Common appeared in the 16th century. The lord of the manor tolerated them. They weren’t officially authorized. By 1755 there were over 30 squatter cottages.
By the late 18th century Stamford Green was a small settlement. It was on the north edge of Epsom Common. People were licensed to dig clay. They made bricks and tiles. A windmill at Stamford Green was first recorded in 1795. It burned down in 1873.
By the mid-19th century Stamford Green needed its own church. Christ Church was founded in 1843. It was a chapel of ease to St Martin’s. A temporary structure came first. The first permanent building opened in 1845. In 1874 Epsom Parish split. The western half became the Parish of Epsom Common. The chapel of ease became the parish church. It was too small for the congregation. The present church was designed by Arthur Blomfield. It opened in 1876.
Great Pond and Stew Pond likely date to the early medieval period. Chertsey Abbey dug them. Monks stocked them with carp and other fish. This provided food for the monks and their guests. Dams formed the ponds. They dammed a headwater of the Bonesgate Stream. Great Pond covered six acres. It was drained in the mid-19th century. The dam was repaired in 1974. Then the pond was refilled.
Spa water was discovered in the late 16th or early 17th centuries. Henry Wicker is usually named as the discoverer. He was a local farmer. In 1618 he noticed his cows wouldn’t drink from a spring. Buildings and a wall were built around the spring in 1671. The spa became popular with London visitors. Charles II John Aubrey and Samuel Pepys visited. In the mid-1720s Epsom’s popularity declined rapidly. Attempts to revive it in the 1760s failed.
Shortly after 1700 the lord of the manor enclosed the well. This circular area was 450 yards in diameter. The spa buildings were demolished in 1884. Oldwells Farm was established. The farm was pulled down around 1885. James Stuart Strange built a mansion. In 1930 the land was sold for development. By 1937 the Wells Estate had its first 178 houses.
Today Epsom Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is also a Local Nature Reserve. Natural England recognizes its nature conservation value. They designated it in 1955. The council manages Epsom Common. They allow public access. They also maintain and improve its ecological diversity.
Thank you for joining me on this brief exploration of Epsom Common. Its story spans centuries from monastic holdings to squatter’s cottages to a valued nature reserve. I hope you have enjoyed discovering a little more of what makes Epsom Common so special.