Earlswood, Surrey
| Earlswood | |
| Surrey | |
|---|---|
 Victoria Court, Royal Earlswood Park | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ280495 |
| Location: | 51°13’41"N, 0°10’16"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 5,049 (2011) |
| Post town: | Redhill |
| Postcode: | RH1 |
| Dialling code: | 01737 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Reigate and Banstead |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Reigate |
Earlswood is a village oif Surrey which has become a mere suburb of neighbouring Redhill to the north, It is on the A23 which runs between Redhill and Horley.
By the village is Earlswood Common, a local nature reserve that separates Earlswood from the southern outskirts of Reigate and has two lakes and picnic areas. Earlswood station is on the Brighton Main Line. To the west of the line are Royal Earlswood Park, the East Surrey Hospital and Whitebushes.
The original part of Earlswood is an area of predominantly Victorian housing, much of it terraced and semi-detached, immediately south of Redhill town centre bordered to the north by Hooley Lane, to the west by the A23. There are now further developed areas: South Earlswood and Whitebushes, the latter built in the 1970s and 1980s.
History
Archaeological finds of ancient ages include an axe and flint flakes.
When the straight turnpike, part of the London to Brighton railway, was cut between Earlswood Common and the railway line, there was a claim that traces of a Roman villa[1] were discovered, but no evidence has so far been found to indicate any Roman presence. The area south of the common, locally known as Whitebushes, was formally a wilderness containing many clay pits that may be linked to the reputed Roman remains. Most trees of the Weald that covered Earlswood Common were cut down in the 17th century by order of local landowner, Lord Monson and the land was inclosed in 1886.[1] Brickworks were a considerable employer in the Victorian period and in 1911.[1]
The surrounding farms date back to the 13th and 14th centuries, notably Hazelhurst Farm from 1203 and Dean Farm from 1316.[2] There is evidence of a mediæval farmstead in Woodlands Field, off Green Lane. This consists mainly of soil marks in a square of about 350m and an adjoining L-shaped mark. The pottery has been dated to 1250–1350.[3]
In the 19th century a number of brick works sprung up in the area.
The Reigate Isolation Hospital was established in 1884 and later renamed to the Reigate Rural District Infectious Diseases Hospital.[4] In 1900 a second establishment, the Reigate Borough Isolation Hospital, was opened. Around 1927 the two establishments were combined into a single Isolation Hospital run by the Reigate Joint Hospital Board as part of the Redhill County Hospital.[5] In 1960 the site was acquired by University College Hospital and renamed Jordan's Hospital[6] for the treatment of Tropical Diseases, especially leprosy. The site was sold for development in 1970 and the estate between Green Lane and the railway, including Jordans Close, was built.
The Royal Earlswood psychiatric hospital, founded as a 'national home' and opened by Albert, Prince Consort,[1] which functioned until 1997. Also here was the Royal Philanthropic Society's reform school, from 1849[1] until 1988. The site has been redeveloped into a housing area called Royal Earlswood Park, providing apartments and houses.
The suburb is served by Earlswood railway station, with trains running from London Bridge/London Victoria to Horsham. The station previously had a third platform which gave access to the Royal Earlswood Hospital.
About the village
Earlswood Common is a Local Nature Reserve,[7][8] extending over 220 acres.
The Common was converted the late 1800s from open pasture to a pleasure ground. The lower lake has a concrete bottom and was used during the First World War to test the ability of early tanks to cross flooded landscapes: it had previously been used for summer swimming. The pleasure ground continued until the Second World War.
The common contains two artificial landscaped lakes, which are used for recreational purposes. The upper lake has ducks and wildfowl. Until 2019, much of Earlswood Common had formed Earlswood Common golf course. The golf course was forced to close in March 2019, after 130 years, due to the closure of the Redhill & Reigate Golf Club which had previously maintained the Earlswood course.[9]
Sport
- Football: Redhill F.C., which has its ground, Kiln Brow, on a site in Earlswood
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Earlswood, Surrey) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Parishes: Reigate@A History of the County of Surrey - Volume 3 pp 229-245: Parishes: Reigate (Victoria County History)
- ↑ Mediæval Settlement Patterns in NE Horley by R Ellaby, 1982
- ↑ {Deserted Medieval farmstead, Woodlands Field, Earlsfield: Exploring Surrey's Past
- ↑ "19th Century – A History of Whitebushes, Surrey". https://whitebushes.org.uk/19th-century/.
- ↑ "20th Century and Present – A History of Whitebushes, Surrey". https://whitebushes.org.uk/20th-century-and-present/.
- ↑ "Lost_Hospitals_of_London". http://www.ezitis.myzen.co.uk/jordan.html.
- ↑ "Earlswood Common". Natural England. http://www.lnr.naturalengland.org.uk/Special/lnr/lnr_details.asp?C=0&N=earlswood&ID=802.
- ↑ "Map of Earlswood Common". Natural England. http://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=lnrIndex&query=REF_CODE%3D%271083217%27.
- ↑ Seymour, Jenny (29 January 2019). "130-year-old Redhill and Reigate Golf Club to close because it is 'financially unviable'". SurreyLive. https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/130-year-old-redhill-reigate-15745166.
