Ashtead /ˈæʃtɛd/ is a village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately 16 mi (26 km) south of central London.

[4][note 1] Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, approximately 25 km (16 mi) south of central London.

Both the Epsom to Leatherhead railway line and the A24 run from northeast to southwest through the settlement, broadly parallel to The Rye, a tributary of the River Mole.

[12] The residential area to the north west, closer to the railway station, is known as "Lower Ashtead" and incorporates secondary shopping centres on Craddocks Parade and Barnett Wood Lane.

Excavations uncovered the remains of at least 40 individuals and the artefacts found, including knives, buckles and necklaces, suggest that they were pagan burials.

The remainder of the cultivatable land had already been enclosed and was either held by the Lords of the Manor or by other prominent individuals, including the Stydolf family of Norbury Park.

[45] The diarist, John Evelyn, visited the house shortly after it was completed in 1684, admiring the paintings by the Italian-born artist Antonio Verrio and remarking upon the "swete park upon the Downe.

[50] By the end of the century, stagecoaches were passing through the village several times a day, although it is unlikely that many stopped to pick up passengers and local residents probably walked or rode to Epsom if they wished to use them.

[53] In 1825 George Rennie and his brother, John, proposed the construction of The Grand Imperial Ship Canal, between Deptford and Portsmouth, to reduce the transit time from the capital to the south coast from 12 days to 24 hours and to avoid hostile waters in the event of war.

[56] In around 1850, the 92 ha (227 acres) comprising the remaining core of Little Ashtead manor was sold for development, marking the start of a long period of housebuilding in the village.

The lot containing Ashtead Park and Home Farm was withdrawn from sale when it failed to meet its reserve price[61] and was acquired by Pantia Ralli in 1889.

[63] During the First World War, several hundred men from the 21st Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers were billeted in the village and were responsible for constructing a convalescent hospital at Woodcote Park in Epsom.

[64] The inter-war years saw the most rapid period of residential development, stimulated in part by the final breakup of the Ashtead Park estate, following the death of Pantia Ralli in 1924.

A unit of the Royal Norfolk Regiment was stationed in the village at the start of the war and, from 1941, Canadian soldiers were billeted locally.

Land bordering Craddocks Avenue was taken over for war allotments and pigs were reared on vacant building plots on the Overdale estate.

[71] In 1940 and 1941, several buildings in Ashtead suffered damage as a result of enemy bombing during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, including St Andrew's School, which was almost completely destroyed.

[72][73] The 1944 Greater London Plan placed much of the land surrounding Ashtead in the protected Metropolitan Green Belt, which severely limited the scope for urban expansion.

[80] In the early 19th century a constable was employed by the vestry and the Leg of Mutton and Cauliflower public house doubled as the village prison, where the accused could be held before trial.

The firm was based in the Victoria Works in West Hill[note 5] and produced a wide range of products in a variety of styles.

Originally located in Brixton, the school taught both boys and girls from the outset and it is one of the oldest coeducational establishments in the world.

[122] The brick building was designed by Arthur Conran Blomfield[note 6] and, on opening, consisted of a nave, chancel, north aisle and transept.

[122] The first regular Catholic masses to be held in Ashtead since Elizabethan times took place in the Constitutional Hall in Barnett Wood Lane in 1942.

[124] Two years later a bombed-out house in Woodfield Lane was purchased and the congregation began meeting in the corrugated iron garage on the site, replaced in 1947 by a wooden building.

[125][126] The foundation stone of St Michael's Catholic Church was laid on 1 July 1967 and construction work was completed in October of the same year.

[139][140] The Old Freemen's Ladies' hockey team play on the artificial pitch in Ashtead Park every Saturday, with training in Clapham.

[62][note 7] Following the end of the Second World War, the Common was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and was protected as part of the Metropolitan Greenbelt.

[62][144] Today the total area of the Common is approximately 200 ha (490 acres) and access is provided by public footpaths and bridleways.

[146] The northern part, which includes oak woodland and two large ponds has been designated a local nature reserve and is managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust on behalf of MVDC.

In the early Middle Ages, part of the area was known as "The Great Marsh" and the court roll of 1483 records its clearance and conversion into pasture.

[159] The oldest parts of the Leg of Mutton and Cauliflower pub date from the late 17th century and an innkeeper is first recorded as working there in 1707.