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Banstead

Banstead is a village in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in the county of Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London. It lies 13 miles (21 km) south of London, 5 miles (8 km) west of Croydon and 8.5 miles (14 km) of the county town of Kingston-Upon-Thames. Banstead is on the North Downs and is protected by the Green Belt; Banstead Downs is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Although Banstead is a town, it is frequently referred to and known as "Banstead Village". Nearby towns include Epsom to the west, Reigate to the south and Leatherhead to the west.

At the 2001 Census the population of the Banstead ward was 8,512.^[1]

Banstead appears as a destination in HG Wells 1895 novel The Time Machine and also gains a brief mention in another of his novels War of the Worlds.

History

The settlement appears in the Domesday Book as Benestede. It was held by Richard from the Bishop of Bayeux. Its Domesday Assets were: 9½ hides, 1 church, 1 mill worth £1, 17 ploughs, woodland worth 20 hogs. It rendered (in total): £8.

Economy

The centre of Banstead has a typical high street which stretches from the war memorial at one end to the library at the other. Every year, scouts and guides parade down the high street in recognition of Remembrance Day and St George's Day. The shops found in the town are those which are frequently associated with the upper middle class, for example Marks & Spencer Simply Food, Boots the Chemist and Waitrose. There are also a variety of restaurants along the high street like Zizzi and Pizza Express. On 12 December 2008, a large fire totally destroyed the Waitrose supermarket,^[2] a local landmark. While the original store was being totally rebuilt Waitrose opened a temporary store, around 200m down the High Street, in a building vacated by the defunct Woolworths retail chain. The rebuilt store re-opened on 26th November 2009.^[3]

Other than the limited amount of employment in the retail sector based around the high street, a small number of jobs are found in the public sector; in the local authority offices and NHS facilities to the west of the Banstead's centre, and in various schools across the area. However, the majority of Banstead's residents will commute out of the district for employment.

Religion

Banstead has several churches. The All Saints Church and Banstead Baptist Church are both located on the high street. Within the area there is also Banstead Community Church, St Ann's Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, St Paul's Church and the United Reform Church.

Education

There are several schools in and around Banstead.

Primary

Banstead Infant School

Banstead Community Junior School

St Anne's Catholic Primary School

Warren Mead Infant School

Warren Mead Junior School

Secondary

The Beacon School, Picquets Way is the predominant secondary comprehensive school in the area.

Independent

Aberdour School - between Banstead and Burgh Heath.

Greenacre School

The Priory School, Banstead

Transport

The majority of the town is bypassed by the A217 dual carriageway to the west. The A2022 passes through the residential area just to the north of the town centre, however the town centre frequently suffers from traffic congestion.

There are several bus services through the town, linking to Epsom, Sutton and Croydon, which all have good onward bus and rail connections.

Banstead railway station is located to the west of the town's centre, across the A217. It is closer to Nork than to Banstead itself, therefore if travelling by public transport it is often quicker and easier to get a train to Sutton railway station then a bus from the station concourse directly into Banstead town centre, as Banstead railway station is a single track, unmanned station, which only sees 2 trains per hour during the rush hour, 1 per hour at other times and no Sunday service. There is no ticket machine apart from a travel permit machine.

Banstead is served by the S1 bus (Banstead to Mitcham via Sutton), the 420 bus (Redhill to Sutton), and the 166 Bus (Epsom to Croydon).

Landmarks

The old village well stands to the east of the town centre in Woodmansterne Lane. It is almost 300 feet deep and was last used around the end of the 19th Century. The wellhead cover dates from the 18th Century and still contains the winding gear.

The parish church of All Saints was built around the end of the 12th Century on a site donated by Nigel de Mowbray, Lord of the Manor. The West window was designed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and produced by William Morris.

Nork Park contains the remains of the Colman family mansion (as in Colman's Mustard). There are also many apple trees which date from the original orchard and can still be seen.

A large mound of earth close to The Beacon School is known as the Tumble Beacon. This was once part of a series of beacons/bonfires stretching from the South Coast towards London which were used to warn London of the arrival of the Armada. The area is one of the highest points on the southern Thames basin rim, and as such commands far-reaching views across London. This is also where the Beacon School gets its name.

On the site of Downview and Highdown Prisons once stood the Banstead Asylum, a psychiatric hospital from 1873 to 1986. After being forcefully committed to the Asylum in the late 1960s by his manager, Vincent Crane of the band Atomic Rooster wrote the song "Banstead" which featured on the 1970 album Atomic Rooster.

Notable residents

Tim Vine actor and comedian.

David Walliams actor and comedian.

Sarah Tullamore actress, singer, dancer and voice over who grew up in Banstead.