Banstead, Surrey
Historical Description
Banstead, a village and a parish in Surrey. The village stands under the SW side of Banstead Downs, 4 miles E of Epsom, on the L.B. & S.C.R., 16 miles from London. The parish comprises 5557 acres; population of the civil parish, 4560; of the ecclesiastical, 3913. It is within the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan police. The London County Lunatic Asylum, situated on the Banstead Downs, was opened in 1877. It is a large structure of white brick, and will accommodate 2000 patients. Banstead Downs rise to the height of 576 feet, command extensive views, and are famous for coursing, for hunting, and for fine sheep pasturage. Here, said Pope: "To Hounslow Heath point, and Banstead Down, Thence comes your mutton and these chicks my own."
The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Winchester; net value, £150 with residence. Patron, the Earl of Egmont. The church is chiefly Perpendicular English; has a good tower, surmounted by a tall spire; stands on high ground, and serves well, for miles round, as a landmark. Banstead has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Epsom.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Surrey | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Banstead All Saints | |
| Hundred | Copthorne | |
| Poor Law union | Epsom |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register of All Saints' dates from the year 1547.
Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Surrey History Centre, have images of the Parish Registers for Surrey online.
Churches
Church of England
All Saints (parish church)
The church of All Saints, dating from the 13th century, is a structure faced with unbroken flints, and has a tower with spire containing 8 bells: the church has been repaired and reseated at a cost of about £3,000: there are 300 sittings.
St. Mary, Burgh Heath
The church of St. Mary, Burgh Heath, erected in 1908 as a chapel of ease to the parish church, at a cost of £5,300, is an edifice of flint, with stone dressings, from designs by Mr. Alick Thomas, architect, and consists of chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, vestries and an incomplete tower: there are 400 sittings.
Baptist
Baptist Chapel
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Banstead from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Banstead (All Saints))
Institutions
The London County Lunatic Asylum, opened 26 March, 1877, and standing on an elevated plateau on Banstead Downs, is a structure of white brick, consisting of nineteen blocks, with a chapel and will hold 2,484 patients; the land comprises 117 acres; gas is manufactured on the premises, and the water is obtained from a well sunk through chalk and softened by the Porter Clark process.
The Boys' Surgical Home, established in 1895, had 22 beds; the average number of patients was about 120.
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Surrey is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Banstead are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Surrey papers online:
Schools
The School for pauper children of the Kensington & Chelsea district, erected here in 1890, on an eminence commanding a fine view, was arranged on the cottage home principle; the buildings comprised 9 homes for boys and 14 for girls, with a chapel, school, workshops, steam laundry, swimming baths and probationary wards, also drill hall, gymnasium and band room, superintendent's office and residence.
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of Surrey, 1662-1668 is available on the Heraldry page.