BOURNE HALL MUSEUM’S SUMMER WALKS 2022…
Posted by Francesca De Franco on 16 Jul 2022
Bourne Hall Museum’s programme of guided local summer walks around Epsom and Ewell continue throughout August.
Suitable for all the family, the walks (which last approximately 90 minutes) cost £5 per person and are limited to 20 people per walk. Booking is essential and should be done via David Brooks on 020 8394 1734 or by email: dbrooks@epsom-ewell.gov.uk
These walks will take you through the ages from Romans to Victorians; Saxons to World War II. You’ll discover more about the area’s rich and fascinating history from cemeteries, grand houses and the kings and queens with associations to the area to Epsom salts, ghosts and witches.
Here’s August’s line-up…
Hidden Ewell Walk
Date: Tuesday, August 2nd
Time: 2pm
Meet: The main entrance to Bourne Hall
Peel back time and discover Ewell’s hidden past and unseen history with a guided walk around the village. A settlement since pre-historic times, Ewell has a rich history concealed beneath the modern village.
Visit Bourne Hall’s sacred lake where Bronze, Iron Age and Roman folk made offerings to ancient gods. Tread in the footsteps of the Romans on Stane Street and discover their sacred shafts. Discover the village’s Saxon cemetery and its long-lost church. Relive the terror of exploding gunpowder mills and hear about the area’s connections with Saxon Kings, Henry III, Queen Elizabeth I and William IV.
Ashley Road Cemetery
Date: Wednesday, August 3rd
Time: 2pm
Meet: The main gate off Ashley Road, Epsom, KT18 5BP
Explore Epsom’s Victorian cemetery and visit the final resting place of the town’s great and good. Mrs Beeton’s mother, Elizabeth Dorling, enjoyed the dubious privilege of being the first person to be officially interred in 1871, but the first burial was much earlier.
Discover monuments to people ranging from war heroes to jockeys and politicians…and learn why Epsom’s war memorial is situated here rather than in the town centre. Hear the story of the 1919 Epsom riot.
Horrible Ewell
Date: Thursday, August 4th
Time: 2pm
Meet: The main entrance to Bourne Hall, Ewell, KT17 1UF
Discover Ewell’s dark past and the tales that some would rather forget. Learn about exploding gunpowder mills. Tread in the footsteps of the body-snatchers and see where they plied their grisly trade. Hear stories of witches, tragic coach crashes and folk who won’t stay dead! Discover Ewell’s historic jail and see what eighteenth-century justice was like.
Explore Epsom Common
Date: Wednesday, August 10th
Time: 2pm
Meet: The pond on Stamford Green
Discover the ancient village of Stamford and the surrounding area of Epsom Common. Hear how the Common folk made a living and used the Common for brick making and laundry work. Visit the spot where Epsom salts were found and find out how Charles I’s mother became one of the first visitors. Hear how Epsom became the place to be and be seen—discover how the humble salts started the world’s greatest flat horse race and a battle!
Discover Epsom’s lost windmill and race course and its Roman past, learn how the Common played an important part in WWII and hear about a WWI ghost!
Epsom’s Oldest Road
Date: Thursday, August 11th
Time: 2pm
Meet: Opposite the fire station in Church Street, Epsom, KT17 4PW
Explore Epsom’s ancient heart along its oldest road. Originally the centre of Epsom Village it became one of the finest addresses in town. Discover the oldest surviving residential building and the site of Epsom’s own brewery. See the parish church, mentioned in Domesday Book, and the grand houses once inhabited by Epsom’s lords and ladies. Discover connections with Charles I and how the owner of the Cedars bankrolled William of Orange’s invasion of England. Learn about Epsom’s educational past at the old Technical Institute building and the importance of the fire station in World War II. Oh yes and a few ghosts!
The Manor Hospital and Manor
Date: Wednesday, August 17th
Time: 2pm
Meet: The pond on Stamford Green
Uncover the medieval landscape of Horton and the long-forgotten moated manor house and ancient barn. See how the landscape was affected by the Victorian policy of keeping patients with mental illnesses out of sight. See where the last defence line to defend London was built against German invasion. Hear how important the Manor Hospital was in WWI, when it was visited by George V and other members of the royal family and how the nursing staff dealt with a V1 in the Second. Find out how the mental hospitals changed Epsom forever. Also when it was visited by Prince Charles and Diana.
Ashley Road Cemetery – the new walk
Date: Thursday, August 18th
Time: 11am
Meet: The main gates on Ashley Road, Epsom, KT18 5BP
Visit the last resting places of local military men including a General who invented a cocktail, racing men; the business, trade and shop owners who made Epsom what it is today such as the Marshall brothers and their fish and chip shop empire, Brathwaite the owner of Hookfield and James Chute Ede Epsom’s great son. Find weapon designers, an erotic dancer and some tragic lives cut short. Then there’s the dinosaur (!) and a stuntman who doubled for Ringo Star! Visit a local lady who may still be visiting her old home even though she has been dead 100 years!
Epsom Downs
Date: Wednesday, August 24th
Time: 2pm
Meet: Outside the Derby Arms, Epsom, KT18 5LE
Discover the history of Epsom’s Grandstands, which have provided a home for Mrs Beeton and a hospital for wounded soldiers. Learn what part the Downs have played in wartime, from the English Civil War to the Battle of Britain – armies have trained here and during WWI 20,000 men paraded in a snowstorm. The Racecourse and the Downs were saved by the actions of one man during WWII – discover who and how. Hear tales of the Derby, Gypsies, pubs and ghosts! Hear if Queen Victoria was amused by her visit to the Derby?
Bourne Hall Museum
Don’t forget, you can discover the fascinating past of Epsom & Ewell throughout the year at Bourne Hall Museum, which has free admission.
With exhibits ranging from prehistoric times to the modern day, the permanent displays and regular exhibitions illustrate every aspect of local life and have something to interest all members of the family.
The museum shop offers a wide collection of local history books and pamphlets along with a range of souvenirs for younger visitors.
Bourne Hall Museum
Spring Street
Ewell
KT17 1UF
Tel: 020 8394 1734
Fran x
I'm a freelance PR consultant and also run my own blog where I write about the things that we do, the places that we visit, the toys and games that we play with as well as all the every day parenting (and some non-parenting) stuff in between.
My love for communicating and writing, mirrors my passion for trying to be the best mum I can be. Interests include good food and wine, Italian culture, football and personal finance.