LOCAL SUMMER HISTORY WALKS SUMMER 2024…
Posted by Francesca De Franco on 29 Jul 2024
The summer programme of fascinating guided history walks around Epsom and Ewell for all the family continue throughout August.
Walks cost £6 per person and are limited to 20 people per walk. Places must be booked with David Brooks – Telephone: 020 8394 1734 Email: dbrooks@epsom-ewell.gov.uk
Epsom’s Oldest Road
Tuesday, 30th July (10am to 11.30am) and Thursday, 8th August (1.30pm to 3.00pm).
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. There are connections with Charles I and 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 2. Oh yes, and a few ghosts !
Please meet opposite the fire station in Church Street, Epsom KT17 4PW.
Explore Epsom Common
Tuesday, 30th July (1.00pm to 3.00pm) and Thursday, 8th August (10.30am to 12.30pm).
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 was discovered and Charles I’s mother became one of the first visitors, and hear how Epsom became the place to be and be seen—discover how the humble salts started the world’s greatest horse race and a battle!
Discover Epsom’s lost windmill and racecourse and its Roman past, learn how the Common played an important part in WW2 and hear about a WW1 ghost.
Meet by the pond on Stamford Green.
Hidden Ewell Walk
Wednesday, 31st July (1.00pm to 2.30pm) and Tuesday, 27th August (11.00am to 12.30pm).
Peel back time and discover Ewell’s hidden past and unseen history with a guided walk around the village. A settlement since – prehistoric 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 hear about their sacred shafts. Discover the village’s Saxon cemetery and its long-lost church. Relive the terror of exploding gunpowder mills and hear the area’s connections Queen Elizabeth I and William IV.
Ashley Road Cemetery
Thursday, 1st August (10.30am to 12.00pm) and Tuesday, 13th August (1.30pm to 3.00pm).
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. Visit the grave of a VC winner and a stunt man who stood in for Ringo Starr.
Meet at the main gate off Ashley Road, by the toilets Epsom KT18 5BP
Epsom Downs
Thursday, 1st August (1.00pm to 2.30pm) and Tuesday, 13th August (10.30am to 12.00pm).
Discover the history of Epsom’s Grandstands, which 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 WW1 20,000 men paraded in a snowstorm. The Racecourse and the Downs were saved by the actions of one man during WW2 – discover who and how. Hear tales of the Derby, Gypsies, pubs and ghosts! Was Queen Victoria amused by her visit to the Derby?
Meet outside the Derby Arms, Epsom KT18 5LE.
The Manor Hospital and Manor
Tuesday, 6th August (2.00pm to 3.30pm) and Thursday, 15th August (10.30am to 12.00pm).
Uncover the medieval landscape of Horton with its 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 fortified line to defend London was built against German invasion. Hear how important the Manor Hospital was in WW1, 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
Please meet by the pond on Stamford Green.
Chalk Lane to World’s End
Wednesday, 7th August (10.00am to 12.00pm) and Thursday, 15th August (1.30pm to 3.00pm)
From Madan’s Walk to Worlds End, enjoy walking around this fascinating part of old Epsom. Discover Highgate House and its resident ghost together with other grand houses including Maidstone House and Woodcote House. See the Durdans, home to Lord Rosebery and visited by Charles II and Edward VII: hear about Frederick Prince of Wales who lived there, son of George II and father of George III. Learn about the influence of the Northey family and discover pubs past and present and the impact that both World Wars had on this tranquil part of town.
Meet by the pond in Rosebery Park, Epsom KT18 5AT.
The Hogsmill
Tuesday, 20th August (11.00am to 12.30pm) and Thursday, 29th August (1.30pm to 3.00pm).
Take a walk up the Hogsmill River and learn something of the history of this important chalk river. From its source at Bourne Hall were its spring was sacred in pre-historic times Where Willian the Conqueror legend has it watered his horse on the way to London Visit its two mills were William IV visited and up to the packing house bridge the last reminder of Ewells gun power industry. Also discover why the pre-Raphaelite artists found the river a source of inspiration .
Meet at the entrance to Bourne Hall
Nonsuch Park and Palace
Thursday, 22nd August (10.30am to 12.30pm) and Tuesday, 27th August (1.30pm to 3.00pm).
Enjoy a guided walk around Nonsuch Park and explore the history of the beautiful landscape. See where the original palace once stood and how it dominated the local area. From the ruins of the banqueting hall, hear stories of luxurious palaces, ambitious royalty, lost churches and lingering ghosts. Listen to tales of battles and discover how warfare has touched this ancient landscape. Discover which famous television presenter’s ancestors used to live here and how a Queen once came to tea.
Meet on the lawn opposite the café in Nonsuch Mansion House SM3 8AP. Nearest car park entry is from Cheam Road, A232.
Heart of Epsom
Thursday, 22nd August (2.00 pm to 3.30pm) and Thursday, 29th August (10.30am to 12.00pm)
See beneath Epsom’s genteel surface and stroll around its ancient centre discovering on your way the dark deeds, wrongdoings and ghosts of days gone past. Hear tales about Epsom’s own highwayman and the life of the evil Lord Rochester, together with the even more wicked Lord Lyttleton. Relive the time when Epsom’s spa was at the height of fashion and decide for yourself if you would have liked to visit and spend a night in the town. Visited by Charles 11 and lived in by his son the Duke of Northumberland Hear about the towns crazy bone setter. Come and be haunted by ghostly stories and visit the haunted clock tower. Discover the not so ancient past and see where rioting soldiers led to the death of a brave local policeman.
Meet at the Clock Tower, Epsom KT19 8EB.
Have a great time exploring Epsom and Ewell’s local history! For more details about other historical events, visit: https://www.bournehall.org/whats/museum-activities
Fran
