Horton | |
---|---|
Location within Surrey | |
Area | 1.5 sq mi (3.9 km2) |
Population | 5,000 |
• Density | 3,333/sq mi (1,287/km2) |
OS grid reference | TQ1962 |
• London | 12.8 mi (20.6 km) NNE |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | EPSOM |
Postcode district | KT19 |
Dialling code | 01372 |
Police | Surrey |
Fire | Surrey |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
UK Parliament | |
Horton is a village in the borough of Epsom and Ewell, in the county of Surrey, England. It is situated between the towns and villages of Epsom, West Ewell, Chessington and Malden Rushett. Its principal road is Horton Lane, which runs the length of the area between West Ewell and Epsom Common. Horton Country Park also runs along the length of the area, between Epsom Common and West Ewell.
The place-name Horton is relatively common in England. It derives from Old English horu 'dirt' and tūn 'settlement, farm, estate', presumably meaning 'farm on muddy soil'. [1] It gave its name to the Horton Light Railway which served a number of the psychiatric hospitals in the area during the 20th century, collectively known as the Epsom Cluster.
Since the 1990s, Horton has undergone rapid change. The hospitals which made up the Epsom Cluster closed as Care in the Community took over from inpatient care. Multiple housing estates including Manor Park were constructed on the site, in addition to a number of shops in the centre of the area. In 2022, Horton was made a ward in Epsom and Ewell borough due to the population increase in the area. [2]
The earliest evidence of human activity in Horton is from the mid-Bronze Age. Remains of pits, ditches and post holes in Long Grove Road indicate that the Horton area was used for agriculture in prehistoric times, which may suggest the presence of an established settlement nearby. [3] Pottery sherds and worked flints, found on the site of the former Manor Hospital site in Horton, show that human activity continued into the early Iron Age [4] and two staters (coins) from this period have been found in the area. [5]
As shown in an 1816 Ordnance Survey map of the area, Horton was a hamlet, separated by fields from the more substantial settlements of Ewell and Epsom. [6]
During the 19th Century, the Horton Manor Estate existed across what is now present-day Horton. Owned by Thomas Buxton, it contained the hamlet of Horton, where the present day Horton Local Centre is located. A map from 1890 shows Horton Farm existed (now Hobbledown). Horton Manor House was located on what is now the western edge of the Manor Park Estate today. The Horton Manor Estate was part of the Epsom Parish. The north of the estate bordered the Ewell Parish. [7]
The Horton area was occupied by five psychiatric hospitals for almost all the duration of the 20th Century. Known as the Epsom Cluster, the hospitals were built by London County Council to institutionalize the city's psychiatric patients. [8] These hospitals were largely shut down in the 1990s and early 2000s as Care in the community became the predominant government policy at the time.
From the early 1990s to the mid 2010s, housing estates rapidly sprung up on the former sites of the Epsom Cluster institutions, including Clarendon Park (completed in 1992) and Manor Park. They are all connected to Horton Lane via the extensive network of roundabouts. Around 2010, a retail centre was developed, containing about 14 units including a Tesco Express supermarket. [9] [10]
Horton is centred on the area of shops near the roundabout of Horton Lane and Chantilly Way. This shopping parade gives the area a village centre like feel. Horton Lane travels the length of Horton (SSW to NNE) from Epsom Common to Hook Road Arena. The road contains cycle lanes both on the road and pavement, alongside a wide footpath. Hobbledown children's park is located close to Horton's centre.
Horton Country Park runs along the length of the western side of the area. Newly constructed housing estates can be found on both sides of Horton Lane on the site of former hospitals. Horton Park Golf Course occupies the north-west of the area, contiguous with the county park. This park is adjacent to Epsom Common and Castle Hill Nature Reserve. This links the park to the wider Surrey and London countryside, resulting in Horton having a more rural setting than suburban Ewell and Chessington. [11]
A smaller park, Long Grove Park and a primary school is in the east of the area, with the Old Moat Garden Centre in the south.
Horton is situated on a gentle incline running South-south west from West Ewell to Epsom Common, along Horton Lane and Horton Country Park. The lowest part of Horton is at 27 m (89 ft) where the Horton Stream (a tributary of the Hogsmill River) flows out of the north-east of Horton Country Park adjacent to Chessington Road (B284). The highest point can be found near the junction of Horton Lane and Christchurch Road (B280) in the grounds of Hollywood Lodge, at 71 metres (233 ft) above sea level.
The Horton Stream forms a valley in the west of Horton, in the Country Park. The east and south of Horton is higher owing to a ridge of land between the Horton Stream and the Green Lanes stream which is sourced at nearby Epsom Common. The area is in the low-lying London Clay geological region, just south of the North Downs chalk ridge of Epsom Downs and Headley. Further this stream connects to the Hogsmill River. [12]
Contains an 18-hole course, a Par 3 9 hole course, a driving range in addition to a crazy golf course which opened in 2014. Located in the north of Horton, contiguous with Horton Country Park. [13] [14]
An area of enclosed green space located in the north of Horton. Hosts funfair events in addition to the annual firework and bonfire night. The Epsom Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) horse riding charity is based adjacent to the arena.
A 1.5 mile long area of open space just west of Horton Lane, with a large car park. A mixture of woodland and fields, containing some horses in the fields. Contains Epsom Polo Club. Adjacent to Epsom Common and Castle Hill Nature Reserve, Chessington. [15]
An children's adventure park and zoo, located just west of Horton Lane, adjacent to the David Lloyd Centre and Horton Country Park. Contains a soft play area. Formerly known as Horton Park Children's Farm. [16]
An enclosed space located in the east of the area. Contains a playground and is adjacent to the residential area in the west of Epsom. The park is also continuous with open space beside Abbots Avenue. [17]
The nearest towns to Horton is Epsom and Chessington, located 2 miles to the east and west. The residential area of West Ewell is contiguous with Horton.
Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. The Bonesgate Stream, a tributary of the Hogsmill River, runs through it. The popular theme park resort Chessington World of Adventures, which incorporates Chessington Zoo, is located in the south-west of the area.
Morden is a district and town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton to the south and Worcester Park to the west, and is around 8 miles (13 km) south-southwest of Charing Cross. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, for local government purposes, Morden was in the administrative and historic county of Surrey.
Tolworth is a suburban area in the Surbiton district, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. It is 11 miles (17.7 km) southwest of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Berrylands, Chessington, Epsom, Ewell, Hinchley Wood, Kingston, Long Ditton, New Malden, Surbiton and Worcester Park. Surbiton is the nearest, about a mile to the northwest. Tolworth is divided in two by the A3 Kingston Bypass and is situated slightly north of the Greater London-Surrey border.
Epsom is a town in the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about 14 miles south of central London. The town is first recorded as Ebesham in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The earliest evidence of human activity is from the mid-Bronze Age, but the modern settlement probably grew up in the area surrounding St Martin's Church in the 6th or 7th centuries and the street pattern is thought to have become established in the Middle Ages. Today the High Street is dominated by the clock tower, which was erected in 1847–8.
Epsom and Ewell is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England, covering the towns of Epsom and Ewell. The borough lies just outside the administrative boundary of Greater London, but it is entirely within the M25 motorway which encircles London. Many of the borough's urban areas form part of the wider Greater London Built-up Area.
The Hogsmill River in Surrey and Greater London, England is a small chalk stream tributary of the River Thames. It rises in Ewell and flows into the Thames at Kingston upon Thames on the lowest non-tidal reach, that above Teddington Lock.
Ewell is a town in the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. It is approximately 12 miles (19 km) south of central London and 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Epsom. In the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 34,872. The majority of which (73%) is in the ABC1 social class, except the Ruxley Ward that is C2DE.
Worcester Park is a suburban town in South West London, England. It lies in the London boroughs of Sutton and Kingston, and partly in the Surrey borough of Epsom and Ewell. The area is 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Charing Cross. The suburb's population was 16,031 at the time of the 2001 census. The suburb comprises the Worcester Park ward, an electoral area of the London Borough of Sutton with a population in 2011 of 11,655, as well as the Cuddington ward, an electoral area of Epsom and Ewell, which had a population of 5,791 at the time of the 2001 census.
Stoneleigh is a village in the Epsom and Ewell borough in the county of Surrey, England. It is situated approximately 11 miles (18 km) from central London. In the 2011 Census, the population was 8,741.
Nonsuch Park is a public park between Stoneleigh, Cheam, and Ewell in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. It borders the London Borough of Sutton. It is the last surviving part of the Little Park of Nonsuch, a deer hunting park established by Henry VIII surrounding the former Nonsuch Palace.
The Horton Light Railway had its origins in a contractor's line built in 1905 to transport building materials, coal and other supplies for London County Council's Epsom Cluster of psychiatric hospitals in the Horton area to the North-West of the town of Epsom. The Light Railway Order did not permit the carriage of passengers. The railway connected with the mainline network just south of Ewell West railway station.
Horton Country Park is a 152.3-hectare (376-acre) Local Nature Reserve north-west of Epsom in Surrey. It is owned and managed by Epsom and Ewell Borough Council.
West Park Hospital was a large psychiatric hospital in Epsom, Surrey.
The Epsom Cluster, also referred to as the Horton Estate, was a cluster or group of five large psychiatric hospitals situated on land to the west of Epsom.
London Buses route 467 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London and Surrey, England. Running between Hinchley Wood School and Epsom Hospital, it is operated by London United.
Woodcote Park is a Grade II* listed stately home and estate of about 350 acres near Epsom, Surrey, England, currently owned by the Royal Automobile Club. It was formerly the seat of a number of prominent English families, including the Calvert family, Barons Baltimore and Lords Proprietor of the colony of Maryland. The interior of the house once boasted a gilded library and number of fine murals by notable Italian artists including Antonio Verrio, but most of the historic rooms were removed by the RAC, which had purchased the estate in 1913, and what remained was destroyed by fire in 1934. The present appearance of the house dates from its restoration in 1936. However, the interior of one of the original drawing rooms still survives in the Museum of Fine Arts at Boston, Massachusetts. The estate was used by the military as a convalescent hospital in the First World War and as a training camp in both world wars.
The Thames Down Link is a 24 km (15 mi) official walking route linking the Thames Path and the North Downs Way. It starts in the town centre of Kingston upon Thames and finishes at Box Hill & Westhumble railway station.
Sutton Common is the name of former common land and a district and neighbourhood located in Sutton, London. The area is mostly located within the London Borough of Sutton, with some of the streets to the north and west of Sutton Common Park adjoining Lower Morden and Morden within the London Borough of Merton. Much of the area is taken up by the large Kimpton Park commercial and industrial estate, adjoining the A217. It is served by Sutton Common railway station. The area to the south and east of Oldfields Road uses an SM1 postcode and the area to the north and west uses SM3.
The Manor Hospital, formerly The Manor Asylum and The Manor Certified Institution was a mental handicap and psychiatric hospital in Horton, near Epsom, Surrey, United Kingdom
Bonesgate Stream is a brook in Chessington in Kingston upon Thames in London and Epsom and Ewell in Surrey. It is a tributary of the Hogsmill River, which, in turn, is a tributary of the River Thames.
Following the Legislation passed in 1888 the London County Council begun to build the necessary institutions around the London Borough. However these became over-crowded very quickly and a solution was needed and in 1896, 1096 acres of the Horton estate in Epsom was acquired for the price of £35,900. The original plan was to build six hospitals on the site with the ability to house up to 12,000 patients, the hope to alleviate the over-crowding in the London Hospitals; only five were built in the end.