Earlswood is a suburb of Redhill in Surrey, England, which lies on the A23 between Redhill (in the direction of London) and

Horley Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town. It has its own eco ...

(next to

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

). Earlswood Common is a local nature reserve that separates the suburb from the southern outskirts of

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...

and has two lakes and picnic areas. Earlswood station is on the

Brighton Main Line The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...

. To the west of the line are Royal Earlswood Park, the

East Surrey Hospital East Surrey Hospital is a National Health Service hospital in the Whitebushes area to the south of Redhill, in Surrey, England. It is managed by the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Reigate C ...

and Whitebushes.

History

When the straight

turnpike Turnpike often refers to: * A type of gate, another word for a turnstile * In the United States, a toll road Turnpike may also refer to: Roads United Kingdom * A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...

, part of the London to Brighton railway, was cut between Earlswood Common and the railway line, there was a claim that traces of a Roman villa were discovered, but no evidence has so far been found to indicate any Roman presence. The area south of the common, locally known as Whitebushes, was formally a wilderness containing many clay pits that may be linked to the reputed Roman remains. Most trees of the

Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...

that covered Earlswood Common were cut down in the 17th century by order of local noble, Lord Monson and the land was inclosed in 1886. Brickworks were a considerable employer in the

Victorian period In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian ...

and in 1911. In 1863 Earlswood joined Meadvale, Redhill and Reigate to become part of the newly formed municipal borough of Reigate when it was granted this status by royal charter. Earlswood was home to the Royal Earlswood psychiatric hospital, founded as a 'national home' and opened by Albert, Prince Consort, which functioned until 1997. Also here was the

Royal Philanthropic Society Catch22 is a social business, a not for profit business with a social mission which operates in the United Kingdom (England and Wales). Catch22 can trace its roots back 229 years, to the formation of The Philanthropic Society in 1788. Catch22 desi ...

's reform school, from 1849 until 1988. The site has been redeveloped into a housing area called Royal Earlswood Park, providing apartments and houses. The suburb is served by Earlswood railway station, with trains running from London Bridge/London Victoria to Horsham. The station previously had a third platform which gave access to the Royal Earlswood Hospital. Earlswood Common was converted the late 1800s from open pasture to a pleasure ground, which remained in use until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The lower lake has a concrete bottom and was used during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to test the ability of primitive tanks to cross flooded landscapes, having previously been used for summer swimming.

Demography

At the 2001 census area, the ward named Earlswood and Whitebushes had a population of 8,234; Earlswood is identifiable as Reigate and Banstead 14A, 14D and 14E (Lower Layer Super Output Areas) with a population of 5,049.

Geography

Earlswood Common is a Local Nature Reserve. It contains two artificial landscaped lakes, which are used for recreational purposes. The upper lake has ducks and wildfowl. Until 2019, much of Earlswood Common had formed Earlswood Common golf course. The golf course was forced to close in March 2019, after 130 years, due to the closure of the Redhill & Reigate Golf Club which had previously maintained the Earlswood course.

Localities

Earlswood

An area of predominantly Victorian housing, much of it terraced and semi-detached, immediately south of Redhill town centre bordered to the north by Hooley lane, to the west by the A23 Brighton Road, to the south by the Royal Earlswood Park housing development and to the east by fields. Redhill Brook runs north-south through the middle of Earlswood but is not visible in most of it. Two train lines run through Earlswood. The Redhill and Quarry Lines, both part of the Brighton Line, merge just north of Earlswood and run through Earlswood Station although there is no Quarry Line Platform. The Redhill to Tonbridge line passes through north Earlswood in between Redhill and Nutfield stations. There are a nursery, primary and junior school over two sites in north Earlswood combined under the umbrella of the Earlswood Schools Federation. The schools are very popular and, along with the plentiful green space and good transport links, have attracted many young families to the area.

South Earlswood

One sub-area of Earlswood, South Earlswood is a separate neighbourhood containing approximately half of the housing, which constitutes the main land use in Earlswood.Grid square map

Ordnance survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

website Separating it from the north are Earlswood Common and the

Greensand Way The Greensand Way is a long-distance path of in southeast England, from Haslemere in Surrey to Hamstreet in Kent. It follows the Greensand Ridge along the Surrey Hills and Chart Hills. The route is mostly rural, passing through woods, and a ...

, which follows the

Greensand Ridge The Greensand Ridge, also known as the Wealden Greensand is an extensive, prominent, often wooded, mixed greensand/sandstone escarpment in south-east England. Forming part of the Weald, a former dense forest in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, it r ...

from Haslemere to

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. Immediately adjoining South Earlswood is the village or neighbourhood of

Whitebushes Earlswood is a suburb of Redhill in Surrey, England, which lies on the A23 between Redhill (in the direction of London) and Horley (next to Gatwick Airport). Earlswood Common is a local nature reserve that separates the suburb from the southe ...

, which is contiguous therefore, apart from councillors, is difficult to separate artificially.

Whitebushes

A mixed housing estate built in the 1970s and early 1980s, surrounded by pre-existing farmland, South Earlswood and the railway line.

opened in 1979 to its north. A small portion of farmland remains

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has a ...

where (traditionally) gypsy horses, used for riding lessons and transport, have grazed since the 1950s. The area has been occupied since medieval times and probably before that, as evidenced by archaeological finds nearby of an axe and flint flakes. The surrounding farms date back to the 13th and 14th centuries, notably Hazelhurst Farm from 1203 and Dean Farm from 1316. There is evidence of a medieval farmstead in Woodlands Field, off Green Lane. This consists mainly of soil marks in a square of about 350m and an adjoining L-shaped mark. The pottery has been dated to 1250–1350. In the 19th century a number of brick works sprung up in the area. The Reigate Isolation Hospital was established in 1884 and later renamed to the Reigate Rural District Infectious Diseases Hospital. In 1900 a second establishment, the Reigate Borough Isolation Hospital, was opened. Around 1927 the two establishments were combined into a single Isolation Hospital run by the Reigate Joint Hospital Board as part of the Redhill County Hospital. In 1960 the site was acquired by

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lond ...

and renamed Jordan's Hospital for the treatment of Tropical Diseases, especially

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

. The site was sold for development in 1970 and the estate between Green Lane and the railway, including Jordans Close, was built. The

passes the west of Whitebushes and was opened in 1841. An ancient trackway along what is now Green Lane, The Brow and the western leg of Bushfield Drive, links Whitebushes to Earlswood station to the north and Salfords station to the south. Somewhat circuitous routes under the railway link to the parking areas by these stations for those unwilling to walk.

Local governance

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...

Following boundary changes in response to the new communities built at The Watercolour and Park 25 developments East of Redhill, Earlswood is now split between two divisions at Surrey County Council level. Earlswood North falls with the Redhill East division and Earlswood South falls within the Earlswood and Reigate South division. This does cause some confusion as there is also a Redhill East ward at borough council level which Earlswood is not part of. Both are elected every four years. They are currently represented by: Redhill East: Mr Jonathan Essex of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

who, in being elected, became the first member of his party to sit on Surrey County Council. Earlswood and Reigate South: Catherine Margaret Baart (

Green Party (England and Wales) The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; cy, Plaid Werdd Cymru a Lloegr, kw, Party Gwer Pow an Sowson ha Kembra, often simply the Green Party or Greens) is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla ...

), was voted in by the electorate in 2021.

Reigate and Banstead Reigate and Banstead is a local government district with borough status in east Surrey, England. It includes the towns of Reigate, Redhill, Horley and Banstead. The borough borders the Borough of Crawley (in West Sussex) to the south, the Boro ...

At Borough council Earlswood North and South are combined to form one division, simply Earlswood. Three Earlswood councillors sit on

borough council, who are:

Amenities

Earlswood Common, an local nature reserve, is managed by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council. Football club Redhill F.C. has its ground, Kiln Brow, on a site in Earlswood on the east side of the A23, immediately north of

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Surrey Reigate and Banstead Local Nature Reserves in Surrey