Langley Vale is a village in the

Borough of Epsom and Ewell Epsom and Ewell () is a local government district with borough status and unparished area in Surrey, England, covering the towns of Epsom and Ewell. The borough was formed as an urban district in 1894, and was known as Epsom until 1934. It was ma ...

, in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England, approximately south of

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

. As its name suggests, the village is in a dry valley between

Epsom Downs Epsom Downs is an area of chalk downland, chalk upland near Epsom, Surrey; in the North Downs. Part of the area is taken up by the Epsom Downs Racecourse, racecourse, the gallops are part of the land purchased by Stanly Wootton in 1925 and are ...

and Walton Downs. Historically part of the

Ashtead Park Ashtead Park is a Local Nature Reserve in Ashtead in Surrey. It is owned by Mole Valley District Council and managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust. It contains several important listed buildings. The Park itself has remains of a Roman building, ...

estate, Langley Vale was the location of a farm in Medieval times. The modern village began to develop in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The nearest settlements are

Burgh Heath __NOTOC__ Burgh Heath ( or, especially amongst older residents, ) is a residential neighbourhood with a remnant part of the Banstead Commons of the same name. Immediately north of Upper Kingswood on the A217 road, it adjoins part of Banstead t ...

to the east,

Tadworth Tadworth is a large suburban village in Surrey, England in the south-east of the Epsom Downs, part of the North Downs. It forms part of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. At the 2011 census, Tadworth (and Walton-on-the-Hill) had a population o ...

to the south-east,

Headley Headley may refer to: Places * Headley, Basingstoke and Deane in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley * Headley, East Hampshire ** Headley Grange, Hampshire * Headley, Surrey Other uses * Headley (surname) * Baron Headley, a title in t ...

to the south,

Ashtead Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Primarily a commuter settlement, Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on t ...

to the west and the Woodcote part of

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about 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 ...

to the north.

Epsom Downs Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course, which has a crowd capacity of 13 ...

is 1 mile to the northeast and

Woodcote Park Woodcote Park is a stately home 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 ...

, a stately home owned by the

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, near Epsom in Surrey. Both provide accommodation and a range o ...

, is 1 mile to the west.

History

Patent Rolls The patent rolls (Latin: ''Rotuli litterarum patentium'') are a series of administrative records compiled in the English, British and United Kingdom Chancery, running from 1201 to the present day. Description The patent rolls comprise a register ...

and similar reveal the Vale was originally a farm with several tenants and later it became in effect a single farm (Langley Bottom Farm) and that after the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

or at least after the 14th century it started to disappear from the map. In a document dated 1255/1268 the land appears to be held by a William de Langley. John at Ley from Headley takes it on in 1331/2 and again in 1333/4, succeeding John de Langley. In 1347/8 the tenant is a John at Ley then the records give out. In 1435/6 another John Langley is tenant as subtenant of a William de Langhead of Epsom. The manorial survey of 1496 suggests it was being farmed as a single holding. Historically, the land which comprised the village of Langley Bottom was, until 1877, part of the

Estate, although it was in the parish of Epsom. It was subsequently sold as building land.

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s show gradual development - in 1895, the road layout is shown but no development. By 1913 roads and some houses are named. By 1932 there are more houses but still some undeveloped areas. A great deal of development took place after World War II and in the 1970s

infill houses In urban planning, infill, or in-fill, is the rededication of land in an urban environment, usually open-space, to new construction. Infill also applies, within an urban polity, to construction on any undeveloped land that is not on the urban ma ...

were built on some of the large gardens. The names Langley Bottom and Langley Vale both predate 1911 when they were both used in the 1911 Census returns. The names could well define two separate areas of the village I.e. the bottom of the road being separate from the upper part. The farm was called Langley Bottom Farm in 1911. The village has a long association with the racing industry and

Epsom Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course, which has a crowd capacity of 13 ...

. Many trainers set up training stables within the village and by the 1950s as there was as many as 15 training stables in Langley Vale. Many villagers worked in the racing industry, too.

Economy and amenities

Epsom and Ewell Epsom and Ewell () is a local government district with borough status and unparished area in Surrey, England, covering the towns of Epsom and Ewell. The borough was formed as an urban district in 1894, and was known as Epsom until 1934. It was m ...

Borough Council has permitted minor back-plot development which has permitted higher density development, and some subdivision of plots while still keeping to neat road grid (

nucleated village A nucleated village, or clustered settlement, is one of the main types of settlement pattern. It is one of the terms used by geographers and landscape historians to classify settlements. It is most accurate with regard to planned settlements: its c ...

layout) with designated but sufficient parking to every house, overall, except for The Derby, which takes place on a start-of-summer weekend.Planning history and policy
Epsom and Ewell Borough Council The village has no

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

(''The Rubbing House'' across the racecourse being nearest) and very little in the way of shops, a small community centre and church. There is a single petrol station on the main road, and one school.

Transport

Road

The village can be accessed via two roads. The village has only two bus services; route E5 to Watersedge via Epsom and the 676 school bus to

Rosebery School Rosebery School is an all-girls school located in Epsom, Surrey. It consists of a lower school for those aged between 11 and 16, and a sixth form for those aged between 16 and 18. The school has academy status. It is situated close to the A24, ...

(Epsom), St Andrew's School (Ashtead) and

Therfield School Therfield School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Leatherhead, Surrey, England. Therfield School sixth form teaches courses of further education for students between the ages of 16 and 18 and has an arrangement of ...

(Leatherhead).

Rail

The nearest stations are

Tattenham Corner Tattenham Corner is in north Surrey, UK, the name is principally associated with Epsom Racecourse. The railway station of the same name is in the Tattenhams ward of Reigate and Banstead Borough. Location Tattenham Corner refers to the sharp ...

(2 miles by road or 1 mile on foot across the fields) and

(about 2.5 miles).

Emergency services

Surrey Police Surrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Surrey in South East England. The force is currently led by Chief Constable Gavin Stephens. Previously the force was led by Nick Ephgrave who left the force ...

South East Coast Ambulance Service The South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is the NHS ambulance services trust for south-eastern England, covering Kent (including Medway), Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex (including Brighton and Hove). It also cov ...

, formed, as of 1 July 2006 by the merger of the Surrey Ambulance Service,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, and

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 ...

ambulance services *

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service The Surrey Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service for the County of Surrey, England, with 25 fire stations. It comes under the administrative and legislative control of Surrey County Council, acting as the Fire Author ...

External links

The Langley Vale Village community website

References

{{Epsom and Ewell Hamlets in Surrey Epsom