Development of Epsom Court
Before delving into the maps of Epsom and particularly Epsom Court I would like to refer you to The Epsom and Ewell History Explorer (EEHE) and the article on Epsom Court.
This site brings together articles covering the local history of the area. The articles may have been inspired by many things including specific suggestions, memories, printed works and of course the internet.
Epsom Court is one such article.
Epsom Court Alias Epsom Lodge or Court Farm, formerly the Saxon manor house of Epsom established upon a Roman site?
The Location It may be conjectured that a Roman road linked the villa and tile-works on Ashtead Common to the site of Epsom Court Farm where Toland, in his letter descriptive of Epsom from 1711, mentioned Roman remains. This would have extended from Woodcock Corner on the parish boundary, proceeding south of the present B280 Chessington Road and Christchurch Road to Clayhill Green. Seller’s map of 1690 indicates a secondary route to Ewell which passed Ashtead’s Woodfield before continuing north of Ebsham Wells and then on by Ebsham Court generally following a line suggested by Reginald White on his map in Ancient Epsom (1928). This way would have crossed a stream which still issues from The Cricketers’ pond at Stamford Green but has been contained in a culvert below Christchurch Road. At some time in history, however, a ford here would have been lined with imported stones (likely to have been flints) to improve the going over clay and so the location became known as Stamford as a corruption of the Old English stan [stone] ford. Then, as a letter in The Times of 31 August 1925 reported, ‘at the back of West Hill House, Epsom, there was a piece of Roman road showing … [which] might only have gone to Ebba’s Hame, the Court Farm, Epsom’. From Clay Hill Green the route continued along the present bridle path, Pound Lane. The supposed Roman road appears on the 18th century Rocque map included later in this piece.
I recall a time when the immersion was controlled by two switches, one labelled sink and the other bath.