Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, south-west of Croydon, north of Reigate, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London.
On the North Downs, it is on three of the four main compass points separated from other settlements by open area buffers with Metropolitan Green Belt status. Banstead Downs, although a fragment of its larger historic area and spread between newer developments, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
One of the Banstead wards is "Banstead Village". The contiguous ward of Nork, which contains Banstead station, shares in many amenities of Banstead and is included in county-level population analyses of Banstead but not the central-government-drawn Banstead Built-up Area. The latter takes in Burgh Heath and held 15,469 residents as at the 2011 census.
History
The earliest recorded mention of Banstead was in an Anglo-Saxon charter of AD 967, in the reign of King Edgar.
The settlement appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Benestede. The first element is probably the Anglo Saxon word bene, meaning bean, and the second element stede refers to an inhabited place without town status (as in farmstead).
Banstead's non-ecclesiastical land and 50 households were held by Richard as tenant-in-chief, under the Bishop of Bayeux. Its assets were: 9½ hides, 1 church, 1 mill worth £1, 17 ploughs, woodland worth 20 hogs. It rendered £8 per year.
The Manor had two ploughs, and there were 28 villeins and 15 cottars (people with a small cottage but no land) with 15 ploughs.
This was a farming area that later became well known for its high quality wool. The manor was owned by increasingly wealthy gentry, then by the church, before it fell into the hands of the Crown in the 13th century; Edward I visited more than once. Henry VIII made Banstead part of Catherine of Aragon's dowry, but took it away again and gave it to a court favourite, Sir Nicholas Carew. Carew was later beheaded for treason, but the manor, once covering most of the village but mostly sold piecemeal, stayed in his family until the 18th century.
Banstead Downs, which for many centuries meant all the open land stretching from Epsom to Croydon and Reigate, became well known for horse racing in the 17th century. On 20 November 1683, King Charles II and the Duke of York attended a race meeting near the core of the village. The town also gained a reputation as a health resort during that era, famous for its "wholesome air", and London physicians recommended a visit to Banstead to their ailing patients.
Banstead's population remained low until the late 19th century when the improved roads and the building of the railways led to gradual growth, which continued with low density social housing and post-Blitz rehousing projects in the mid 20th century. Banstead's housing stock is generally low density and set in overwhelmingly green surroundings; there are a few listed buildings of some historical and architectural interest. Banstead was a spring line settlement whose main source of water was The Old Well until the arrival of pumped water. The 18th-century well-head cover, which still houses the elaborate winding gear, is a listed building.
In 1930, the ecclesiastical parish of Nork was formed, taking in part of Epsom as far as Wallace Fields and Higher Green in the west of the parish, loosely termed Epsom Downs. Church of England – Nork – About us and Find Us tabs. Retrieved 2013-09-29
Governance There are two tiers of local government covering Banstead, at district and county level, being Reigate and Banstead Borough Council and Surrey County Council, both of which are based in Reigate. There are no civil parishes covering Banstead, which has been an unparished area since 1974.
Administrative history Banstead was an ancient parish. The parish was included in the Epsom Poor Law Union from 1836, and therefore became part of the Epsom Rural Sanitary District in 1872. When elected parish and district councils were established in 1894, Banstead was given a parish council and the Epsom Rural Sanitary District became the Epsom Rural District.Local Government Act 1894
In 1933 the Epsom Rural District was abolished, and a new Banstead Urban District was created, covering the parishes of Banstead, Chipstead, Kingswood, Walton-on-the-Hill, and Woodmansterne. The parish councils in the area were all abolished at the same time; as urban parishes the new urban district council was their lowest level of local government. Later in 1933 the urban district council bought a large Victorian house called The Lodge at the corner of Brighton Road and Chipstead Road and converted it to become their headquarters, renaming it the Council House.
Banstead Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, becoming part of the new borough of Reigate and Banstead. The civil parishes within the former urban district, including Banstead, were abolished at the same time, although they had had no practical functions since 1933.Reigate and Banstead Borough Council and Predecessor Authorities. Exploring Surrey's Past. https://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/collections/getrecord/SHCOL_6918 Retrieved 6 January 2023. The former Banstead Urban District Council's headquarters at the Council House served as additional offices for the new Reigate and Banstead Council for some years, before being mostly demolished in 2002 and rebuilt as flats called Holmewood House.: Partial demolition of existing buildings and provision of 27 open-market apartments with 9 affordable housing units on the Lyme Regis frontage on a shared ownership basis at The Council House, Brighton Road, Banstead, Surrey, SM7 1BD, granted 1 November 2001. The frontage of the original building was incorporated into the new building, with the old part now being a locally-listed building.
Demography At the 2011 census the population of Banstead (including Nork) was 16,666. The population of Banstead Village ward was 8,510 in 2001 and 9,110 in 2011. Banstead Parish now only exists for church purposes, there being no civil parish as it was abolished in 1974. Due to the aridity of the surface of the higher south, the old parish stretched far and wide to take in the width of the widest section of the North Downs and still today Banstead is drawn more widely than its narrow village or county or borough electoral wards and divisions under three measures: As a post town As Banstead Downs As accounting for the main northern settlement or 'Banstead part' of the borough of Reigate and Banstead.
Taking the last, broadest definition, in 2001, the upland settlements loosely associated with Banstead such as Tadworth had some 46,280 people across an area of approximately (four miles by four miles).Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Usual Resident Population (KS01) Banstead Village; Chipstead, Hooley and Woodmansterne; Kingswood with Burgh Heath; Nork; Preston; Tadworth and Walton; and Tattenhams wards. Retrieved 27 August 2010
The ward of Nork includes areas which were not historically part of the hamlet of Nork. At the 2011 Census it had 7,556 residents.
The area historically had many other hamlets, which gradually gained their own village or town status; they stretched as far as Reigate across the widest part of crest of the North Downs. Thus, historic demography does not give a fair indicator of population change. Identifying this swathe of land in 21st century figures with the parish, historical population growth is as follows, with parts of Walton-on-the-Hill and Chipstead included in the 2001 and 2011 wards:
+ Population of Banstead Ancient and/or Civil Parish Year 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1881 1891 Population 717 882 940 991 1628 1270 3826 4560 Year 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 2001 2011 Population 5,624 6,731 7,337 11,236 n/a 22,399 41,559 46,280
+ 2011 Census HomesWard Detached Semi-detachedTerracedFlats and apartmentsCaravans/temporary/mobile homes/houseboatsShared between householdsBanstead (ward)922 1,128 365 934 0 0Nork (ward) 1,612 808 162 303 1 1
The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%. + 2011 Census HouseholdsWard Population Households % Owned outright % Owned with a loanhectaresBanstead (ward) 9,110 3,349 43 39 462Nork (ward) 7,556 2,888 43 45 363 The proportion of households who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free).
Economy
The centre of Banstead has a High Street from its war memorial to its public library. A churchyard occupies part of the south side. Local Scouts and Guides parade the street on Remembrance Day and May Day. In December 2008 a fire destroyed the Waitrose supermarket. While being rebuilt, Waitrose opened a temporary store in the former Woolworths. The rebuilt store opened in November 2009. There are various restaurants and coffee bars as well as largely upmarket independent stores and the professional offices: six estate agencies, three firms of solicitors and a notary public.
Other than High Street jobs the large village has some in the public sector: in council offices and NHS facilities to the west of the Banstead's centre, and in various local schools. Self-employed such as contracting engineers and domestic tradespeople make up some of the labour force but most of Banstead's residents commute out of the district for employment: annual exits from the town's station rose from 93,069 in the tax year 2004–05 to 128,148 in 2011–12.
Surrounding area
Religion
Banstead has several churches. All Saints' Church and Christ Church Banstead are on the high street. Within the area there is also Banstead Community Church, St Anne's Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, St Paul's Church, the United Reformed Church and Crown Family Church that meets at the Banstead Community Centre.
Education There are several schools in and around Banstead. Further education is not available in the town, most students go to institutions in Sutton, Epsom or Reigate.
Primary St Anne's Catholic Primary School (for ages 4 to 11) Banstead Infants School / Banstead Juniors School Warren Mead Primary School, Nork
Secondary The Beacon School, previously Nork Park Secondary School, is the predominant secondary comprehensive school in the area. Nork Park, a public park, borders the back of the school. It is one of the 23 schools that supply ball boys to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. It has over 1000 students.
The neighbouring London Borough of Sutton has five grammar schools, which accept pupils from outside the borough.
Independent
Aberdour School (co-educational preparatory school for ages 3 to 13) Banstead Preparatory School (co-educational preparatory school for ages 2 to 11) Priory Preparatory School and Greenacre School for girls both closed in 2017 and formed the Banstead Preparatory School.
Transport The majority of the town is bypassed by the A217 dual carriageway to the west. The A2022 passes through the residential area just to the north of the town centre, however the town centre frequently suffers from traffic congestion. There are several bus services through the village, linking to Epsom, Sutton and Croydon, which all have good onward bus and rail connections. Banstead railway station is to the west of the town's centre, across the A217. It is within Nork ward rather than Banstead ward.
Media With its close proximity to London, television signals are received from the Crystal Palace TV transmitter, placing Banstead in the BBC London and ITV London areas.