Oxted

Mills and manors

The town lay within the Anglo-Saxon Tandridge hundred. Oxted appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Acstede, meaning 'Place where oaks grew'. It was held by Eustace II of Boulogne. Its Domesday assets were: 5 hides; 1 church, 2 mills worth 12s 6d, 20 ploughs, 4 acres (1.6 ha) of meadow, pannage worth 100 hogs. It rendered £14 and 2d from a house in Southwark to its feudal overlords per year.

Three mills are mentioned in the inquisition on Roland of Oxted, 1291–2. To a greater or lesser extent these were alienated from the main manor, which had become one of four, before 1689, when they were in the possession of Thomas Causton. In 1712 only one is mentioned as appertaining to the manor. The five manors were: Oxted, Barrow Green, Bursted/Bearsted, Broadham, Stocketts and Foyle.

The history of the first suggests wealthy tranche of the parish and is instructive as to social history; by marriage it became by agreed settlement a manor of Ralph Earl of Westmorland, with remainder to Thomas Cobham, his wife's uncle. Margaret died in 1460, leaving no children and her husband held the manor until his death in 1485, when it passed to Anne, only child and heir of Thomas Cobham, who had married Sir Edward Burgh. She died in 1526, and her husband, who 'became distracted of memorie,' died two years later, leaving a son and heir Thomas, afterwards created the Lord Burgh.

Civil development and expansion from village into a commuter town

The original village of Oxted (now Old Oxted) is a small village centred on a short high street with four pubs (The Old Bell, The George Inn, The Crown Inn and The Wheatsheaf) just off the A25. Oxted's oldest church which still provides services, St Mary's, was built in a field, upstream from and north-east of the medieval heart of Oxted, near Master Park and the railway station. The Grade I listed church dates from at least Norman times and stands on a conspicuous mound.

With the arrival of the railway in 1884 (after many years' delay caused by lack of funds) Oxted boomed in line with London's trade growth around its station, north-east of Old Oxted), and new buildings created "New Oxted". These new buildings were built in the Tudor style, particularly with stucco frontages. All Saints Catholic Church was built in 1913–1928 designed by Arts & Crafts architect James L. Williams (died 1926, his other work includes Royal School of Needlework, St George's in Sudbury, London (1926–27) and The Pound House in Totteridge (1907)). The United Reformed Church's building followed in 1935, which is listed for its coloured glass and Byzantine design by architect Frederick Lawrence.

In 2011 The Daily Telegraph listed Oxted as the twentieth richest town in Britain.

Governance

There is one representative on Surrey County Council, conservative Nick Skellett CBE. There are six representatives on Tandridge District Council with much of Oxted South being Hurst Green :

There is also a parish council with 11 members.

Geography

The Greenwich Meridian runs through Oxted, passing through Oxted School. The parish encompasses a long divide between two ranges of hills, reaching up to the escarpments of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge which is itself almost completely eroded at Hurst Green within the parish due to the action of the multiple headwaters of the River Eden, Kent.

The north of the parish is within the Vale of Holmesdale, which is drained by four, unconnected rivers. A nearby village is Tandridge, to the southwest, which sits on an edge of the Greensand Ridge. Limpsfield, to the east, is contiguous with Oxted; both have a clustered community with the remainder of the land largely wooded or agricultural. Godstone is to the west and Crowhurst, Surrey to the south. Woldingham on the North Downs is to the north.

Demography and housing

The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%.

The proportion of households in the civil parish 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).

Band and civic centre

Oxted is one of the few Surrey towns to retain its town brass band, Oxted Band, which has been a fixture within the town since 1901. The town became the administrative town of the Tandridge District when it was established in 1974.

Pram race

Oxted is host to a charity pram race held annually. It was started in 1977 by Eric and Elsie Hallson, who ran it for nearly 20 years before retiring. Entrants wear fancy dress and must push a pram around the two-thirds of a mile course, stopping at each of the seven licensed premises on the way to quaff a drink as quickly as they can. The race ends in Old Oxted high street where the road is closed for the evening and a street party is held.

Events in Master Park

The park hosts annual events such as that run by the local cricket club. Every year there is also the Oxted Beer Festival.

Transport

Oxted is served by Oxted railway station and Hurst Green railway station on the Oxted Line.

Education

Oxted's main state secondary school is Oxted School (Oxted County School until 2000). Opened in 1929, it has over 2000 pupils and is one of the largest in the country. There are two other state schools in Oxted, Downs Way primary school and St Mary's C of E junior school.

Notable residents