NONSUCH ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY

for Epsom, Ewell, Cheam and Banstead

No. 4                                                   Occasional Paper                                                               March 1973

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Epsom’s East End

Most of the following is extracted from the Chairman’s letter to the Town Clerk (25th August, 1972) showing the need for a considered conservation and development policy, for East Street and Upper High Street. Some of the buildings listed below have, alas, already disappeared.

In considering the ‘re-development of Epsom’s shopping centre there is a tendency to ignore its essentially linear nature. It really stretches from the edge of Rosebery Park in South Street, along the High Street to Norringtons in Upper High Street. with small spurs from it in West Street as far as the Railway, in Ashley Road as far as the Methodist Church, in Waterloo Road, as far as Waterloo Parade, in Church Street to the Baptist Church, arid in East Street .to some indeterminate point beyond the Baths Hall.

Attention has hitherto been focussed on the re-development of the High Street, but now that the Railway Hotel has been demolished, the potentialities for development in Upper High Street cannot be ignored, and a fresh look at the existing buildings may show which are worth preserving.

Upper High Street in its present form and the buildings along it are the creation of Victorian and Edwardian times and originally, of course, were, related to the Old Epsom Station ,built in 1847 when the West Croydon/Sutton/Epsom line, the first railway to Epsom, was built. The main buildings of the Old Station still survive at the rear of lock-up shops as far as the down-side is concerned, and, as part of Longhurst’s Timber Workshop, as far as the up-side is concerned. Most of the ancillary buildings in the Old Sidings have now been dismantled - the Edwardian Signal Box only a few months ago. The Old Station buildings are in a poor state, but there is no doubt that some of the Victorian and Edwardian buildings in Upper High Street should be conserved.

The Railway Hotel stood approximately opposite the forecourt of the Old Station where the growlers (horse drawn taxi-cabs) stood awaiting hire. It was a nice early Victorian rectangular building with stuccoed surrounds to its windows and doors and a stuccoed cornice. The same style is continued in the adjacent terrace of high Victorian houses, Nos. 40 - 44 Upper High Street - originally called “Railway Terrace”. Then a series of paired Victorian dwelling houses of contemporary age, Nos. 20 - 38 continue the line. These are, of course, woefully disfigured at present by the ugly fore-buildings thrown out over some of their front gardens, but while the main buildings stand intact, rehabilitation to dwellings or more sensitive conversion to shops is possible.

The same late-Regency-inspired Victorian style is to be seen in the Shop block, with waggon entrance to a rear unloading yard, now Nos. 1. – 5 High Street, opp. The Quadrant. This really good building is at present marred by a very ham-handed repair to two-thirds of its cornice, but a more sensitive restoration could and should be made.

The Congregational Hall is a rather heavy late-Gothic revival building, formerly a chapel, but with so much destruction of the architecture of the Victorian era going on, it is good to learn that its use as a church hall is to continue.

The other interesting Upper High Street building is the Parade of Shops Nos. 11 - 33. This is a nice Edwardian group of shops with dwellings over, carried out in red brick and decorated terracotta work. It matches in with, and continues the line of, Coppens’ Shop building (formerly Ormonde House) and Nos. 4 - 8 High Street round the corner which are charming red brick Edwardian buildings. Nos. 4 — 6, now the offices of the Halifax Building Society, have been sensitively restored and cleaned recently - an act for which Epsom owes a debt of gratitude to that Society.

Nos. 7/9 Upper High Street and the Shop Terrace Nos. 4 -14 are also quite pleasant Edwardian buildings (7/9 has an 1898 plaque on it, but stylistically the period 1890 - 1920 is one and maybe thought of as Edwardian).

In East Street there has been much destruction of worthwhile historic buildings, mainly 19th century boarded cottages. The few buildings in this area earlier than 1850 might well be preserved and rehabilitated as dwellings.

The long parallel strips on which the houses are built in Prospect Place, Linton’s Lane and Middle Lane preserve the lines of the selions of the northern of Epsom’s two common fields. The listing of these pre-1850 buildings for preservation would be a very useful measure, and Epsom should consider how it can use its rehabilitation powers to turn them into dwellings of reasonable standard. The same considerations, however, apply to the 19th century housing developments lying to the north and south of East Street:-

Garden Cottages, Linton’s Lane, Leith Road, Victoria Place, Middle Lane, Fairview Road on the north and Clayton Road, Prospect Place, Church Road (to the rail bridge), Providence Place, Beaconsfield Place on the south. Some of the buildings involved in these early 19th century developments are in flint with red brick bands - a local NE Surrey Style, come are boarded, others typical high Victorian small house building in brick, often in pairs. Some are in poor condition (e.g. in Prospect Place and Garden Cottages particularly), but all are capable of repair and conversion.

The public health department are at present engaged in putting closure orders on 33/37 East Street and Garden Cottages These orders could spell the death of all these properties, but they are among the most interesting of those involved. 33/37 is a good example of late Stuart Building with close resemblances, to Cromwell Lodge (Church Street), and 28/30 Waterloo Road in some of its details. It is framed in the rear and has a front of red brickwork rubbed and with narrow mortar seams in Flemish bond. It has all the characteristics of a spa period building. It is now in need of repair, but is not unrepairable in my view. It carried until recently, at No. 33, a fine Victorian trade sign – a lamp with a flue brush on top - and Tester and Tuck’s chimney sweeping business was conducted from here from the 1880’s until very recent years. The sign has been removed but efforts are being made, I understand, by, Mr. Hunter the museum curator to trace it. The Corporation should regard its acquisition either to remount on the building, or for exhibition in the museum, as of first priority It is an item that a major folk museum such as York would be very proud to possess.

Garden Cottages, which lie behind 33/37 on the same large plot, and in the same ownership, are a terrace of 21 small houses carried out in flint work with red brick bands and quoins. Built in 1867 as artisans’ cottages, they are an interesting example of such a group, akin to those put up near the enterprises employing them by many early factory masters, and I wonder if the original purpose in this case was for workers in the waterworks? They are in bad repair in places now, and, of course, very small, but have both front and rear approach and could be rehabilitated as old peoples’ cottages or turned into say 8 to 10 larger dwellings. I think some decisive’ action is needed on 33/37 and Garden Cottages now, first to get 33/37 listed, and secondly to rehabilitate both 33/37 and Garden Cottages as dwellings.

List of Buildings erected before 1920 and still standing in August, 1972

Note: Buildings earlier than 1850 are underlined

Upper High Street (from Church Street) (South side)

102            Armidale - Edwardian House

96/98 )

92/94 ) Victorian pairs of houses,

88/90 )

84/86 Woodnymph Cottages, plaque 1884

80/82 Woodbine Cottages, plaque 1883

70/78 Terrace of  Victorian house

60/68 Terrace of late Victorian houses

50/52 Early Victorian pair

40/44 Terrace of high Victorian houses’, originally called ”Railway Terrace”

36/38 )

32/34 )

28/30 ) Pairs of Victorian houses of the 1860s

24/26 )   now mostly converted to shops

20/22)

16/18 Front of shops, and at rear Congregational Church Hall – late Victorian Gothic

12/14 Late Victorian shop terrace

4/10            Edwardian shop terrace

Upper High Street (North side)

7/9           Double Fronted Plaque 1898 (formerly the Conservative Club)‚

11/33           Edwardian shop terrace “Sainsbury’s Terrace”.

High Street (between Upper High St. and East St.)

2            Edwardian (Ormonde House)

4/8            Edwardian Shop Terrace

East Street - South Side

2/4/8 Victorian block double gable ends, 1890s

10/12 Victorian block central waggon entrance, 1880s

14/16 No. 16 now stuccoed, 1870s

Flint CottageLow hipped slate roof flint with brick bands, 1843

Bankside Victorian, 1850s

40/42/44 Georgian cottages in stucco on lath, Old shop window at No.40

46/48Victorian pair with Victorian shop window 1860s

Red LionPublic house now closed and ready for demolition, Victorian building

92/94/96 Georgian terrace now with Victorian shops on front of plots

102/104 Victorian cottage pair

108            Victorian house of 1850s rather distinctive and pleasant

110/112Brick built Victorian pair., well set back

114/116 Victorian pair with early Royal Firemark. 116 has early shop window

132/134 Victorian brick pair

136/138 Edith Cottages, plaque 1880, Victorian brick pair

140/142 Early Cottages, plaque 1881, Victorian brick pair

Kings Arms   Early Victorian with low hipped roof, nice decoration round door

158/160 Last pair in this part of road of boarded and framed early 19th century cottages

East Street - North Side

1/3            Victorian of 1860s, now Icelandic Fish Shop

5            The Rifleman, Victorian of 1860. Surrey Volunteer Rifle Regiment is here celebrated                                            

Epsom C. of E. School  An 1840 Building in front, with Edwardian additions to rear, and now used as a youth club

19/21 ) Pairs of boarded cottages with central stacks and porches. Mid 19th century.

23/25 ) Detached house similar to above, now divided

Plough & Harrow Public House  Victorian front on 18th century framed and boarded buildings  

33/37 Double depth brick with side stacks and framing on sides and rear. Late 17th century, quite a good building

Garden Cottages  Off East Street, flint built with red brick bands and quoins. Terrace of twenty cottages built in 1867 with front and back  

                                 approach paths

53/55 ) Victorian small house pairs about 1870.

57/59 ) All except No. 61 now shops

61/63 )

69/71 )

77       )

The Locomotive Public House, mid Victorian

97/99 Large Victorian House, gable ended sections at both sides

115/117 )

133/135 )             Edwardian pairs

137/139 Late Victorian pair

Epsom Road

Gresham CottageMid Victorian double fronted house

Elvaston Late Victorian, and another small house pair

Lynton HouseGood Victorian house with stables – now a school

Layshaw HouseEdwardian house

St. Margarets & Patio Cottage  Large Edwardian house, now divided

Cleredown & Beaumont             Late Victorian house now divided

Namels Late Victorian house

Invermene House Large mid-Victorian house

Mulberry Cottage Early 19th century lath and stucco on softwood frame. Low hipped slate roof

Hollycroft Brick with tile roof, storey bands and parapet, early 19th century

The Elders             Large Victorian house.  Fine Tuscan porch

(In the original publication these houses were recorded under East Street. Mulberry Cottage and Hollycroft were originally identified by the author, Norman Nail, as 18th century properties but the 1802 Ewell map shows open land)

Adelphi Road

Nos.1/3 and No. 5 East Street form the entry to Adelphi Road

2           Victorian double fronted l870s.

4/6           Victorian stuccoed pair 1870s.

8/l0/12/14           Red brick Victorian terrace, mid 1860s

16/18           Red brick pair, mid 1860s.

20/22 )

24/26 )

28            Double fronted version of 20/26

30/34Red brick pair like 16/18

36/38Queen’s Cottages, similar to 30/34 and with plaque of 1871

40/42/44Red brick group of three

46/48Chestnut Cottages, with plaque of 1870. Group at west end of road

50/4346/48 and 41/39, two storeys on either side of 50/43 in centre with three

41/49                             storeys

35/37 )

31/33 )

27/29 )Pairs of the 1870s

23/25 )

19/21 )

15/17Stuccoed group different style from 25/35, and possibly earlier

11/13Boarded and framed pair, central stack, early Victorian

7/9            Alpha cottages, Victorian pair in white brick 1861

3/5            Boarded and framed pair, like 11/13 on different building line from Alpha

                                    Cottages

Hook Road (from Railway Bridge to East Street)

1/3     )

5/7     )

9/11   )

13/15 )

17/19 )

21/23 )

25/27 )

14/16 Beatrice Cottages 1899

10/12Boarded and framed cottage pair with red brick central stack, Double depth,

                                     18th century, and very good building of its type

Leith Road

2            Victorian pair, enlarged and now one house

6/8/10/12/

14/16/18/20            Victorian Terraces (opposite school)