England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Banstead All Saints

The Parish

The parish of Banstead lies in the northeastern portion of central Surrey roughly 3 miles east of the town of Epsom. Banstead sits on the A217 road which links London with Reigate. Banstead is a much changed area, early maps show a largely linear village entirely east of the A217 turnpike, a set of 3 distinct clumps of properties trended northeast, the first around the former Garretts Hall, a second clustered in the fork east of the parish church and the largest gathered around the junction that, today, forms the junction of Sutton Lane and the A2022 headed for Purley. Much of the extensive parish was chalk downland populated by many hundreds of sheep which not only produced quality "downland mutton" for which the area was known but also for the valuable fleeces. Like nearby Epsom Banstead too became noted for its horse racing on the short turf of the downs and was favoured as a countryside retreat for wealthy gentlemen. The arrival of the Banstead & Epsom Downs railway changed the parish markedly as it grew into a sizeable commuter town, a process which was completed after the 1930s by the laying out the vast Nork estate west of the A217. In Banstead's favour is that it retained its prosperous High Street and thus remains a village within the vast urban conurbation of Greater London within which it sits. Modern developments have grown besides the railway line, the A217 road has also been upgraded to a modern dual-carriageway speeding traffic south to the M25 motorway. Banstead sits upon porous chalk so there is no surface drainage until the River Wandle rises in Carshalton, the Wandle eventually reaches the Thames at Wandsworth from where water passes through the capital to the North Sea. Banstead is sited upon the hilltop of Banstead Down, the parish church stands at 160 metres above the sea, the highest ground around. As already mentioned Banstead parish was extensive, covering just short of 5,500 acres it would have supported a population of close to 1.150 parishioners closer to 17,000 today. Even by Domesday times Banstead was already a substantial settlement its 50 households just pushing it into the top 20%, held by Bishop Odo of Bayeux it offered 17 ploughs, a small wood and a mill.

The Church

All Saints' church sits on the southern side of the High Street within a substantial park-like area, a real amenity for the town. Whilst the church has its origins in the 12th & 13th centuries it owes much to an extensive and thorough restoration which lasted over a decade in Victorian times. The basic ore of the church, the nave and chancel, was established during last decades of the 12th century, the Norman Romanesque period transitioning into Early English Gothic. The following century saw the western tower completed in that later style. During the 14th & 15th centuries the church acquired its aisles and arcades with the Perpendicular styling. Victorian work began in 1837 when the church's southern chapel was rebuilt, however, the main work covered the period of 1861 to 1872 in stages. The work saw all windows returned to their original Earl English Gothic style but the main effort saw the tower' spire stabilised, it had become noted for its pronounced bend so the base was given a sharper pitch and the spire was also reduced in height, which seems to have cured the problem. A further tranche of work followed in 1898 to 1902 which gave the nave's roof half-hipped dormers. Most parking in the vicinity of the church on streets is limited to one hour, a car park is best sought for a longer visit, there being one immediately west of the site. The park-like area separates the churchyard from the busy High Street giving a degree of tranquility, one within the churchyard there are no obstacles to concern the photographer.