Banstead Village

Has anybody got any idea when Banstead Place was built? My brother in law has an ancestor who was a Coachman & Gentleman's Servant at Banstead Place circa 1740's onwards, so I was wondering if this was the grand house (as it would have been then).

Reply from LNW - Hi Rosemary. according to our records Banstead Place was built in 1790 by John Motteaux a director of the East India Company and uncle to Lord Palmerston. The estate dating from the early seventeenth century was formerly known as Carpenters and was owned by the Wilmot family. The Motteaux family lived there for fifty years and later owners included John Lambert and Sir Ralph Neville, both very important indviduals in the history of Banstead.
Banstead Place has been extended over the years but most of the main structure, at least from the outside, is mainly original.

BANSTEAD PLACE (formerly Carpenters) was an estate of the Wilmots early in the 17th century. It passed through an heiress to Elizabeth wife of Gabriel Bestman, and afterwards to her niece, Hannah Wilmot, who married Sir Samuel Prime, a well-known lawyer in the reign of George III. The property passed later to the Westons, and then to John Motteux, of Beachamwell and Sandringham, co. Norfolk, whose trustees sold it to W. S. H. Fitz Roy, from whom it was acquired by John Lambert of Garratts Hall

From: 'Parishes: Banstead', A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3 (1911), pp. 252-262. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42963 Date accessed: 01 June 2012.

At the time that Banstead Place was owned by Capt. W. H. L. Fitz Roy, it was described as an excellent house surrounded by about two hundred acres of ground, and well wooded.
Source :C. J Swete. A hand-book of Epsom : with illustrations on wood and steel, embracing the villages of Ewell, Letherhead, Ashtead, Banstead . . .

This looks uncannily like a building I (thought) I knew (?called "Rosehill") behind a tall brick wall in Park Road- just past The Well, on the right. It was (during the 1940s-50's)the headquarters of the FSSNHO(Contrib). That is, the Federated Superannuation Scheme for Nurses and Hospital Officers (Contributory)! During that time I was a clerk at the South Eastern Gas board (West Surrey Division) based at the bottom of Sutton High Street (299)- where, later it was replaced by the tall Eagle Star office block, in front of the gas works.

NOTE FROM LNW: They do look a bit similar but Banstead Place is further down Park Road on the left hand side, almost opposite The Mint.

Thank you,LNW. Is Rosehill still there- under some other name, perhaps? Or was the site redeveloped- with maisonettes, perhaps...? I read somewhere that originally and old farm stood on this same site...?

Reply from LNW: Yes Bill it is still there, now called Castle House, partly offices and partly maisonettes. The block on the right hand side of the building was completely knocked down and rebuilt as maisonettes, but the developers did a really excellent job of replicating the exterior such that it is difficult to tell that that part is new. There was a Farm which is depicted on two sets of postcards that were issued showing such areas as The Dairy and the Vegetable plot etc.

Many thanks,LNW. You're increasing my nostalgia! I used to cycle and walk around that area in 40's, 50's & 60's. On the opposite side of the road- halfway towards Rosehill, I recall the entrance to a wartime army camp (the initials EAM were on the entrance sign). German POW's were there 1946-ish).

Note from LNW: I suspect you mean No. 116 Equipment Ammunition Depot, used as a pig farm for many years and in more recent years, the area was looked at for redevelopment. Two unsuccesful attemps at gaining planning permission so far as I know.

If you would like a bit of nostalgia, you could not do better that one of our latest publications BANSTEAD PAST AND PRESENT which shows old photographs on every page, accompanied by more recent ones taken within the last three years or so. Go to www.bansteadhistory.com and click on publications. Unfortunately, our book on the ammunition dump is out of print.

TKS V MCH LNW. YR CERTAINLY WHETTING THE APPETITE OF THIS SUBURBAN SURREY BOY EXILED IN SUFFOLK!

Can anybody please tell me what this property was used for in 1949, as my wife's grand parents both give this as their address when her father was born in October 1949?

REPLY FROM LNW: Andy, Banstead Place was used as a hospital for RAF officers during WWII, and afterwards, rooms were made available to homeless people, so it may be that your wife's grand parents were bombed out, possibly from Salisbury Road or Nork Way. We would need the family name to investigate further.

can anyone recall a boys homein park road about 1955 as i was there for 18 months

LNW: There was a Boys surgical home. The building still exists

A predecessor of mine appears in the 1901 and 1911 census as resident in the Chauffeurs Cottage. You will guess what he did for a living. I am curious to know a couple of things. Does this cottage still exist and who at this point (first decade or so of 20th century) would have been his employer?

Reply from LNW: Not sure if the cottage still exists but the Queen Elizabeth Foundation have moved out and the place is due to be completely refurbished. The plan is to knock down the later extensions and keep the original buildings and reinstate the gardens. The census should tell you who lived at the main house.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Feb 2022 – Recent detailed research into the history of this property suggests that some of the history previously recorded in various publications is likely to be inaccurate, particularly the use by the RAF and the link to Lord Palmerston. I will update as soon as we have more information collated from original records.

In 1966 -1967 a friend from Kingscroft, boyfriend, had a very bad motorbike accident at Drift Bridge. The police said if he had not been wearing a helmet he would have died.
I never heard what happened to him as I moved away from the area soon after. Reminiscing with another old friend lately who worked at Banstead Place for a short time, he said he remembered boyfriend recovering there at that time.

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