Editing Ashtead (section)

==History==
===Pre-history===
The earliest evidence of human activity is from the [[Paleolithic]] and [[Mesolithic]] periods. A [[blade (archaeology)|backed blade]] made of [[flint]], dating from 50,000 to 12,000 years [[before present]] (BP), was found during pipeline excavations in Lower Ashtead, near Barnett Wood Lane<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Nicolaysen |first1= Pat |year= 1989 |title= A late Upper Palaeolithic backed blade from Ashtead |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_79/surreyac079_215_nicolaysen.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 79 |page= 215 |access-date= 2 February 2021 |archive-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210228122226/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_79%2Fsurreyac079_215_nicolaysen.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> and [[tranchet axe]]s, dating from 15,000 to 5000 BP, have been discovered in Ottways Lane and Glebe Road.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Lowther |first1= AWG |year= 1957 |title= Flint Tranchet-Axe from Ashtead |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 55 |pages= 118 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Ellaby |first1= Roger |year= 1984 |title= Ashtead: A Mesolithic Tranchet Axe |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_74/surreyac074_205_ellaby.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 74 |pages= 205 |access-date= 2 January 2021 |archive-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210228122227/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_74%2Fsurreyac074_205_ellaby.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> During the demolition of [[Parsons Mead School]] in 2009, pottery from the [[Neolithic]] was found which contained [[charcoal]] that was [[radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dated]] to 3775-3659 BP.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Weale |first1= Andrew |year= 2011 |title= Neolithic occupation, with an early date for Mortlake Ware, at Parsons Mead School, Ashtead |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_96/surreyac096_215-225_weale.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 96 |pages= 215–225 |doi= 10.5284/1069370 |access-date= 2 January 2021 |archive-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210228122227/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_96%2Fsurreyac096_215-225_weale.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> [[Bronze Age]] artefacts discovered in the village include a [[spear]]head<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Cotton |first1= Jonathan |year= 1999 |title= A Middle Bronze Age side-looped spearhead from Ashtead |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_86/surreyac086_199-200_cotton.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 86 |pages= 199–200 |doi= 10.5284/1069255 |access-date= 2 January 2021 |archive-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210228122235/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_86%2Fsurreyac086_199-200_cotton.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> and pottery [[sherds]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Lowther |first1= AWG |year= 1933 |title= Bronze-Iron Age and Roman Finds at Ashtead |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_41/surreyac041_093-098_lowther.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 41 |pages= 93–98 |doi= 10.5284/1068796 |access-date= 2 January 2021 |archive-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210228122229/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_41%2Fsurreyac041_093-098_lowther.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Hayman |first1= Graham |year= 1992 |title= Further excavations at the former Goblin Works, Ashtead (TQ 182 567) |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_81/surreyac081_001-018_hayman.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 81 |pages= 1–18 |doi= 10.5284/1069180 |access-date= 2 January 2021 |archive-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210228122229/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_81%2Fsurreyac081_001-018_hayman.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Roman and Saxon===
Ashtead was the site of a major [[Roman Britain|Roman]] brickworks in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The site on Ashtead Common consisted of a [[Roman villa|corridor villa]] and [[kilns]] adjacent to a series of claypits. A [[Thermae|bath house]] was also provided for the use of the workers. The complex was excavated in the 1920s<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Lowther |first1= AWG |year= 1930 |title= The Romano-British site at Ashtead |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 38 |pages= 77–84 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Lowther |first1= AWG |year= 1959 |title= The date of the Roman buildings and brickworks on Ashtead Common |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_2_NO_3_1959.pdf  |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 2 |issue= 2 |pages= 73–75 |access-date= 21 February 2021 }}</ref> and it is now protected by scheduled monument status.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1003753|desc=Roman villa in Ashtead Forest|access-date=21 February 2021|fewer-links=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Environment_and_planning/Parks_and_open_spaces/Ashtead_Common/ |title=Ashtead Common cultural heritage  |publisher=City of London |access-date=27 September 2010 |url-status = dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225113156/http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Environment_and_planning/Parks_and_open_spaces/Ashtead_Common/ |archive-date=25 December 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref>

Bricks and tiles produced in Ashtead were most likely transported via a short branch road to [[Stane Street (Chichester)|Stane Street]], the [[Roman roads in Britannia|Roman road]] that runs to the south east of the village centre.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Ancient Course Of Stane Street: Excavation work at Ashtead Forest |date= 22 September 1926 |page= 10 |issue= 44383}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Bouchard |first1= Brian E. |year= 2019 |title= The route of Stane Street through Ashtead: a missing link |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/VOL_8_NO_1_1-09.pdf  |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 8 |issue= 1 |pages= 1–9 |access-date= 21 February 2021 }}</ref> Remains of a building close to St Giles' Church, suggest that Roman occupation of Ashtead continued into the 4th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Lowther |first1= A.W.G. |year= 1950|title= Ashtead and its history II: The Roman occupation (43-410 AD) |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_1_NO_4_1950.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 1 |issue= 4 |pages= 23–24 |access-date= 22 February 2021 }}</ref>

Although there is no archaeological evidence of [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] occupation in the village, Ashtead would have been administered as part of the [[Copthorne Hundred]].<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp20-22/> There may have been a small chapel, likely to have been controlled by a [[Minster (church)#Early and mid Anglo-Saxon periods|minster]] at  Leatherhead, which was a [[royal vill]].<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp28-30>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|pp=28–30}}</ref> In 1984, an Anglo-Saxon [[cemetery]] was discovered on the site of the former [[Goblin vacuum cleaners|Goblin]] factory in Ermyn Way, Leatherhead (now the location of the offices of [[Esso]]). Excavations uncovered the remains of at least 40 individuals and the artefacts found, including knives, buckles and necklaces, suggest that they were pagan burials.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp20-22/><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Poulton |first1= Rob |year= 1987 |title= The former Goblin Works Leatherhead: Saxons and Sinners |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-457-1/dissemination/pdf/vol05/vol05_12/05_12_311_317.pdf |journal= London Archaeologist |volume= 5 |issue= 12 |pages= 311–317 |doi= 10.5284/1070745 |access-date= 22 February 2021 |archive-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210228122230/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-457-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol05%2Fvol05_12%2F05_12_311_317.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Medieval===
Ashtead appears in the Domesday Book as ''Stede'' and was held by the Canons of [[Bayeux]] from the [[Bishop of Bayeux]]. Its assets were: three [[hide (unit)|hides]] and one [[virgate]]; 16 [[plough]]s, [[woodland]] for seven [[hog (swine)|hogs]] and {{convert|4|acre|ha|spell=in}} of [[meadow]]. In total, it rendered £12 per year.<ref name=Ashtead_Domesday/><ref name=Surrey_Domesday>{{cite web |url= http://www.gwp.enta.net/surrnames.htm |title= Surrey Domesday Book |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070715015325/http://www.gwp.enta.net/surrnames.htm |archive-date= 15 July 2007 }}</ref>

The de Warenne Family, the [[Earl of Surrey|Earls of Surrey]], held the manor in the 12th century. In the second half of the 13th century, it passed to the de Montfort family. During the [[Second Barons' War]] (1264–1267), Ashtead men are known to have fought on the side of [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]].<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp23-27>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=23–27}}</ref> The de Montforts and their descendants continued to own the manor until the death of Baldwin de Freville in 1419, when it passed to his brother-in-law, Sir Roger Aston. Ashtead passed through several generations of the Aston family until 1543, when [[Edward Aston (died 1568)|Edward Aston]] returned the manor to the [[crown estate|Crown]] in exchange for land in [[Stafford]] and [[Derby]].<ref name=Lowther_1954>{{cite journal |last1= Lowther |first1= A.W.G. |year= 1954 |title= Ashtead and its history VI: Tudor and Elizabethan Ashtead |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_1_NO_8_1954.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 1 |issue= 8 |pages= 19–20 |access-date= 23 May 2021 }}</ref>

During the late 14th century, tile manufacturing was again taking place on Ashtead Common. Records from the [[Banstead|Manor of Banstead]] indicate that a "Henry the Tyler of Asshstede" supplied over 10,000 roof tiles in 1372–3, and in 1384 the same individual also supplied the lord of the manor of Ashtead with tiles for "The Lord's Kitchen." It is possible that, during the 1290s, the tiles for the building of Pacchesham Manor, Leatherhead, were also manufactured on Ashtead Common. There is no mention of Henry the Tyler after 1400, and it seems likely that the medieval tileworks closed around this time.<ref name=Lowther_1952/><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Frere |first1= S.S. |year= 1941 |title= A Mediaeval Pottery at Ashtead |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_47/surreyac047_058-066_frere.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 47 |pages= 58–66 |doi= 10.5284/1068837 |access-date= 23 May 2021 |archive-date= 23 May 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210523162356/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_47%2Fsurreyac047_058-066_frere.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>

The area now bordered by Barnett Wood Lane, Agates Lane, Ottways Lane and Harriots Lane, was formerly a separate manor called Little Ashtead, which was held by [[Merton Priory]] in the Middle Ages. Following the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] in the mid-16th century, the area was known as Prior's Farm.<ref name=Lowther_1953>{{cite journal |last1= Lowther |first1= A.W.G. |year= 1953 |title= Ashtead and its history V: Manor of Little Ashtead |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_1_NO_7_1953.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 1 |issue= 7 |pages= 18–19 |access-date= 23 May 2021 }}</ref>

===Early modern===
Documents surviving from the mid-17th century, detail the organisation of the manor during the reign of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]: Two common fields, together totalling {{convert|194|ha|acre|0|abbr=on}} and representing around 30% of the cultivatable land in the village, were divided into strips of around 1 acre each. The strips were distributed between 52 families and the planting would have been regulated by the manor court. In 1656, 17 of these strips were held by the [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] and provided an income for the parish priest. The remainder of the cultivatable land had already been [[enclosure|enclosed]] and was either held by the Lords of the Manor or by other prominent individuals, including the Stydolf family of [[Norbury Park]].<ref name=Gollin_1987>{{cite journal |last1= Gollin |first1= G.J. |year= 1955 |title= Ashtead Common Fields |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_5_NO_1_1987.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 5 |issue= 1 |pages= 2–11 |access-date= 23 May 2021 }}</ref><ref name=Lowther_1955>{{cite journal |last1= Lowther |first1= A.W.G. |year= 1955|title= Ashtead and its history IX: The early Stuart Period |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_1_NO_9_1955.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 1 |issue= 9 |pages= 31–32 |access-date= 23 May 2021 }}</ref>

Ashtead is mentioned twice in [[Samuel Pepys]]' diaries.<ref name=Pepys_Epsom>{{Cite web |url=http://www.epsom.townpage.co.uk/bhmpepys.htm |title=The Six Visits of Mr. Pepys |access-date=11 May 2021 |archive-date=11 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211210702/http://www.epsom.townpage.co.uk/bhmpepys.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Part of his [[s:Diary of Samuel Pepys/1663/July#25th|entry for 25 July 1663]] reads:
:"I went towards Ashted, my old place of pleasure... and there we got a lodging in a little hole we could not stand upright in, but rather than go further to look we staid there, and while supper was getting ready I took him to walk up and down behind my cozen [cousin] Pepys's house... and so up and down in the closes, which I know so well methinks, and account it good fortune that I lie here that I may have opportunity to renew my old walks."<ref name=Pepys>{{harvnb|Latham|Matthews|1971|p=245}}</ref>

For much of the [[early modern period]], Ashtead was owned by the Howard family.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_p31>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|p=31}}</ref><ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp42-44>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=42–44}}</ref> [[Robert Howard (playwright)|Sir Robert Howard]] purchased the manor from his cousin [[Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk|Henry Howard, the 6th Duke of Norfolk]], in 1680<ref name=Lowther_1957>{{cite journal |last1= Lowther |first1= A.W.G. |year= 1957|title= Ashtead and its history IX: The manor under Sir Robert Howard and his son Thomas (1680-1701) |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_2_NO_1_1957.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 2 |issue= 1 |pages= 30–34 |access-date= 17 May 2021 }}</ref><ref name=Jackson_1977_p69>{{harvnb|Jackson|1977|p=69}}</ref> and is credited with transforming the land into a [[English country house|Gentleman's country seat]].<ref name=Stuttard_1995_p31/> Sir Robert built a new mansion and also enclosed the surrounding park to create a formal garden.<ref name=Lowther_1957/> The diarist, [[John Evelyn]], visited the house shortly after it was completed in 1684, admiring the paintings by the Italian-born artist [[Antonio Verrio]] and remarking upon the "swete park upon the Downe."<ref name=Evelyn_1879_457>{{harvnb|Evelyn|1879|p=457}}</ref> [[Celia Fiennes]] described the brick-built mansion as having "an abundance of pictures" and "very good tapestry hangings".<ref name=Fiennes_1888_290>{{harvnb|Fiennes|1888|p=290}}</ref> Sir Robert's guests also included Charles II, [[James II of England|James II]] and [[William III of England|William III]].<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp37-38>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=37–38}}</ref>

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The [[turnpike trust|turnpike road]] between Epsom and Horsham, which ran through Ashtead, was authorised by [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] in 1755.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://dorkingmuseum.org.uk/the-turnpike-road/ |title= The Turnpike Road |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 4 June 2020 |publisher= Dorking Museum |access-date= 17 December 2020 |archive-date= 2 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210102101951/https://dorkingmuseum.org.uk/the-turnpike-road/ |url-status= live }}</ref> By the end of the century, [[stagecoach]]es were passing through the village several times a day, although it is unlikely that many stopped to pick up passengers and local residents probably walked or rode to Epsom if they wished to use them.<ref name=Jackson_1977_p199>{{harvnb|Jackson|1977|p=199}}</ref>

===19th century===
For the first seven decades of the 19th century, Ashtead remained a predominantly farming community. The manor continued to be owned by members of the Howard family and was inherited by Mary Howard in 1818.<ref name=Jackson_1977_p85>{{harvnb|Jackson|1977|p=85}}</ref> Mary Howard was a major benefactor to the village and was responsible for founding St Giles' School.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp48-49>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=48–49}}</ref> She [[Financial endowment|endowed]] the [[almshouse]]s<ref name=Stuttard_1995_p92>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|p=92}}</ref> and, together with her husband, [[Fulk Greville Howard]], initiated a major redevelopment of the parish church.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp48-49/>

In 1825 [[George Rennie (engineer)|George Rennie]] and his brother, [[John Rennie the Younger|John]], proposed the construction of [[London to Portsmouth canal#Ship Canal Projects|The Grand Imperial Ship Canal]], between [[Deptford]] and [[Portsmouth]], to reduce the transit time from the capital to the south coast from 12 days to 24 hours and to avoid hostile waters in the event of war. The canal would have run across Ashtead Common, along the course of The Rye.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bouchard |first1=Brian |title=The Grand Imperial Ship Canal |url=https://www.ryemeadows.org.uk/local-history/44-the-grand-imperial-ship-canal |website=A vision for Rye Madows Wetlands |access-date=28 May 2021 |archive-date=15 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815140627/http://www.ryemeadows.org.uk/local-history/44-the-grand-imperial-ship-canal |url-status=live }}</ref>

The two common fields were enclosed in 1838, bringing to an end the [[open-field system]] in the manor. The land was divided into forty rectangular fields, each of around {{convert|4|ha|acre|0|abbr=on}}, which were leased to local farmers.<ref name=Gollin_1987/> The [[glebe]] strips were taken over by the Howards and the rector was given land to the south of the village centre in compensation.<ref name=Smith_1991>{{cite journal |last1= Smith |first1= L.A |year= 1991 |title=Ashtead Great and Little Glibes |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_5_NO_4_1991.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 5 |issue= 4 |pages= 118–120 |access-date= 23 May 2021 }}</ref> In around 1850, the {{convert|92|ha|acre|0|abbr=on}} comprising the remaining core of Little Ashtead manor was sold for development, marking the start of a long period of housebuilding in the village.<ref name=Jackson_1977_p57>{{harvnb|Jackson|1977|p=57}}</ref>

The [[Sutton and Mole Valley lines|railway line through Ashtead]] was built by the Epsom and Leatherhead Railway Company and opened on 1 February 1859. It was constructed as a [[single-track railway|single-track line]] and, on opening, [[Ashtead railway station]] had only one platform and trains only [[request stop|stopped by request]]. Initially all services were operated by the [[London and South Western Railway]] (LSWR) and, for the first two months, only ran as far as {{rws|Epsom}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Davies |first1= H.J. |year= 1992 |title= The Epsom and Leatherhead Railway 1856-59 |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_5_NO_6_1993.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 5 |issue= 6 |pages= 170–172 |access-date= 19 February 2021 }}</ref> The completion of the line through {{rws|Worcester Park}} enabled these trains to be extended to {{rws|London Waterloo}} from April of the same year. In August 1859, the [[London, Brighton and South Coast Railway]] (LBSCR) began to run trains from Leatherhead to {{rws|London Bridge}}, but did not begin stopping at Ashtead until the following year.<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp168-169>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|pp=168–169}}</ref><ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp85-90>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=85–90}}</ref>

After the death of Mary Howard in 1877, much of the village was offered for sale.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp62-63>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=62–63}}</ref> Ashtead Common was purchased by Thomas Lucas, who sold it four years later, in 1889, to the banker [[Ralli Brothers|Pantia Ralli]].<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp6-12>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=6–12}}</ref> The rest of the land, much of it farmland, was split into eight separate [[land lot|lots]]. Since the sale coincided with a [[Great Depression of British Agriculture|period of depression in British agriculture]], the land sold cheaply. The lot containing Ashtead Park and Home Farm was withdrawn from sale when it failed to meet its [[reservation price|reserve price]]<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp62-63/> and was acquired by Pantia Ralli in 1889.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp65-79>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=65–79}}</ref>

By 1887 the majority of the farms in Ashtead had been broken up and the land was in the hands of eight major owners and many smaller ones.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp62-63/> New houses began to be built on the east side of Woodfield Lane and to the north of Barnett Wood Lane. The area west of the station (including Links Road and Ashtead Woods Road) had been marked out for housing by 1894, but construction was delayed by difficulties in securing access over the railway.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp65-79/> Elsewhere building work was also slow<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp65-79/> and the population of the village increased from 906 in 1871 to 1,881 in 1901.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp62-63/>

===20th century===
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Development continued in the first decade of the 20th century and the population had reached 2,921 by 1911.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp110-111>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=110–111}}</ref> Many of the new homes were in the west of the parish and housebuilding took place along Skinners Lane, Ottways Lane and Oakfield Road. By 1914, new houses had also appeared along Leatherhead Road, Woodfield Road and The Marld.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp110-111/> Many of the new residents were professionals who [[commuting|commuted]] to London by train.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp110-111/>

During [[World War I|the First World War]], several hundred men from the 21st Battalion of the [[Royal Fusiliers]] were [[billet]]ed in the village and were responsible for constructing a [[convalescence|convalescent hospital]] at [[Woodcote Park]] in Epsom.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp118-121>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=118–121}}</ref> [[George V]] visited the village by train in October 1914 to inspect the troops.<ref name=Jackson_1977_p106>{{harvnb|Jackson|1977|p=106}}</ref> By January 1915, there were around 1500 soldiers based in Ashtead. The [[war memorial]] at St George's Church was dedicated in 1920.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp118-121/>

The [[interwar Britain|inter-war years]] saw the most rapid period of residential development, stimulated in part by the final breakup of the Ashtead Park estate, following the death of Pantia Ralli in 1924.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp127-129>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=127–129}}</ref> The [[Railway electrification in Great Britain|electrification]] of the railway line in 1925 also made the village more attractive to potential homeowners.<ref name=Jackson_1977_p108>{{harvnb|Jackson|1977|p=108}}</ref><ref name=Knowles_1998>{{cite journal |last1= Knowles |first1= H.G.|year= 1998 |title= Leatherhead's railway stations |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_6_NO_2_1998.pdf  |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 6 |issue= 2 |pages= 46–52 |access-date= 19 February 2021 }}</ref> The population increased from 3,226 in 1921<ref name=Stuttard_1995_p125>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|p=125}}</ref> to 9,336 in 1939.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_p132>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|p=132}}</ref>

[[File:Recruiting poster for the Home Guard, Ashtead, Surrey.jpg|thumb|upright|Recruitment poster for the Ashtead Home Guard]]
In September 1939, children were [[evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II|evacuated]] to Ashtead from [[Streatham]] and [[Dulwich]]. A unit of the [[Royal Norfolk Regiment]] was stationed in the village at the start of the war and, from 1941, [[Canadian Army|Canadian soldiers]] were billeted locally. Land bordering Craddocks Avenue was taken over for war [[allotment (gardening)|allotments]] and [[pig]]s were reared on vacant building plots on the Overdale estate. In 1940 a company of the [[Home Guard (United Kingdom)|Home Guard]] was formed.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp136-141>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=136–141}}</ref>

In 1940 and 1941, several buildings in Ashtead suffered damage as a result of [[strategic bombing during World War II|enemy bombing]] during the [[Battle of Britain]] and [[the Blitz]], including [[St Andrew's Catholic School|St Andrew's School]], which was almost completely destroyed.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_pp136-141/> In the final year of the war, two [[V-1 flying bomb]]s landed in the village and a [[V-2 rocket]] landed to the south of Ashtead Park in February 1945.<ref name=Vardey_1988_p249>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=249}}</ref><ref name=Jackson_1977_p111>{{harvnb|Jackson|1977|p=111}}</ref>

{{Annotated image
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| caption = Extract from one-inch scale [[Ordnance Survey map]] (1945)}}
The 1944 [[Greater London Plan]] placed much of the land surrounding Ashtead in the protected [[Metropolitan Green Belt]], which severely limited the scope for urban expansion.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_p144>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|p=144}}</ref><ref name=Ashtead_Heritage_Trail>{{cite web |url= https://www.molevalley.gov.uk/sites/default/files/home/leisure/keeping-fit-active/ashteadtrail.pdf |title= Ashtead Village Heritage Trail |last= Cox |first= Barry |year= 2006 |publisher= Mole Valley District Council |access-date= 22 May 2021 |archive-date= 14 May 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210514101423/https://www.molevalley.gov.uk/sites/default/files/home/leisure/keeping-fit-active/ashteadtrail.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> The northern half of Ashtead Park was threatened with development from the late 1940s and so it was purchased by Surrey County Council in 1957, before being passed to the ownership of the Leatherhead Urban District Council.<ref name=Jackson_1977_pp114-115>{{harvnb|Jackson|1977|pp=114–115}}</ref> In 1988, three conservation areas were designated in the village.<ref name=CA_map>{{cite web |url= https://www.molevalley.gov.uk/sites/default/files/home/building-planning/conservation/ashteadconservationareas.pdf |title= Ashtead Conservation Area |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 16 February 1988 |publisher= Mole Valley District Council |access-date= 25 May 2021 |archive-date= 14 May 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210514115257/https://www.molevalley.gov.uk/sites/default/files/home/building-planning/conservation/ashteadconservationareas.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>{{refn|The three conservation areas in the village are: a group of ten buildings at the junction of Rectory Lane and Dene Road; an area surrounding the Grade II-listed Ashtead House to the east of the village; a row of 14 [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] houses on the west side of Woodfield Lane.<ref name=CA_map/><ref name=MVDC_character/>|group=note}}