Editing Epsom (section)

===Governance===
Epsom was held by [[Chertsey Abbey]] from Anglo-Saxon times until the first half of the 16th century. The earliest surviving charter confirming the ownership of the town is from 967, during the reign of [[Edgar the Peaceful|King Edgar]], although the settlement is thought to have been granted to the abbey in 727.<ref name=Malden_1911_pp271-278>{{harvnb|Malden|1911|pp=141–150}}</ref>{{refn|There is some doubt as to the authenticity of the Anglo-Saxon charters of Chertsey Abbey, as many are only available as later medieval copies.<ref name=Abdy_2001_pp2-4/>|group=note}} In [[Domesday Book]], Epsom appears as ''Evesham'' and is listed as including two [[mill (grinding)|mill]]s (valued at 10[[British shilling coin|s]]), two churches, {{convert|24|acre|ha|0|abbr=off}} of [[meadow]] and sufficient [[woodland]] for 20 [[hog (swine)|hog]]s. It rendered £17 per year in 1086. The residents included 34 villagers, 4 smallholders and 6 [[villein]]s.<ref name=Surrey_Domesday/><ref name=Epsom_Domesday>{{cite web |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/TQ2161/epsom/ |title=Epsom |author=Powell-Smith A |year=2011 |publisher=Open Domesday |access-date=22 June 2021 |archive-date=1 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101011757/https://opendomesday.org/place/TQ2161/epsom/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The manor of Horton was also held by Chertsey Abbey during the medieval period. Although there are few surviving early documents relating to the settlement, an early 15th century charter indicates that it included {{convert|168|acre|ha|abbr=off}} of land, of which {{cvt|60|acre|ha}} was pasture. The Durdans estate may also have belonged to Horton.<ref name=Malden_1911_pp271-278/>{{refn|The manor of Horton was sold to the Trotter family in the 1780s and was later purchased by the Rev'd John Frederick Browning and his wife Ethelred. Their son, who had inherited the estate, died in 1842, and it was bought by Henry Willis. By 1896, a major part of the land had come into the ownership of [[Sir Fowell Buxton, 3rd Baronet|Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton]], who sold {{cvt|1000|acre|ha}} to the [[London County Council]] for the construction of the group of psychiatric hospitals, known as the [[Epsom Cluster]].<ref name=EEBC_Horton/>|group=note}} There are references in historical documents to a manor of Brettgrave, also held by the abbey, which appears to have been considered part of Horton by the early 16th century.<ref name=Malden_1911_pp271-278/>

Following the [[dissolution of the monasteries]], [[Henry VIII]] granted Epsom to [[Nicholas Carew (courtier)|Nicholas Carew]] in 1537, but two years later his property was forfeit when he was executed for his alleged involvement in the [[Exeter Conspiracy]]. The manor was part of the [[English feudal barony|Honour]] of [[Hampton Court Palace|Hampton Court]] from 1597 until 1554, when it was granted to [[Francis Carew (MP for Castle Rising)|Francis Carew]] by [[Mary I of England|Mary I]].<ref name=Abdy_2001_pp5-7>{{harvnb|Abdy|2001|pp=5–7}}</ref> After 1611, Epsom was briefly held by the Darcy family and was then sold to Anne Mynne, the widow of George Mynne, who had bought the manor of Horton. Both manors were inherited by her daughter, Elizabeth, who in 1648 married Richard Evelyn, the brother of the diarist, [[John Evelyn]]. Richard Evelyn died in 1670, but Elizabeth ran the estate until her death in 1692, when the land was split up.<ref name=Abdy_2001_pp5-7/> For much of the 18th century, Epsom was held by the Parkhurst family and thereafter the lordship passed through a succession of owners before it was purchased by the borough council in 1955.<ref name=Abdy_2001_pp5-7/>

[[Tudor period#Local government|Reforms during the Tudor period]] reduced the importance of [[manorial court]]s and the day-to-day administration of towns became the responsibility of the [[vestry]] of the parish church.<ref name=Kümin_1996_pp250-255>{{harvnb|Kümin|1996|pp=250–255}}</ref> The Epsom Vestry appears to have operated as a [[Vestry#Select vestry|select vestry]], to which members of the gentry were appointed or [[co-option|co-opted]].<ref name=Abdy_2001_p19>{{harvnb|Abdy|2001|p=19}}</ref> There was little change in local government structure over the subsequent three centuries, until the [[Poor Law Amendment Act 1834]] transferred responsibility for [[poor relief]] to the [[Poor Law Commission]], whose local powers were delegated to the newly formed [[poor law union]] in 1836. The Epsom Union was made responsible for workhouses in around a dozen parishes in the area, all of which were consolidated into a workhouse on the Dorking Road, now the site of Epsom Hospital.<ref name=Abdy_2001_p24>{{harvnb|Abdy|2001|p=24}}</ref><ref name=Abdy_2001_p26>{{harvnb|Abdy|2001|p=26}}</ref> A Local Board of Health, with responsibility for sanitation, sewerage and drinking water supply, was formed in 1850.<ref name=Home_1901_p32>{{harvnb|Home|1901|p=32}}</ref>

The [[Local Government Act 1888]] transferred many administrative responsibilities to the newly formed [[Surrey County Council]] and was followed by an [[Local Government Act 1894|1894 Act]] that created the Epsom Urban District Council (UDC). The UDC area was expanded to include [[Ewell]] in 1933<ref name="Abdy_2001_pp71-73">{{harvnb|Abdy|2001|pp=71–73}}</ref> and the enlarged authority was awarded borough status in 1937.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Charter For Epsom And Ewell |date=30 September 1937 |page=9 |issue=47803}}</ref>

In 1951 the [[civil parish]] had a population of 30,860.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10052336/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Epsom CP/AP through time|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=27 April 2024}}</ref> On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/surrey%20mid%20eastern.html|title=Surrey Mid-Eastern Registration District|publisher=UKBMD|accessdate=27 April 2024}}</ref>