Editing Ashtead (section)

===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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| caption = Extract from ''Mogg's Twenty Four Miles Round London, 1820'' showing the turnpike road through Ashtead
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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>