__NOTOC__ Burgh Heath ( or, especially amongst older residents, ) is a residential neighbourhood with a remnant part of the Banstead Commons of the same name. Immediately north of Upper Kingswood on the A217 road, it adjoins part of Banstead to the north. The north of the area is more specifically called Great Burgh, but the terms are largely interchangeable.

History

Burgh or Great Burgh was a manor of Banstead with an Old English name, it saw very little expansion before the end of the 19th century being on land which was part of the large, and water-scarce Banstead Heath or

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

on the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...

. It developed into a village-like

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the early part of the 20th century. The

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

records a church at Burgh, connected with its manor held by

Odo, Earl of Kent Odo of Bayeux (died 1097) was a Norman nobleman who was a bishop of Bayeux in Normandy and was made Earl of Kent in England following the Norman Conquest. He was the maternal half-brother of duke, and later king, William the Conqueror, and w ...

. Rectors were instituted to it in the 14th and 15th centuries, but there is no evidence of its having been a separate parish from Banstead after 1414, in the latter's many governmental and ecclesiastical patent, enquiry and taxation rolls. Bergh or Burgh Church was between Little Burgh House and Church Lane, where the foundations remained supporting a barn until about 1880. The present

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

of Saint Mary is a Gothic revival building completed in 1909. A pump-station was built in 1943 at Burgh Heath on the fuel pipeline running from the Thames to Dungeness. It was declared surplus to requirements in 1973 and was later sold and demolished.

Geography

Burgh Heath is a residential settlement centred on a remnant part of the Banstead Commons of the same name on upper slopes of the

. Adjoining are Nork a neighbourhood of the village Banstead which has that village's train station, directly north and Upper Kingswood to the south. The dual carriageway has meant that today there are two separate areas of housing: a larger part with shops on the main road and surrounding Canons Lane to the east and the other to the west close to the ponds, facing Burgh Heath and to distinguish it from the built up sections, known to its residents as "The

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

". The 2011 Census recorded Burgh Heath's population as 1,884 people living in 843 households. Burgh Heath has a large

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

superstore which opened in 1988, a luxury sports car garage and

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

's UK headquarters are in the north of the area at Great Burgh. There is a parade of shops along the A217 of small independent retailers and several small restaurants. However, the majority of residents in the area are commuters out of the area.

Open areas of Burgh Heath

The residential area is bordered to the south by the Burgh Heath itself, one of four parts of Banstead Commons, managed by the Banstead Commons Conservators and its byelaws. It is bordered east and north by farmland leading to Banstead Woods, managed by local authority Reigate and Banstead Borough Council. Beside the supermarket is a triangular wood in part of which is Burgh Heath BMX Track.

History

Geography

Open areas of Burgh Heath

References

Sources

External links