A stroll around Ashtead's historic homes

Need some fresh air after lunch? Follow our 2-mile stroll and you will pass some of Ashtead's oldest homes. The route includes roads and footpaths, although some sections of road are without pavement. It begins at the car park on Grove Road.
Take the steps at the end of the car park and turn left then right into Park Walk (1). This pretty row of houses leads on to		Park Walk
Rectory Lane, which contains a number of 16th century cottages. Straight ahead is Applebough Cottage (2).		Applebough Cottage 16th century timber-framed cottage of a style that is rare in Surrey
A little way to the right, at No. 12, is Fowler's Cottage (3).		Fowler's Cottage Mid-17th century cottage named after John Fowler, a builder and carpenter, who lived there at the end of the 19th century
Retrace your steps and continue along the lane. At No. 26 is Wistaria Cottage (4).		Wistaria Cottage Oldest house in Ashtead built around 1500 by a wealthy yeoman farmer. Parts of the original building are concealed by later extensions. A blacksmith and wheelwright's forge was next door and in use until 1950
Go further along and into Rectory Close on the left for a glimpse of the Old Rectory (5).		Old Rectory Where Ashtead rectors lived from the 1820s until 1930
Cross over to Parker's Lane to find Howard Cottage (6).		Howard Cottage at No. 1 and its mirror-image at No. 3, originally one cottage probably early 17th century. It provided housing for staff at Howard House next door, now demolished, and staff for the blacksmith's that was in Rectory Lane.
Take the right fork further along at Ashtead Lodge (7).		Ashtead Lodge Georgian house built in 1765, one of former occupants was Thomas Parker, a lawyer, after whom the lane is named
Walk ahead to the main road, cross over and turn left and after a short distance turn right into Ottways Lane. Continue past where Parsons Mead School used to be. The school is now a Bewley Homes housing estate, but look out for Elliston Way. Jessie Elliston moved her school to Parsons Mead in 1904. Soon afterwards you will pass Old Cottage (8).		Old Cottage A late 17th century timber-framed building thought to have originally been a barn before conversion to three dwellings and later into a single house. It was used as a bakery in the mid 19th century until the early 20th century
Follow the lane and take a right into Agates Lane. At this point you could take a short detour along Ottways Lane to West Farm House at 75 Harriotts Lane (9a) before returning to Agates Lane. This was the farmhouse of West Farm that was once owned by James Harriott.		West Farm House
At 60 and 62 Agates Lane is Old Bay Cottage and Pepys Cottage (9).		Pepys Cottage Built in the late 1500s, this is Ashtead's second oldest house and now two dwellings

Continue some way along to reach Merry Hall (10)		Merry Hall A red-bricked 18th century house. The home of writer Beverley Nichols who lived here for a while and several of his books were written here. His gardener was featured in the book Merry Hall as 'Oldfield', and much of the garden has now been developed into Oldfield Gardens
and Ilex House (11).		Ilex House This house dates back to 17th century. In the early 1900s it housed the local fire engine
Take the passage between the two houses and walk straight ahead, ignoring all side routes, until turning right into Greville Park Road and then immediately left into The Street. Cross over at the traffic lights and walk past the shops to reach Feilding House (12).		Feilding House The almshouses were founded by a legacy from Lady Diana Feilding in 1733, and originally built for six needy widows, who each had two rooms. It was altered in 1852 for two more widows by Mary Howard, to whom the memorial fountain across the road was erected. Further almshouses were added behind in 1975
Looking across the road, behind the Howard Memorial, you can see a side of Fountain Cottages (12a)		Fountain Cottages
and beyond this is Westfield (12b), a Span housing development.		Westfield
Turn right into Park Lane and on the left is Howard Cottage (13).		Howard Cottage The house has been much altered and extended since originally built. The front of house was added in 1880s at right angles to the original
Further along the lane, on the right-hand side, take the footpath adjacent to Park Cottage down to Purcell Close. A left turn leads to the homes of the Ashtead Potters, built in 1925 (14). Continue along the footpath, ignoring side routes, down to Grove Road. Turn right to return to the car park.		Purcell Close
To help you on your walk I've produced 2 A4 Adobe® Acrobat® documents of the map and route and photographs and notes . See also Local Places to Visit

This article first appeared in Ashtead at Easter 2005

If it's photographs you're after try my other site PhotoswithStyle