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Epsom

Epsom sits in north Surrey, about 14 miles south of central London, at the foot of the North Downs in the borough of Epsom and Ewell. The town has a long history. It was first recorded as Ebesham in the 10th century, with the modern settlement growing up around St Martin’s Church from the 6th or 7th centuries. Two things made Epsom’s name globally. It was one of the UK’s earliest spa towns and the birthplace of Epsom salts in the 17th century, and it is home to the Derby, run on Epsom Downs since 1780. The High Street is still dominated by the 1847 clock tower, and the Market Place hosts a weekly Thursday market.

Epsom is compact but properly green. More than two-fifths of the borough is designated green belt, and the 436-acre Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve and Horton Country Park sit right on the edge of the built-up area. The Downs themselves climb to 509 feet above the town, giving residents open chalk grassland a short walk from their front door. This matters. People move here precisely because they can have a trip to Waterloo in under 40 minutes while still walking the dog across proper countryside at the weekend.

Epsom is well placed for getting around, whether you’re heading into London, toward Gatwick, or out into the Surrey Hills.

• Car & road: The A24 (Dorking Road) and A240 (Kingston Road) run through the town, and the M25 is roughly 10 mins’ drive via junction 9 at Leatherhead. Central London by car takes around 50 mins to an hour, depending on traffic; Kingston is about 25 mins, Guildford around 40 mins.
• Bus: Local routes run through the town centre to Kingston, Sutton, Dorking, Leatherhead and the surrounding villages, with frequent services during the working day.
• Train: Epsom station sits off Waterloo Road, less than two minutes’ walk from the High Street, and is 14 miles down the line from London Waterloo. Trains serve Waterloo, Victoria and London Bridge, as well as Clapham Junction and much more besides. The journey to Waterloo takes around 36 to 39 mins on direct trains, with roughly 69 services a day. Oyster and contactless pay-as-you-go were extended to Epsom in February 2019.

Architecture: Epsom’s housing stock reflects its history as a spa town turned commuter settlement. The south side of town, around Worple Road, Ashley Road, Church Street and Chalk Lane, holds the best of the older properties, including late Georgian villas, grand Victorian family houses and Edwardian semis. The Worple Road Conservation Area was developed from the 1860s onwards with a varied set of terraced, semi-detached and detached houses, and the Church Street Conservation Area covers much of the medieval heart of the town.

Further out, you’ll find interwar semis, 1930s bay-fronted family homes around Woodcote, post-war estates near Horton and newer apartment blocks near the station. The town also has a number of converted mews cottages around Woodcote Place, a genuinely distinctive type of home for the area.

The best streets for period property sit on the south side of town: Worple Road, Ashley Road, St Martin’s Avenue, Chalk Lane, Woodcote Road and South Street all hold substantial Victorian and Edwardian houses, with prices to match. For family homes with gardens, the streets around Pine Hill, Woodcote Green Road and the cul-de-sacs off Downs Road are consistently in demand. Closer to the station, Rosebery Park and the streets feeding off it offer a walk-to-train option that’s popular with commuters.

Developments: Epsom is in the middle of a substantial development phase. The borough council’s local plan has allocated 35 sites for redevelopment, covering nearly 5,000 homes. The single largest site is Horton Farm, between Horton Lane and Hook Road, where more than 1,250 homes are earmarked alongside business space and a park.

Closer to the centre, the Southern Gas Network site has been allocated for around 455 dwellings and a new performing arts centre for Laine Theatre Arts, while a combined scheme at Depot Road and the Upper High Street car park is earmarked for around 100 homes with a decked public car park. The Epsom Town Centre Masterplan sets the framework for how these sites will come forward.

Day-to-day life in Epsom works because everything sits close together. The town centre, station, Rosebery Park and the Downs are all within roughly ten minutes of each other on foot, which gives the town a denser feel than most Surrey market towns while keeping the green space.

• Shopping: The High Street and the Ashley Centre, opened by Queen Elizabeth II in October 1984, handle most daily needs. The Ashley Centre houses Marks & Spencer, H&M, Next, Boots and more – with a large Primark that opened there recently. Outside the centre, the High Street itself holds Robert Dyas, Fat Face, TK Maxx and independents including Lester Bowden and Pullingers art suppliers. The Market Place hosts regular Thursday and Saturday markets and a Farmers’ Market on the first Sunday of each month. Sainsbury’s and Waitrose cover the main supermarkets, with Aldi on Kingston Road.
• Eating & drinking: The main dining quarter runs through South Street and the Upper High Street, with more bars and restaurants in Epsom Square just off the High Street. Long-running venues include The Assembly Rooms pub in the Market Place, housed in a late 17th-century building tied to the town’s spa era, and the Queen’s Head on South Street, a pub site dating to 1746. Newer additions include Metropolis Epsom, described as Surrey’s first food hall.

Epsom’s landmarks lean into its spa-town and racing history, with a few pockets of genuine heritage worth knowing about if you’re moving into the area.

• Epsom Downs Racecourse – Home to the Epsom Derby, one of the five Classics in British flat racing, held here every June since 1780. The Downs themselves are open public land with views across to central London landmarks, used year-round for walking, cycling and horse riding.
• Epsom Clock Tower – The 1847 landmark in the Market Place, 70 feet high, built to commemorate Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s visit to the town. It remains the town’s main meeting point.
• Epsom Common Local Nature Reserve – A 436-acre nature reserve, part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with the Stew Pond, ancient woodland and grazing land. The original Epsom well, discovered in 1618, sits here.
• Horton Country Park – A 400-acre Local Nature Reserve designated in 2004, with fields, hedgerows, ancient woods and ponds. Hobbledown Adventure Farm Park sits within its grounds.