History of Stoneleigh:

A BRIEF HISTORY OF STONELEIGH:

Stoneleigh is an area of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, centred around Stoneleigh railway station and Stoneleigh Broadway. Much of the area was just open fields prior to the early 1930s when most of the estate was developed, now being populated almost entirely by semi-detached housing. The red brick Anglican church of St John the Baptist, next to the station, was built around the same time. Stoneleigh comprises Stoneleigh Ward and Auriol Ward, both in the Borough of Epsom and Ewell.

In the 17th century, the area where Stoneleigh now lies was part of the Great Park of Nonsuch Palace. The park stretched from the palace itself, to the edge of the modern border of the area. In 1731 the Nonsuch estate was sold off and the Great Park, by then known as Worcester Park was divided into farmland.

Bowling Green and Coldharbour farms in the north of the park were run jointly, and in 1860 were acquired by John Jeffries Stone. He paid £19,000 for property in the parishes of Ewell and Cuddington, between the present London Road and Kingston Road, stretching northwards towards Worcester Park. In the seventeenth century this had been part of Nonsuch Great Park, subsequently known as Worcester Park.

John Jeffries Stone had a large house he called Stoneleigh built close to the Bowling Green Farmhouse, (close to what is now Ewell Park Way) which gave its name to the Stoneleigh district. Farming reached its peak at the start of the 20th century when there were nearly 20 farms. The number went down rapidly after the First World War and as there was great demand for housing it became profitable to sell off the farmland for building.

Between the world wars, demand for houses on commuter routes into London meant the area of the Borough was built up rapidly. Stoneleigh station was opened in 1932, and the estates of Stoneleigh, Auriol and Ewell Court developed around it during the remainder of the 1930’s.
Stoneleigh railway station was originally to be named 'Stoneleigh Park' due to its proximity to the fields of the area. The reason this did not happen was due to the three stations further up the line also being called 'Park': Worcester Park, Motspur Park and Raynes Park.

Stoneleigh comprises the residential areas either side of the railway including Stoneleigh Broadway. It is generally accepted as extending as far Kingston Road (A240) in the south, Nonsuch Park to the east, Cuddington Recreation Ground to the north and Auriol Park to the west. Some of the Auriol Ward, however, may be considered as part of Ewell or of Worcester Park.

At the time of the 2001 Census Stoneleigh Ward had a population of 4,700* people, an increase of 3.6% from 1991, with 2,378 females compared to 2,322 males. Auriol Ward is the smallest in the Borough with a population of 3,687* people in the 2001 Census, a decrease of 19% from 1991, with 1,858 females compared to 1,829 males. This decrease in population can be directly attributed to the area lost to Ewell Court Ward, where the population increased by 19%.

* Office for National Statistics.