Langley Vale

Langley Vale is a small village in Epsom and Ewell borough, Surrey, England. It is bordered to its north-east by Epsom Downs, and to the south-east by Walton Downs. It is surrounded by open land: the nearest towns/villages are Great Burgh to the east, Tadworth to the south-east, Walton on the Hill and Headley, Surrey to the south, Ashtead to the west and Epsom to the north. The village's telephone area code is shared with Epsom, Ashtead, Leatherhead and Esher.

History

It appears that Langley was originally a settlement with several tenants and later it became in effect a single farm (Langley Bottom Farm) and that after the Black Death or at least after the 14th century it started to disappear from the map. In a ducument dated 1255/1268 the land appears to be held by a William de Langley. John at Ley from Headley takes it on in 1331/2 and again in 1333/4, succeeding John de Langley. In 1347/8 the tenant is a John at Ley then the records give out. In 1435/6 another John Langley is tenant as subtenant of a William de Langhead of Epsom. The manorial survey of 1496 suggests it was being farmed as a single holding.

Historically, the land which comprised the village of Langley Bottom was, until 1877, part of the Ashtead Park Estate, although it was in the parish of Epsom.

It was subsequently sold as building land. OS maps show gradual development - in 1895, the road layout is shown but no development. By 1913 roads and some houses are named. By 1932 there are more houses but still some undeveloped areas. A great deal of development took place after World War II and in the 1970s infil houses were built on some of the large gardens.

Originally known as Langley Bottom the village changed its name, likely in the 1930s to Langley Vale.

The village has a long association with the racing industry and Epsom Racecourse. Many trainers set up training stables within the village and by the 1950s as there was as many as 15 training stables in Langley Vale. Many villagers worked in the racing industry, too.

Traditionally Derby Day was always at 3.30 pm on the 1st Wednesday in June and it was always a great event in the calendar of Langley Vale. The local school finished early that day so that the children could go to the Derby. Not many villagers ventured out of the village that day because of the traffic, so we would 'party' instead. Most of the shops, the banks and the council offices in Epsom closed half-day on Derby Day. And, there were many more Gypsies - the women would come around the houses selling pegs and 'lucky' heather. Sadly, since the Derby is now run on a Saturday those days are long gone.

Today

The village is suffering from back-land development which is producing some very high density properties which are not in keeping with the village. It is still a nice area to live in and is surrounded by lovely countryside. It has still retained some of its original unique houses.

The village has no pub, and very little in the way of shops, a small community centre and church. There is a single petrol station on the main road, and one school. Although no pub was ever in the village the Rubbing House on the Downs was always looked upon as our 'local'.

During the Epsom Downs, Derby race weekend, the village roads get very busy, leaving almost no parking for residents.

Transport

Road

The village is accessed by one road.

The village has only two bus services (the E5 to Watersedge via Epsom and the 676 school bus to Therfield, Rosebery and St Andrew's),

Rail

The nearest stations are Tattenham Corner (2 miles by road or 1 mile on foot across the fields) and Epsom Downs (about 2.5 miles).

Emergency services

• Surrey Police
• South East Coast Ambulance Service, formed, as of 1 July 2006 by the merger of the Surrey Ambulance Service, Sussex, and Kent ambulance services
• Surrey Fire & Rescue Service

External links

• The Langley Vale Village community website
• History and Pictures of Langley Vale Village