History of Ewell

Ewell is an English village in the borough of Epsom and Ewell, and the county of Surrey. It is 14 miles (22.5 km) south-south-west of London, and is far larger than a typical village. But where did it all begin?

Ewell sits at the head of the Hogsmill river, a tributary of the River Thames, and thus its natural spring water attracted man from the earliest times. The water was likely considered sacred in the times of pre-history, and the name Ewell comes from the Saxon for river-spring.

In addition to the water, the chalk from the North Downs produces flint, which made the area ideal for Stone Age man, and there is evidence of flint usage dating back as far 8000 BC. Back in those days man was nomadic and did not tend to settle in any one area, but archeological findings point to heavy use throughout the Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age periods. By the time the Romans came Ewell’s attractions were well established, and there is evidence of Roman settlement.

The Romans invaded Britain back in 43 AD, and one of their great contributions was a network of roads, including Stane Street which ran from London to Chichester, and cut through Ewell. No doubt Ewell’s springs attracted the Romans, as well as the fact that its position at the foot of the slope of the North Downs make it a sensible way to cut through from an engineering stand point.

There is plenty of evidence of Roman occupation, and Ewell is a rich source for archeologists. Over 50 sites with Roman remains have been identified, and it is clear that the village was well settled.

Once the Romans left, the Saxons quickly moved in, and a cemetery in the Grove and Ewell House area of the village tells us that the Saxons too settled in Ewell. Whilst, there is not much available information about this Saxon period we do know that Ewell was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1066 as Etwelle. Etwelle had a population made up of 48 villagers, and 4 smallholders.

Life in medieval Ewell was dominated by life at the manor. As was typical of the feudal system, the manor controlled the land and most laborers were obliged to work on it for a certain number of days per year. Ewell held the status of royal manor until 1158, and was held by Merton priory until 1538. The village’s other focal point was a church owned by Chertsey Abbey.

The plague that swept Britain in 1348 cut Ewell’s population by around 40%, but the village recovered and by 1400 it had developed so much that most of the original parish had been built over.

The famous Nonsuch Palace was built in Ewell’s neighboring town of Cuddlington in the Tudor period. The Palace’s land extended to include 150 acres of Ewell. Nonsuch Palace is an incredibly ornate building by Tudor standards, and Henry VIII had included it in his grandiose plans for a massive hunting ground extending from Hampton Court. Nonsuch remained a royal palace until the execution of Charles I in 1649.

By the time of Elizabeth I, Ewell had become a prosperous location and one landowner, Nicholas Saunder, held 340 acres. Another large landowner was Elizabeth Horde with 252 acres.

One of the highlights of Ewell’s 17^th Century history was a battle between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers. The battle took place in between Nonsuch Palace and Ewell, and was once of the last battles of the Civil War. In fact its exact date is uncertain and it may even have been a Royalist uprising that took place after the war. The Earl of Holland gathered around 500 troops in July 1648 and marched them from Kingston. They encountered Roundheads just outside Ewell, but rather than a major battle, a brief skirmish took place.

In Ewell’s history there is not a lengthy tradition as an industrial center, but it did have gunpowder mills which opened the 18th Century, and grew steadily. The industry was marked by a famous incident in 1812 when there was a massive explosion, and this was followed by notable explosions in 1863, 1865 and two in 1871. Eventually the mills were such in 1875, and Ewell’s flirtation with industry came to an end.

Through the 20^th Century Ewell grew from a rural community with some landed gentry to a modern suburb of London. With the advent of the motor car the town became more like a typical Surrey town, with schools, shops, library and church, but for some reason it has continued to be referred to as a village by its inhabitants – a throwback to the days gone by of this popular spring location.