Banstead is a Surrey town perched on the North Downs inside the M25 Motorway (about 5m on the A217 from J8 Reigate Hill) and close to London. It is surrounded and protected by extensive Green Belt land and therefore the area surrounding its High Street (one of the highest in England) has managed to retain its village character and is still often referred to as Banstead Village. The long High Street has more than 100 shops and restaurants and these, together with Banstead’s proximity to beautiful open countryside attract a constant flow of visitors to the town.
Banstead has the earliest recorded historic mention of a place within Reigate & Banstead Borough in an Anglo Saxon charter of King Edgar's time dated AD967, a century before the Domesday Survey of 1086. In that survey Banstead (referred to as Benestede) had a Manor with two ploughs, 28 villeins and 15 cottars (people with a small cottage but no land) with 15 ploughs. There was also reference to a church and a mill and the whole manor was valued at £8. The town's name appears to have been derived from the Anglo Saxon words bene, meaning bean, and stede, meaning place.
Nowadays Banstead has a population of over 14,000 people, with perhaps 20,000 more living in areas and villages closely surrounding it. Many of these folk commute into London to work. The area is well supplied with schools, amenities and transport links.
The links below will connect you to sites giving more information about the area.
Services
Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
Schools
Banstead Community Junior School
Priory Preparatory School for Boys
