Brief history

Originally known by the name of Langley Bottom, the village name was changed sometime during the 1930s/1940s to Langley Vale because it was thought it sounded more genteel. Although, the farm is still called Langley Bottom Farm.

The modern history of Langley Vale dates from the late Victorian/early Edwardian times but there has been a farm at Langley Bottom since the early 13th century when Langley had an open field system with at least two large fields divided into furlongs. In a charter dated 1255/1268 the same land is shown as being held by William de Langley and by 1331/2 John at Ley of Headley is shown as holding the land. It has been suggested that Langley was originally a settlement with several tenants which later became a single farm which after the Black Death in the 14th century, disappeared from the map.

In a lease dated 1734 the land comprising Epsom Downs Building Estate (the village) being the arable, pasture and woodland of 68 acres in Epsom called Langley adjacent to part of the Downs called Short Oaks, formed part of the Ashtead Park Estate of the Rt. Hon Henry Bowes Howard, Earl of Berkshire. By 1802 Langley Bottom Farm also formed part of the Ashtead estate. The last of the Howards was the heiress, the Hon. Mary Howard of Elford in Staffordshire. Upon the death of her father, Richard Howard In 1819 Mary inherited numerous estates in Staffordshire and also the Ashtead Park Estate in Surrey. On her death in1877, the Ashtead estate passed to a distant cousin of her father's family, the Bagots. Some land was sold piecemeal in 1879 to clear mortgages and debts. The remainder was subsequently sold to a Thomas Lucas and others.

By 1883 the village roads – Rosebery, Grosvenor, Beaconsfield and Harding were laid out on the grid pattern and named. Gas was laid to the village in 1900 when there were a few large houses and about a dozen small dwellings. During WW1 wooden bungalows were built to house Canadian soldiers from the nearby Woodcote Park camp, some of which can still be seen in the village today. The village school opened in 1923 – this was replaced by the new school, The Vale in Beaconsfield Road which opened in 1999.

Langley Vale has always been closely associated with the racing industry and the Epsom Downs race course. The Warren used to be the saddling enclosure for the races and many training stables were established within the village. Many of the residents of the village were employed in the racing industry. Sadly, the stables have almost all gone now and have been replaced by housing. Only a couple remain but they are no longer used as stables.

Many of the older properties and their large gardens have now disappeared and have been re-developed for housing, a trend which looks set to continue into the future.

Over the years a few notable residents have lived in Langley Vale. They include two members of the 1970s pop group Mud, George Mitchell of the Mitchell Minstrels who featured on BBC T.V’s ” The Black and White Minstrel Show”, the “first” stripper, Phylis Dixie and the author Graham Masterson. They all lived in Beaconsfield Road and the 1950s comedienne, Hilda Baker once lived in Grosvenor Road.

Further historic images of Langley Vale can be found here

For more information on Langley Vale and the surrounding area, please visit the Epsom and Ewell History Explorer