Belmont, Sutton
Encyclopedia
Belmont is a village in the London Borough of Sutton
in southwest Greater London
, England. It is located off the A217 road
and near to Banstead Downs
in Surrey
. It is a suburban development situated 10.8 miles (17.4 km) south-southwest of Charing Cross
.
on the opposite side of Brighton Road which was built by John Gibbons in approximately 1858. The station was renamed 'Belmont' in 1875, and the name was attached to the village that emerged subsequently. The original pub was heavily damaged by German bombing in the Second World War. The new building, built on the site in 1955, is now known as 'The Belmont'.
, the asylum was much closer to the village and railway station of Belmont than those of Banstead. Originally known as Banstead Asylum, the hospital opened in 1877 as the third county lunatic asylum for Middlesex. Around 1890 it came under the auspices of London County Council
. Later a psychiatric hospital
under the name Banstead Mental Hospital, then Banstead Hospital, it closed in 1986 and was largely demolished in 1989. (The site is now occupied by the prison High Down (HM Prison).)
residential 'district' school belonging to the South Metropolitan Schools District. This institution catered for pauper children from several parishes in south-east London
. Along with its nearby annex site, built in 1884 in Cotswold Road (formerly Banstead Road), this establishment closed in 1902. The premises at both sites were then acquired by the Metropolitan Asylums Board
. Some of the buildings of the Cotswold Road site still exist.
branchline and the London Victoria to Epsom Downs line.
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It is one of the southernmost boroughs of London...
in southwest Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
, England. It is located off the A217 road
A217 road
The A217 is a road in the United Kingdom. It runs south from Kings Road in Fulham, London, crossing the Thames at Wandsworth Bridge, then passing through Wandsworth, Tooting, Mitcham, Cheam, Banstead, crossing the M25 motorway at Junction 8, then passing through Reigate and terminating shortly...
and near to Banstead Downs
Banstead Downs
Banstead Downs is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Surrey, England . It covers . To the west is the A217 and to east is the B2218. The town to the north is Sutton; whilst Banstead lies to the south...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. It is a suburban development situated 10.8 miles (17.4 km) south-southwest of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
.
History
Belmont did not exist until the late 19th-century. Belmont railway station opened in May 1865 and was originally called 'California Station', named after the California Arms public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
on the opposite side of Brighton Road which was built by John Gibbons in approximately 1858. The station was renamed 'Belmont' in 1875, and the name was attached to the village that emerged subsequently. The original pub was heavily damaged by German bombing in the Second World War. The new building, built on the site in 1955, is now known as 'The Belmont'.
Banstead Hospital and the emergence of Belmont
The village of Belmont strongly owed its development to the presence of Banstead Asylum. Although located in the parish of BansteadBanstead
Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in the county of Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London. It lies south of London, west of Croydon and of the county town of Kingston-Upon-Thames. Banstead is on the North Downs and is protected by the Metropolitan Green Belt;...
, the asylum was much closer to the village and railway station of Belmont than those of Banstead. Originally known as Banstead Asylum, the hospital opened in 1877 as the third county lunatic asylum for Middlesex. Around 1890 it came under the auspices of London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
. Later a psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
under the name Banstead Mental Hospital, then Banstead Hospital, it closed in 1986 and was largely demolished in 1989. (The site is now occupied by the prison High Down (HM Prison).)
Belmont Hospital and the South Metropolitan District School
Belmont Hospital was a psychiatric hospital. It closed and was demolished in the 1980s. The site is now occupied by the 'Belmont Heights' housing estate, which is situated to the west of Brighton Road, to the north of Belmont village. Belmont Hospital opened after the Second World War. The premises had previously fulfilled a number of different institutional purposes. For example, during World War II it was used as an emergency hospital for military and civilian casualties, including psychiatric cases. The oldest buildings on the site, built in the early 1850s, had originally been a large Poor LawPoor Law
The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...
residential 'district' school belonging to the South Metropolitan Schools District. This institution catered for pauper children from several parishes in south-east London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Along with its nearby annex site, built in 1884 in Cotswold Road (formerly Banstead Road), this establishment closed in 1902. The premises at both sites were then acquired by the Metropolitan Asylums Board
Metropolitan Asylums Board
The Metropolitan Asylums Board was established under Poor Law legislation, to deal with London's sick poor. It was established by the Metropolitan Poor Act 1867 and was wound up in 1930, its functions being transferred to the London County Council. Despite its name, the MAB was not involved in...
. Some of the buildings of the Cotswold Road site still exist.
Public institutions
- Sutton Hospital
- Royal Marsden Hospital
- Institute of Cancer ResearchInstitute of Cancer ResearchThe Institute of Cancer Research is a cancer research institute located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. The ICR was founded in 1909 as a research department of the Royal Marsden Hospital and joined the University of London in 2003...
Nearest places
- CheamCheamCheam is a large suburban village close to Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton, England, and is located close to the southern boundary between Greater London and Surrey. It is divided into two main areas: North Cheam and Cheam Village. North Cheam includes more retail shops and supermarkets,...
- SuttonSutton, LondonSutton is a large suburban town in southwest London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Sutton. It is located south-southwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. The town was connected to central London by...
- Banstead, Surrey
- CarshaltonCarshaltonCarshalton is a suburban area of the London Borough of Sutton, England. It is located 10 miles south-southwest of Charing Cross, situated in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton Ponds in the centre of the village. The combined population of the five wards...
- WallingtonWallington, LondonWallington is a town in the London Borough of Sutton situated south south-west of Charing Cross. Prior to the merger of the Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington into the London Borough of Sutton, it was part of the county of Surrey.- History :...
Transport
Belmont railway station on the Sutton to Epsom DownsEpsom Downs railway station
Epsom Downs railway station is a railway station located on the boundary of the Reigate and Banstead and Epsom and Ewell boroughs of Surrey with the railway to the north forming a continuation of the boundary....
branchline and the London Victoria to Epsom Downs line.
Notable Former Residents
- James BladesJames BladesJames "Jimmy" Blades OBE was an English percussionist.He was one of the most distinguished percussionists in Western music, with long and varied career. His book Percussion Instruments and their History is a standard reference work on the subject Blades was born in Peterborough, England in 1901...
(1901–1999) orchestral percussionist. - James HuntJames HuntJames Simon Wallis Hunt was a British racing driver from England who won the Formula One World Championship in . Hunt's often action packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt." After retiring from driving, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman...
(1947–93), World Formula OneFormula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
motor-racing champion 1976. - Lord Judd (born 1935) former director of Oxfam. As Frank Judd he was MP for constituencies in Portsmouth from 1966 to 1979.
- Don LusherDon LusherDon Lusher OBE was a jazz and big band trombonist best known for his association with the Ted Heath Big Band...
(1923–2006), trombonist and jazz band leader - Lord Ritchie-Calder (1906–82), journalist and environment expert
- Lionel TertisLionel TertisLionel Tertis, CBE was an English violist and one of the first viola players to find international fame.Tertis was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, and initially studied the violin in Leipzig and at the Royal Academy of Music in London...
(1876–1975), viola-player - Barry WordsworthBarry WordsworthBarry Wordsworth is a British conductor.From 1989 to 2006, Wordsworth was principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and now holds the title of conductor laureate. From 1990 to 1995, Wordsworth was music director of the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. He began his second tenure in that post in...
(born in Cheam 1948), orchestral conductor - music director. - David BellamyDavid BellamyDavid James Bellamy OBE is a British author, broadcaster, environmental campaigner and botanist. He has lived in County Durham since 1960.-Career:...
Botanist, author and academic.
External links
- Belmont Local History group, http://www.belmonthistory.org.uk
- Map of Belmont area, Streetmap website, Streetmap.co.uk http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=525458&y=162172&searchp=ids.srf&mapp=map.srf
Further reading (local history)
- Belmont: A Century Ago by Roland Sparkes, published December 2009. Paperback. ISBN 978-0-9563424-0-9. http://www.nielsenbookdata.co.uk/controller.php?page=1. This is first book dedicated to the history of the village. The introductory chapter provides a resume of Belmont's history and development in the Victorian era and the early 20th century.
- Articles by local historian Roland Sparkes for the Belmont Local History group (established 2009). E.g. Belmont: 1865 - A description of the Belmont area as it existed in 1865 http://belmontlocalhistory.webs.com/WEBPROTECT-page4belmont1865.htm, and Dr Carl Warburg, his Belmont laboratory, and his famous fever drughttp://belmontlocalhistory.webs.com/WEBPROTECT-page6drwarburg.htm.
- Sutton Guardian newspaper - heritage page articles and features. http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?refresh=Ky91e0A314fN&PBID=21808e87-e7bc-4660-9728-9e4ce3c30669
- Sutton Scene (London Borough of Sutton's official newsletter), Oct/Nov 2009 edition. Feature on Belmont. http://www.sutton.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3545
- Two booklets have been produced about the history of Belmont's churches, both now out of print: (i) Splendid the Heritage: the story of Belmont and its Methodist Church (Craig, 1965); and (ii) A Village Church: the story of the first 75 years of St John’s with Belmont Methodists (Reed, 1992).