Epsom, Surrey : Historical writing

Descriptive gazetteer entries

These other entries in our collection of descriptive gazetteers are also about Epsom. You may be able to find further references to Epsom in the descriptive gazetteers by doing a full-text search here.

Place Type of entry Source
Epsom market town and parish with railway station Bartholomew
EPSOM a town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district Imperial
Epsom (or Mid) Division parlimentary division Bartholomew

This additional information from our descriptive gazetteers is for locations within the parish or parishes associated with Epsom.

Place Type of entry Source
Clayhill hamlet Bartholomew
CLAYHILL a hamlet Imperial
Horton hamlet Bartholomew
HORTON a hamlet Imperial

Travel writing

This website includes the complete texts of books describing journeys around Britain, written between the twelfth and nineteenth centuries. Selecting one of the links below will take you to the first reference to Epsom within the selected text. This will not always be a description of a visit: travellers often mention places other than where they are, for example as a basis for comparison.

Traveller Section No. of Refs.
Daniel Defoe Letter 2, Part 3: Hampshire and Surrey 21
Celia Fiennes Epsom, Surrey 5
Celia Fiennes Epsom 4
Celia Fiennes 1697: Through Kent to Canterbury and Dover 3
Celia Fiennes Hampton Court and Windsor 3
Daniel Defoe Letter 8, Part 2: The Peak District 2
William Cobbett Jan. 8th to 11th, 1822: Sussex Journal 1
Daniel Defoe Letter 2, Part 2: Canterbury and Sussex 1
Daniel Defoe Letter 7, Part 2: East Midlands 1
Celia Fiennes Buckinghamshire, Oxford and Chichester 1
Celia Fiennes 1697 Tour: Coventry to London 1
John Wesley 1757-9: "I do Indeed Live by Preaching"; Advice to Travelers; French Prisoners 1

This website includes two large libraries, of historical travel writing and of entries from nineteenth century gazetteers describing places. We have text from these sources available for these places near your location:

Place Mentioned in Travel Writing Mentioned in Historical Gazetteer
Ewell 0 2
Horton 0 2
Cuddington 2 2
Nork 0 2
Nonsuch Park 0 2
Chessington 0 2
Ashtead 0 2
Cheam 0 2
Hook 0 2
Belmont 0 1
Copthorne 0 2
Tadworth 0 1
Tolworth 0 2
Malden 1 2
Claygate 0 2
Sutton 5 2
Walton on the Hill 0 3
Oxshott 0 2
Long Ditton 0 3
Leatherhead 16 2

Names from historical writing

The following appear as names for Epsom. Follow the links for what the author actually said:

Name Author Source
EMSON Celia Fiennes Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary (London: Field and Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, 1888).
EPSHAM Celia Fiennes Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary (London: Field and Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, 1888).
EPSHUM Celia Fiennes Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary (London: Field and Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, 1888).
EPSOM John Bartholomew Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
John Marius Wilson Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).
EPSOME Daniel Defoe A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain, divided into circuits or journies (London: JM Dent and Co, 1927).
Celia Fiennes Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary (London: Field and Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, 1888).
EPSOM OR MID DIVISION John Bartholomew Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
EPSUM Celia Fiennes Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary (London: Field and Tuer, The Leadenhall Press, 1888).

NB: These variant names come from our collections of historical travel writing and descriptive gazetteers:

  • The above links take you to the first reference to this particular version of the name within a book of travel writing, or to the relevant gazetteer entry.
  • Some names may derive from research by antiquarian writers such as William Camden and Thomas Pennant into the Roman, Saxon and medieval names of places. Their claims are not always supported by modern place-name researchers.
  • References by travel writers to the place using its "normal" name are not included. Descriptive gazetteer entries are included only if the name does not appear anywhere else.