Kingswood history
This page is about the history of Kingswood.
Kingswood began as a small Saxon hamlet, a detached part of the Royal Manor of Ewell.
After the Norman Conquest the whole area became on big hunting ground, and swathes of forest were designated as Royal game reserves.
While Walton, Tadworth and Reigate were given to noblemen, the area of Kingswood as we know it today was just as it sounds, the King's Wood.
After the Reformation, Kingswood became an area of hermits, dispossessed monks and wandering vagabonds.
Beacon
In 1563 Queen Elizabeth gave Lord Howard of Effingham, who lived at Reigate Priory, the Crown Lands of the Hamlet of Kingswoode.
He later became Lord High Admiral of the Armada and beacons were lit from Plymouth to the Tower of London signalling the site of the Spanish fleet.
The Tumblebeacon pub is a reminder of the beacon which stood on the site.
In the 200 years between 1570 and 1770 Kingswood, like many English villages, became established and rural life flourished.
In 1658 the 'Liberty' of Kingswood, as it was called, consisted of 12 farmers who had an annual income of £23.
Improvements in the roads made it easier for people living in Kingswood to get to market at Banstead or Reigate and over the decades the village's population grew.
Growth
In the 19th century the village benefited from the generosity of benefactor Thomas Alcock, who built a massive central tower. The church was consecrated as St Andrews in 1852.
Again like many villages, Kingswood grew after the arrival of the railway. A hotel called the Station Hotel was erected by the railway station but it was burned to the ground in 1912.
It was later rebuilt and in 1968 modernised and renamed as the Pigeon Pair, recalling Kingswood's involvement in the early days of Reuters News Agency.
Pigeons were brought to Kingswood by train and released with news messages, which coupled with the telegram allowed Reuters to deliver information quicker than their rivals.
Kingswood today is a sought after location and residents are undoubtedly heartened that, even after all these years, the pheasants still occupy the heath and rabbits scurry in the woods, just as they did 1,000 years ago, when it was simply the King's Wood.
Last updated : 28/04/2009
