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Oxshott is a suburban village in the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England. Oxshott includes hilly acidic heath which is partly wooded (see Esher Commons and Prince's Coverts) and occupies the land between the geographically large towns of Esher and Leatherhead. The Oxshott section of the single carriageway north-south A244 runs through its middle and briefly forms its high street, centred from the A3 (Portsmouth Road) and the M25 (London Orbital motorway). A survey in 2010 by the Daily Telegraph asserted it was "the village with most footballers" in England and mentioned other celebrities who chose to live in the village — Chelsea F.C. have their main training ground in Stoke D'Abernon, which, together with Oxshott, makes up an electoral ward of Surrey County Council. Before about 1912, there was an equally-used alternative spelling, Ockshot. Oxshott was part of Stoke D'Abernon until 1912, when Oxshott gained its first place of worship. The Prince's Coverts remains part of the Crown Estate, albeit decreased by some privatisation; and the public land of the village has been protected by inclusion in the Metropolitan Green Belt. A great many of Oxshott's residential areas are on private roads, gated off and inaccessible to the general public. This, combined with the large and desirable properties that form much of the village's housing stock, contributes to Oxshott's status as the "most expensive village in England". [edit] History
Oxshott means "Ocga's corner of land", from the Old English personal name Ocga and sceat (related to modern 'shoot') "corner of land". The first element does not, unlike Oxford, have anything to do with oxen. The name was recorded in 1179 as Occesete. At this time Oxshott was a hamlet in the east of the village of Stoke D'Abernon of about 200 people and manor living greatly from the land, rather than trade, from forestry, farming and the keeping of pigs. Until the 16th century, Oxshott was fairly isolated from other centres of population, surrounded by heath and scrubland and connected to nearby villages only by footpaths. For almost the whole of a further three centuries, no major transport links crossed the parish. In 1820, the Duchess of Kent laid the foundation stone of the national (secular) primary school here, which was enlarged in 1897; from 1885 the nature of the village was changed forever with the building of the railway. The station (first named Oxshott and Fairmile) made the area accessible to day-trippers. The following 30 years saw Oxshott expand. The Crown Commissioners limited early housing development to mansions or villas suitable for occupation by wealthy families. Examples of these are Danes Hill, Broom Hall and Bevendean. Subsequently, the village has expanded further, and now includes most types of housing, except for medium- and high-rise. The religious needs of the growing population were met by the consecration of St. Andrew's Church in 1912, in the Church of England. Oxshott became a parish in its own right in 1913 under that name; this putting an end to the use of the pre-1913 spelling of Ockshot, as used, for example, in 1911 in its topographical description in the Victoria County History.[1] The high street expanded from what were once just three shops: a drapers, a tobacconists and a set of tea-rooms. Industry arrived in Oxshott when John Early Cook set up his brickworks from the local deep patch of suitable clay, in 1866. Production continued until 1958, and the works' distinctive chimney was demolished in 1967. Heathfield Pond is the site of the brickwork pit; it was previously called Brick Pond. The pond is about 100 ft (30 metres) deep with a cottage and machinery at the bottom. Alfie Skelton (aged 15) died in a boating accident on the pond in March 2011. During World War II, Canadian army engineers were billeted on Oxshott Heath whilst they built the Cabinet War Rooms. From 1920 until 1978, the Oxshott Pottery, founded by Henry & Denise Wren, was based at Potters Croft in Oakshade Road, Oxshott. [edit] Research Tips
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