Earlswood

An area of predominantly Victorian housing, much of it terraced and semi-detached, immediately south of Redhill town centre bordered to the north by Hooley lane, to the west by the A23 Brighton Road, to the south by the Royal Earlswood Park housing development and to the east by fields. Redhill Brook runs north-south through the middle of Earlswood but is not visible in most of it. Two train lines run through Earlswood. The Redhill and Quarry Lines, both part of the Brighton Line, merge just north of Earlswood and run through Earlswood Station although there is no Quarry Line Platform. The Redhill to Tonbridge line passes through north Earlswood in between Redhill and Nutfield stations.

There are a nursery, primary and junior school over two sites in north Earlswood combined under the umbrella of the Earlswood Schools Federation. The schools are very popular and, along with the plentiful green space and good transport links, have attracted many young families to the area.

There are a few places of religious worship in Earlswood. There is St John's church on St Johns Road, opposite Earlswood, and there is also a Mosque on Earlswood Road, the Redhill Jamia Mosque Al-Mustafa. This is one of 3 mosques in the Redhill area, along with Masjid Al Yaqeen on Warwick Road, Redhill, and Masjid ul Emaan on Frenches Road near Watercolour and Merstham.

South Earlswood

One sub-area of Earlswood, South Earlswood is a separate neighbourhood containing approximately half of the housing, which constitutes the main land use in Earlswood.^[7][8] Separating it from the north are Earlswood Common and the Greensand Way, which follows the Greensand Ridge from Haslemere to Kent. Immediately adjoining South Earlswood is the village or neighbourhood of Whitebushes, which is contiguous therefore, apart from councillors, is difficult to separate artificially.^[9]

Whitebushes

A mixed housing estate built in the 1970s and early 1980s,mainly consisting of 4 and 3 bedroom homes and some flats.surrounded by pre-existing farmland, South Earlswood and the railway line. East Surrey Hospital opened in 1979 to its north. A small portion of farmland remains common land where (traditionally) gypsy horses, used for riding lessons and transport, have grazed since the 1950s.

The area has been occupied since medieval times and probably before that, as evidenced by archaeological finds nearby of an axe^[10] and flint flakes.^[11] The surrounding farms date back to the 13th and 14th centuries, notably Hazelhurst Farm from 1203 and Dean Farm from 1316.^[12] There is evidence of a medieval farmstead in Woodlands Field, off Green Lane. This consists mainly of soil marks in a square of about 350m and an adjoining L-shaped mark. The pottery has been dated to 1250–1350.^[13]

In the 19th century a number of brick works sprung up in the area. The Reigate Isolation Hospital was established in 1884 and later renamed to the Reigate Rural District Infectious Diseases Hospital.^[14] In 1900 a second establishment, the Reigate Borough Isolation Hospital, was opened. Around 1927 the two establishments were combined into a single Isolation Hospital run by the Reigate Joint Hospital Board as part of the Redhill County Hospital.^[15] In 1960 the site was acquired by University College Hospital and renamed Jordan's Hospital^[16] for the treatment of Tropical Diseases, especially leprosy. The site was sold for development, demolished and in 1970 and the estate between Green Lane and the railway, including Jordans Close, was built.

The Brighton Main Line passes the west of Whitebushes and was opened in 1841. An ancient trackway^[17] along what is now Green Lane, The Brow and the western leg of Bushfield Drive, links Whitebushes to Earlswood station to the north and Salfords station to the south. Somewhat circuitous routes under the railway link to the parking areas by these stations for those unwilling to walk.