Town in Surrey, England
Epsom
Epsom gave the world a bath-time staple after thirsty cows refused its water, and a horse race so grand that it was settled by the toss of a coin.
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Key information
- County
- Surrey
- Nation
- England
- Known for
- The Derby, the Oaks and Epsom salts
- Famous people
- Henry Wicker, Nehemiah Grew, Lord Rosebery, Emily Wilding Davison
About Epsom
The cows that wouldn't drink
Epsom's most famous export started with a fussy herd. In 1618, according to the old story, a local man named Henry Wicker was walking on Epsom Common when he noticed that cattle refused to drink from a pool in a dry summer. The water tasted bitter. When Wicker looked closer, he found it had healing properties. The bitter ingredient was magnesium sulphate, soon known worldwide as Epsom salts. Within decades, the town had become a fashionable spa. Samuel Pepys came to take the waters in July 1663 and noted the crowds in his diary. In 1695 the botanist Nehemiah Grew worked out how to extract the salts from the spring water, and a medicine was born. People still dissolve them in the bath more than 400 years later.
A coin toss named the world's most famous horse race
Epsom's spa days faded, but the horses took over. In 1779 the Oaks was run for fillies on the Downs above the town. The following year came a new race for three-year-olds, and the founders had to settle what to call it. The popular tale is that Lord Derby and Sir Charles Bunbury tossed a coin, and Derby won. If Bunbury had called it right, we might all be talking about the Epsom Bunbury. The Derby was first run in 1780 and has been run ever since, over about a mile and a half, with a famously sharp bend at Tattenham Corner and a fast, downhill finish. Its name spread across the globe. The Kentucky Derby is one of the many races around the world that borrowed it.
Nine times a charm for Lester Piggott
No jockey has loved the Downs more than Lester Piggott. He won the Derby nine times between 1954 and 1983, starting with Never Say Die when he was just 18. Derby Day used to be a national holiday in all but name. Crowds poured onto the Downs for fairground rides, picnics and a day out. Early film-makers noticed too. In 1896 Robert Paul filmed the race, as Persimmon, the Prince of Wales's horse, won. Lord Rosebery, who lived at The Durdans on the edge of town, took the race to another level. He owned Derby winners while serving as prime minister, with Sir Visto in 1895 and Ladas in 1894.
The most shocking Derby ever
On 4 June 1913 the suffragette Emily Wilding Davison stepped onto the course at Tattenham Corner as the field thundered past. She was struck by Anmer, the King's horse, ridden by Herbert Jones. She died four days later, on 8 June. Her death was a defining moment in the struggle for votes for women, and the Epsom Derby has been linked to it ever since.
A town of clock towers and commons
Away from the racecourse, Epsom is a leafy Surrey town with a broad High Street, where the Victorian clock tower of 1847 still marks the centre. A weekly market has operated here for generations. Epsom Common is a reminder of where the salts story began, with ponds and woodland still around. Epsom College, founded in 1855, has educated generations of pupils. The town's football side, Epsom & Ewell FC, is a local favourite, and the Playhouse supplies the theatre. In June 1919 the town saw its darkest night, when riots broke out among Canadian soldiers waiting to go home from nearby Woodcote Park camp. Station Sergeant Thomas Green died in the disorder.