Oxted, United Kingdom

The early medieval manor of Oxted was centred on Oxted Court Farm, to the south of St Mary's Church. For much of this period, up until the end of the 13th century, it was held by the de Acstede family, who were mesne lords to the Crown. As the Middle Ages progressed, Oxted was broken up into smaller estates. In around 1246, Broadham manor, thought to have been centred on the present day Broadham Green, to the west of Hurst Green, was granted to Battle Abbey. Records from 1312 and 1408 indicate that Broadham manor covered an area greater than 250 acres (100 ha) and that the annual rent from the abbey was 51s. Similarly, in 1283, the "Bursted" or "Birsted" estate was granted in perpetuity to Tandridge Priory, but it is unclear where in the parish this land was located.

The last male member of the de Acstede family, Roland de Acstede, was summoned to Parliament in 1290, but he died shortly afterwards. His estate was inherited by his five daughters, each of whom was given a share of the land. By 1300, one part of the manor was held by the sisters Clarica and Alina de Acstede, with the remainder by Hugh de Nevile. In 1342, John de Wellesworth, grandson of Roland, sold the de Acstede portion of the manor to Robert de Stangrave and his wife Joan.

Following the death of Robert de Stangrave in 1344, the former de Acstede portion of the manor of Oxted passed to his wife's family, the Cobhams. and in around 1350, John de Nevile, sold the remainder to them. The Cobham family lived at Starborough Castle near Lingfield and their lands in Oxted were run by a resident steward from Oxted Court Farm. In the 15th century, the manor passed to the Burgh family and, in 1587, Charles Hoskins purchased the "manor and advowson of Oxted" which covered some 605 acres (245 ha). By the mid-17th century, Barrow Green Court appears to have superseded Oxted Court Farm as the manor house. The Hoskins family held Oxted until the death of Susannah Hoskins in 1868, when it was inherited by her aunt, Katherine Master. She passed the manor to her descendants, the Hoskins Master family.

The civil parish of Oxted was formed in 1894. Oxted was part of the Godstone Rural District from 1894 until 1974, when it was combined with the Caterham and Warlingham Urban District to create the Tandridge District.

The turnpike road from Wrotham Heath to Godstone passed through the town. The modern-day A25 road divides the original town ("Old Oxted") from "New Oxted", the development that grew up to the north-east after the railway station opened in 1884. A bypass diverting the A25 to the north of Old Oxted was built in the late 1960s.

The first act of Parliament to authorise the construction of a railway through Oxted was granted in July 1865. It authorised the Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway (S&SJR) to build a line from Croydon to Groombridge, where there was to be a junction with the East Grinstead to Tunbridge Wells line. The act was controversial as the S&SJR was sponsored by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR), but ran into a part of Surrey and East Sussex which was considered South Eastern Railway territory.

In three years, the S&SJR managed to build the 2,267 yd-long (2.073 km) Oxted Tunnel and two shorter tunnels at Riddlesdown and Limpsfield. However, construction became increasingly difficult as a result of the 1866 financial panic caused by failure of Overend, Gurney and Company and, in 1869, there was a riot at Edenbridge because Belgian navvies were being employed to build the line. A second act of Parliament was obtained in 1869 to formally transfer line to the LBSCR, who immediately asked for powers to suspend works. The company paid a penalty of £32,250 and construction ceased immediately. No work took place on the unfinished railway line until 1878, when a third act of Parliament authorised the Croydon, Oxted and East Grinstead railway, which would take over construction and be jointly owned by LBSCR and SER. Among the works that were completed by the new company was the iron viaduct between Oxted station and Limpsfield tunnel.

The new line finally opened to passenger traffic in March 1884. Oxted station, originally called Oxted and Limpsfield, was provided with two through platforms and a south-facing bay platform. There was also a freight yard with a south-facing connection to the line. A second station in the parish, Hurst Green Halt opened with line and was replaced by Hurst Green station, to the north, by British Rail in 1961.

The line south from Hurst Green to Eridge was opened in December 1887. A century later, in 1987, Hurst Green Junction signal box closed as part of a resignalling programme for the whole line. Electrification of the line through Oxted to East Grinstead completed July 1987, but the line to Uckfield remains unelectrified.

Although there is thought to have been a religious building on the site of St Mary's Church since before the Norman Conquest, it is unclear whether there was a significant nucleated settlement close to the site. It is possible that much of the population was thinly dispersed throughout the parish until the 12th century.