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The name of Epsom derives from Ebbi's ham. Ebbi was a Saxon landowner. There were a string of settlements, many ending in -ham, along the northern slopes of the Downs, including Effingham, Bookham and Cheam. The only relic from this period is a 7th century brooch found in Epsom and now in the British Museum.
The early history of the area is bound up with the Abbey of Chertsey, whose ownership of Ebbisham was confirmed by King Athelstain in 933. The town at the time of Domesday Book had 38 peasant households grouped near St Martin's Church. The view above was by John Constable.
Later other small settlements grew up at the town pond (now the Market in the High Street) and at Epsom Court, Horton, Woodcote and Langley Vale.
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