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Boxhill Road
Boxhill Road is now known as the public road between Headley Common Road near Pebble Coombe and Box Hill Village, the continuation of which, via Zig Zag Road past Box Hill viewpoint and down to Mickleham near Burford Bridge, is a private road owned by the National Trust. However, Boxhill Road continues along two separate limbs, towards Mickleham and to Boxhill Bridge. Both limbs remain public roads, but neither is tarred, and one is currently impassable in part.
The northern limb lies to the north of Box Hill viewpoint, but is currently obstructed by vegetation over a short stretch, and by a large tree trunk. It crosses Zig Zag Road at the highest of the three hairpin bends (this one a little below the visitor centre), and (now freely passable) continues down the coombe to rejoin Zig Zag Road at the lowest of the three hairpin bends (the last part of Zig Zag Road, from the lowest hairpin bend to the junction with Old London Road, is therefore a public road). It seems likely that the old road went out of regular use by carriages in the late nineteenth century after Zig Zag Road had been thrown open to public use by the estate, for the private road offered a better surface and a gentler gradient for horse drawn traffic.
The other limb of Boxhill Road descended from the western end of the village, through what is now the car park of the Smith & Western restaurant, round the back of Boxhurst, to become established as a tarred road below Boxhurst down to Boxhill Bridge, and over the River Mole to join what is now the Old Coach Road across Betchworth Park to Buckland (the present junction with Reigate Road east to Reigate was constructed in the late 1920s).
The northern limb lies to the north of Box Hill viewpoint, but is currently obstructed by vegetation over a short stretch, and by a large tree trunk. It crosses Zig Zag Road at the highest of the three hairpin bends (this one a little below the visitor centre), and (now freely passable) continues down the coombe to rejoin Zig Zag Road at the lowest of the three hairpin bends (the last part of Zig Zag Road, from the lowest hairpin bend to the junction with Old London Road, is therefore a public road). It seems likely that the old road went out of regular use by carriages in the late nineteenth century after Zig Zag Road had been thrown open to public use by the estate, for the private road offered a better surface and a gentler gradient for horse drawn traffic.
The other limb of Boxhill Road descended from the western end of the village, through what is now the car park of the Smith & Western restaurant, round the back of Boxhurst, to become established as a tarred road below Boxhurst down to Boxhill Bridge, and over the River Mole to join what is now the Old Coach Road across Betchworth Park to Buckland (the present junction with Reigate Road east to Reigate was constructed in the late 1920s).
Created: Mon, 25 Aug 2014, Updated: Mon, 25 Aug 2014
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