Our Origins
The strange origin of Epsom’s rise to fame came in 1618, when herdsman, Henry Wicker discovered a water hole northwest of the turnpike road, between Epsom and Ashtead. Although the water, thought to be undrinkable, was examined by local physicians, it was a further 12 years before the highly purgative qualities of the water were discovered - one gallon of water containing 480 grains of calcareous nitre.
What followed was a product that became known as Epsom Salts, which at its height, sold at five shillings an ounce in 1640. Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary of 1667, “We got to Epsom by 8 a-clock to the Well, where much company; and there we light and I drank the water.”
Later he visited the King’s Head, the nearest inn to the downs, “where my Lord Buckhurst and Nelly (Nell Gwynne, the King’s mistress), is lodged at the next house, and keeps a merry house.”
