Epsom

Epsom, a small market-town of Surrey, on the margin of the Banstead Downs, 15 miles SSW. of London. The sulphate of magnesia springs, which made Epsom so fashionable a resort in the later half of the 17th century, gave name to the Epsom salt formerly manufactured from them. The church, rebuilt in 1824, contains monuments by Flaxman and Chantrey. The Royal Medical College (1851), on the Downs, provides education for the sons of medical men, and affords a home to decayed members of the profession and their widows. Pop. (1841) 3533; (1891) 8417. On the Downs, $1\backslash frac\{1\}\{2\}$ mile S. of the town, the famous horse-races are held yearly (see DERBY DAY, and HORSE-RACING). The grand stand was built in 1829–30, at a cost of £20,000, and accommodates 7500 spectators.