The heart of Godstone consists of two centres, Church Town and Godstone Green, linked by other neighbourhoods. Both are now
conservation areas. Overall the long north–south parish covers and through its length of approximately the A22 road runs. St Nicholas Church dominates Church Town. James Evelyn of Felbridge House built a memorial chapel in 1787, which has the tombs of Sir John and Lady Evelyn. The North aisle was built in about 1845. Sir
George Gilbert Scott's
restoration of the church in 1872–3 involved widening of the chancel arch, inserting a new north side to the chancel, new windows to the nave and east end, and adding the south aisle. The churchyard contains a notable
sarsen stone marking the grave of
Walker Miles whose work in the early days of the "Ramblers' movement" contributed to the formation of the
Ramblers of Great Britain. At the same time, Sir George Gilbert Scott designed St Mary's
almshouses next to St Nicholas Church for Mrs Mabel Hunt of Wonham House, in memory of her only daughter who had died at the age of sixteen. Built in a Victorian Tudor/gothic style, they include eight self-contained houses, a wardens house and a beautiful little chapel, dedicated to St Mary. The flèch-capped chapel and the gables compose a very pretty hamlet. Godstone Green became a busy centre of roads and vehicles during the growth of wheeled traffic in the 16th century, an era which spawned the establishment of Godstone's numerous inns. A number of houses built entirely of brick appeared in the 18th century, notably the row in the High Street. During the 19th century, The Pond at Godstone Green was used as a horse-pond with a sloping bank down which the wagoners drove their horses. In the very core of the village is a triangular island, which in Victorian times, was densely packed with a remarkable number of cottages intersected by alleys. It is claimed to have been the worst slum in Surrey, which is no longer the case, with each dwelling having been paid much care and attention. The two parts of Godstone are linked by Bullbeggars Lane, a narrow road leading from the south of the village to the church, and the footpath running from the White Hart pub and its barn, along Bay Pond to Church Lane. The original village around St Nicholas Church was decimated during the
great plague of 1342 with the victims being buried in two 'plague pits' in Bullbeggars Lane. Even in death, the sexes were kept separate; men and women were interred in separate pits. The road running past the church was at one time the main coastal road with the present village not being built until Tudor times. The Pack House featured in the
Gracie Fields film 'Sing as you dance along', with Gracie dancing along the lane past the cottage which used to be an Inn.
South Godstone South Godstone was originally known as
Lagham and centred on the old mediæval moated manor house of Lagham, a scheduled ancient monument and Grade II*
listed building. It also features a listed brew house,
oast house and stable just north on its moat. It forms a neighbourhood buffered by countryside immediately north of
Godstone railway station. It has St Stephen's Church, St Stephen's C of E primary school, a garage, several garden nurseries, a hairdresser, and a sports and social club. There was once a pub opposite the railway station originally named 'The Railway', it has since been renamed 'The Lagham' it is currently operating as an Indian Restaurant. The Fox & Hounds on Tilburstow Hill is close by. It is home to South Godstone FC, whose first team currently compete in Intermediate Division One of the
Surrey South Eastern Combination.
Blindley Heath Blindley Heath is the southernmost portion of the parish, a hamlet separated by fields from the village of Godstone. The
Blindley Heath Site of Special Scientific Interest is the best known example of a relict damp grassland on Weald Clay in Surrey and has several ponds and a stretch of the Ray Brook. It is also a
Local Nature Reserve and is managed by the
Surrey Wildlife Trust. There is an active
C of E church to St
John the Evangelist built in 1842.
The Enterdent This is a small parcel of land, tucked away in between Tilburstow Hill Road and Eastbourne Road, to the south of Godstone. The name
Enterdent alludes to a cluster of cottages on the land set in a wooded valley. The origin of the name, the Enterdent, has never been satisfactorily explained. It has previously been known as Lower and Upper Henterden and, in the 19th century, Polly Pains Bottom. It is perhaps the
dene or valley between two hills. The first two dwellings appeared in 1842, and improvements began on the cottages in 1857, now number 6 and 7 The Enterdent. These buildings were enlarged with an extension at the rear and five further cottages were added, making a row of seven. A second terrace of cottages, this time eight in number, appeared further up the valley. Today, the fifteen original cottages have been converted to eight homes. The additional five cottages from the original terrace have since been converted into two larger properties, number 1 comprising three cottages, and number 5 comprising the remaining two. Numbers 6 and 7 still remain as individual cottages. At the entrance to the Enterdent, from Eastbourne Road, is a
Georgian-style house, which was a
tea room and a hotel from the 1920s to the 1940s. It has since been converted into two cottages, River Cottage and White Cottage. Despite all the changes, the Enterdent has essentially remained relatively unaltered. The cottage gardens and vegetable
allotments stand to this day, so too do the
sandpit, the
brook, the woods, and the
bluebells. ==Amenities==