Box Hill is a summit of the North Downs in Surrey, approximately south-west of London. It is named after the ancient box woodland found on the steepest west-facing chalk slopes overlooking the River Mole. The western part of the hill is owned and managed by the National Trust, whilst the village of Box Hill lies on higher ground to the east. The highest point is Betchworth Clump at above OD,
Box Hill is part of the Surrey Hills National Landscape and forms part of the Mole Gap to Reigate Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest. The north- and south-facing slopes support an area of chalk downland, noted for its orchids and other rare plant species. The hill provides a habitat for 38 species of butterfly, and has given its name to a species of squash bug, now found throughout south-east England.
An estimated 850,000 people visit Box Hill each year.
Geography
Box Hill, approximately south-west of central London, stands at the south-eastern corner of the Mole Gap, the valley carved by the River Mole through the North Downs. Its summit, above Ordnance Datum, is the 12th highest in Surrey. The western boundary of the hill is defined by the River Mole, which has cut a steep cliff, exposing the chalk bedrock. The Vale of Holmesdale lies immediately to the south, below the scarp slope. The northern and eastern boundaries are defined by dry river valleys, which were created during the last Ice Age. The total area of the hill is approximately , of which half is owned by the National Trust.
The village
The village of Box Hill is to the east of the summit and to the west of the Country Park owned by the National Trust. The earliest flint cottages date from the 1800s, although much of the village was constructed in the first half of the 20th century. By 2005 there were more than 800 dwellings, of which over five hundred were mobile homes. An estimated 41% of the community is aged 60 or over. St Andrew's Church, part of the ecclesiastical parish of Headley, was consecrated in 1969 and the village hall opened in 1974. The village is not part of a civil parish.
History
Early history
thumb|upright|Ancient [[pollarding|pollarded beech tree between the Viewpoint and the Donkey Green.]]
Two Bronze Age round barrows, located close to the Salomons Memorial, provide the earliest archaeological evidence of human activity on Box Hill. The larger barrow is in diameter and high and, in medieval times, was used as a boundary marker or mere for the parish of Mickleham. Traces of prehistoric field boundaries are visible on Burford Spur and the low flint banks on the steeper and more wooded White Hill may be contemporaneous. and may have crossed the River Mole at a ford close to the location of the present day stepping stones. In Victorian times this route was dubbed the Pilgrims' Way and was supposedly followed by visitors to the shrines of Thomas Becket and Swithun at Canterbury and Winchester respectively.
Stane Street was constructed by the Romans in around 60–70 AD to link London (Londinium) to Chichester (Noviomagus Reginorum) on the south coast of England. The course of the road runs in a southwesterly direction across Mickleham Downs, before turning south to cross the River Mole at a ford close to the site of the Burford Bridge Hotel. A hoard of nine Roman coins, including bronze folles dating from the reigns of Diocletian, Maximian and Constantius I, was discovered on Box Hill close to Broadwood's Folly in 1979.
Medieval and early modern periods
The pillow mounds to the north-east of the Salomons Memorial are thought to date from the medieval period and were probably constructed as artificial warrens for rabbits. High Ashurst warren is recorded as remaining in use until the late 18th century. A second warren was probably situated close to Warren Farm in the Headley Valley and it has been speculated that the present farmhouse was originally the warrener's cottage. and older medieval documents make reference to local individuals with surnames including Atteboxe, de la Boxe and Buxeto, suggesting that the trees were already common in the area by the 13th century. The diarist John Evelyn records a visit to the hill in August 1655 to view "those natural bowers, cabinets and shady walks in the box copses".
The close grain of the box wood made it highly prized for its timber for carving and there are numerous accounts of the sale of trees from the hill throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. At the end of the eighteenth century, imports from Portugal reduced the market value of box wood and commercial exploitation of timber from Box Hill appears to have ended with a final sale in 1797.
Remnants of a few of these arable fields still exist, notably at the head of Juniper Bottom and around the old Box Hill Fort and Swiss Cottage. The Donkey Green (immediately north of the Salomons Memorial) was used as a cricket ground in the 1850s. It acquired its current name in Edwardian times, when donkey rides were offered to younger day trippers, although this practice had ceased by World War II.
The soil covering the north- and south-facing chalk slopes of the hill is too thin and insufficiently fertile to allow cultivation. These areas are indicated as sheep-walk on the 1801 map and were used as pasture, especially during the winter months when lower ground was too wet for productive grazing.
right|thumb|[[Ulex europaeus|Common gorse in bloom on Headley Heath.]]
Throughout its history, Headley Heath has been used for grazing and local villagers have collected heather, gorse and turf for bedding and making fires.
Ownership and public access
The hill was purchased by Thomas Hope, shortly before his death in 1831. (Hope was the owner of The Deepdene, the mansion to the east of Dorking.
Developments in local transport infrastructure over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries, enabled increasing numbers to visit the area. Following the completion of the turnpike road between Leatherhead and Dorking in 1750, stagecoaches stopped regularly at the Burford Bridge Hotel. As late as 1879, a daily coach ran non-stop to Box Hill from Piccadilly with a journey time of 2.5 hours.
The northern side of Box Hill (corresponding to the dip slope of the cuesta of the North Downs) is cut by six combes, also created by Ice Age watercourses.
Quarries and lime kilns
thumb|right|upright|The Smidth Kiln at [[Betchworth Quarry and Lime Kilns|Betchworth Quarry was constructed in around 1901.]]
Chalk and flint have been quarried from Box Hill and the surrounding area for many centuries. There are limited surviving examples of the incorporation of chalk blocks (or clunch) into the stonework of local buildings (including Mickleham Church). Walls made of flints, bound together by lime mortar, are particularly common in Surrey and quicklime could be produced with relative ease, by heating chalk above in a kiln.
Evidence remains of the small-scale chalk quarrying that occurred prior to the Industrial Revolution, including chalk pits both at Warren Farm and close to the Burford Bridge Hotel. and Betchworth. A wide range of bat species now roost in the former kilns.
Ecology
Conservation
thumb|[[Belted Galloway cattle grazing the Burford Spur on the north western side of the hill.]]
Box Hill is part of the Surrey Hills National Landscape. The vast majority of the publicly accessible areas of the hill that are managed by the National Trust and Surrey Wildlife Trust, form part of the Mole Gap to Reigate Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest and have been designated a Special Area of Conservation.
The chalk downland of Box Hill provides a habitat for a wide range of plant species, which in turn support a varied population of insect species. The alkaline soils are thin and nutrient poor, which prevents deeper-rooted lush grasses (with a high water demand) from dominating. Each square metre of chalk downland may support up to 40 different species.
Without careful management, the grassland would revert to woodland and so these areas of the hill are grazed in order to prevent scrub from becoming overestablished.|group=note Both the National Trust and Surrey Wildlife Trust use Belted Galloway cattle (affectionately nicknamed 'Belties'), which crop the grass less hard than other grazers and allow the more delicate wild flowers (including orchids) to flourish.
thumb|[[Olympic symbols#Olympic rings|Olympic Rings were installed at the viewpoint in July 2012.]]
For any conservation area, it is important to find a balance between the interests of people visiting and the needs of the wildlife that it seeks to protect. After the announcement that the Olympic cycling road races would be routed over the hill, concerns were expressed that habitats would be damaged during the event. Scrub clearance along the side of the Zig Zag Road to provide space for spectators began in January 2012, after a pre-race survey (commissioned by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) showed that the work was likely to increase biodiversity. A second ecological survey, performed after the Games, showed that no significant damage had occurred, although some areas were subsequently reseeded.
Biodiversity
The chalk downland environment supports notable populations of bats, lepidopterans, orchids and the hill's namesake, the box tree (Buxus sempervirens).
Orchids
A large number of species of orchid have been recorded on Box Hill, including autumn lady's-tresses, bee orchids, bird's-nest orchids, broad-leaved helleborines, common spotted orchids, common twayblades, fragrant orchids, pyramidal orchids and white helleborines.
Other wild flowers
Wild garlic grows alongside bluebells under the tree canopy beside the River Mole at the western edge of the hill, giving the area its distinctive smell in springtime. It is now found in Brimmer Pond (half of which is enclosed to prevent habitat disturbance by dogs) and also in Heath House Pond.
Trees
thumb|Yew and box trees growing on the west side of the hill.
The box and yew woodland, on the steep-sloping sides of the hill above the River Mole, is of international importance. Common canopy-layer species include beech, ash and oak. Understorey species include holly, hazel, elder and honeysuckle. The brown long-eared bat, Natterer's bat, the whiskered bat and Daubenton's bat have been recorded at both Betchworth and Brockham quarries. The small pearl-bordered fritillary was present on the hill in the 1970s, but has not been recorded locally since 1997. To create new habitats for the butterflies, a number of ‘scrapes’ were excavated in the late 2010s, exposing bare chalk on which vetch can become established with minimal competition. Buddleia removal was also initiated as part of the same programme.
Rare moth species found on the hill include the straw belle, chalk carpet, lace border, orange-tailed clearwing and the Surrey midget moth. and some of the outbuildings associated with the Box Hill Fort are in use as a visitor centre, gift shop and servery.
On the hill there are car parks and a panoramic view over the Weald towards the South Downs may be enjoyed from the Salomons Memorial (more commonly known as the viewpoint).