BRITISH TURF. 313 



knavery of one Lerington, an apothecary, who, 

 having purchased a piece of land here, built a 

 large house, with an assembly room, and sunk a 

 well. By means of balls, concerts, and other 

 amusements, this person contrived to lure the 

 company from the old well, till at length, getting 

 the lease of the latter into his own hands, he shut 

 it up. This designing and unprincipled conduct 

 met its proper reward. The new water was found 

 not to possess the virtues of the old, and Epsom 

 began to be deserted. At the expiration of the 

 lease, Mr. Parkhurst repaired the buildings of the 

 old well ; and although the place was no longer 

 so much visited by strangers, it was still frequented 

 by the neighbouring gentry, who had a public 

 breakfast here every Monday, during the summer 

 months. This practice was, at length, wholly su- 

 perseded by the new fashion of sea-bathing, and in 

 1804, the old building was pulled down, and a 

 dwelling house erected on its site. The well is 

 still preserved. 



The manor of Ebbisham belonged, at the time of 

 the Doomsday survey, to the abbey of Chertsey, 

 the monks of which were licensed to have a park 

 here, shut up whenever they pleased. This is 

 supposed to be what is now called Woodcote Park, 

 about a mile southward of the village. Woodcote 

 Park was long the residence of the proprietors of 

 the manor, till given, towards the conclusion of the 

 17th century, by Mrs. Evelyn to Lord Baltimore. 



