Epsom

Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, approximately 13.5 mi (21.7 km) south of Charing Cross and 4.75 mi (7.64 km) northeast of Leatherhead. The town is recorded as Ebbesham in the 13th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. Founded as a spring line settlement where the permeable chalk of the North Downs meets the impermeable London Clay, Epsom developed as a spa town in the Georgian period. The mineral waters were found to be rich in magnesium sulphate, which became known as Epsom salts.