East & West Molesey

HURST HOUSE (WM)

A pleasant Georgian house formerly standing in large grounds which covered all the land now occupied by the part of the Hurst Park development south of Hurst Road. The house was probably built at the end of the eighteenth century for Sir Robert Smyth, bart., lord of the manor of West Molesey, at one time a member of Parliament and a staunch supporter of Thomas Paine. At the time of the French Revolution he renounced his title and went to live in Paris. The house was purchased by the Hurst Park Racing Syndicate and was for a time used as a clubhouse. it was demolished about 1900. Rows of stables were built on part of the grounds, which, during the last war, with the stalls removed, were used as a rifle range by the local Home Guard.

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