Leopold Salomons was a city financier and company director active in the City of London in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Salomons was born into a British Jewish family, but it has been suggested that he later converted to Christianity. Today he is primarily remembered for his purchase of Box Hill in 1914 to protect it from development.
Salomons Memorial, Box Hill, Surrey (2010)
Box Hill is a summit of the North Downs in Surrey, approximately 31 km (19 mi) south-west of London. The hill gets its name from 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 224 m (735 ft) above OD, although the Salomons Memorial overlooking the town of Dorking is the most popular viewpoint.
Box Hill viewed from the south. Photograph taken from Betchworth Park Golf Course.
St Andrew's Church, Box Hill village
Prudential Ride-London 100: Amateur cyclists ascending the Zig Zag Road (July 2016)
Ancient pollarded beech tree between the Viewpoint and the Donkey Green.