Betchworth, or Becesworde, is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Its assets in 1086 were listed as: 11 villagers; 16 smallholders; 1 church; 2 mills; 2 hides (i.e. a unit of land considered sufficient to support a family, equivalent to approximately 30 modern acres depending on the quality of the land); 12 ploughlands; 11 acres of meadow; pastures for 6 pigs; and woodland and herbage for 81 pigs .
Today, slightly more than 1,000 people live in Betchworth. The village has a primary school; a post office and village shop; three pubs; a working forge and a village hall. Parts of its Grade 1-listed church date back to the early 13th century. Betchworth station is situated on the line between Reading and Redhill, from where there is a frequent train service to London as well as to Gatwick airport and the south coast.
The Betchworth Estate has changed hands only twice by purchase since Domesday and is today still in the ownership of descendants of the family who purchased it in 1816. In 1634, the Betchworth Estate was purchased by Sir Ralph Freeman (1610~1655), whose descendants sold it in 1816 to the Goulburn family.
Lord Hamilton of Dalzell (1938-2006), the father of the current owner, inherited the Estate in 1980 from his cousin Major General Edward Goulburn D.S.O (1903-1980). Eddie Goulburn commanded the Grenadier Guards in the Second World War, notably at Nijmegen, the fierce battle to capture the bridge over the River Waal in the Netherlands as part of Operation Market Garden in 1944.
Today, the Betchworth Estate is owned by Robert Hamilton, who lives in part of Betchworth House with his family.