Willow Place in Smallfield lies within the rural Civil Parish of Burstow, in the southwest corner of the Tandridge district of Surrey. In Victorian times Smallfield became a village but before this was commons, interspersed with farms and large moated houses such as Burstow Manor, Burstow Lodge and Smallfield Place. Burstow Manor was the seat of the De Burstow family from the later part of the 12th Century. John de Burstow was promised a gift of some small field, or piece of land for services rendered by him to a fellow army knight, Lord Burghersh, during the 14th century 100-year war with France. Land in Burstow called Crullinges was awarded to him with the name being changed to ‘Smallfield’, originally spelt ‘Smaelfeld’ to meet the terms of the promise. Smallfield Place was rebuilt in the 17th century by Edward Bysshe, a descendant of the Burstow family and the property is now used as a small wedding venue. In the early 1900’s George Sangers Circus, who had performed before Queen Victoria, had winter quarters for its animals at Burstow Lodge and houses were built for the family in Chapel Road. During WW1 many of the horses had been taken from Britain to France and Belgium for the military. In the village at this time, it was not unusual to see Sanger’s elephants and camels being used for transportation and to plough the fields. George’s grandson continued the circus until 1961 and once toured a Variety/Circus show where he employed Morecambe and Wise.

Today, the village offers local shops, cafe and a doctor’s surgery. A larger selection of retail outlets can be found in the town of Horley, within 5 miles to the west and East Grinstead approximately 5.5 miles south east. Alternatively, the larger town centres of Crawley and Redhill also offer shopping, entertainment and leisure facilities, both within 7 miles.

Horley also has a leisure centre, which features a 25m six-lane swimming pool, fitness gym and free weights, four court multi-use sports hall and an exercise and dance studio. Golf enthusiasts will be delighted with the choice of golf courses within the area including Horne Park Golf within 2 miles and equally the racing fraternity with Lingfield Park Racecourse less than 7 miles. Smallfield Football Club are a successful amateur team competing in county leagues at senior and junior level. They are the only football club in the parish and are part of the Smallfield Sports Association together with Smallfield Cricket Club who play at the same Plough Road Ground.

Burstow Primary School situated in Wheelers Lane is an independent mixed school for pupils between the ages of 3 – 11 years. The nearby villages of Copthorne and Lingfield have a broad selection of nursery, infant, primary, junior and preparatory schools. For secondary education, the highly regarded Lingfield College, an Independent Day School, accommodates boys and girls from 2 – 18 years and Imberhorne School in East Grinstead is a co-educational school for pupils aged 11 – 18 years.