Claygate | |
---|---|
Claygate Parade and village sign, showing bricks and the Claygate Pearmain | |
Location within Surrey | |
Area | 4.71 km2 (1.82 sq mi) |
Population | 7,168 (Civil Parish 2011) [1] |
• Density | 1,522/km2 (3,940/sq mi) |
OS grid reference | TQ1563 |
• London | 14+1⁄4 mi (23 km) |
Civil parish |
|
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Esher |
Postcode district | KT10 |
Dialling code | 01372 020 (small part) |
Police | Surrey |
Fire | Surrey |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
UK Parliament | |
Claygate is an affluent [2] suburban village in Surrey, England, 14 miles (23 kilometres) southwest of central London. It is the only civil parish in the borough of Elmbridge. Adjoining Esher and Hinchley Wood to the west and north respectively, and bordered by green belt land to the south and east, Claygate lies within the Greater London Built-up Area.
Claygate was once in the main manor of Thames Ditton, but is now administered from Esher. It is primarily residential and has a small number of offices, outlying farms and two small shopping areas, the Old Village and the Parade, with hair and beauty shops, a supermarket, five pubs and a number of restaurants.
Claygate lies on the Claygate Beds, a clay formation up to 15 metres (50 feet) thick, which extends well beyond the village. These beds are the youngest part of the London Clay geological formation, forming a transition between the clay and the sandier Bagshot Beds above. [3]
Claygate may have its name from the clay pits in the village that provided bricks for a large surrounding area including some of Hampton Court Palace. Claygate's lack of main thoroughfares has been attributed to the angle of the River Thames leading the A307 main road (from London) south-west instead through Esher, as well as historical conditions where through roads became impassible in wet weather because of the clay; often close to the surface. [4] Equally, mid-distance routes chose a line to avoid this land, before the advent of road surfacing, such as those through Tolworth and Esher.
Claygate appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a manor of Thames Ditton, Claigate. This main manor of the village was held by Westminster Abbey. Its domesday assets were: 1⁄2 hide; 2 ploughs, 5 acres (2 hectares) of meadow, woodland worth 1 hog. It rendered £2 10s 0d per year to its overlords. [5] The manor descended (after its purchase in 1565) from the Vincent family to the Evelyn family. Much land remained in the manor when it was sold between 1718 and 1721 to the Earl of Lovelace, the King family and currently Locke King family who had sold the vast majority of its land by 1970. [6]
Claygate was formed as an ecclesiastical parish from Thames Ditton in 1841. Scant remains were traced in boundary lines of an early medieval track running from Kingston Hill to the ford of the Mole near to a square entrenchment in Leatherhead almost in Stoke D'Abernon. [6]
In about 1822 the Claygate Pearmain apple was discovered by John Braddick, growing in a hedge here. In 1840 its church, Holy Trinity, was built of stone in 14th-century style, with a tower, enlarged in 1860, and restored in 1902. The school was built in 1838 as a Church school, and enlarged in 1849. [6] It was rebuilt by the School Board of Thames Ditton in 1885. Claygate has a Baptist chapel, built in 1861.
Claygate's development chiefly was in the 60 years after the construction of its railway line and station (on the New Guildford Line); the station opened in 1885.
With commanding views over the surrounding countryside is Ruxley Towers, a Neo-Gothic Victorian edifice constructed by Lord Foley who owned a considerable amount of land. On the other side of the village is Telegraph Hill where a semaphore station was built in 1822 to transmit messages between the Admiralty and Portsmouth. [7]
In 1911 brick and tile production works, rather than retail sites, continued to employ men near the station in the 1910s. In 1911 Claygate was under the same urban council as Thames Ditton. [6]
The Al-Hilli family who were killed in the Annecy shootings in France, lived in Claygate. [8]
Claygate's topsoil rests upon the youngest beds of the London Clay after which the village is named, here capped in places by sand in the southern part of the civil parish. Claygate has its own parish council. Apart from an interweave of streets with Esher, Claygate is surrounded by woodlands and open countryside, including Claygate Common, Princes Covert, Winney Hill, Surbiton Golf Course, Telegraph Hill, Littleworth Common and Arbrook Common. Much of the outlying farmland is used for grazing ponies, two farms are run for cultivation. The Rythe is a major stream running north through Claygate, and as a responsive channel in the clay basins has been implicated in late 20th century flash flooding in small pockets of the village: a major flood alleviation scheme has been completed which commenced in 2002. [9] The centre-to-centre distance from London is 14+1⁄4 miles (23 kilometres). [10]
Many of Claygate's residents commute to the capital using the train services, see Transport. Claygate is in the relatively small area between the M25 and Kingston-upon-Thames. Constrained by the Green Belt, demand has resulted in Claygate being subject to a level of permitted in-fill and back-garden development. [11]
"The Parade" is the larger of Claygate's two shopping areas. It starts at Claygate railway station and continues through The Parade itself into Hare Lane.
Claygate has five pubs: one of the annual village traditions is a Boxing Day tour of these by Morris dancers.
Local newspapers covering Claygate include The Surrey Advertiser, The Surrey Comet and The Herald, and two freely distributed newspapers, The Informer and The Guardian. Claygate is in the editorial area of BBC Surrey, although its proximity to London means all of the capital's radio stations can be heard.
There are several small farms in Claygate; many of the farms are or incorporate horseriding centres.
Established in 1885, Claygate (Primary) School initially stood on Elm Road. Although the Infant School closed a little after celebrating its centenary, 'The Firs', which served as the Junior School, transitioned into the primary site. Later in the 20th century, the original school building was repurposed to house Claygate's Youth Centre/Community Centre and the Capelfield surgery. Additionally, Rowan Preparatory School operates as a private independent institution, offering nursery and primary education specifically for girls.
The local Anglican church, "Holy Trinity," constructed in 1840, stands out due to its unique dual spires. The community also houses the First Church of Christ Scientist. For adherents of Roman Catholicism, the Church of the Holy Name, located on Arbrook Lane in Esher, offers services.
Claygate Village Association is a non-political charity founded in 1946, organise some of the key village events; the Christmas lights, The Claygate Music Festival, the Claygate Gardens Trail, Claygate in Bloom and for the first time in 2014, the Claygate Spring Festival. The village is served with medical support by Capelfield Surgery. Community groups, clubs, and sports teams. include Claygate Cricket Club and Claygate Royals Football Club. A major annual event is the Claygate Flower & Village Show which takes place on the Recreation Ground in late July each year. 2013 saw the 100th show, where there were 7,000 visitors.
A monthly magazine covers the borough with one other edition nationally, Living Within. [12]
Claygate is served by a mix of state and independent schools that also serve the areas of Esher and Hinchley Wood, all of which share the KT10 postcode.
Filming carried out in Claygate includes:
Previous residents of Claygate include "Python" Terry Jones, "Rolling Stone" Ronnie Wood, and presenter/actor Michael Aspel. British historian Frances Yates (1899-1980), a longtime resident, is buried in the churchyard at Holy Trinity church. Claygate often has a celebrity to switch on its Christmas lights. These have included Cliff Richard, Gloria Hunniford, Tony Stamp and Roger Valentine from The Bill , Bernie Nolan, Mick Hucknall, Ronnie Wood, Anthea Turner and most recently Bobby Davro. [11]
Claygate railway station is managed by South Western Railway, which operates all services. [13] Trains run to London Waterloo via Surbiton and to Guildford via Effingham Junction. [14]
Claygate is served by London Buses' route K3 to Esher, Surbiton, Kingston and Roehampton Vale, operated by London United.
The A3 trunk road has its Hinchley Wood and Esher (A309) spur road directly north of Claygate allowing a traffic-lit junction with convenient access to/from London, and second junction by the Scilly Isles Roundabout with access to Hampton Court Bridge for journeys north.
A third A3 junction is almost 2 km along Copsem Lane to the south for journeys towards the south-west and west, Wisley interchange or for journeys east, continuing south along the A245 to the Leatherhead Common junction of the M25.
The proportion of households in Claygate who owned their home outright was 8.5% above the regional average. The proportion who owned their home with a loan was 4.0% higher than the regional average; providing overall a lower proportion than average of rented residential property and of social housing relative to the average in Surrey, the district and the national average. As with neighbouring Esher, Claygate has a large number of very large properties (mansions). These are concentrated within the Ruxley Private Estate, on the Esher-Claygate border and in the roads to the south of the railway station. [15]
Output area | Population | Households | % Owned outright | % Owned with a loan | hectares [1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Claygate (CP) | 7,168 | 2,788 | 41.0 | 39.1 | 471 [1] |
Claygate is served by a parish council made up of 10 elected representatives. The parish council has some responsibilities, acquired from Surrey County and Elmbridge Borough Councils, such as highway, garden sites and tree planting. The parish council is also influential in its responses to planning applications in the area.
Claygate is in the parliamentary constituency of Esher and Walton, which since its inception in 1997 has been a relatively safe seat for the Conservative Party. The local MP since 2024 is Monica Harding. Local government is administered by Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council.
At Surrey County Council, one of its 81 councillors represents the area within the Hinchley Wood, Claygate and Oxshott division. [16]
At Elmbridge Borough Council all wards of the borough are deemed appropriate to be represented under the current constitution of councillors by three councillors. [17]
Election | Member [17] | Ward | |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Mary Marshall | Claygate | |
2016 | Alex Coomes | Claygate | |
2016 | Kim Cross | Claygate |
Election | Member [18] | Electoral Division | |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Mike Bennison | Hinchley Wood, Claygate and Oxshott |
Esher is a town in the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole.
Elmbridge is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Esher, and other notable towns and villages include Cobham, Walton-on-Thames, Weybridge and Molesey. The borough lies just outside the administrative boundary of Greater London, but is almost entirely within the M25 motorway which encircles London. Many of the borough's urban areas form part of the wider Greater London Built-up Area.
Long Ditton is a residential suburb in the borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England on the boundary with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. In medieval times it was a village, occupying a narrow strip of land. Neighbouring settlements include Hinchley Wood, Thames Ditton and Surbiton.
Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross in central London. Thames Ditton is just outside Greater London but within the Greater London Urban Area as defined by the Office for National Statistics. Its clustered village centre and shopping area on a winding High Street is surrounded by housing, schools and sports areas. Its riverside faces the Thames Path and Hampton Court Palace Gardens and golf course in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its most commercial area is spread throughout its conservation area and contains restaurants, cafés, shops and businesses.
The Hogsmill River in Surrey and Greater London, England, is a small chalk stream tributary of the River Thames. It rises in Ewell and flows into the Thames at Kingston upon Thames on the lowest non-tidal reach, that above Teddington Lock.
Esher and Walton is a constituency in Surrey represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Since 2024, it has been represented by Monica Harding of the Liberal Democrats. Prior to this, Dominic Raab of the Conservative Party, who served as deputy prime minister before resigning from that role in April 2023 due to bullying allegations, had served as the MP since 2010.
Walton-on-Thames railway station is at the southern edge of the town of Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England and borders Burwood Park, Hersham. It is 17 miles 6 chains (27.5 km) from London Waterloo and is situated between Hersham and Weybridge.
The Scilly Isles is a double roundabout in Hinchley Wood, Surrey, between the English towns of Esher and Kingston upon Thames on the traditional route of the Portsmouth Road. The name is a corruption of "silly islands", a nickname given to the road system when it was built in the 1930s.
Esher Urban District was an urban district in Surrey, England created by merging two urban districts and adding two parishes to the south-west. It existed from 1933 to 1974 and was governed by the elected Esher Urban District Council which shared local government functions with Surrey County Council. Its main building was the large town hall in Esher.
Esher was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. In the general elections during its 47-year lifetime it was won by three Conservatives successively. In area it shrank in 1974, then regrew in 1983 taking in four sparsely inhabited wards which proved to be temporary, as omitted from the successor seat, Esher and Walton.
Weston Green is a small suburban village and a ward in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey. This area was, until 1901, a part of Thames Ditton with which it remains contiguous and associated. Weston Green is also contiguous with Esher, which provides the village's closest railway station. The village forms a rough triangle of land along the west side of the midsection of the Hampton Court Branch Line next to Thames Ditton railway station and down to Esher railway station, with the split between the two being the part dual-carriageway, the A309.
Hinchley Wood is a suburb in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England, approximately 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Charing Cross in central London, and within the Greater London Urban Area. It developed largely around its railway station at its heart on the New Guildford Line — and many of its homes house at least one commuter to Central London. The suburb has one main parade of convenience shops, local services and a petrol station; throughout the area is a light smattering of small businesses.
The A309 is a mostly primary status A-road that runs in two sections, a short section in Twickenham and Teddington as a non-primary status A-road, as well as the much longer primary A- Road section that runs from Hampton Court to Hook.
Hinchley Wood School is a secondary school with academy status in Hinchley Wood, Surrey, England.
The Rythe is a tributary of the River Thames in north Surrey, England. It runs through woodland for approximately half of its course, but is also culverted and passes through suburban gardens. It joins the Thames between Thames Ditton and Long Ditton. Its longest branch is the Arbrook which drains Arbrook Common, a woodland area of Esher Commons.
The Elmbridge Guardian was a weekly free local newspaper covering the borough of Elmbridge, in Surrey. It published once a week, on a Thursday, and was distributed free of charge.
Lower Green is a residential and commercial area within Esher, in Surrey, England, on the banks of the River Ember and River Mole. The area has many businesses, most of them in the commercial complex comprising Sandown Industrial Complex and Royal Mills.
The 2022 Elmbridge Borough Council election was held on 5 May 2022 to elect members of Elmbridge Borough Council in England.
10. Your Councillors by Ward Elmbridge Borough Council * Retrieved 2 September 2016