Hook | |
---|---|
![]() St Paul's Church | |
Location within Greater London | |
Population | 18,973 (Chessington North and Hook and Chessington South wards 2011) [1] |
OS grid reference | TQ183641 |
London borough | |
Ceremonial county | Greater London |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | CHESSINGTON |
Postcode district | KT9 |
Dialling code | 020 |
Police | Metropolitan |
Fire | London |
Ambulance | London |
UK Parliament | |
London Assembly | |
Hook is a suburban area in south west London, England. It forms part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and is located 12 miles (19.3 km) south west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring settlements include Hinchley Wood, Long Ditton, Surbiton, Tolworth and Chessington.
An RAF barrage balloon depot opened in Hook c. 1938 and was later known as RAF Chessington, latterly used as a hospital until demolished and redeveloped for housing in the 1990s.
Hook forms part of the Chessington post town.
Hook was a civil parish which formed part of the Surbiton Urban District of Surrey from 1895. [2] The urban district became a municipal borough in 1936 and in 1965 its former area was transferred to Greater London. The former area of the Hook parish, together with that of the Chessington parish, form a protrusion of Greater London with the Surrey districts of Elmbridge to the west, Mole Valley to the south and Epsom and Ewell to the east.
Hook is on the A243 road. Chessington North railway station is within walking distance to the east.
Only three listed buildings exist in the entire post town of Chessington, two of which are on Hook Road, just north of Chessington itself, on the east side. The first is at number 325: a 19th-century CE two-storey home featuring central doorway with moulded architrave and bracketed hood with fluted Ionic columns. The second, at number 435, is a two-storey house inscribed 1669 but with later alterations. It has two-part baffle- (or lobby-) entry, and has been refaced with brick but is probably timber-framed behind; its sides and back are weather-boarded and it has a steeply pitched, pantiled roof with central chimney. [3] Many former 18th- and 19th-century houses on this old Kingston-upon-Thames to Dorking and Horsham route have been redeveloped or were destroyed during World War II, including The Blitz, as shown in the street numbering.
Harry Hawker, record-breaking Brooklands-based test pilot and racing driver lived in Hook Road until his death in a flying accident at Hendon Aerodrome and is buried in St Paul's churchyard.
Kingston upon Thames is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as the ancient market town in which Saxon kings were crowned and today is the administrative centre of the Royal Borough.
Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. The Bonesgate Stream, a tributary of the Hogsmill River, runs through it. The popular theme park resort Chessington World of Adventures, which incorporates Chessington Zoo, is located in the south-west of the area.
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in England. The others are Kensington and Chelsea and Greenwich also in London, and Windsor and Maidenhead. The local authority is Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council.
Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, 11 miles (18 km) southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has been in Greater London. Surbiton comprises four of the RBK's wards: Alexandra, Berrylands, St. Mark's, and Surbiton Hill.
Tolworth is a suburban area in the Surbiton district, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. It is 11 miles (17.7 km) southwest of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Long Ditton, New Malden, Kingston, Surbiton, Berrylands, Hinchley Wood, Chessington, Ewell and Worcester Park. Surbiton is the nearest, about a mile to the northwest. Tolworth is divided in two by the A3 Kingston Bypass and is situated slightly north of the Greater London-Surrey border.
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.
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.
Kingston and Surbiton is a constituency created in 1997 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Ed Davey, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Kingston and Surbiton has been considered a marginal seat, as well as a swing seat since 2010, as the seat has changed hands twice since that year, and its winner's majority did not exceed 6.6% of the vote since the 13.2% majority won in 2010. In 2019, Davey won a 17.2% majority and a majority of the votes cast and the seat is now a safe seat for the party.
Epsom 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. From its creation in 1885 until its abolition in 1974, it was won by eight Conservatives. The winner took less than 50% of the votes in its contested elections once, in 1945, receiving 49.9% of the vote in a three-party contest. Six elections, the last being a by-election in 1912, were uncontested.
Surbiton was a local government district in northeast Surrey, United Kingdom from 1855 to 1965.
Kingston-upon-Thames was a local government district in north east Surrey, England from 1835 to 1965 around the town now known as Kingston upon Thames. It was alternatively known as Kingston on Thames. It was a municipal borough and also held the rarer status of Royal borough. The district was abolished in 1965 and was replaced with the larger London Borough of Kingston upon Thames in Greater London, with the Royal borough status passed to the new district.
The London Government Act 1963 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the area, resulting in local authorities responsible for larger areas and populations. The upper tier of local government was reformed to cover the whole of the Greater London area and with a more strategic role; and the split of functions between upper and lower tiers was recast. The Act classified the boroughs into inner and outer London groups. The City of London and its corporation were essentially unreformed by the legislation. Subsequent amendments to the Act have significantly amended the upper tier arrangements, with the Greater London Council abolished in 1986, and the Greater London Authority introduced in 2000. As of 2016, the London boroughs are more or less identical to those created in 1965, although with some enhanced powers over services such as waste management and education.
Surbiton was a borough constituency created for the 1955 general election and abolished for the 1997 general election, in Surrey until 1965 and thereafter in outer south-west London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system of election.
The A243 road in England is a partially primary status A-road that runs from Leatherhead in Surrey to Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames, Greater London. It is primary for most of its length, from Leatherhead to Hook Junction with the A3 before running as a non-primary A-road through Surbiton to its terminus at the A307. Although comparatively short it is a busy road connecting a number of other A roads with the M25 motorway.
Southborough High School, commonly known as Southborough, is a boys secondary School with a mixed sixth form. Founded in 1962, it has academy status and is located in Surbiton, Greater London. It was rated a grade 2 school (Good) in 2017 by Ofsted.
The Hundred of Elmbridge or Elmbridge/Emley Hundred was a geographic subdivision in the north of the county of Surrey, England. The majority of its area forms the modern Borough of Elmbridge, with the remainder forming part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in Greater London.
The Hundred of Kingston or Kingston Hundred was an ancient hundred in the north east of the county of Surrey, England. Its area has been mostly absorbed by the growth of London; with its name currently referring to both the suburban town of Kingston upon Thames and the larger Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. Its former area now corresponds to that borough and part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Greater London and part of the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey. It bordered the Hundred of Brixton to the east, the Hundred of Elmbridge to the south, and to the west and north by the River Thames.
Kingston was a short-lived rural district in Surrey, England from 1894 to 1895.
Malden Rushett is a small village in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. It is located at the southernmost tip of the Royal Borough, surrounded by woodland and farmland, and between the larger suburban villages and towns of Claygate, Chessington, Epsom, Ashtead, Leatherhead and Oxshott.
The Surrey Comet is a weekly local newspaper covering the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South West London, and surrounding areas. It is now a free sheet but can also be purchased. It was founded in 1854 and is among the oldest London newspapers and the oldest newspaper covering Surrey. The newspaper is published once a week, every Friday, and is sold in Kingston upon Thames, Norbiton, Surbiton, Tolworth, New Malden, Old Malden, Worcester Park, Hook and Chessington.