Claygate is an affluent suburban village in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England, southwest of central London. It is the only civil parish in the borough of Elmbridge. Surrounded by green belt, it lies inside 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 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.

History

Etymology

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 Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

. Claygate's lack of main thoroughfares has been attributed to angle of the River Thames leading the

A307 The A307 road runs through SW London and NW Surrey. It is primary at the north-east end; the remainder is non-primary, generally superseded in the mid-twentieth century in two stages by newer alignments of the Portsmouth Road, the Kingston byp ...

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. Equally, mid-distance routes chose a line to avoid this land, before the advent of road surfacing, such as those through Tolworth and Esher.

Manor

Claygate appears in Domesday Book as a

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

of Thames Ditton, ''Claigate''. This main manor of the village was held by Westminster Abbey. Its domesday assets were: hide; 2

plough A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...

s, of meadow, woodland worth 1 hog. It rendered £2 10s 0d per year to its overlords. The manor descended (after its purchase in 1565) from the

Vincent family The Vincent family have been described by ''The Times'' as a "family of career criminals hohave a string of convictions for targeting elderly householders". They are part of a Gypsy community living in the county of Kent, England.Evelyn family. Much land remained in the manor when it was sold between 1718 and 1721 to the

Earl of Lovelace Earl of Lovelace was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1838 for William King-Noel, 8th Baron King, a title created in 1725. History The King or Locke King family stems from the elevation of the son of Jerome K ...

, the King family and currently Locke King family who had sold the vast majority of its land by 1970.

Other medieval history

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.

19th century

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. 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 Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

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 Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

station was built in 1822 to transmit messages between the Admiralty and Portsmouth.

20th century

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.

21st century

The Al-Hilli family who were killed in the

Annecy shootings The Annecy shootings, also the French Alps shootings or the Chevaline killings, were the deaths on 5 September 2012 of three members of a British family and a French citizen on the near Chevaline, Haute-Savoie, France, near the southern end of L ...

lived in Claygate.

Geography

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 The Rythe is a river or stream in north Surrey, England which is generally open and which is a natural woodland feature for approximately half of its course before being variously culverted and a suburban garden feature, passing between Thames ...

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. The centre-to-centre distance from London is . 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.Planning pages
Claygate Parish Council. Retrieved 21 November 2013 Claygate04

Commerce and services

"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 Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

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.

Community

Claygate (Primary) School was established in Elm Road in 1885, becoming an Infant School which closed shortly after its centenary – ''The Firs'', the Junior School, became the new single site. The original school building was in the late 20th century redeveloped as Claygate's Youth Centre/Community Centre and Capelfield surgery. Rowan Preparatory School is a private independent school consisting of a nursery and primary school for girls. The Anglican church is "Holy Trinity", built in 1840, which is unusual for having two spires. There is also a First Church of Christ Scientist.

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

is served by the Church of the Holy Name in Arbrook Lane, Esher. 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''.

Education

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.

State Primary Schools

* Esher Church School * Cranmere Primary * Hinchley Wood Primary * Claygate Primary

Independent Primary Schools

* Rowan Preparatory School * Shrewsbury House Pre-Prep * Milbourne Lodge

State Secondary Schools

* Esher College *Esher Church of England High School *

Hinchley Wood School Hinchley Wood School is a secondary school with academy status in Hinchley Wood Surrey, England. Overview Hinchley Wood School admits pupils from the age of eleven to between sixteen and eighteen. The school has a Sixth Form which provides a to ...

Independent Secondary Schools

* Milbourne Lodge * Claremont Fan Court

In arts and the media

Filming carried out in Claygate includes: *'' The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner'' (Tony Richardson 1961) starring Tom Courtenay, set at Ruxley Towers (Ruxton Towers in the film) and showing much of the surrounding countryside before the construction of the Esher By-pass. *The BBC TV situation comedy '' Wyatt's Watchdogs'' which starred Brian Wilde and Trevor Bannister and was about a Neighbourhood Watch group. *'' Never the Twain'' (1981) which used the Greek Vine restaurant (now Averna, an Italian restaurant) frontage on The Green as the shop fronts. The Thames Television sitcom starred Windsor Davies and Donald Sinden as two grumpy

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

shop owners. *A sketch for '' The Two Ronnies'' *A shampoo commercial *A clip from '' Men Behaving Badly''. (filmed outside ''The Winning Horse'') 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 ''The Bill'' is a long-running British television police procedural television series, named after a slang term for the police. The characters are all police officers or civilian staff at the fictional Sun Hill police station in London. Senior ...

and

Roger Valentine ''The Bill'' is a long-running British television police procedural television series, named after a slang term for the police. The characters are all police officers or civilian staff at the fictional Sun Hill police station in London ...

from '' The Bill'', Bernie Nolan, Mick Hucknall, Ronnie Wood, Anthea Turner and most recently Bobby Davro

Transport

;Rail From

Claygate railway station Claygate railway station serves the village of Claygate, in Surrey, England. It is on the New Guildford Line from London Waterloo to Guildford. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by South Western Railway. It is down the lin ...

; the journey to London Waterloo takes, at its fastest, 29 minutes, the station also provides direct access to central

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

London Road London Road is a popular road name in the United Kingdom. Roads called London Road include: United Kingdom England There are countless London Roads in the UK. Only those significant outside their local area are listed here: * London Road (Bri ...

, Guildford,

Surbiton 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, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

and

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

. Guildford provides a number of other direction routes as does Clapham Junction. ;Buses Claygate is served by

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...

' route K3 to Esher, Surbiton, Kingston and Roehampton Vale, operated by London United. ;Roads 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.

Demography

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

, 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.

Politics

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 A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...

for the Conservative Party. The local MP since 2010 is the deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab. 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.Electoral Divisions
Surrey County Council. Retrieved 6 November 2013 At Elmbridge Borough Council all wards of the borough are deemed appropriate to be represented under the current constitution of councillors by three councillors.Your local councillors
Elmbridge Borough Council . Retrieved 20 November 2013

References

10. Your Councillors by Ward Elmbridge Borough Council

Retrieved 2 September 2016 * Malcolm W H Peebles ''The Claygate Book: a History of a Surrey Village'' (1983) and ''Millennium edition'' (1999) * Claygate Village Residents Association ''Claygate Village: Enquire Within'' (1983)

External links

Claygate Parish Council websiteThe Claygate Flower & Village Show websiteThe Claygate Music Festival websiteThe History of ClaygateHoly Name Church websiteHoly Trinity Church website
* {{authority control Villages in Surrey Civil parishes in Surrey Borough of Elmbridge