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The origins and meaning of the name 'Leatherhead' are uncertain. Early spellings include ''Leodridan'' (880), ''Leret'' (1086), ''Lereda'' (1156), ''Ledreda'' (1160) and ''Leddrede'' (1195).
The name is usually thought to derive from the Brythonic ''lēod-rida'', meaning 'a public ford'.
During the 19th century, local government reforms gradually removed the duties of running of the town's infrastructure and services from the vestry. The
The construction of the A24 bypass (between Givons Grove and Leatherhead Common) started in 1931 and the final section opened in May 1934. Young Street (the A246 between Bocketts Farm and Givons Grove) was built by the Corps of Royal Canadian Military Engineers between June 1940 and May 1941. In October 1985, the town was joined to the UK motorway system when the M25 was opened between Wisley and Reigate.
A controversial redevelopment of the road network in the town centre took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The project began with the demolition of the Prince of Wales pub in 1979 and the Swan Centre, a covered shopping centre with a
Leatherhead was again a garrison town in the Second World War. Troops from the Royal Corps of Signals were billeted in late 1939 and a year later, the first Canadian soldiers began to arrive in the local area. From September 1939, children from
The first public water supply in Leatherhead was created in 1884, when a stream-driven
Leatherhead railway station is to the west of the town centre and is managed by Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway), Southern. It is served by trains to via , to via , to via and to via .
St John's School was founded in St John's Wood in 1851 by Ashby Haslewood and moved to Leatherhead in 1872. Initially intended for the sons of poor clergymen, the school began to accept fee-paying pupils at the start of the 20th century. In 1989, girls were accepted into the sixth form and the school became fully coeducational from 2012. Several parts of the school are Grade II listed, including the library, formerly the chapel, which was built in 1876.
The School for the Indigent Blind was founded at St George's Fields, Southwark in 1799 and, for the first 102 years of its existence, was based in London. In 1900, it purchased 15 acres of land in Leatherhead and construction of a new building, in Highlands Road, began the following year. The new school, capable of accommodating up to 250 students, opened in 1904. The school was granted royal patronage by George V in 1911, at which point it became known as the Royal School for the Blind.
By the mid-1930s, the focus of the school had changed from classroom-based learning to the teaching of practical skills in a workshop setting. During the Second World War, the building was requisitioned by King's College Hospital and, although part of the premises were returned to the school in 1946, a group of Chelsea Pensioners continued to live on the site until the 1950s. A redevelopment took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which included converting the dormitories into apartments. Students were increasingly encouraged to take responsibility for their everyday living, with the aim of facilitating their integration into wider society.
The charity adopted the name "SeeAbility" as its brand, operating identity in 1994 and, later in the same decade, began to transition away from offering residential education and towards providing community-based support. In the early 2000s, the main school building was sold and converted to apartments. It is now known as Lavender Court. The headquarters of the charity has since moved to Epsom.
The Church of St Mary & St Nicholas, Leatherhead, Church of St Mary and St Nicholas is thought to have originally been built as the estate chapel for the manor of Thorncroft. Although it is not mentioned in Domesday book, the oldest parts date from around 1080 and it may have superseded the Anglo-Saxon minster as the parish church at the start of the 12th century. Shortly after 1100, it was granted to St John's Abbey, Colchester, Colchester Abbey, which held it until 1279. The earliest parts of the building that survive are from the 1240s, when the church is thought to have undergone a major expansion that included the addition of side aisles. Much of the chancel dates from the first half of the 14th century and this work may have been commissioned by Leeds Priory in Kent, which was given the church by Edward III of England, Edward III in 1341. The dedication to Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary and Saint Nicholas, Nicholas, who were the joint patron saint, patrons of the Priory, probably occurred at this time.
The tower was built in around 1500 and is set at an angle to the rest of the building, so that its east wall protrudes into the nave. It originally had a tall spire, which was blown down in the Great Storm of 1703. A major rebuilding of the church took place in the second half of the 19th century, during which much of the roof was replaced. Renovation works between 2018 and 2020, uncovered several vaults beneath the floor including one belonging to the Boulton Family who had lived at Thorncroft Manor in the 18th century.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, visited Leatherhead only once in his lifetime. On 23 February 1791, he preached his final sermon in a house on Bull Hill, one week before his death. Despite his visit, there appears to have been no significant Methodist community in the town until the mid-19th century, when a small group of worshipers began meeting in Bridge Street. The first purpose-built place of worship, the "Iron Chapel", so-named because it was primarily constructed of metal, was erected in 1887 on Church Road. The following year, the congregation numbered around 50, but grew rapidly to over 400 by 1891. Two years later, a new brick building, the present church, was constructed. The Iron Chapel, behind the new church, remained standing and was used for the Sunday school, but was replaced in 1903 by a new hall.
The Leisure Centre was opened in 1975 by the Leatherhead Urban District Council and was extended in the 1980s with the addition of the Mole Barn. Plans to build a new centre on the site were drawn up by Mole Valley District Council prior to 2006, but instead the facility was given a 20-month, £12.6m refit and a further extension, which was opened by the Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Duke of Kent in March 2011. The upgraded centre includes a redesigned reception and entrance area, a new gym, aerobics studio, sauna and play areas.
Leatherhead F.C., commonly known as "The Tanners", was formed in 1946 as a result of the merger of two existing clubs, Leatherhead Rose and Leatherhead United. Leatherhead Rose, founded , drew the majority of its players from the Leatherhead Common area and was named after the Rose Coffee Rooms on Kingston Road; Leatherhead United was formed in 1924 and the following season were Division One Champions of the Sutton and District League.
Following the merger, the new club adopted Fetcham Grove as its home ground and, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, were champions of the Surrey County Senior League for four consecutive years. In 1969, the team won the Surrey County FA Senior Challenge Cup, the Senior Shield and the Intermediate Cup. They were semi-finalists in the 1971 and 1974 FA Amateur Cup competitions. The Tanners achieved national press coverage in the 1974-75 season, when they were drawn against Football League First Division, First Division Leicester City F.C., Leicester City at home in the FA Cup Fourth Round Proper. In the 2017–18 FA Cup, 2017–18 FA Cup they reached the second round proper, in which they played against Wycombe Wanderers F.C., Wycombe Wanderers.
Leatherhead Museum was opened in 1980 by the Leatherhead & District Local History Society. It houses a wide range of historical artefacts and permanent displays explain the history of the town from its origins to the present day. Hampton Cottage, the building in Church Street in which the museum is based, dates from before 1682.
All Saints' Church on Kingston Road was consecrated in February 1889 as a daughter church to St Mary's. It was designed by the architect, Arthur Blomfield, and was built to serve a new area of housing under construction to the north of the town centre. On opening, the church could accommodate 300 people, but was later extended with the addition of a lady chapel. By 1980, the congregation had dwindled and the building was in need of repair. A decision was taken to convert the nave of the church to a community space, while retaining the chancel as a place of worship. The dual-purpose facility was rededicated by the Bishop of Dorking in March 1982. In 2005, the nave of the church was converted to a Youth Project Café, known as "B Free", to be a space for young people to meet and socialise. In 2014, the Leatherhead Youth Project, launched a new social enterprise at the church called "AllSaints". The project supports disadvantaged young people, especially those NEET, not in education, employment or training, and provides opportunities for participants to gain employment and life skills.
The building at 33 and 35 High Street, commonly known as "Cradlers", is a late-medieval open hall house, formerly owned by the Manor of Thorncroft. It most likely originated as a farmhouse and was built on the edge of one of the common fields. Although the earliest surviving records of the building date from 1527, the construction methods used suggest that it was built in the 13th or 14th century (most likely between 1320 and 1360). The western part of the building (now number 33) was constructed as a single-storey hall, but the height of the walls was later raised and an upper floor inserted. The larger eastern part (number 35) was built as two storeys from the outset. In the late medieval period, the rooms closest to the street were probably used as living quarters, but the northernmost third of the wing (building), wing may have contained a workshop and hayloft.
Although much of its original timber frame survives, Cradlers has been altered at several points in its history. In the 17th century, a chimney stack and internal staircase were added and the roof was rebuilt around the same time, probably reusing used timbers from other buildings. In the early modern period, Cradlers may have served as a tavern or hostelry and at different times in the 19th and 20th centuries, it housed a butchers, a fruiterers and a ladies' outfitters. As part of a renovation project carried out in the mid-1980s, the modern shopfronts were removed and the street-facing frontage was restored to its original position.
The Leatherhead Institute was built in 1892. It was given to the town by Abraham Dixon, who wanted the building to be used to provide educational, social and recreational opportunities to local residents. During the Second World War, it housed the local Food and Fuel Offices. A major restoration project was completed in 1987.
The Running Horse pub, at the east end of Leatherhead Bridge, is one of the oldest buildings in the town. It is a late-medieval open hall house and was part of the Manor of Thorncroft. Much of the timber frame is original and probably dates from the late 15th century, although the roof was later rebuilt. Later alterations include the insertion of the first floor in the 17th century and installation of interior panelling in the 18th century.
The Mansion, in Church Street, houses the public library, register office (United Kingdom), register office and council offices. A map of the town from 1600 shows a house on the site, which may formerly have been the manor house for the manor of Michin. During the late Elizabethan era, Elizabethan period, it was the home of Edmund Tylney, Master of the Revels, in effect the official censor of the time. and Elizabeth I is thought to have dined with him in Leatherhead in August 1591.
The external appearance of The Mansion largely dates from 1739, when the house was rebuilt in red brick, although a partial remodelling took place . From 1846 until some point in the 1870s, the building was used as a boarding and day school for around 50 boys, who were taught using the Joseph Jacotot, Jacotot education system. In 1949, The Mansion was subject to a compulsory purchase order and was acquired by Surrey County Council and Leatherhead UDC for use as a health clinic and the public library. During a refurbishment in 2000, the library was moved from the ground floor to the south range and the space released was repurposed for the Registry Office.
The War Memorial in North Street was designed by Stock, Page and Stock, a London firm of architects and was dedicated in April 1921. It consists of a long, storey, single-storey building with 11 open arches, constructed of brick and flint. The arches face a terraced garden, in which there is a free-standing cross made of Portland stone. The land on which the memorial stands was given to the town by Charles Leach, who funded much of the building work and whose son had been a second lieutenant in the History of the Scots Guards (1914–1945), Scots Guards. In total, 186 names are inscribed on stone tablets inside the cloister-like structure, of whom 117 died in the First World War. The memorial is protected by a Grade II listing.
The Mansion Gardens is a small formal garden between The Mansion and the River Mole.
Mole Valley District CouncilLeatherhead Residents AssociationLeatherhead & District Local History Society
{{Authority control Leatherhead, Towns in Surrey Market towns in Surrey Unparished areas in Surrey Mole Valley
Leatherhead is a town in the
identified Leatherhead as having one of the worst Mole Valley
Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking.
The other town in the district is Leatherhead. The largest villages are Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district. ...
District of 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, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole
The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows northwest through Surrey for to the Thames at Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey distri ...
, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
period, Leatherhead was a royal vill
A royal vill, royal ''tun'' or ''villa regalis'' ( ang, cyneliċ tūn) was the central settlement of a rural territory in Anglo Saxon England, which would be visited by the King and members of the royal household on regular circuits of their kingd ...
and is first mentioned in the will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
of Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...
in 880 AD. The first bridge across the Mole may have been constructed in around 1200 and this may have coincided with the expansion of the town and the enlargement of the parish church.
For much of its history, Leatherhead was primarily an agricultural settlement, with a weekly market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
being held until the mid-Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
. The construction of turnpike roads in the mid-18th century and the arrival of the railways in the second half of the 19th century attracted newcomers and began to stimulate the local economy. Large-scale manufacturing industries arrived following the end of the First World War and companies with factories in the town included Ronson and Goblin Vacuum Cleaners
Goblin Vacuum Cleaners was a British brand of vacuum cleaners made from the early 1900s till the early 2000s.
History
In the early 1930s, Goblin vacuum cleaners were manufactured by the British Vacuum Cleaner and Engineering Co. Ltd. (BVC). The ...
. Several organisations working with disabled people also opened treatment and training facilities, including The Royal School for the Blind, Queen Elizabeth's Foundation and the Ex-services Welfare Society.
Towards the end of the 20th century, manufacturing in Leatherhead had begun to decline and the town was instead starting to attract service sector employers. The former industrial areas were converted to business park
A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typicall ...
s, which attracted multinational companies, including Esso and Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...
. A controversial redevelopment took place in the town centre in the early 1980s, which included the construction of the Swan Centre. The work, which also included the pedestrianisation of the main shopping area, was widely blamed for a decline in the local retail economy. In 2002, the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...High Street
High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
s in England, but in 2007, the local press described the town centre as "bustling".
Toponymy
The origins and meaning of the name 'Leatherhead' are uncertain. Early spellings include ''Leodridan'' (880), ''Leret'' (1086), ''Lereda'' (1156), ''Ledreda'' (1160) and ''Leddrede'' (1195).
The name is usually thought to derive from the Brythonic ''lēod-rida'', meaning 'a public ford'. Richard Coates
Richard Coates (born 16 April 1949, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and educated at Wintringham School) is an English linguist. He was Professor of Linguistics (alternatively Professor of Onomastics) at the University of the West of England, Bristo ...
has suggested a derivation from the Brythonic ''lēd-rïd'' (as in the modern Welsh
The history of the Welsh language (Welsh: ''Hanes yr iaith Gymraeg'') spans over 1400 years, encompassing the stages of the language known as Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh.
Origins
Welsh evolved from British, the C ...
"llwyd rhyd") meaning 'grey ford'. The Anglo-Saxon and English forms are a distortion of the original British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
name.
Geography
Location and topography
Leatherhead is a town in centralSurrey
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. ...
, around south of the centre of London. It lies on the southern edge of the London Basin
The London Basin is an elongated, roughly triangular sedimentary basin approximately long which underlies London and a large area of south east England, south eastern East Anglia and the adjacent North Sea. The basin formed as a result of compre ...
and the highest point in the parish, at Leatherhead Downs, is above ordnance datum. The High Street runs roughly west to east and was part of the 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 ...
to Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
road, which crossed the River Mole
The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows northwest through Surrey for to the Thames at Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey distri ...
at the Town Bridge. The Mole, which passes to the west of the centre, has cut a steep-sided valley through the North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills a ...
, south of the town.
Geology
Leatherhead is at the southern edge of theLondon Basin
The London Basin is an elongated, roughly triangular sedimentary basin approximately long which underlies London and a large area of south east England, south eastern East Anglia and the adjacent North Sea. The basin formed as a result of compre ...
, where the permeable
Permeability, permeable, and semipermeable may refer to:
Chemistry
*Semipermeable membrane, a membrane which will allow certain molecules or ions to pass through it by diffusion
*Vascular permeability, the movement of fluids and molecules betwe ...
upper chalk
The Chalk Group (often just called the Chalk) is the lithostratigraphic unit (a certain number of rock strata) which contains the Upper Cretaceous limestone succession in southern and eastern England. The same or similar rock sequences occur acr ...
of the North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills a ...
dips beneath the impermeable London Clay
The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...
. The difference in properties between the two formations results in a high water table
The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated.
T ...
and springs are found at regular intervals along the boundary between them. Several settlements were established along this spring line in Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
and early medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
times, including the villages of Ashtead
Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Primarily a commuter settlement, Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on ...
, Fetcham
Fetcham is a suburban village in Surrey, England west of the town of Leatherhead, on the other side of the River Mole and has a mill pond, springs and an associated nature reserve. The housing, as with adjacent Great Bookham, sits on the lower ...
and Effingham, which are linked to Leatherhead by the Guildford to Epsom road.
History
Early history
The earliest evidence of human activity in Leatherhead comes from theIron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
. Flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
s, a probable well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
and two pits were discovered in 2012 during building work on Garlands Road and the finds suggest that the site was also used in the early Roman period
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
. Traces of Iron Age field systems and settlement activity have been observed at Hawks Hill, Fetcham
Fetcham is a suburban village in Surrey, England west of the town of Leatherhead, on the other side of the River Mole and has a mill pond, springs and an associated nature reserve. The housing, as with adjacent Great Bookham, sits on the lower ...
(about southwest of the town centre) and on Mickleham Downs (about to the south). Also to the south, the Druid's Grove at Norbury Park may have been used for pre-Christian pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
gatherings.
An Anglo-Saxon settlement at Leatherhead was most likely founded on the east side of the River Mole in the second half of the 6th century. A burial ground, dating to the same period, has been identified on the west side at Hawks Hill. A second cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
was discovered in 1984 on the site of the former Goblin
A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on ...
factory in Ermyn Way (now the location of the offices of Esso). Excavations uncovered the remains of at least 40 individuals and the artefacts found, including knives, buckles and necklaces, suggest that they were pagan burials.
From the mid-9th century, Leatherhead was the centre of a royal vill
A royal vill, royal ''tun'' or ''villa regalis'' ( ang, cyneliċ tūn) was the central settlement of a rural territory in Anglo Saxon England, which would be visited by the King and members of the royal household on regular circuits of their kingd ...
, which encompassed Ashtead
Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Primarily a commuter settlement, Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on ...
, Fetcham
Fetcham is a suburban village in Surrey, England west of the town of Leatherhead, on the other side of the River Mole and has a mill pond, springs and an associated nature reserve. The housing, as with adjacent Great Bookham, sits on the lower ...
and Bookham. The first known reference to the settlement is in the will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
of Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...
in 880, in which land at ''Leodridan'' was bequeathed to his son, Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æt ...
. By the 10th century, there was a minster church
Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England, most notably York Minster in Yorkshire, Westminster Abbey in London and Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire.
The term ''minster'' is first found in royal foundation charte ...
in Leatherhead, and the town was administered as part of the Copthorne hundred
Copthorne was a hundred of Surrey, England, an area above the level of the parishes and manors, where the local wise, wealthy and powerful met periodically in Anglo-Saxon England for strategic purposes. After the Norman Conquest the lords of th ...
.
Governance
The medieval history of Leatherhead is complex, since the parish was divided into a number of manors. The town appears inDomesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086 as ''Leret'' and was held by Osbern de Ow as a mesne lord
A mesne lord () was a lord in the feudal system who had vassals who held land from him, but who was himself the vassal of a higher lord. Owing to ''Quia Emptores'', the concept of a mesne lordship technically still exists today: the partitionin ...
to William I
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
. Its Domesday assets were one church, belonging to Ewell
Ewell ( , ) is a suburban area with a village centre in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, approximately south of central London and northeast of Epsom.
In the 2011 Census, the settlement had a population of 34,872, a majority of wh ...
, and of land. It was valued at an annual income of £1. To the south was the manor of Thorncroft, which was held by Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
son of Gilbert Gilbert may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Gilbert (surname), including a list of people
Places Australia
* Gilbert River (Queensland)
* Gilbert River (South ...
as tenant-in-chief
In medieval and early modern Europe, the term ''tenant-in-chief'' (or ''vassal-in-chief'') denoted a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as op ...
. To the north was the manor of Pachesham, subdivided into two parts, each of which was held by a mesne lord to the tenant-in-chief, Bishop Odo of Bayeux. Finally there are sporadic mentions in surviving documents of a manor called "Minchin", which may have belonged to Kilburn Priory
Kilburn Priory was a small monastic community of nuns established around 1130–1134 three miles north-west of the City of London, where Watling Street (now Kilburn High Road) met the stream now known as the Westbourne, but variously known as ...
in Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
.
For the majority of its history, Thorncroft Manor appears to have remained as a single, intact entity, with the exception of the subinfeudation of Bocketts Farm, which took place before 1300. In 1086, the manor was held by Richard fitz Gilbert and it passed through his family (the Clares
Clares is a small village in the Guadalajara province, incorporated since 1969 in the Maranchón municipality, belonging to the Señorio de Molina-Alto Tajo region in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain.
Geography
Location ...
) to his granddaughter, Margaret de Clare, who married into the de Montfitchet
The de Montfitchet (de Montfichet, de Mountfitchet) family were of Norman origin, probably from the town of Montfiquet. He received land in Essex in reward for his service and the family were subsequently based there, initially in the castle at S ...
family of Essex. Her great-grandson, Richard de Montfichet, sold the manor to John de Cheresbure in around 1190 and it was next purchased by Philip Basset
Philip Basset (c. 1185 – 19 October 1271) was the Justiciar of England.
Philip was the son of Alan Basset of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. His elder brothers were Gilbert, a baronial leader, and Fulk, who became bishop of London.
He inherit ...
and his second wife, Ela, Countess of Warwick in around 1255. In 1266, they granted Thorncroft (which provided an income of £20 per year) to Walter de Merton
Walter de Merton ( – 27 October 1277) was Lord Chancellor of England, Archdeacon of Bath, founder of Merton College, Oxford, and Bishop of Rochester. For the first two years of the reign of Edward I he was - in all but name - Regent of England d ...
, who used it to endow the college in Oxford that he had founded in 1264. Merton College remained the lords of the manor until 1904 and the continuity of ownership ensured that an almost complete set of manorial roll
A manorial roll or court roll is the roll or record kept of the activities of a manorial court, in particular containing entries relating to the rents and holdings, deaths, alienations, and successions of the customary tenants or copyholders."cour ...
s from 1278 onwards has been preserved. In 1497, Richard FitzJames
Richard FitzJames (died 1522) was an English academic and administrator who became successively Bishop of Rochester, Bishop of Chichester, and Bishop of London.
Origins
Born about 1442, he was the son of John FitzJames (died 1476), who lived at ...
, the Warden of the College, authorised the expenditure of £37 for a new manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
, which was used until the Georgian era.
In contrast, the manor of Pachesham became fragmented as the Middle Ages progressed. By the time of Domesday book, it was already divided into two parts, the smaller of which was later referred to as "Pachenesham Parva". No written record of either part of the manor survives from the subsequent 200 years, but in 1286 land belongong to Pachesham was recorded as passing to Eustace de Hacche. De Haache rebuilt the manor house in around 1293, which he enclosed with a moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
. Excavations of the manor house site (now known as The Mounts) in the mid-20th century provided evidence of several medieval buildings, including a hall, a chapel and a probable stable block. The value of the manor appears to have declined in the mid-14th century and, in 1386, it was let to William Wimbledon for an annual sum of £20. In 1393, one year after a serious fire had destroyed much of Leatherhead, Wimbledon defaulted on the rent and was accused of dismantling several of the manor buildings. From the start of the 15th century, the land was divided between twelve lessees and the manor then disappears from the historical record.
Surviving records of Pachenesham Parva from around 1330 suggest that it covered an area of on the east bank of the River Mole, to the north west of the town centre. The manor appears to have remained intact through the Middle Ages and land was added to the estate as the remainder of Pachesham was broken up. By the early 17th century, the area was known as Randalls Farm and, in 1805, the associated land totalled .
Reforms during the Tudor period replaced the day-to-day administration of towns such as Leatherhead in the hands of the vestry
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
of the parish church. The vestry was charged with appointing a parish constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
, maintaining a lock-up and organising a basic fire service. Until 1834, it also administered poor relief
In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...
and was responsible for building a workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...
on Kingston Road in 1808.
During the 19th century, local government reforms gradually removed the duties of running of the town's infrastructure and services from the vestry. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
The ''Poor Law Amendment Act 1834'' (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the ''Poor Relie ...
placed the workhouse in the care of a board of guardians
Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.
England and Wales
Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the po ...
at Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
and the Local Government Act 1888
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
transferred many administrative responsibilities to the newly formed Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...
. The Leatherhead Urban District Council
In England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local gove ...
(UDC) was formed six years later and in 1903 the county council was placed in charge of the town's National schools. The Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
created Mole Valley District Council
Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking.
The other town in the district is Leatherhead. The largest villages are Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district ...
, by combining the UDCs of Leatherhead and Dorking
Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Br ...
with the majority of the Dorking and Horley
Horley is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England, south of the towns of Reigate and Redhill. The county border with West Sussex is to the south with Crawley and Gatwick Airport close to the town.
It has its own eco ...
Rural District.
Transport and communications
Leatherhead developed at a crossing point of the River Mole at the intersection between the north-south Kingston-Dorking and east-west Epsom-Guildford roads. The original position of the ford is unclear, but it may have been around upstream of the present Leatherhead Bridge at a point where a continuation of Elm Road would meet the river. The first indication of a bridge at Leatherhead is a localdeed
In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferring ...
dated to 1250, which was witnessed by a "Simon of the Bridge". Later that century, in around 1286, a Peter Dryaw of Fetcham is recorded as mortgaging the annual rent of a house "at the bridge in the town of Ledderede" to Merton College, Oxford. It is possible that the construction of the first bridge coincided with an expansion of the town and the enlargement of the parish church, which took place around 1200.
It is not clear to what extent the Mole was used for navigation in the past, but in the early Middle Ages, it is likely that shallow-bottomed craft were able to reach Leatherhead from the Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
for much of the year. In the late 13th century, Thorncroft Manor purchased a ''shout'', a type of boat up to in length, used to transport produce to market. Several schemes were proposed to make the Mole navigable in the 17th and 18th centuries, but none were enacted.
The turnpike road between Epsom and Horsham, which ran through Leatherhead, was authorised by Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in 1755. Turnpikes to Guildford and Kingston were opened in 1758 and 1811 respectively and one of the tollhouse
A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge.
History
Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and ...
s was sited near to the present Leatherhead Institute. Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
es, which had begun to run through Leatherhead to London in the 1680s, increased in frequency after the building of the turnpikes. By 1838 there were daily coaches to Arundel
Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England.
The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...
, Bognor
Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns i ...
and Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...
, which typically stopped at the Swan Inn in the High Street. With the arrival of in 1847, the long-distance coaches were discontinued and horse-drawn omnibuses took over local journeys.
The first railway to arrive in Leatherhead was built by the Epsom and Leatherhead Railway Company. The line, which terminated at a station in Kingston Road, opened on 1 February 1859. Initially all trains were operated by the London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...
(LSWR) and, for the first two months, only ran as far as . The completion of the line through enabled these services to be extended to from April of the same year and, in August 1859, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...
(LBSCR) began to run trains from Leatherhead to .
The Mole Gap through the North Downs had been identified as a potential railway corridor as early as the 1830s, but the line south from Leatherhead to was not opened until 1867. The Kingston Road station, which had been laid out as a terminus, was closed and two new adjacent stations (either side of the present Station Approach) were opened. The LBSCR station, which was closer to the town centre, was initially the only one connected to the line to Dorking. It was designed by C. H. Driver in a fine gothic revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style and is the station that survives today. The LSWR built its station as a terminus, but its line was extended westwards to in 1885. The two railway companies were amalgamated
Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form.
Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal
**Pan am ...
in 1923, when the Southern Railway was formed. All railway lines through Leatherhead were electrified
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source.
The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...
in 1925 and the LSWR station was closed in 1927. In the late 1930s, a southward extension of the Chessington branch line was proposed, but the creation of the Metropolitan Green Belt
The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...
prevented the scheme from being enacted.
The construction of the A24 bypass (between Givons Grove and Leatherhead Common) started in 1931 and the final section opened in May 1934. Young Street (the A246 between Bocketts Farm and Givons Grove) was built by the Corps of Royal Canadian Military Engineers between June 1940 and May 1941. In October 1985, the town was joined to the UK motorway system when the M25 was opened between Wisley and Reigate.
Commerce
The right to hold a weekly market and an annual fair was granted to Leatherhead in 1248 by Henry III. The market place is thought to have been at the junction of Bridge Street, North Street and High Street and the town stocks were probably in the same area. The market appears to have ended in the mid-Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
, however the annual fair continued and in the late 17th century was held on 8 September, the feast of the Nativity of Mary
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, the Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus.
The modern canon of scripture does not record Mary's bir ...
.
The construction of the turnpikes, and later the railways, attracted wealthier residents to Leatherhead. Many of these incomers had accumulated their wealth as entrepreneurs in London and had no previous connection to the area. By the start of the Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
, they were beginning to influence the local economy. Small, family-based manufacturing firms began to grow, engaged in industries such as brick-making
A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for ...
, milling of logs, tanning
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
, shoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...
, malting
Malting is the process of steeping, germinating and drying grain to convert it into malt. The malt is mainly used for brewing or whisky making, but can also be used to make malt vinegar or malt extract. Various grains are used for malting, most ...
and brewing. In the 1841 census, 18.5% of the town's inhabitants were employed in agriculture-related trades, but forty years later, the proportion had fallen to 5.4%.
Larger-scale industries arrived in Leatherhead in the first half of the 20th century. In 1928, the Rayon manufacturing company opened a factory in Ermyn Way, close to the border with Ashtead parish and was replaced ten years later by the manufacturing plant for Goblin Vacuum Cleaners
Goblin Vacuum Cleaners was a British brand of vacuum cleaners made from the early 1900s till the early 2000s.
History
In the early 1930s, Goblin vacuum cleaners were manufactured by the British Vacuum Cleaner and Engineering Co. Ltd. (BVC). The ...
. Also in the 1930s, a silk-making farm and electrical cable
An electrical cable is an assembly of one or more wires running side by side or bundled, which is used to carry electric current.
One or more electrical cables and their corresponding connectors may be formed into a ''cable assembly'', whic ...
factory were established in the town. Following the end of the Second World War, Ronson, the US-based manufacturer of cigarette lighters
A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or c ...
, opened a manufacturing plant at Dorincourt, to the north of the town. The factory moved to Randalls Road in 1953, but it closed in 1981 when the company went into liquidation. A business park opened in its place.
The Ex-services Welfare Society purchased Long House on Ermin Way following the end of the First World War. The charity constructed a factory in the grounds to provide employment for disabled veterans, producing electrical items, such as electric blanket
An electric blanket is a blanket that contains integrated electrical heating wires. Types include underblankets, overblankets, throws, and duvets. An electric ''underblanket'' is placed above the mattress and below the bottom bed sheet. This is ...
s. In 1933, the organisation opened a treatment centre at Tyrwhitt House in Oaklawn Road, named after Reginald Tyrwhitt
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, 1st Baronet, (; 10 May 1870 – 30 May 1951) was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he served as commander of the Harwich Force. He led a supporting naval force of 31 destroyers a ...
, its president at the time. In 1981, the factory was purchased by Remploy
Remploy is an organisation in the United Kingdom which provides employment placement services for disabled people. It is a major welfare-to-work provider, delivering a range of contracts and employment programmes, for people with substantial barr ...
. It continued to manufacture electrical goods, but under the new ownership, its operations expanded to include the assembly and packaging of mechanical equipment. The Remploy factory closed in 2007, with the loss of 43 jobs. The Ex-services Welfare Society, now known as Combat Stress
Combat stress reaction (CSR) is acute behavioral disorganization as a direct result of the trauma of war. Also known as "combat fatigue", "battle fatigue", or "battle neurosis", it has some overlap with the diagnosis of acute stress reaction used ...
, continues to operate its treatment centre at Tyrwhitt House in north Leatherhead.
Large-scale manufacturing in Leatherhead was short lived and, as the 20th century progressed, the town started to attract service sector industries. Among the research institutes formerly based in the town, Leatherhead Food Research was founded in 1919 and the Central Electricity Research Laboratories (CERL) opened in 1950. Both organisations left the town in the early 2000s. The Ronson and Goblin factories closed in the early 1980s and their sites were redeveloped, in the latter case for the UK headquarters of Esso. The UK head offices of Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...
(on the site of the former CERL) and Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups:
* Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested
** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company
** Hyundai ...
were opened in Leatherhead in 2008 and 2020 respectively.
A controversial redevelopment of the road network in the town centre took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The project began with the demolition of the Prince of Wales pub in 1979 and the Swan Centre, a covered shopping centre with a multistorey car park
A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...
, was constructed in its place. At the same time a one-way system was created and the High Street was pedestrianised. By September 1981, the scheme was already attracting criticism from local traders and residents, who blamed the traffic alterations for a steep decline in footfall
''Footfall'' is a 1985 science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The book depicts the arrival of members of an alien species called the Fithp that have traveled to the Solar System from Alpha Centauri in a large ...
. In January 1983, the County Planning Officer admitted that the "complexity of present routes undoubtedly detracts from the appeal of the town to car-borne shoppers." In 2002, BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
named Leatherhead as having one of the worst High Streets in the country. Five years later, in 2007, the local press reported that the town was "bustling with people, and packed full with an abundance of shops, entertainment facilities and job opportunities." The revival in fortunes was attributed to a variety of community initiatives, including a new drama festival.
Residential development
Leatherhead began to expand at the start of the 20th century and the population grew from in 4,694 in 1901 to 5,491 in 1911. New housing developments were built between 1900 and 1905 in Fairfield, Highlands and Kingston Roads, and Queen Anne's Garden. Later in the decade, houses were constructed in Copthorne, Clinton, Reigate and Woodville Roads, Kingston Avenue and St Nicholas Hill. The firstcouncil housing
Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
in the town, a development of 59 houses in Poplar Road, was built by Leatherhead UDC in 1921. Preference for rehousing was given to ex-servicemen and their families. In 1925, 90 council houses were constructed in Kingston Road. Private residential developments also occurred around the same time, including the construction of the St Mary’s Road estate, on the site of the former Elm Bank mansion, south of the town centre.
The Givons Grove estate, to the south of the town, was developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Originally a constituent of Thorncroft Manor, it was an area of arable land, known as "Gibbons Farm", named after a prominent local family. In 1919, the estate was bought by the aircraft manufacturer, Humphrey Verdon Roe, whose wife, Marie Stopes
Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (15 October 1880 – 2 October 1958) was a British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for eugenics and women's rights. She made significant contributions to plant palaeontology and coal classification, ...
, would live at Norbury Park for 20 years from 1938. It was sold to a consortium of developers in 1927, who divided the land into plots for housing. Similarly in 1935, Yarm Court was sold and the estate developed for housing.
Following the end of the Second World War, new housing was constructed to the north of the town centre, along Cleeve, Kingston and Copthorne Roads, to replace properties damaged by bombing.
Leatherhead in the world wars
At the start of the First World War, members of the 20th Battalion of the University and Public Schools Brigade of the Royal Fusiliers were billeted with local residents. The recruits were primarily drawn from theManchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
area and underwent training at Randalls Farm. The Kensington Rifles of the London Regiment were also garrisoned in the town in the month before their deployment to the Western Front in April 1915. Later that year, the first of 63 Belgian refugees arrived in Leatherhead, remaining in the town until the end of the war.
Concerns that the town's water supply might be poisoned by enemy spies, prompted the authorities to arrange a guard on the waterworks on Guildford Road. Many of the duties were undertaken by the local Scout troop
A Scout troop is a term adopted into use with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Scout Movement to describe their basic units. The term troop echoes a group of mounted scouts in the military or an expedition and follows the terms cavalry, mounted inf ...
and members of the Boy's Brigade
The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values. Following its inceptio ...
, which was affiliated with St Mary's Church. Many local men joined the Dorking and Leatherhead Battalion of the Volunteer Training Corps
The Volunteer Training Corps was a voluntary home defence reserve force in the United Kingdom during World War I.
Early development
After war had been declared in August 1914, there was a popular demand for a means of service for those men who we ...
, which was formed with the intention to defend the local area in the event of invasion. In October 1914, a Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
Hospital opened on Bull Hill. By March 1915 it had 33 beds and was fully occupied. It closed in February 1919. Elsewhere in the town, the Forty Foot recreation ground was used to grow wheat and Venthams, a local firm of coachbuilder
A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...
s, began to manufacture munitions
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
.
Leatherhead was again a garrison town in the Second World War. Troops from the Royal Corps of Signals were billeted in late 1939 and a year later, the first Canadian soldiers began to arrive in the local area. From September 1939, children from Streatham
Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
Streatham was in Surrey ...
and Dulwich
Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...
were evacuated to Leatherhead and the Royal School for the Blind was taken over by King's College Hospital
King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed b ...
. The cottage hospital on Poplar Road opened in May 1940 and by June of that year was treating 78 members of the British Expeditionary Force, who had been evacuated from Dunkirk. The Goblin factory in Ermyn Way was used to make munitions, including mine
Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to:
Extraction or digging
* Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging
*Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine
Grammar
*Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun
...
sinkers, shell fuses
Fuse or FUSE may refer to:
Devices
* Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current
** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles
* Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protec ...
and camouflage netting.
From the outbreak of war, the defence of Leatherhead was coordinated by the XII Corps of Eastern Command, reinforced from July 1940 by VII Corps GHQ Mobile Reserve. The 3rd Infantry Brigade of the 1st Canadian Division
The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...
was posted to Dorking and Leatherhead, and was responsible for completing the construction of Young Street between Givons Grove and Fetcham. The local unit of the Home Guard
Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense.
The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...
, Company F of the 6th Battalion of South Eastern Command, was formed with 200 recruits in May 1940. The training centres for the company included the Drill Hall on Kingston Road and an anti-tank obstacle was installed at the east end of the High Street, close to the Leatherhead Institute. The Home Guard company was disbanded four years later, once the threat of invasion had passed.
Leatherhead experienced two main periods of bombing during the war. The first wave of attacks took place from late 1940 until early 1941. During the first raid, early in the morning on 27 August 1940, 20 high-explosive bombs were dropped along the border with Ashtead. The clubhouse of the golf club suffered a direct hit, but the civilians taking cover in the shelter
Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger.
Shelter may also refer to:
Places
* Port Shelter, Hong Kong
* Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations
* Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...
beneath it were fully protected and survived without injury. In October of the same year, the oil storage tanks next to the waterworks were set alight by an incendiary bomb
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, t ...
. The resulting fires could not be extinguished until more than 24 hours later. In March 1941, St Andrew's Catholic School was almost completely destroyed by a bomb. During the second period of bombing, in the summer of 1944, 16 V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...
s landed in the Leatherhead area, including one at Thorncroft Manor.
National and Local Government
UK Parliament
Leatherhead is in the Mole Valley parliamentary constituency, which has been represented in theHouse of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
since 1997 by the Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
, Sir Paul Beresford. Kenneth Baker served as the local MP from 1983 to 1997 and was elevated to the House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
as Baron Baker of Dorking in 1997.
County Council
Councillors are elected toSurrey County Council
Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...
every four years. The town is part of the 'Leatherhead and Fetcham East' ward.
District Council
Five councillors represent the town onMole Valley
Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking.
The other town in the district is Leatherhead. The largest villages are Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district. ...
District Council (the headquarters of which are in Dorking):
Leatherhead is represented by a swan on the crest
Crest or CREST may refer to:
Buildings
*The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York
*"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York
*Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
of the Mole Valley District Council coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
.
Twin town
Since 2004, Leatherhead has been twinned withTriel-sur-Seine
Triel-sur-Seine (, literally ''Triel on Seine'') is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is positioned approximately to the north-west of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
The city is known for the "Fête ...
(Île-de-France
, timezone1 = CET
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, utc_offset1_DST = +02:00
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, France).
Demography and housing
Region-wide, 28% of dwellings were detached houses and 22.6% were apartments. The proportion of households who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free).Public services
Utilities
The towngasworks
A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space.
Early gasworks
Coal ...
, close to the junction of Kingston Road and Barnett Wood Lane, were built in 1850 by the Leatherhead Gas Company. The first gas
Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma).
A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
was produced in February 1851 and was primarily used for street lighting, but was also supplied to some private houses. Until the railway was opened in 1859, coal was delivered by road from Epsom. In 1911, the Leatherhead company acquired that of Cobham and, from 1929, also supplied gas to Woking via a connection at . In 1936, the company was acquired by the Wandsworth Gas Company and the Leatherhead gasworks closed two years later.
The first public water supply in Leatherhead was created in 1884, when a stream-driven pumping station
Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as well drilling, drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastru ...
was constructed in Waterways Road. The works, designed by John William Grover, were capable of lifting per hour to a reservoir on Reigate Road. A second diesel-powered station was constructed alongside the first in 1935 and was later converted to electric power
Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions o ...
. The steam-powered works were demolished in 1992.
An electricity generating station was opened in Bridge Street in 1902. Initially it was capable of generating 75 kW of power, but by the time of its closure in 1941, its installed capacity
Nameplate capacity, also known as the rated capacity, nominal capacity, installed capacity, or maximum effect, is the intended full-load sustained output of a facility such as a power station,
was 2.2 MW. Under the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926
The Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5. c. 51) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the law on the supply of electricity. Its long title is: ‘An Act to amend the law with respect to the supply of electricity ...
, Leatherhead was connected to the National Grid, initially to a 33 kV supply ring, which linked the town to Croydon
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
, Epsom, Dorking and Reigate. In 1939, the ring was connected to the 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
* ...
-Woking main via a 132 kV substation at Leatherhead.
Emergency services
Leatherhead Police Station was on Kingston Road, to the north of the town centre. It closed in 2011. The building was demolished and retirement apartments were built on the site. In 2021, the local police force isSurrey Police
Surrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Surrey in South East England.
The force is currently led by Chief Constable Gavin Stephens. Previously the force was led by Nick Ephgrave who left the force ...
and the nearest police station to the town is at Reigate. The headquarters of the Police Federation of England and Wales is in Leatherhead.
The Vestry was responsible for organising the local fire service in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The west door of the parish church was enlarged in 1759, in order to accommodate the town fire engine, which was housed in the tower. In 1821, the engine was moved to an existing building on North Street and a new fire station was built on the same road in 1859. The first motor fire engine was delivered to the town in 1926 and was housed in a new building close to the river. In 2021, the local fire authority is Surrey County Council and the fire services in the United Kingdom, statutory fire service is Surrey Fire and Rescue Service. Leatherhead Ambulance Station, in Kingston Road, is run by the South East Coast Ambulance Service.
Healthcare
The first hospital in Leatherhead was opened in Clinton Road in 1893. As a small cottage hospital, it only had seven or eight beds and was supervised by a matron. It closed in 1902, having accrued a debt of £130. A replacement facility, the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital (QVMH), on Epsom Road, was opened in 1905. It was built on land donated by Walter Cunliffe, 1st Baron Cunliffe, Walter Cunliffe, who lived at Tyrells Wood. Initially it had 6 beds for adults and one cot for infants, but by 1928, it had expanded to 17 beds. The QVMH closed at the end of the Second World War. Leatherhead Community Hospital, on Poplar Road, was opened in 1940 and was built on land donated by Charles Leach. Initially it had 40 beds and came under the management of Epsom Hospital, although it had its own medical committee. By 1960, the hospital had expanded to 52 beds, but in 2014, the in-patient wards were closed to allow the improvement of outpatient services. The NHS has retained ownership of the hospital, but many services are now run by CSH, a non-profit organization, not-for-profit organisation. The radiography, X-ray radiography department is run by the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. The nearest hospital with an Emergency department, A&E is Epsom Hospital, away. As of 2021, the town has two General practitioner, GP practices, on Kingston Road and Upper Fairfield Road.Transport
Rail
Leatherhead railway station is to the west of the town centre and is managed by Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway), Southern. It is served by trains to via , to via , to via and to via .
Buses
Route 21 (Epsom – Leatherhead – Crawley) is run by Metrobus and route 408 (Epsom – Cobham) is run by Falcon Buses. Route 465 from Kingston upon Thames to Dorking via Leatherhead is run by London United Busways, London United. Route 478 to Guildford is run by Reptons Coaches and Route 479 from Epsom to Guildford via Leatherhead is run by Arriva Kent & Sussex and Stagecoach.Long distance footpaths
Leatherhead station is the northern terminus of the Mole Gap Trail, which rus south through Norbury Park to Dorking station.Education
Early schools
The earliest record of a school in Leatherhead is from 1596, when reference is made to a charity school for ten boys, which was probably held in the tower of the parish church. By 1712, the school had expanded to included eleven girls and, later that century, two bequests to fund the salary of a schoolmaster are recorded. In 1838 a boys' school was established in Highlands Road by the then Vicar, Benjamin Chapman, and a girls' school followed a year later. The two institutions were National schools and were funded by a combination of local subscriptions and grants from the National Society for Promoting Religious Education.Maintained schools
Leatherhead Trinity School opened in 2010, having been created by a merger of three existing schools. It traces its origins to the All Saints School, which opened in 1877 in Kingston Road. Trinity School is a primary school and educates children up to the age of eleven. St Peter's Roman Catholic Primary School was founded in September 1947 and was initially located next to St Peter's Church in Garlands Road. The school's present site in Grange Road was opened in 1958. Therfield School was founded in Kingston Road in 1913 as the County Upper Mixed Senior School. It moved to Dilston Road in 1953 and was renamed in 1964 after John de Therfield, a former lord of the manor of Pachesham, who was awarded the land in 1205 by John, King of England, King John. St Andrew's Catholic School was founded in Grange Road in 1935 by five nuns from the Order of St. Andrew, Order of St Andrew. The main building was constructed in 1952 and, in 1971, the school became a co-educational comprehensive. West Hill School is a special education, special school for children with learning needs. It was founded at West Hill, Epsom in 1960 and moved to Leatherhead three years later. Fox Grove School, a second school for pupils with special Education Needs, opened in September 2021 in Molesey. It is due to move to Leatherhead, to a site adjacent to West Hill School, in Spring 2022.Independent schools
Downsend School was founded in Hampstead in 1898 and moved to its current site in stages between 1918 and 1940. The school underwent a period of expansion in the late 1970s and 1980s, which included the purchase of pre-preparatory departments in Leatherhead, Ashtead and Epsom. In 2002, the school was sold by the Linford family (who had owned it since its opening) to Asquith Court Schools Ltd and it was bought by Cognita in 2006. In 2017, the school announced that it would build a new study centre to accommodate students studying for General Certificate of Secondary Education, GCSEs.
St John's School was founded in St John's Wood in 1851 by Ashby Haslewood and moved to Leatherhead in 1872. Initially intended for the sons of poor clergymen, the school began to accept fee-paying pupils at the start of the 20th century. In 1989, girls were accepted into the sixth form and the school became fully coeducational from 2012. Several parts of the school are Grade II listed, including the library, formerly the chapel, which was built in 1876.
Royal School for the Blind
The School for the Indigent Blind was founded at St George's Fields, Southwark in 1799 and, for the first 102 years of its existence, was based in London. In 1900, it purchased 15 acres of land in Leatherhead and construction of a new building, in Highlands Road, began the following year. The new school, capable of accommodating up to 250 students, opened in 1904. The school was granted royal patronage by George V in 1911, at which point it became known as the Royal School for the Blind.
By the mid-1930s, the focus of the school had changed from classroom-based learning to the teaching of practical skills in a workshop setting. During the Second World War, the building was requisitioned by King's College Hospital and, although part of the premises were returned to the school in 1946, a group of Chelsea Pensioners continued to live on the site until the 1950s. A redevelopment took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which included converting the dormitories into apartments. Students were increasingly encouraged to take responsibility for their everyday living, with the aim of facilitating their integration into wider society.
The charity adopted the name "SeeAbility" as its brand, operating identity in 1994 and, later in the same decade, began to transition away from offering residential education and towards providing community-based support. In the early 2000s, the main school building was sold and converted to apartments. It is now known as Lavender Court. The headquarters of the charity has since moved to Epsom.
Places of Worship
Anglo-Saxon minster
The church mentioned in Domesday Book is thought to have been an Anglo-Saxon Minster (church)#Early and mid Anglo-Saxon periods, minster, a large church with a small team of priests who ministered to theroyal vill
A royal vill, royal ''tun'' or ''villa regalis'' ( ang, cyneliċ tūn) was the central settlement of a rural territory in Anglo Saxon England, which would be visited by the King and members of the royal household on regular circuits of their kingd ...
and its dependent parishes. It is described as a belonging to Ewell and being held by Osbern of Eu, a prebendary, prebend at St Paul's Cathedral#Pre-Norman cathedral, St Paul's Cathedral. Its location in the town is unknown, but an enclave of land in the north west of the parish is recorded as belonging to Ewell in the 13th century and this may be the remnant of the glebe lands of the former minster. The church was probably a constructed from wood and, like other similar minsters, likely lost influence as Norman manorialism, manors superseded the Anglo-Saxon hundred (county division), hundreds as the principal division of local administration.
St Mary and St Nicholas Church
The Church of St Mary & St Nicholas, Leatherhead, Church of St Mary and St Nicholas is thought to have originally been built as the estate chapel for the manor of Thorncroft. Although it is not mentioned in Domesday book, the oldest parts date from around 1080 and it may have superseded the Anglo-Saxon minster as the parish church at the start of the 12th century. Shortly after 1100, it was granted to St John's Abbey, Colchester, Colchester Abbey, which held it until 1279. The earliest parts of the building that survive are from the 1240s, when the church is thought to have undergone a major expansion that included the addition of side aisles. Much of the chancel dates from the first half of the 14th century and this work may have been commissioned by Leeds Priory in Kent, which was given the church by Edward III of England, Edward III in 1341. The dedication to Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary and Saint Nicholas, Nicholas, who were the joint patron saint, patrons of the Priory, probably occurred at this time.
The tower was built in around 1500 and is set at an angle to the rest of the building, so that its east wall protrudes into the nave. It originally had a tall spire, which was blown down in the Great Storm of 1703. A major rebuilding of the church took place in the second half of the 19th century, during which much of the roof was replaced. Renovation works between 2018 and 2020, uncovered several vaults beneath the floor including one belonging to the Boulton Family who had lived at Thorncroft Manor in the 18th century.
Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Peter
The Church of Our Lady and St Peter, Leatherhead, Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Peter was constructed in 1923 and was partly financed by the newspaper proprietor, Sir Edward Hulton, 1st Baronet, Sir Edward Hulton. The Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival building was designed by Edward Goldie#Joseph Goldie, Joseph Goldie and the stained glass windows were installed in the 1930s. The Stations of the Cross were designed in Caen stone by the sculptor Eric Gill.Methodist Church
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, visited Leatherhead only once in his lifetime. On 23 February 1791, he preached his final sermon in a house on Bull Hill, one week before his death. Despite his visit, there appears to have been no significant Methodist community in the town until the mid-19th century, when a small group of worshipers began meeting in Bridge Street. The first purpose-built place of worship, the "Iron Chapel", so-named because it was primarily constructed of metal, was erected in 1887 on Church Road. The following year, the congregation numbered around 50, but grew rapidly to over 400 by 1891. Two years later, a new brick building, the present church, was constructed. The Iron Chapel, behind the new church, remained standing and was used for the Sunday school, but was replaced in 1903 by a new hall.
Disciples Church
The Disciples Church is part of the Calvary Chapel association of Evangelicalism, evangelical churches. It was formed in 2007 and adopted its present name in 2012. It meets at the Woodlands School on Forty Foot Road.Culture
Art
J. M. W. Turner (17751851) is among the artists who have been inspired to paint scenes of the town and local area. His pencil and watercolour composition ''Leatherhead, Surrey, from across the River Mole, with cattle watering in the foreground'' was probably created in the summer of 1797, when he staying at Norbury Park. The painting was sold at Christie's in 2014 for £35,000. Other artists who have worked in the town include John Hassell (1825) and John Varley (painter), John Varley (17781842). The List of public art in Surrey#Leatherhead, works of public art in the town include ornamental ironwork at the King George V Memorial Park and at the junction between the High Street, North Street and Bridge Street.Theatres and cinemas
The first presentation of a cinematograph film in the town took place at the Leatherhead Institute in October 1898. The following year, a second screening took place at the Victoria Hall in the High Street, which had been built in 1890. By 1914, the Victoria Hall was renamed to become the Grand Theatre and was operating as a cinema with a capacity of 550. Further name changes took place before 1946, around which time the venue became known as the Ace Cinema. In 1949, the Ace Cinema was converted to a 300-seat theatre and a year later, the Leatherhead Theatre was established at the venue. The theatre operated until 1969, but as its popularity increased, its size became restrictive and there was a need for a new and better-equipped performing arts venue in the town. The Thorndike Theatre, in Church Street, was designed by Roderick Ham in the modern architecture, modernist style and was opened in 1969 by Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, Princess Margaret. Named for the actor Sybil Thorndike, its construction was primarily paid for by private donations, with some additional funding from the Leatherhead UDC and the Arts Council England, Arts Council. Although it was initially popular, the theatre regularly ran operating deficits and, following several years of cuts in public subsidy, it closed in 1997 with a total debt of almost £1.2 million. It reopened in 2001 as a part-time theatre, cinema, community space and meeting place for the Evangelicalism, evangelical group, Pioneer People. The annual Leatherhead Drama Festival, for amateur theatre groups, was launched at the theatre in 2004 and ran for 16 years.Literature
Leatherhead features in the novel ''The War of the Worlds (novel), The War of the Worlds'' by H. G. Wells, first published in 1897. On about the tenth day following the Martian invasion of Earth, the entire town (where the narrator has sent his wife for safety) is obliterated: "it had been destroyed, with every soul in it, by a Martian. He had swept it out of existence, as it seemed, without any provocation, as a boy might crush an ant-hill, in the mere wantonness of power." The Sherlock Holmes short story ''The Adventure of the Speckled Band'' is partly set near the town. During the story, Holmes and Watson travel to Leatherhead from Waterloo station by train. It was first published in 1892 and is one of 12 featured in ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' by Arthur Conan Doyle. The 1984 interactive fiction video game ''Sherlock (video game), Sherlock'', developed by Beam Software, is partly set in Leatherhead.Music
The Leatherhead Operatic Society was founded as the Leatherhead Pierrots in 1904. Two years later, the group was reformed as the Leatherhead & District Amateur Dramatics & Operatic Society and gave its first performance, ''H. M. S. Pinafore'' by Gilbert and Sullivan. The group performed at the Victoria Hall until 1922, when the venue was turned into a cinema. For the next seventeen years, the society used a number of venues in the local area, until the Crescent Cinema opened in 1939. Since 1970, the group has staged its summer performances at the Thorndike Theatre and the Leatherhead Theatre, with a brief hiatus between 1996 and 2002. The Leatherhead Choral Society (LCS) was formed in 1907, but its early history is unclear. It was refounded in 1928 to take part in the Leith Hill Musical Festival. Kathleen Riddick conducted the group in 1939 and LCS continued to perform during the Second World War. A musical work was composed by William Blezard to celebrate the society's 50th anniversary in 1978. In recent years, the LCS has typically given concerts in the summer and in early December, as well as participating in the Leith Hill Musical Festival around Easter. The Leatherhead Orchestra traces its origins to an adult education class established , but was formally founded in around 1958 by Kathleen Riddick. Since 2015, the group has given three concerts each year. The Leatherhead Town Band was founded in 1887. Its activities ceased during the First and Second World Wars and, on its reformation in 1947, it was known as the Bookham and District Silver Band. In 1974, it changed its name again to the Mole Valley Silver Band, to reflect the formation of the new local authority area. The band performs regularly in and around the towns of Leatherhead and Dorking. The band John's Children, which included sometime frontman Marc Bolan, was formed in the town in 1963 by Andy Ellison and Chris Townson, former pupils of nearby Box Hill School. They occasionally appeared at the Chuck Wagon Club on Bridge Street. Nigel Gray#Surrey Sound Studio, Surrey Sound recording studio was established in 1974 by producer Nigel Gray in a former village hall in the north of the town. Early demo pieces for, among others, the Wombles and Joan Armatrading were followed, by the recording of much of the early repertoire of the Police. Other groups recording there included Godley & Creme, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Rick Astley, the The Lotus Eaters (band), Lotus Eaters, Alternative TV and Bros (British band), Bros. The studio was sold by Gray in 1987. Robyn Hitchcock refers to Leatherhead in the song "Clean Steve".Television and film
Leatherhead has been mentioned in a number of films and television programmes. The film ''I Want Candy (film), I Want Candy'', released in March 2007, is partly set in the town. Brooklands College, Weybridge was used as the filming location for the fictional "Leatherhead University". Monty Python's Flying Circus refers to Leatherhead in the "Red Indian in Theatre" sketch. Eric Idle, in Native American costume says, "When moon high over prairie, when wolf howl over mountain, when mighty wind roar through Yellow Valley, we go Leatherhead Rep - block booking, upper circle - whole tribe get it on three and six each." The television sketch show, That Mitchell and Webb Look, took a jab at Leatherhead in series two, episode four. In one sketch, a librarian comments to a customer that she is "possibly one of the stupidest people I've ever met. And I lived in Leatherhead for six miserable years." The house that was used as the filming location for Arthur Dent's residence for the TV series ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', is in Leatherhead.Sport
Leisure Centre
The Leisure Centre was opened in 1975 by the Leatherhead Urban District Council and was extended in the 1980s with the addition of the Mole Barn. Plans to build a new centre on the site were drawn up by Mole Valley District Council prior to 2006, but instead the facility was given a 20-month, £12.6m refit and a further extension, which was opened by the Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Duke of Kent in March 2011. The upgraded centre includes a redesigned reception and entrance area, a new gym, aerobics studio, sauna and play areas.
Cricket
Cricket has been played at Leatherhead since at least 1840, when a match is recorded against a team from Dorking. The Leatherhead Cricket Club was founded in 1850 and initially played its home games at the Kingston Road recreation ground. It moved to Fetcham Grove in the 1930s.Football
Leatherhead F.C., commonly known as "The Tanners", was formed in 1946 as a result of the merger of two existing clubs, Leatherhead Rose and Leatherhead United. Leatherhead Rose, founded , drew the majority of its players from the Leatherhead Common area and was named after the Rose Coffee Rooms on Kingston Road; Leatherhead United was formed in 1924 and the following season were Division One Champions of the Sutton and District League.
Following the merger, the new club adopted Fetcham Grove as its home ground and, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, were champions of the Surrey County Senior League for four consecutive years. In 1969, the team won the Surrey County FA Senior Challenge Cup, the Senior Shield and the Intermediate Cup. They were semi-finalists in the 1971 and 1974 FA Amateur Cup competitions. The Tanners achieved national press coverage in the 1974-75 season, when they were drawn against Football League First Division, First Division Leicester City F.C., Leicester City at home in the FA Cup Fourth Round Proper. In the 2017–18 FA Cup, 2017–18 FA Cup they reached the second round proper, in which they played against Wycombe Wanderers F.C., Wycombe Wanderers.
Golf
The Leatherhead Club was founded as the Surrey Golf Club, but adopted its present name in 1908. The 18-hole course was designed by the Scottish golfer, Peter Paxton, and the first nine holes opened in October 1903. The Prime Minister, Arthur Balfour, was one of those who played at the course in 1907. In 1928, Alf Perry joined as Club Professional and, seven years later, he won the 1935 Open Championship at Muirfield. The clubhouse suffered bomb damage during the Second World War. The construction of the M25 motorway in the late 1970s, necessitated changes to the layout of the southern part of the course. The 18-hole Tyrells Wood Golf Course was designed by James Braid (golfer), James Braid in the grounds of Tyrells Wood House in 1922. The Club opened two years later. Pachesham Golf Centre opened in 1989 as a nine-hole course, but was remodelled in 2014 to a six-hole course. The centre has a 28-bay, floodlit driving range, which is the longest in Surrey. Beaverbrook golf course, to the south of Leatherhead, was designed by David McLay-Kidd and Tom Watson (golfer), Tom Watson. The 7,100 yard, 72-par course opened in the grounds of Cherkley Court in 2016. The construction of the course was opposed by local residents and environmental campaigners, who mounted a series of legal challenges to the development. Construction of the clubhouse was completed in 2018.Tourist attractions
Bocketts Farm
Bocketts Farm covers an area of to the south west of the town. Formerly part of the manor of Thorncroft, it was subinfeudated in around 1170. Both the farmhouse and the timber framing, timber-framed granary date from around 1800 and are Grade II listed. The farm was purchased by the Gowing family in 1990 and was opened to the public two years later.Leatherhead Museum
Leatherhead Museum was opened in 1980 by the Leatherhead & District Local History Society. It houses a wide range of historical artefacts and permanent displays explain the history of the town from its origins to the present day. Hampton Cottage, the building in Church Street in which the museum is based, dates from before 1682.
River Mole local nature reserve
The River Mole LNR, River Mole local nature reserve is a protected corridor that stretches along the banks for the river from Young Street (in the south) to Waterway Road (in the north). It was designated in 2005 for its diversity of plant and animal species.Notable buildings and landmarks
All Saints' community café and hub
All Saints' Church on Kingston Road was consecrated in February 1889 as a daughter church to St Mary's. It was designed by the architect, Arthur Blomfield, and was built to serve a new area of housing under construction to the north of the town centre. On opening, the church could accommodate 300 people, but was later extended with the addition of a lady chapel. By 1980, the congregation had dwindled and the building was in need of repair. A decision was taken to convert the nave of the church to a community space, while retaining the chancel as a place of worship. The dual-purpose facility was rededicated by the Bishop of Dorking in March 1982. In 2005, the nave of the church was converted to a Youth Project Café, known as "B Free", to be a space for young people to meet and socialise. In 2014, the Leatherhead Youth Project, launched a new social enterprise at the church called "AllSaints". The project supports disadvantaged young people, especially those NEET, not in education, employment or training, and provides opportunities for participants to gain employment and life skills.
Cherkley Court
Cherkley Court was constructed in around 1870 for Abraham Dixon, a wealthy industrialist from the Midlands. It was substantially rebuilt after a fire in 1893 and was sold in 1910 to Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, the Canadian-born owner of the ''Daily Express''. Following the death of Sir Max Aitken, 2nd Baronet, Beaverbrook's son in 1985, the estate was owned by the Beaverbrook Foundation until 2011, when it was bought by a consortium of private investors. Despite considerable local opposition, the house was converted to a luxury hotel, spa and golf course, which opened in 2017.Cradlers
The building at 33 and 35 High Street, commonly known as "Cradlers", is a late-medieval open hall house, formerly owned by the Manor of Thorncroft. It most likely originated as a farmhouse and was built on the edge of one of the common fields. Although the earliest surviving records of the building date from 1527, the construction methods used suggest that it was built in the 13th or 14th century (most likely between 1320 and 1360). The western part of the building (now number 33) was constructed as a single-storey hall, but the height of the walls was later raised and an upper floor inserted. The larger eastern part (number 35) was built as two storeys from the outset. In the late medieval period, the rooms closest to the street were probably used as living quarters, but the northernmost third of the wing (building), wing may have contained a workshop and hayloft.
Although much of its original timber frame survives, Cradlers has been altered at several points in its history. In the 17th century, a chimney stack and internal staircase were added and the roof was rebuilt around the same time, probably reusing used timbers from other buildings. In the early modern period, Cradlers may have served as a tavern or hostelry and at different times in the 19th and 20th centuries, it housed a butchers, a fruiterers and a ladies' outfitters. As part of a renovation project carried out in the mid-1980s, the modern shopfronts were removed and the street-facing frontage was restored to its original position.
Leatherhead Institute
The Leatherhead Institute was built in 1892. It was given to the town by Abraham Dixon, who wanted the building to be used to provide educational, social and recreational opportunities to local residents. During the Second World War, it housed the local Food and Fuel Offices. A major restoration project was completed in 1987.
Running Horse pub
The Running Horse pub, at the east end of Leatherhead Bridge, is one of the oldest buildings in the town. It is a late-medieval open hall house and was part of the Manor of Thorncroft. Much of the timber frame is original and probably dates from the late 15th century, although the roof was later rebuilt. Later alterations include the insertion of the first floor in the 17th century and installation of interior panelling in the 18th century.
Sweech House
The timber-framed Sweech House, on Gravel Hill, is one of the oldest buildings in Leatherhead. Its name is thought to derive from "switch", indicating that it stood close to a road junction. The land on which it stands may have belonged to the manor of Minchin during the late-medieval period. The southernmost part of the building is the oldest and dates from the 15th century. It was probably constructed as a farmhouse and originally it had an open hall structure. In the late 16th century, it was extended to the north in two separate phases. At different points in its history, the building has been divided into up to four cottages, most likely to provide accommodation for farm labourers. Sweech House was donated to the Leatherhead Countryside Protection Society in the 1940s.The Mansion
The Mansion, in Church Street, houses the public library, register office (United Kingdom), register office and council offices. A map of the town from 1600 shows a house on the site, which may formerly have been the manor house for the manor of Michin. During the late Elizabethan era, Elizabethan period, it was the home of Edmund Tylney, Master of the Revels, in effect the official censor of the time. and Elizabeth I is thought to have dined with him in Leatherhead in August 1591.
The external appearance of The Mansion largely dates from 1739, when the house was rebuilt in red brick, although a partial remodelling took place . From 1846 until some point in the 1870s, the building was used as a boarding and day school for around 50 boys, who were taught using the Joseph Jacotot, Jacotot education system. In 1949, The Mansion was subject to a compulsory purchase order and was acquired by Surrey County Council and Leatherhead UDC for use as a health clinic and the public library. During a refurbishment in 2000, the library was moved from the ground floor to the south range and the space released was repurposed for the Registry Office.
Thorncroft Manor house
The current Thorncroft Manor house was designed by the architect, Robert Taylor (architect), Robert Taylor, for the politician and businessman, Henry Crabb-Boulton. It is built in a Palladian architecture#Neo-Palladianism, Neo-Palladian style, influenced by the Renaissance architecture, early Rennaissence, with light Rococo ornamentation. The building was enlarged with the addition of a rear wing in 1789, possibly designed by George Gwilt. The engineering firm, Howard Humphries & Sons, purchased the house in 1971 and subsequently constructed additional office space, glazed with reflective glass.War Memorial
The War Memorial in North Street was designed by Stock, Page and Stock, a London firm of architects and was dedicated in April 1921. It consists of a long, storey, single-storey building with 11 open arches, constructed of brick and flint. The arches face a terraced garden, in which there is a free-standing cross made of Portland stone. The land on which the memorial stands was given to the town by Charles Leach, who funded much of the building work and whose son had been a second lieutenant in the History of the Scots Guards (1914–1945), Scots Guards. In total, 186 names are inscribed on stone tablets inside the cloister-like structure, of whom 117 died in the First World War. The memorial is protected by a Grade II listing.
Wesley House
The Art Deco, art-deco Wesley House, Leatherhead, Wesley House, on Bull Hill, was built in 1935 as the offices of the Leatherhead Urban District Council (UDC). It was designed by the architects C.H. Rose and H.R. Gardner and was constructed of red brick. The original debate chamber, council chamber is preserved at the rear of the property. Wesley House was vacated by the UDC in 1983, when it became part of Mole Valley District Council.Parks and open spaces
King George V memorial gardens
The memorial gardens on Bull Hill, to the north of the town centre, were opened in 1936, following the death of George V. The site is managed by Mole Valley District Council and has been protected by the Fields in Trust charity since 1938.Leach Grove Wood
Leach Grove Wood is a area of woodland, adjacent to Leatherhead Hospital, owned by the NHS. It is named after Charles Leach, who donated the land on which the hospital is built, to the town. In 2013, a group of local residents applied to register the wood as a village green, to guarantee public access to the site in perpetuity. The registration was upheld by the High Court in 2018. The NHS subsequently successfully appealed against the registration at the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Supreme Court and the village green status was removed.Mansion Gardens
The Mansion Gardens is a small formal garden between The Mansion and the River Mole.
Park Gardens
The Park Gardens form the frontage to St Mary's Parish Church at the north end of Gimcrack Hill. The site has been protected by the Fields in Trust charity since 2018. In the gardens, there is a memorial stone to Harold Auten, who was awarded the Victoria Cross in September 1918.Recreation grounds
There are two recreation grounds in Leatherhead. The Fortyfoot ground contains a children's playground and a football pitch, as well as the bowling green for Leatherhead Bowling Club. The playground was upgraded in 2017 and includes a sensory garden, a trampoline and a zip line. The Kingston Road ground has a children's playground, football pitch, pavilion and a sensory garden. A new skatepark was installed at the ground in 2017-18, part-funded by a £20,000 donation by the London Marathon, London Marathon Charitable Trust. The skatepark adjacent to Leatherhead Leisure Centre was refurbished in 2020.Notable people
* Harold Auten Victoria Cross, VC Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom), DSC (18911964), recipient of the Victoria Cross during the First World War, was born in Leatherhead. * John Drinkwater Bethune (17621844), army officer, lived at Thorncroft Manor just outside the town from about 1838 until his death and is buried in the churchyard of the parish church. * Sir Thomas Bloodworth (16201682), Lord Mayor of London during the Great Fire of London, Great Fire of 1666, lived at Thorncroft Manor. * Ted Bowley (18901974), English Test cricketer. * Michael Caine (born 1933), lives in Leatherhead and is patron to the Leatherhead Drama Festival. * Donald Campbell (19211967), List of Bluebird record-breaking vehicles, Bluebird pilot and fastest man on land and water, lived in Leatherhead. * John Campbell-Jones (19302020), former Formula One racing driver. * Leonard Dawe (18891963), footballer, teacher and crossword compiler for the ''Daily Telegraph''; while living in Leatherhead in 1944 he was wrongly suspected of espionage by inserting codewords for Operation Overlord into his puzzles. * Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth (17471817), accomplished Royal Navy, Royal Naval officer who served under Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, Nelson. * Andy Ellison (b. 1946) and Chris Townson (19472008), founding members of the band John's Children, and former pupils at Box Hill School. * Badri Patarkatsishvili (19552008), businessman, collapsed and died in his mansion in Leatherhead. * Richard Patterson (artist), Richard Patterson (b. 1963) and his brother Simon Patterson (artist), Simon Patterson (b. 1967), both artists, were born in the town. * Jean Ross (19111973), an English writer was educated in Leatherhead and briefly confined in a nearby sanatorium as a young woman. * Madron Seligman (19182002), Member of the European Parliament and friend of Edward Heath. *Marie Stopes
Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (15 October 1880 – 2 October 1958) was a British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for eugenics and women's rights. She made significant contributions to plant palaeontology and coal classification, ...
(1880–1958), family planning pioneer, lived in the town.
* Sir Mortimer Wheeler (18901976), archaeologist and broadcaster, lived at "The Bothy", Downs Lane from September 1973 until his death.
* Edward Wilkins Waite (18541924), local landscape painter, was born in the town, was educated at the school at The Mansion and later lived at Long Cottage, Church Street
Notes
References
Bibliography
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* List of leisure and entertainment in LeatherheadExternal links
Mole Valley District Council
{{Authority control Leatherhead, Towns in Surrey Market towns in Surrey Unparished areas in Surrey Mole Valley