Toponymy
Geography
Location and topography
Leatherhead is a town in centralGeology
Leatherhead is at the southern edge of theHistory
Early history
The earliest evidence of human activity in Leatherhead comes from theGovernance
The medieval history of Leatherhead is complex, since the parish was divided into a number of manors. The town appears inTransport 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 localCommerce
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-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 firstLeatherhead 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 theNational and Local Government
UK Parliament
Leatherhead is in the Mole Valley parliamentary constituency, which has been represented in theCounty Council
Councillors are elected toDistrict Council
Five councillors represent the town onTwin town
Since 2004, Leatherhead has been twinned withDemography 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 townEmergency 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 isHealthcare
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
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.Royal School for the Blind
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 theSt Mary and St Nicholas Church
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
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
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
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
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
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
Leatherhead Institute
Running Horse pub
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
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
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
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. *Notes
References
Bibliography
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* List of leisure and entertainment in LeatherheadExternal links