Lower Green is a residential and commercial area within
Esher
Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole.
Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up Ar ...
, in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, England, on the banks of the
River Ember
The River Ember is a short river in the north of Surrey, England — a channel of the River Mole which splits in two south of Island Barn Reservoir, between East Molesey and Lower Green, Esher. The Ember, the larger channel, flows in an easter ...
and
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 district ...
. The area has many businesses, most of them in the commercial complex comprising Sandown Industrial Complex and Royal Mills.
For electoral purposes, Lower Green is divided into two
wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
: Hinchley Wood & Weston Green, and Esher.
History
The Royal Mills
![LowerGreen RoyalMillsSite IMG 8372](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/LowerGreen_RoyalMillsSite_IMG_8372.jpg)
The mills were located on the bank of the River Mole and were one of many such mills along the river, as many as 20 were recorded in the
doomsday 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 ...
. The Esher Mills were mentioned in the court rolls of
King John of England
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
where a payment from Roger the Miller for an annual sum of 12 broches of eels was recorded in 1199.
The mill was originally used for corn milling.
Industrial activity was recorded in the 17th century when a copper wire mill was established in 1649 by two Dutch settlers, Mommer and Demetrus, who acquired the mill. The mill was later purchased by Dockwra's Copper Mill and copper and brass wire were produced until c.1800.
Under the ownership of Lord Hotham it became a
paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...
, and it is assumed the title 'Royal' came from the production of either banknotes or paper in 'royal' sizes. Later the mill became a
linoleum
Linoleum, sometimes shortened to lino, is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most com ...
factory until it was burnt down in 1897.
In 1902 the mill was acquired and rebuilt by the
bookbinders A bookbinder is someone who binds books.
Bookbinder may also refer to:
*Alan Bookbinder (born 1956), British journalist and Master of Downing College, Cambridge
*Elaine Bookbinder (born 1945), singer better known as Elkie Brooks
* Roy Bookbinder ( ...
James Burn & Co Ltd, who installed a steam engine. The site was the scene of another fire in 1908, however the company survived and became renowned for
spiral binding.
In 1939 a
hangar
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
was built for
Vickers
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...
as part of the wartime dispersal of work where the hangar was used for aircraft parts. The hangar was later used by the council from 1969 to 1988.
In 1968 salvage work was carried out on the Royal Mills due to heavy flooding that year.
Housing
Small cottages have been seen in Lower Green from maps dating back as far as 1871, with the slow extension of housing emanating west from the Royal Mill. The 1923 Housing Act saw the completion of some council cottages, provisioning of such housing was suspended in 1939 and was restarted in 1949.
It was not until the 1950s that the density of housing increased drastically with the building of the houses to the west towards
Thames Ditton
Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross ...
. Wolsey Grange, the home of the solicitor and church warden Robert Hamilton Few, no longer exists but was prominent on early maps of the area.
Sandown Park
Built in the 1870s with land acquired from J W Spicer of Esher Place,
Sandown Park's first meeting was held in 1875.
Esher Place Gate House
![LowerGreen GateHouse IMG 8410](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/LowerGreen_GateHouse_IMG_8410.jpg)
In 1929 the
Esher Place
Esher Place is a Grade-II listed country house, since 1953 used as a college by the trade union Unite, in Esher, Surrey, United Kingdom. The building is at least the fourth on approximately the same site and mainly dates to the 1890s. It incor ...
estate was broken up and sold, part of this included The Gate House which was acquired by Shaftesbury Home for Girls. The Gate House is now private residences.
Railway
In 1838 a line was proposed from
Nine Elms
Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies on the River Thames, with Battersea to the west, South Lambeth to the south and Vauxhall to the east.
The area was formerly mainly industrial bu ...
to
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
and in the same year a station was opened in
Surbiton. 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 ...
bought land in Lower Green to circumnavigate Esher town and Ditton Marsh station, now
Esher station, was opened in 1846. The station had an exclusive waiting room for the Duchess of Albany for race-day attendances.
Coal Tax Post
![LowerGreen CoalTaxPost IMG 8427](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/LowerGreen_CoalTaxPost_IMG_8427.jpg)
Originally set up to pay for
the Great fire in 1666 the
coal tax posts were established around London to pay for improvements, two of which can be found in Lower Green. One is located on Lower Green Road, TQ 138 657, and the other on Douglas Road, TQ 140 685, was moved in 1861.
Maps
A history of Lower Green can also be seen through the rich cartography of the area. Lower Green can be identified as far back as John Rocque's 1762 map, where the map identifies the Esher Wire Mill on the banks of the River Mole and River Ember. Lower Green Road is also on the map with agricultural land to the north. By 1871 The Six-inch England and Wales Ordnance Survey Maps identify the addition of the London and South Western Railway and Lower Green is clearly marked on the map. The map also identifies the Mill Cottages, The Old Papermills, Papermills Road (now Mill Road), a Boat House, City Post, Wolsey Grange, a Wells, The Grove and Pound Farm.
In the 1896 Ordnance Survey (OS) map Island Barn can be seen but it was not until 1897 that the water treatment facility becomes visible and much later the reservoir. The maps show that the mill's name changed from Old Paper Mill to Royal Mills and Paper Mill Road changed to Mill Lane. The map also identifies the addition of Mill Mead and several new buildings and detailed views of The Grove and Wolsey Grange.
In 1899 the Railway Clearing House map shows the addition of Sandown racecourse and the station which was at the time named Claremont and Esher - the station had many names over the years. In a map containing Sandown Farm from 1804 you are able to see the topography before the racetrack was built. By 1913 in the OS map Royal Mills becomes Royal Mills Bookbinding and a short stretch of Douglas Road with houses on the south can be seen. There are some new houses on what is now Farm Road and a row of now non-existent Mill Cottages in the Royal Mill Ait, between the Ember and Mole rivers, with additional cottages to the east of Mill Lane.
By 1920 houses can be seen on the east end of Lower Green Road. John Bartholomew & Co.'s 1922 map shows Lower Green cut by the district zoning. By 1934 Farm Road is established and houses are built on the north side of Douglas Road, with 1939 seeing the addition of yet more houses on Farm Road and the completion of the
Island Barn Reservoir
The Island Barn Reservoir lies south of the River Thames in England at West Molesey and north of Lower Green, Esher. The reservoir is large with a capacity of 992 million gallons and is managed by Thames Water. It is within the borough of Elmb ...
.
It is not until 1956 in the TQ16 map that you can see the densely populated area in the east of Lower Green which is connected by the extension of Douglas Road into the Woodlands, the addition of the properties built by Esher District Council can also be seen. In 1960 the Lower Green area is shown to include
Esher Place
Esher Place is a Grade-II listed country house, since 1953 used as a college by the trade union Unite, in Esher, Surrey, United Kingdom. The building is at least the fourth on approximately the same site and mainly dates to the 1890s. It incor ...
and
Waynflete Tower.
Locality
Landmarks
* The Old Cottage, Grade II listed building
*
Esher Place
Esher Place is a Grade-II listed country house, since 1953 used as a college by the trade union Unite, in Esher, Surrey, United Kingdom. The building is at least the fourth on approximately the same site and mainly dates to the 1890s. It incor ...
Gate House
* Coal Tax Post
*
Sandown Racecourse
Sandown Racecourse (also known as Ladbrokes Park due to naming rights) is a Thoroughbred horse racing race track administered by the Melbourne Racing Club in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is situated 25 kilometres south-east of the Melbourn ...
Amenities
Lower End has no high street, but there is a cafe, corner shop and brewery that has a tap room open to the public.
There is a retail restaurant-lined street (A307 High Street) to the south-west, which is a 10-minute walk.
*
Esher Railway station
Esher railway station is a station on the South West Main Line operated by South Western Railway in Surrey, England. The station adjoins the north of Esher with two footpaths skirting Sandown Park Racecourse, the town's commercial area being 3 ...
* Corner store, formerly called Denhams
* Brewery open to the public
* Lower Green Community Center
* Farm Road Recreation Ground
* Emberside Recreation Ground
* Ember sports club
* Byways and bridle ways along 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 district ...
to
Molesey Heath
Notable residents
*
John Cobb (1899–1952), racing motorist, three times holder of the world land speed record – born at Esher
References
Map of Lower Green, Esher
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Populated places on the River Thames
Villages in Surrey
Borough of Elmbridge