The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle A ...
in southwest
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The main town is
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
and it includes
Surbiton,
Chessington
Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. The ...
,
Malden Rushett
Malden Rushett is a small village in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. It is located at the southernmost tip of the Royal Borough, surrounded by woodland and farmland, and between the larger suburban villages and towns of Claygat ...
,
New Malden
New Malden is an area in South West London, England. It is located mainly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Merton, and is from Charing Cross. Neighbouring localities include Kingston, Norbiton, Raynes ...
and
Tolworth
Tolworth is a suburban area in the Surbiton district, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. It is southwest of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Long Ditton, New Malden, Kingston, Surbiton, Berrylands, Hinchley Wood, ...
. It is the oldest of the four
royal borough
The following list of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom includes both those granted a royal title or status by express wish of a specific monarch, and those with prefixes or suffixes such as "King's" or "Regis" that relate to ...
s in England. The others are
Kensington and Chelsea and
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
also in London, and
Windsor and Maidenhead
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a Royal Borough of Berkshire, in South East England. It is named after both the towns of Maidenhead and Windsor, the borough also covers the nearby towns of Ascot and Eton. It is home to Windsor ...
. The local authority is
Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council
Kingston London Borough Council is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London.
History
There have previously b ...
.
Districts in the borough
*
Berrylands
Berrylands is a residential neighbourhood in Surbiton, London, originally forming part of the Municipal Borough of Surbiton, and since 1965 part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. It is a suburban development situated south west of ...
*
Canbury
Canbury is a district of the northern part of Kingston upon Thames that takes its name from the historic manor that covered the area. Modern Canbury comprises two electoral wards in the constituency of Richmond Park; Canbury Ward to the south ...
*
Chessington
Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. The ...
*
Coombe
*
Hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
*
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
*
Kingston Vale
Kingston Vale with Kingston Hill is a district in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in south-west London. It is a residential area between Richmond Park, the much smaller Putney Vale, Wimbledon and Putney Commons, Wimbledon Common, Coomb ...
*
Malden Rushett
Malden Rushett is a small village in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. It is located at the southernmost tip of the Royal Borough, surrounded by woodland and farmland, and between the larger suburban villages and towns of Claygat ...
*
Motspur Park
Motspur Park, also known locally as West Barnes, is a residential suburb in south-west London, in the New Malden district. It straddles the boroughs of Kingston upon Thames and Merton.
Motspur Park owes its identity to the railway station of ...
*
New Malden
New Malden is an area in South West London, England. It is located mainly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Merton, and is from Charing Cross. Neighbouring localities include Kingston, Norbiton, Raynes ...
*
Norbiton
Norbiton is an area within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. It lies approximately east of Kingston upon Thames town centre, and from Charing Cross. Its main landmarks include Kingston Hospital, Kingsmeadow football stadiu ...
*
Old Malden
Old Malden is a ward of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London, south west of Charing Cross.
Malden Manor is an alternative name for part of Old Malden, popularised by the railway company that made up this name for its st ...
*
Surbiton
*
Tolworth
Tolworth is a suburban area in the Surbiton district, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. It is southwest of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Long Ditton, New Malden, Kingston, Surbiton, Berrylands, Hinchley Wood, ...
Adjacent local government districts
*
Elmbridge
*
Epsom and Ewell
Epsom and Ewell () is a local government district with borough status and unparished area in Surrey, England, covering the towns of Epsom and Ewell. The borough was formed as an urban district in 1894, and was known as Epsom until 1934. It was ...
*
Merton
*
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. ...
*
Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...
*
Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a location
* Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire
* ...
*
Wandsworth
Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
Toponymy
Wandsworth takes its nam ...
History
Kingston upon Thames, on the south bank of the
River 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 ...
has existed for many hundreds of years. Many
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
relics have been found in the surrounding areas. A church has stood on the site of
All Saints' Church
All Saints Church, or All Saints' Church or variations on the name may refer to:
Albania
*All Saints' Church, Himarë
Australia
* All Saints Church, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
* All Saints Anglican Church, Henley Brook, Western Aust ...
, in the centre of Kingston, for more than a thousand years. An earlier church was sacked by the
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...
in 1009 AD. Kingston was the site of the
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...
s of seven
Anglo-Saxon monarchs
The Heptarchy were the seven petty kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England that flourished from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century until they were consolidated in the 8th century into the four kingdoms of Mercia, Northumbria, We ...
:
*
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 ...
, son of
Alfred the Great, 900AD
*
Athelstan, 925AD
*
Edmund I, 939AD
*
Eadred
Eadred (c. 923 – 23 November 955) was King of the English from 26 May 946 until his death. He was the younger son of Edward the Elder and his third wife Eadgifu, and a grandson of Alfred the Great. His elder brother, Edmund, was killed try ...
, 946AD
*
Eadwig
Eadwig (also Edwy or Eadwig All-Fair, 1 October 959) was King of England from 23 November 955 until his death in 959. He was the elder son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu, who died in 944. Eadwig and his brother Edgar were young ...
, 956AD
*
Edward the Martyr
Edward ( ang, Eadweard, ; 18 March 978), often called the Martyr, was King of the English from 975 until he was murdered in 978. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar, but was not his father's acknowledged heir. On Edgar's death, the leader ...
, 975AD
*
Ethelred the Unready, 979AD
The
Coronation Stone A coronation stone is a stone which has taken part in the ceremony of a monarch’s coronation. These stones were primarily used in medieval Europe, but historical examples exist throughout the world. Stones believed to have been used as coronation ...
, on which they are said to have been crowned stands outside the local council offices, the Guildhall. A coin from the reign of each of those kings is set into the base of the stone.
![Saxon Coronation Stone( Edward)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Saxon_Coronation_Stone%28_Edward%29.jpg)
The borough was formed in 1965 by the merger of the
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
s of
Kingston-upon-Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
(which itself was a
Royal Borough
The following list of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom includes both those granted a royal title or status by express wish of a specific monarch, and those with prefixes or suffixes such as "King's" or "Regis" that relate to ...
),
Malden and Coombe and
Surbiton. At time of the merger the new borough was transferred from
Surrey and since then it has been administratively part of
Greater London. The current name of the borough omits hyphens to distinguish it from the similarly named former municipal borough. Kingston also contains
County Hall, the former seat of
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 ...
.
It was part of
Surrey for postal purposes until postal counties were abolished in 1996. Districts mainly use the KT
postcode, except from the parts of
Ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...
in the borough which use the TW code, and the Kingston Vale area in the north-east which has an SW15 postcode.
Demography
Ethnicity
The following table shows the ethnic group of respondents in the 2001 and 2011 census in Kingston upon Thames.
Politics
Parliament
The borough includes the whole of the
Kingston and Surbiton Westminster Parliamentary Constituency and part of the
Richmond Park Constituency, both constituencies were created in 1997. The previous constituencies re-arranged to form these two had been essentially Conservative.
In 1997 the
Liberal Democrats won both seats.
Dr Jenny Tonge took Richmond Park constituency and in 2005
Susan Kramer became its Liberal Democrat MP with a majority of 3,731 but she was beaten in the May 2010 election by Conservative
Zac Goldsmith
Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist serving as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment s ...
with a majority of 4,091. Goldsmith retained his seat at the
2015 general election, with a greatly increased majority of 23,015. Goldsmith stood as an Independent candidate in the
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
held on 1 December 2016, but was defeated by
Sarah Olney
Sarah Jane Olney (' McGibbon; born 11 January 1977) is a British Liberal Democrat politician and former accountant who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park since 2019, and previously from 2016 to 2017. Olney has served as ...
, a Liberal Democrat, after the Conservative Party decided not to put forward its own candidate. Goldsmith regained the seat for the Conservatives in the
2017 general election with a significantly reduced majority of 45 votes. Sarah Olney then regained the seat during the 2019 General Election.
In 1997
Edward Davey
Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2012 ...
overturned the previous Conservative majority of more than 10,000 in Kingston and Surbiton, to win by 56 votes after three recounts. He retained the seat in 2001 with a majority of 15,676 over the Conservative candidate
David Shaw. In 2005 Davey's majority was 8,961, and in the May 2010 general election he again retained the seat with a slightly reduced majority, beating the Conservative candidate
Helen Whately
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (''née'' Lightwood; born 23 June 1976) is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Social Care since October 2022, and previously from 2020 to 2021. She also served as Exchequer Secretary to the Treas ...
. In the
2015 general election, Davey's seat was taken by
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 in ...
James Berry with a majority of 2,834. Davey's was one of six Liberal Democrat losses in London and 49 overall as the party suffered its worst election results since its formation in 1988. Davey regained the seat in the
2017 general election.
Local government
The Borough Council was controlled by the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
from 1965 to 1986, when a short-lived
SDP-Liberal Alliance minority administration took over. It lost several by-elections due to its attempt to abolish the Borough's
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
system. The Conservatives regained control in 1987. The 1990 election gave no party a majority but the Conservatives kept power with the
casting vote
A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...
of the Mayor.
In 2011, Councillor Tim Dennen resigned from the Liberal Democrat group to sit as an independent member.
On Tuesday 11 June 2013 Derek Osborne was arrested on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children, following his release on bail he resigned the Liberal Democrat group, as leader of Kingston Council and as a councillor for Beverley Ward. Osborne pleaded guilty and was subsequently jailed for 2 years in October 2013. The Conservatives comfortably won the by-election following the resignation of the former leader of the council.
In 2014 the Conservatives gained a majority of 8 at the local elections, bucking a trend of the Liberal Democrats retaining control in their heartlands.
The Liberal Democrats regained control of the council in 2018 with a large majority of 39 seats compared to the Conservatives' 9 seats.
Modern Kingston
![Surrey County Hall Clock Tower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Surrey_County_Hall_Clock_Tower.png)
Kingston benefits from one of the biggest and most visited shopping areas outside of
central London, with a varied selection of high street stores, and a large number of independent boutiques and retailers.
The most famous shop in Kingston is
Bentalls
Bentalls is a British department store chain with a branch in Kingston upon Thames. The well regarded 'county' department store began as a drapery shop, founded by Frank Bentall in 1867. The company was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchang ...
, started by
Frank Bentall
Bentalls is a British department store chain with a branch in Kingston upon Thames. The well regarded 'county' department store began as a drapery shop, founded by Frank Bentall in 1867. The company was formerly listed on the London Stock Exchang ...
in 1867 in Clarence Street, where it (or at least the completely rebuilt
Bentall Centre) stands.
Close to Kingston, and located between Kingston, Richmond and Roehampton, is
Richmond Park
Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park ...
, one of the oldest of London's royal parks.
The borough is home to the highest number of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
ns in Europe, in the town of
New Malden
New Malden is an area in South West London, England. It is located mainly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Merton, and is from Charing Cross. Neighbouring localities include Kingston, Norbiton, Raynes ...
.
Tourism in Kingston
Kingston has many attractions in and near it, ranging from nature and historical attractions to
theme parks
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
.
Some of the borough's attractions are:
*
Chessington World of Adventures. Resort in the south of the borough. The closest railway station is Chessington South. Chessington is one of the UK's premier theme parks attracting thousands of visitors from all around the UK to its rides, aquarium and zoo.
* Thames Riverside. A walkway beside the Thames at Kingston and
Surbiton, it has a variety of restaurants.
*
Coronation Stone A coronation stone is a stone which has taken part in the ceremony of a monarch’s coronation. These stones were primarily used in medieval Europe, but historical examples exist throughout the world. Stones believed to have been used as coronation ...
. Situated outside The Guildhall in Kingston, this ancient rock was the crowning point of some of England's early kings.
*
Richmond Park
Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park ...
. One of the world's largest urban parks, its Kingston Gate is situated within the borough's boundary.
* Kingston Town Centre. One of London's biggest shopping destinations, with hundreds of shops, cafes and restaurants, as well as a large entertainment complex, including an
Odeon Cinema
Odeon, stylised as ODEON, is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsidiary of AMC Theatres. It uses the famous name ...
and Tenpin Bowling. Also in the town centre is a historic market which has been running for hundreds of years.
*
Rose Theatre. An 822-seat theatre in the centre of Kingston.
*
Bentall Centre (a shopping centre). It is home to over 75 shops (including the Bentalls department store), restaurants and other services.
Economy
Kingston is the 3rd largest retail centre by employment, in London.
Sega Amusements International, responsible for the production of arcade games outside Japan, has its head office in
Chessington
Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. The ...
, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. Lidl relocated its UK Headquarters to Kingston in 2020.
Industry
Sopwith Aviation Company
The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force during the First World War, most famously ...
had a factory in the Canbury Park area of Kingston, where the famous
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the ...
was produced during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...
was designed in a site in Kingston town centre and built in the aviation factory near Ham now known as the Hawker Centre.
Education
Primary responsibility for education in the borough lies with the local education authority.
Schools
Free schools:
*
The Kingston Academy
The Kingston Academy (TKA), is a co-educational secondary free school located in the London Borough of Kingston upon Thames
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames an ...
(mixed), Richmond Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT2 5PE
Academy schools
An academy school in England is a state-funded school which is directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local authority control. The terms of the arrangements are set out in individual Academy Funding Agreements. Most ...
:
*
Chessington School
Chessington School (Chessington Community College until September 2018) is a co-educational secondary school with a sports centre, in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. The current building was opened in September 2009. ...
(mixed), Garrison Lane, Chessington KT9 2JS
*
Coombe Boys’ School, College Gardens, Blakes Lane, New Malden KT3 6NU
*
Coombe Girls’ School, Clarence Avenue, New Malden KT3 3TU
*
The Hollyfield School and Sixth Form Centre (mixed), Surbiton Hill Road, Surbiton KT6 4TU
*
Holy Cross School (girls) (Roman Catholic), Sandal Road, New Malden KT3 5AR
*
Richard Challoner School
Richard Challoner School is an all boys secondary school with a mixed sixth form that is federated with Holy Cross School, New Malden. It has an academy status and is located in Surrey, England. The school is named after Bishop Richard Chall ...
(boys) (Roman Catholic), Manor Drive North, New Malden KT3 5PE
*
Southborough High School
Southborough High School, commonly known as ''Southborough'', is a boys secondary School with a mixed sixth form. Founded in 1962, it has academy status and is in Surbiton, Greater London. It was rated a grade 2 school (Good) in 2017 by Ofste ...
(boys), Hook Road, Surbiton KT6 5AS
*
Tiffin Girls’ School, Richmond Road, Kingston upon Thames KT2 5PL
*
Tiffin School (boys), Queen Elizabeth Road, Kingston upon Thames KT2 6RL
*
Tolworth Girls’ School and Sixth Form, Fullers Way North, Surbiton KT6 7LQ
Further education
*
Kingston College
*
Hillcroft College
Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College is a further education college located in Richmond and Surbiton in Greater London. It was established in 2017 by a merger between Richmond Adult Community College and the specialist Hillcroft Colleg ...
Higher education
*
Kingston University
, mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress"
, established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute
, type = Public
, endowment = £2.3 m (2015)
, ...
Transport
Kingston has nine
South Western Railway stations and
two centrally located bus stations, but no
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
or other
Transport for London stations. In 2008, 64 bus routes served Kingston.
Railway
Coaching interests in Kingston opposed the plan of the
London and Southampton Railway
The London and Southampton Railway was an early railway company between London and Southampton, in England. It opened in stages from 1838 to 1840 after a difficult construction period, but was commercially successful.
On preparing to serve Por ...
to run its line to Southampton near Kingston. The line consequently avoided the town with a station opened in 1838 southwest of the town; it was later resited to the present site of
Surbiton station.
In 1863 a branch was built from Twickenham to a terminus in Kingston. That line was extended to the main line in 1869 to form the
Kingston Loop Line.
All rail services in the borough are operated by South Western Railway, who provide regular services to and from
London Waterloo
Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of ...
.
Railway stations in the borough:
*, London Zone 5
*, London Zone 6
*, London Zone 6
*
Kingston, London Zone 6
*, London Zone 4
*, London Zone 4
*, London Zone 5
*, London Zone 6
*, London Zone 5
Travel to work
In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: driving a car or van, 26.1% of all residents aged 16–74; train, 7.1%; bus, minibus or coach, 7.1%; on foot, 6.9%; work mainly at or from home, 4.3%; bicycle, 2.8%; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 2.5%.
Coat of arms
The Kingston
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
displays three salmon and its shield is almost identical to the coat of arms of the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
municipality of
Laholm
Laholm () is a town and the seat of Laholm Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 6,527 inhabitants in 2015.
Laholm is, despite its small population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a ''city''.
The town is located at the ...
. Both coats of arms can be traced back to the 16th century. The arms of the
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
town of
Mandal is also similar, but more recent.
In 1966 the newly created
London Borough
The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at ...
added a set
crests and
supporters taken from the localities merged into it. The crest came from the
Municipal Borough of Malden and Coombe
Malden and Coombe was a local government district in Surrey, England from 1866 to 1965.
New Malden Local Government District was formed in 1866 under the Local Government Act 1858 from part of the ancient parish of Kingston upon Thames. It was ...
, with the with that Borough's arms hung from the neck of the stag, and the supporters taken from
Municipal Borough of Surbiton
Surbiton was a local government district in northeast Surrey, United Kingdom from 1855 to 1965.
Creation
Until 1855 Surbiton was administered as part of the parish of Kingston upon Thames. In that year a body of improvement commissioners was for ...
, with again it's arms hanging from the stags neck.
International links
Although not officially 'twinned', The Royal Borough of Kingston has a partner city of
Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to:
Places
*Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica
*Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany
**Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony
*Olde ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Gwanak-gu
Gwanak District (Gwanak-gu) is an administrative subdivision (''gu'') of Seoul, South Korea. It lies on the southern skirt of Seoul, bordering Anyang of Gyeonggi Province. The southern border of Gwanak-gu, bordering Anyang, consists of the cra ...
, an administrative subdivision of
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
. Some road signs announce that Kingston is linked with
Delft in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
but this official link has ended.
International Relations – European and International Partnerships
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Sport and leisure
The Borough of Kingston upon Thames has several football clubs in its area:
* Kingstonian
Kingstonian Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London which currently plays in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
The club was founded in 1885 by YMC ...
a Non-League football club who play at King George's Field
* Corinthian Casuals a Non-League football club who play at King George's Field
* Chessington & Hook United a Non-League football club who play at Chalky Lane
* Epsom Athletic a defunct Non-League football club who play at Chalky Lane
* Chelsea F.C. Women
Chelsea Football Club Women, formerly known as Chelsea Ladies Football Club, are an English women's football club based in Norbiton that competes in the Women's Super League, the top flight of women's football in England. Since 2004, the clu ...
who play at the Kingsmeadow Stadium in WSL 1
The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...
References
External links
Kingston upon Thames Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Borough Of Kingston Upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
1965 establishments in the United Kingdom
Places with royal patronage in London