Kingston-upon-Thames (spelt with hyphens) was a local government district in north east

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, England from 1835 to 1965 around the town now known 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 ...

. It was alternatively known as Kingston on Thames (spelt with or without hyphens).On the question of hyphenation, see official documents and other publications from before 1 April 1965. It was a

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 ...

and also held the rarer status of

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 ...

. The district was abolished in 1965 and was replaced with the larger

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 and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in En ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

, with the Royal borough status passed to the new district. Kingston St James Road-1

History

The ancient borough 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 ...

received its charter in 1484 from

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in Englan ...

. The borough corporation was reformed by the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and ...

. The ancient parish of Kingston-upon-Thames was much larger than the ancient borough. Through the gradual process of splitting off new parishes, the borough and parish became coterminous in 1894. It formed part of the expanded

Metropolitan Police District The Metropolitan Police District (MPD) is the police area which is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service in London. It currently consists of the Greater London region, excluding the City of London. The Metropolitan Police District was creat ...

from 1840 and the

London Traffic Area The London Traffic Area was established by the London Traffic Act 1924 to regulate the increasing amount of motor traffic in the London area. The LTA was abolished in 1965 on the establishment of the Greater London Council. The traffic area ex ...

from 1924. It was known as a Royal borough through ancient custom and the right to the title was confirmed by

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother ...

in 1927. The borough formed part of the

London Passenger Transport Area The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...

from 1933. It gained an area of in the north west from the abolition of

Ham Urban District Ham was a local government district in north east Surrey, England around the village of Ham from 1894 to 1933. Ham Common Local Government District was formed under the Local Government Act 1858 and was governed by a local board of eight members ...

in 1933 and was affected by a minor exchange of territory with the Municipal Borough of Richmond in 1958. The district was abolished in 1965 by the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

and its former area was transferred to

to be combined with that of the Municipal Borough of Malden and Coombe and the Municipal Borough of Surbiton to form the

; with the status of Royal borough transferred to the new borough. The borough's

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 ...

was first registered in 1572. It was ''Azure three salmon naiant in pale argent''. This coat of arms was re-adopted as that of the new London Borough of Kingston upon Thames in 1965, with the addition of a crest and supporters, and the changing of the colour of the fins of the three fishes from silver to red.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston upon Thames Kingston History of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Municipal boroughs of England Places with royal patronage in England