Walton-on-Thames
Encyclopedia
Walton-on-Thames ˈ is a town
in the Elmbridge
borough of Surrey
in South East England
. The town is located 15.3 miles (24.6 km) south west of Charing Cross
and is between the towns of Weybridge
and Molesey. It is situated on the River Thames
between Sunbury Lock
and Shepperton Lock
.
and the Saxons
were present, there was a Celtic settlement here. The Anglo-Saxon word for the Celtic inhabitants who lived here before them is "Wealas". Walton was also identified by William Camden
as the place where Julius Caesar
forded the River Thames on his second invasion of Britain. However, according to the Elmbridge Museum, there is no evidence to support this.
Walton lay within the Anglo-Saxon
administrative district of the Elmbridge
hundred.
Walton appears in the Domesday Book
of 1086 as "Waletona". The settlement was held jointly by Edward de Sarisber (Salisbury
) and Richard de Tonbrige. Its Domesday assets were: 6 hides
; 1 church (St. Mary's), 2 mills
worth £1 5s 0d, 1 fishery
worth 5s, 14 plough
s, 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of meadow
, worth 50 hogs
. It rendered £28.
The original village lies in the north, while later development took place in the south, closer to the railway station
. St. Mary's Parish Church is of Saxon origin, with parts dating back to the 12th century. The square flint tower, supported by a 19th century brick buttress, contains a peal
of 8 bells, the oldest bearing the date 1606. The royal palace of Oatlands, built by Henry VIII
in 1538, was a mile upstream to the west.
John Bradshaw
lived in the Tudor manor house in the 17th century. He presided at Charles I
's trial.
During World War I
, troops from New Zealand
were hospitalised in the now-demolished Mount Felix House. They are remembered by a memorial in the cemetery, where those who died at Mount Felix are buried, and one in St Mary's Church where an annual service of remembrance is held. They are also remembered in the street-name New Zealand Avenue, the Wellington Pub (formerly The Kiwi), and a small memorial in the Homebase
car park.
In World War II
, owing largely to the proximity of important aircraft factories at nearby Brooklands
, the town was bombed on various occasions by the Luftwaffe
. On 27 September 1940, fighter pilot F/Sgt. Charles Sydney, who was based with 92 Squadron at RAF Biggin Hill
, died when his Spitfire
(R6767) crashed in Station Avenue. He was buried in Orpington
and is commemorated today by a memorial plaque close to the crash site.
Hersham and Walton Motors
(HWM) constructed its own racing car in the early 1950s. Stirling Moss
competed in his first Formula One
Grand Prix
in an HWM. HWM was the world's first Aston Martin
dealership that diversified into Alfa Romeo
in 2009.
, Next, Waterstone's
, HMV
, River Island and Desire by Debenhams
. The public library was relocated and is now situated in the Heart. There are also several restaurants along New Zealand Avenue, including Nando's
, Giraffe
, Gourmet Burger Kitchen
, glo and Wagamama
.
services to Walton-on-Thames railway station
. A railway journey to London Waterloo takes 25 minutes. There are regular bus services run by the Surrey County Council to nearby towns Weybridge
, Shepperton
, Hersham
, Molesey and Kingston-upon-Thames. A pleasure boat service runs regularly on a stretch of the river that includes a loop around Desborough Island
.
The first bridge
, constructed between 1748 and 1750, was a timber structure that stood until 1783. Canaletto
painted a picture of this bridge in 1754. The painting, which shows the rococo
-style of this bridge, may be seen in the Dulwich Picture Gallery
.
The second bridge was constructed in 1788 and stood until 1859. Constructed of brick and stone, it lasted much longer than its predecessor. This bridge was painted by J. M. W. Turner
in 1805 following his sketching tour of the River Thames and River Wey
.
After the second bridge collapsed a ferry-crossing resumed until the construction of the third bridge in 1864. This was a girder bridge on stone piers. At the same time, a brick viaduct was constructed in order to span the flood plain to the south of the river. As of 2009 the viaduct is still standing.
The third bridge was damaged during World War II
in 1940, leading to a permanent weight restriction. In order to alleviate this a fourth temporary bridge was constructed in 1953 on the downstream side of the old bridge; this was relegated to use by cyclists and pedestrians only until finally demolished in 1985.
The fourth bridge was constructed from prefabricated sections designed by A. M. Hamilton
in 1930; built by Callender Cables Ltd, it was called the Callender-Hamilton Bridge. In 1999, the fourth bridge was replaced by yet another temporary, fifth bridge occupying the line of the original bridges. This initially had several problems and had to be resurfaced a number of times causing huge traffic disruptions. The fourth bridge was restricted for use by cyclists and pedestrians only once the fifth bridge was completed.
Building a sixth bridge is due to start January 2011 and is expected to finish by the summer of 2013. The bridge will replace the two existing bridges, which will remain in use until the new bridge is completed.
Walton Bridge works clear way for January 2012 start
http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2100996_walton_bridge_works_clear_way_for_january_start
The new £32.4 million bridge will have no piers in the river, thus opening up views along the river and improving navigation for boats.
The Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Centre is situated to the east of the town near the River Thames. The centre includes two swimming pools, an extensive gym, indoor courts and a climbing wall.
The River Thames offers extensive opportunities for water-based sports, including rowing
, canoeing
, kayaking
, skiffing
, punting
and sailing
. Walton Rowing Club
, Thames Valley Skiff Club
and St George's College, Weybridge
Rowing Club are situated on the river towpath between the town centre and the Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Centre.
Walton Athletics Club was founded in 1942 and is based at Stompond Lane
. The club has around 200 members ranging in age from 9 years to over 60 years old. The club provides qualified coaching in all athletics disciplines and participates in a number of different leagues to provide appropriate competition for all age groups in track and field, cross country
and road running
.
Walton & Hersham F.C.
are a football club who are currently spending the 2009–10 season
in the Isthmian League Division One South. Nicknamed the Swans, they play at Stompond Lane
. The club play in a red and white home kit and a yellow away kit. In 1973, they won the FA Amateur Cup
in its penultimate year, beating Slough Town
1–0 in front of 41,000 spectators (the third largest crowd of the day) at Wembley. Later that year, they achieved a shock 4–0 win over Brian Clough's
Brighton & Hove Albion
(then a Football League Third Division
side) in the FA Cup
.
Walton Casuals F.C.
are a football club who are currently spending the 2009–10 season
in the Isthmian League Division One South, the same league as their neighbours Walton & Hersham F.C. Nicknamed the Stags, they play at the Franklyn Road Sports Ground just off Waterside Drive and adjacent to the new Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Centre. The club play in a tangerine and black home kit and a claret and blue away kit.
.
In local elections, recent contests for seats on Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council have been between the local Conservatives and the local Residents Group, the Walton Society.
The Walton Society was founded in 1975 by its late President, the writer and intellectual Ronald Segal, and entered local politics in 1980 with Gordon Chubb MBE who served until his death in 2006. At one point there were nine Society councillors in all the Walton wards during the period of Residents Groups' control of Elmbridge from the 1990s to 2006. The Society currently has two councillors representing Walton Central ward, including Elmbridge's Leader of the Opposition Chris Sadler. In 2005 its then chairman Tom Phelps Penry narrowly won the Walton division (North, Ambleside and half of Central ward) on Surrey County Council from the Conservatives, and retained the seat in 2009. The Walton South and Oatlands division of Surrey County Council, which includes parts of the town centre, is Conservative held.
Walton's most recent Labour councillor was defeated in 2000. From 2006 to 2008, local Conservatives increased their representation to nine seats in Walton on the Elmbridge Borough Council at the expense of the Walton Society: three in Walton South ward, two in Walton Ambleside ward and three in Walton North. Walton Central ward is currently split with one Conservative and the two remaining Walton Society Elmbridge councillors.
(c. 1690-1752), noted for his edition of Aesop's Fables
; George Brydges Rodney
(1718-1792), remembered for his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes
in 1782; writer Susan Ertz
(1894-1985), who observed that 'Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon'; aircraft designer John Carver Meadows Frost
(1915-1979), who pioneered supersonic British experimental aircraft; Tony Walton
, set and costume designer, in 1934; Dame Julie Andrews
, actress, singer and author, in 1935; Nick Lowe
, singer-songwriter, musician and producer, in 1949; Ian Rank-Broadley
, sculptor and designer of previous British coinage, in 1952; Luke Haines
, musician in The Auteurs
, Baader Meinhof
, Black Box Recorder and The Servants
, in 1967; Danny Sapsford
, tennis player, in 1969; Sean Emmett
, Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, in 1970; Gail Trimble
, student and contestant on University Challenge
, in 1982; and Tyger Drew Honey, actor in Outnumbered
, in 1996. Actress Fay Ripley
(born 1966), best known as Jenny Gifford in ITV
series Cold Feet
, grew up in Walton.
In 1909, composer Jerome Kern
took a boat trip on the River Thames with some friends, and when the boat stopped at Walton, Kern went to a pub and inn called the Swan to have a drink. The proprietor's daughter, Eva Leale, was working behind the bar, and on 25 October 1910, the two were married at St. Mary's Church in Walton.
Madeleine Albright
, 64th United States Secretary of State
, went to a school in Oatlands; the building, whilst no longer a school, has been converted into flats and stands next to a pub/restaurant, The Oatlands Chaser - formerly known as The Badger's Rest and the King's Manor.
Eileen Sheridan, the 1958 Miss United Kingdom, came from Walton-on-Thames; she went on to place 6th at the 1960 Miss World
contest.
were filmed in Walton. The old town hall can be seen in one sketch. Another sketch shows an Admiral Nelson dummy being thrown from one of the flats in Wellington Close and the public toilets near the pub "The Regent" are in the background of another sketch.
1971 cult horror film Psychomania
was shot in Walton, including several key scenes in the town centre.
ITV
sitcom Is It Legal?
was shot in Walton. The Adventures of Robin Hood
was filmed at Nettlefold Studios
in Walton.
such as former Radio 1
DJ
Chris Denning
, Tam Paton
(manager of the Bay City Rollers
) and Jonathan King
. It closed in 1990. Musician Luke Haines
, born in Walton, released a record titled "The Walton Hop" in 2006.
Amanda Dowler, murder victim, was born in Walton in June 1988 and was still living there when last seen alive on 21 March 2002. Her body was found some 45 kilometres (28 mi) away in Hampshire
six months later. Levi Bellfield
, a 41-year-old man from Isleworth
serving a life sentence
for two murders and an attempted murder, was charged with the murder on 30 March 2010, just after the eighth anniversary of Dowler's disappearance.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the Elmbridge
Elmbridge
Elmbridge is a local government district and borough in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Esher. The district has only one civil parish, which is Claygate...
borough of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
in South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
. The town is located 15.3 miles (24.6 km) south west of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
and is between the towns of Weybridge
Weybridge
Weybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. It is bounded to the north by the River Thames at the mouth of the River Wey, from which it gets its name...
and Molesey. It is situated on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
between Sunbury Lock
Sunbury Lock
Sunbury Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near Walton-on-Thames in north-west Surrey. The lock adjoins the southern bank about half a mile downstream of the Weir Hotel....
and Shepperton Lock
Shepperton Lock
Shepperton Lock is a lock on the River Thames, in England adjoining the northern bank near Shepperton, Surrey . It is across the river from Weybridge, but not directly accessible from there....
.
History
The name "Walton" is Anglo-Saxon in origin and is believed to mean "farm of the Britons" or "Saxon settlement". Even before the RomansAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
and the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
were present, there was a Celtic settlement here. The Anglo-Saxon word for the Celtic inhabitants who lived here before them is "Wealas". Walton was also identified by William Camden
William Camden
William Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...
as the place where Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
forded the River Thames on his second invasion of Britain. However, according to the Elmbridge Museum, there is no evidence to support this.
Walton lay within the Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
administrative district of the Elmbridge
Elmbridge (hundred)
Elmbridge Hundred or the Hundred of Elmbridge was an ancient hundred in the north of the county of Surrey, England. The majority of its area forms the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, with the remainder now forming part of Greater London....
hundred.
Walton appears in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 as "Waletona". The settlement was held jointly by Edward de Sarisber (Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
) and Richard de Tonbrige. Its Domesday assets were: 6 hides
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
; 1 church (St. Mary's), 2 mills
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
worth £1 5s 0d, 1 fishery
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
worth 5s, 14 plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
s, 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) of meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, worth 50 hogs
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
. It rendered £28.
The original village lies in the north, while later development took place in the south, closer to the railway station
Walton-on-Thames railway station
Walton-on-Thames railway station serves the town of Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England. The station is located in the Ashley Park area of the town. The station originally opened as Walton for Hersham.Only the two outer platforms on the slow lines are currently used...
. St. Mary's Parish Church is of Saxon origin, with parts dating back to the 12th century. The square flint tower, supported by a 19th century brick buttress, contains a peal
Peal
A peal is the name given to a specific type of performance of change ringing. The precise definition of a peal has changed considerably over the years...
of 8 bells, the oldest bearing the date 1606. The royal palace of Oatlands, built by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
in 1538, was a mile upstream to the west.
John Bradshaw
John Bradshaw (judge)
John Bradshaw was an English judge. He is most notable for his role as President of the High Court of Justice for the trial of King Charles I and as the first Lord President of the Council of State of the English Commonwealth....
lived in the Tudor manor house in the 17th century. He presided at Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
's trial.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, troops from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
were hospitalised in the now-demolished Mount Felix House. They are remembered by a memorial in the cemetery, where those who died at Mount Felix are buried, and one in St Mary's Church where an annual service of remembrance is held. They are also remembered in the street-name New Zealand Avenue, the Wellington Pub (formerly The Kiwi), and a small memorial in the Homebase
Homebase
Homebase is a British home improvement store and garden centre, with 350 stores across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is well known by its green and orange colour scheme. Together with its sister company Argos , it forms part of Home Retail Group. Homebase recorded sales figures...
car park.
In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, owing largely to the proximity of important aircraft factories at nearby Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
, the town was bombed on various occasions by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. On 27 September 1940, fighter pilot F/Sgt. Charles Sydney, who was based with 92 Squadron at RAF Biggin Hill
Biggin Hill
Biggin Hill is an area and electoral ward in the outskirts of the London Borough of Bromley in southeast London, United Kingdom.-History:Historically the settlement was known as Aperfield and formed part of the parish of Cudham...
, died when his Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
(R6767) crashed in Station Avenue. He was buried in Orpington
Orpington
Orpington is a suburban town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bromley. It forms the southeastern edge of London's urban sprawl and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
and is commemorated today by a memorial plaque close to the crash site.
Hersham and Walton Motors
Hersham and Walton Motors
Hersham and Walton Motors is the world's longest established Aston Martin business and is well known as a racing car constructor. As a constructor, it is best known for its involvement in Formula Two from 1950 to 1953 and Formula One in 1954...
(HWM) constructed its own racing car in the early 1950s. Stirling Moss
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
competed in his first Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
Grand Prix
Grand Prix motor racing
Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver...
in an HWM. HWM was the world's first Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
dealership that diversified into Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
in 2009.
Population
The total population of Walton is 22,834. According to the 2001 census, the population of central Walton is 5,862, with Elmbridge's population being 121,936. Central Walton has a male population of 2,791 against Elmbridge's male population of 58,867, and the female population of central Walton is 3,071 against Elmbridge's 63,069.Commerce
The Heart of Walton is the name given to the re-development of the Walton town centre. The old town centre was built in the 1960s and had become very run down owing to poor maintenance. The redevelopment includes a shopping mall and 279 one- and two-bedroom apartments with views over Ashley Park. The main part of the centre, a covered walkway, has several brand retailers including Phones 4UPhones 4U
Phones 4u is a large independent mobile phone retailer in the UK. It is part of the 4u Group based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. Since opening in 1996, it has expanded to over 550 stores throughout the United Kingdom. - Company Background :...
, Next, Waterstone's
Waterstone's
Waterstone's is a British book specialist established in 1982 by Tim Waterstone that employs around 4,500 staff throughout the United Kingdom and Europe....
, HMV
HMV Group
HMV is a British global entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index...
, River Island and Desire by Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
. The public library was relocated and is now situated in the Heart. There are also several restaurants along New Zealand Avenue, including Nando's
Nando's
Nando's is a casual dining restaurant group originating from South Africa with a Portuguese/Mozambican theme. Founded in 1987, Nando's operates in thirty countries on five continents....
, Giraffe
Giraffe Restaurants
Giraffe Restaurants is a United Kingdom restaurant and cafe chain, founded in Hampstead in 1998 by Juliette & Russel Joffe, and Andrew Jacobs....
, Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Gourmet Burger Kitchen is a restaurant business in United Kingdom specialising in gourmet burgers from a fully traceable West Country herd....
, glo and Wagamama
Wagamama
Wagamama is a British-headquartered restaurant chain, serving pan-Asian food in the style of a modern Japanese Ramen bar.-History:Created by Alan Yau, who subsequently created the Chinese restaurants Hakkasan and Yauatcha in London, the first Wagamama opened in 1992 off Gower Street in...
.
Transport
Walton-on-Thames is served by South West TrainsSouth West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
services to Walton-on-Thames railway station
Walton-on-Thames railway station
Walton-on-Thames railway station serves the town of Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England. The station is located in the Ashley Park area of the town. The station originally opened as Walton for Hersham.Only the two outer platforms on the slow lines are currently used...
. A railway journey to London Waterloo takes 25 minutes. There are regular bus services run by the Surrey County Council to nearby towns Weybridge
Weybridge
Weybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. It is bounded to the north by the River Thames at the mouth of the River Wey, from which it gets its name...
, Shepperton
Shepperton
Shepperton is a town in the borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England. To the south it is bounded by the river Thames at Desborough Island and is bisected by the M3 motorway...
, Hersham
Hersham
Hersham is a village in Surrey, within the M25 boundary. It is within easy reach of Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The main A3 London to Portsmouth road runs through its boundaries...
, Molesey and Kingston-upon-Thames. A pleasure boat service runs regularly on a stretch of the river that includes a loop around Desborough Island
Desborough Island
Desborough Island is a large artificially-created island in the River Thames on the reach above Sunbury Lock in Surrey, England. The island was formed in 1930s by the digging of a channel - the Desborough Cut - by the Thames Conservancy...
.
Walton Bridge
There have been five bridges at Walton crossing the River Thames so far; plans are advanced for a sixth. Prior to the first bridge there was a ferry which went back at least to the 15th century.Old Walton Bridge
Old Walton Bridge is the name given to the first Walton Bridge built across the River Thames at Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England. The wooden bridge was completed in 1750 and stood until 1783 when it was dismantled to make way for a brickwork replacement....
, constructed between 1748 and 1750, was a timber structure that stood until 1783. Canaletto
Canaletto
Giovanni Antonio Canal better known as Canaletto , was a Venetian painter famous for his landscapes, or vedute, of Venice. He was also an important printmaker in etching.- Early career :...
painted a picture of this bridge in 1754. The painting, which shows the rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
-style of this bridge, may be seen in the Dulwich Picture Gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, South London. England's first purpose-built public art gallery, it was designed by Regency architect Sir John Soane and opened to the public in 1817. Soane arranged the exhibition spaces as a series of interlinked rooms illuminated naturally...
.
The second bridge was constructed in 1788 and stood until 1859. Constructed of brick and stone, it lasted much longer than its predecessor. This bridge was painted by J. M. W. Turner
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
in 1805 following his sketching tour of the River Thames and River Wey
River Wey
The River Wey in Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex is a tributary of the River Thames with two separate branches which join at Tilford. The source of the north branch is at Alton, Hampshire and of the south branch at both Blackdown south of Haslemere, and also close to Gibbet Hill, near Hindhead...
.
After the second bridge collapsed a ferry-crossing resumed until the construction of the third bridge in 1864. This was a girder bridge on stone piers. At the same time, a brick viaduct was constructed in order to span the flood plain to the south of the river. As of 2009 the viaduct is still standing.
The third bridge was damaged during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1940, leading to a permanent weight restriction. In order to alleviate this a fourth temporary bridge was constructed in 1953 on the downstream side of the old bridge; this was relegated to use by cyclists and pedestrians only until finally demolished in 1985.
The fourth bridge was constructed from prefabricated sections designed by A. M. Hamilton
A. M. Hamilton
Archibald Milne Hamilton was a New Zealand-born civil engineer, notable for building the Hamilton Road through Kurdistan and designing the Callender-Hamilton bridge system. His name is also associated with the Callendar-Hamilton aeroplane shed of the late 1930s.- Early life, marriage and children...
in 1930; built by Callender Cables Ltd, it was called the Callender-Hamilton Bridge. In 1999, the fourth bridge was replaced by yet another temporary, fifth bridge occupying the line of the original bridges. This initially had several problems and had to be resurfaced a number of times causing huge traffic disruptions. The fourth bridge was restricted for use by cyclists and pedestrians only once the fifth bridge was completed.
Building a sixth bridge is due to start January 2011 and is expected to finish by the summer of 2013. The bridge will replace the two existing bridges, which will remain in use until the new bridge is completed.
Walton Bridge works clear way for January 2012 start
http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2100996_walton_bridge_works_clear_way_for_january_start
The new £32.4 million bridge will have no piers in the river, thus opening up views along the river and improving navigation for boats.
Sport
The River Thames offers extensive opportunities for water-based sports, including rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
, canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
, kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
, skiffing
Skiffing
Skiffing refers to the sporting and leisure activity of rowing a Thames skiff. A Thames skiff is a traditional hand built clinker-built wooden craft of a design which has been seen on the River Thames and other waterways in England and other countries for nearly 200 years...
, punting
Punt (boat)
A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, designed for use in small rivers or other shallow water. Punting refers to boating in a punt. The punter generally propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a pole...
and sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
. Walton Rowing Club
Walton Rowing Club
Walton Rowing Club is an amateur rowing club, on the River Thames in England. Its club and boat house is situated at on the Surrey bank of the Thames at Walton-on-Thames just above Sunbury Lock...
, Thames Valley Skiff Club
Thames Valley Skiff Club
Thames Valley Skiff Club is an English skiff and punting club, which was founded in 1923. It is based on the River Thames in England, on the Surrey bank between Sunbury Lock and Walton on Thames....
and St George's College, Weybridge
St George's College, Weybridge
St George's College, Weybridge is an independent mixed Roman Catholic co-educational day school in Surrey, England. It had historically been an all-boys' boarding school. The first girls entered the 6th Form in the 1960s and the school decided to take girls at age 11 in 1998...
Rowing Club are situated on the river towpath between the town centre and the Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Centre.
Walton Athletics Club was founded in 1942 and is based at Stompond Lane
The Sports Ground, Stompond Lane
The Sports Ground, Stompond Lane is a stadium located in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. It is where Walton & Hersham F.C. play their home matches and it is also used by the Walton Athletic Club.-Structure:Stompond Lane consists of a football pitch surrounded by a running track...
. The club has around 200 members ranging in age from 9 years to over 60 years old. The club provides qualified coaching in all athletics disciplines and participates in a number of different leagues to provide appropriate competition for all age groups in track and field, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
and road running
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
.
Walton & Hersham F.C.
Walton & Hersham F.C.
Walton & Hersham F.C. is an English football club located in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, currently playing in the Isthmian League Division One South. They play in a red and white home kit at Stompond Lane....
are a football club who are currently spending the 2009–10 season
2009–10 in English football
The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League...
in the Isthmian League Division One South. Nicknamed the Swans, they play at Stompond Lane
The Sports Ground, Stompond Lane
The Sports Ground, Stompond Lane is a stadium located in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. It is where Walton & Hersham F.C. play their home matches and it is also used by the Walton Athletic Club.-Structure:Stompond Lane consists of a football pitch surrounded by a running track...
. The club play in a red and white home kit and a yellow away kit. In 1973, they won the FA Amateur Cup
FA Amateur Cup
The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when The Football Association abolished official amateur status.-History:...
in its penultimate year, beating Slough Town
Slough Town F.C.
Slough Town F.C. is an English semi-professional football club. The club was officially founded in 1890 after the amalgamation of three local clubs, Swifts, Slough Albion and Young Men's Friendly Society, who between them forged a new club, Slough F.C....
1–0 in front of 41,000 spectators (the third largest crowd of the day) at Wembley. Later that year, they achieved a shock 4–0 win over Brian Clough's
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....
(then a Football League Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
side) in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
.
Walton Casuals F.C.
Walton Casuals F.C.
Walton Casuals F.C. are a football club based in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England. They were established in 1948 and joined the Combined Counties League in 1995. They were champions of the Combined Counties League in 2004-05. In 2005 they joined the Isthmian League First Division...
are a football club who are currently spending the 2009–10 season
2009–10 in English football
The 2009–10 season was the 130th season of competitive football in England.The season began on 8 August 2009 for the Championship, League One and League Two and 15 August 2009 for the Premier League...
in the Isthmian League Division One South, the same league as their neighbours Walton & Hersham F.C. Nicknamed the Stags, they play at the Franklyn Road Sports Ground just off Waterside Drive and adjacent to the new Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Centre. The club play in a tangerine and black home kit and a claret and blue away kit.
Local politics
Walton-on-Thames is part of the parliamentary constituency of Esher and Walton, which is a safe Conservative seat. The current MP is Dominic RaabDominic Raab
Dominic Rennie Raab is a British Conservative politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Esher and Walton in Surrey and is a former international business lawyer.-Biography:...
.
In local elections, recent contests for seats on Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council have been between the local Conservatives and the local Residents Group, the Walton Society.
The Walton Society was founded in 1975 by its late President, the writer and intellectual Ronald Segal, and entered local politics in 1980 with Gordon Chubb MBE who served until his death in 2006. At one point there were nine Society councillors in all the Walton wards during the period of Residents Groups' control of Elmbridge from the 1990s to 2006. The Society currently has two councillors representing Walton Central ward, including Elmbridge's Leader of the Opposition Chris Sadler. In 2005 its then chairman Tom Phelps Penry narrowly won the Walton division (North, Ambleside and half of Central ward) on Surrey County Council from the Conservatives, and retained the seat in 2009. The Walton South and Oatlands division of Surrey County Council, which includes parts of the town centre, is Conservative held.
Walton's most recent Labour councillor was defeated in 2000. From 2006 to 2008, local Conservatives increased their representation to nine seats in Walton on the Elmbridge Borough Council at the expense of the Walton Society: three in Walton South ward, two in Walton Ambleside ward and three in Walton North. Walton Central ward is currently split with one Conservative and the two remaining Walton Society Elmbridge councillors.
Notable people
The following people were born in Walton: Samuel CroxallSamuel Croxall
Samuel Croxall was an Anglican churchman, writer and translator, particularly noted for his edition of Aesop's Fables.-Early career:...
(c. 1690-1752), noted for his edition of Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
; George Brydges Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782...
(1718-1792), remembered for his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes
Battle of the Saintes
The Battle of the Saintes took place over 4 days, 9 April 1782 – 12 April 1782, during the American War of Independence, and was a victory of a British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney over a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse forcing the French and Spanish to abandon a planned...
in 1782; writer Susan Ertz
Susan Ertz
Susan Ertz was a British fiction writer and novelist, known for her "sentimental tales of genteel life in the country." She was born in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England to American parents Charles and Mary Ertz. She moved back and forth between both countries during her childhood but chose to...
(1894-1985), who observed that 'Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon'; aircraft designer John Carver Meadows Frost
John Carver Meadows Frost
John Carver Meadows Frost known as "Jack" was a British aircraft designer. His primary contributions centred on pioneering supersonic British experimental aircraft and as the chief designer who shepherded Canada's first jet fighter project, the Avro Canada CF-100, to completion...
(1915-1979), who pioneered supersonic British experimental aircraft; Tony Walton
Tony Walton
Tony Walton is an English set and costume designer.Walton was born in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, United Kingdom. He began his career in 1957 with the stage design for Noel Coward's Broadway production of Conversation Piece. Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s he designed for the New...
, set and costume designer, in 1934; Dame Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
, actress, singer and author, in 1935; Nick Lowe
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe , is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
, singer-songwriter, musician and producer, in 1949; Ian Rank-Broadley
Ian Rank-Broadley
Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS is a British sculptor who has produced many acclaimed works, among which are several designs for British coinage....
, sculptor and designer of previous British coinage, in 1952; Luke Haines
Luke Haines
Luke Haines is an English musician, songwriter and author, who has recorded music under various names and with various bands, including The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder.-'New Wave':...
, musician in The Auteurs
The Auteurs
The Auteurs were a British alternative rock band of the 1990s, and a vehicle for the songwriting talents of Luke Haines .-Career:...
, Baader Meinhof
Baader Meinhof (album)
Baader Meinhof is a 1996 album by Luke Haines, under the pseudonym Baader Meinhof. The name was given after two of the main members of the Red Army Faction, Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, and the album, composed of 10 tracks, tells the history of group, since the ideas that might have inspired...
, Black Box Recorder and The Servants
The Servants
The Servants was an indie band formed in 1985 in Hayes, Middlesex, England by singer and songwriter David Westlake. The Servants were on 1986’s NME-associated C86 compilation, and the greatly expanded 48-song reissue version in 2006. The Servants was the original home of Luke Haines...
, in 1967; Danny Sapsford
Danny Sapsford
Danny Sapsford is a tennis player from Great Britain, who turned professional in 1989. He won one doubles title during his career. The right-hander reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 15 April 1996, when he became the number 170 of the world.-Wins :-External links:...
, tennis player, in 1969; Sean Emmett
Sean Emmett
Sean Emmett is a British professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.Born in Walton on Thames, Emmett began his career in 1989 at Brands Hatch. In 1989, he won the 350cc Production Championship. He also won the Avon Tyres Trophy for "the most talented young rider with the most promising future"...
, Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, in 1970; Gail Trimble
Gail Trimble
Gail Christiana Trimble , is a Senior Faculty Member in Classics at Trinity College, Oxford. . While a postgraduate student of Latin literature at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in 2009, she gained attention by a series of exceptional performances on the BBC television quiz programme University...
, student and contestant on University Challenge
University Challenge
University Challenge is a British quiz programme that has aired since 1962. The format is based on the American show College Bowl, which ran on NBC radio from 1953 to 1957, and on NBC television from 1959 to 1970....
, in 1982; and Tyger Drew Honey, actor in Outnumbered
Outnumbered
Outnumbered is a British sitcom. Airing on BBC One since 2007, it stars Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner as a father and mother outnumbered by their three children...
, in 1996. Actress Fay Ripley
Fay Ripley
Fay Ripley is an English actress and recipe author. Born in Wimbledon, London, Ripley is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama . Her first professional role was in the chorus of a pantomime version of Around the World in 80 Days...
(born 1966), best known as Jenny Gifford in ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
series Cold Feet
Cold Feet
Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his award-winning 1997 Comedy Premiere of the same name. The storyline follows three couples experiencing the...
, grew up in Walton.
In 1909, composer Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
took a boat trip on the River Thames with some friends, and when the boat stopped at Walton, Kern went to a pub and inn called the Swan to have a drink. The proprietor's daughter, Eva Leale, was working behind the bar, and on 25 October 1910, the two were married at St. Mary's Church in Walton.
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
, 64th United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
, went to a school in Oatlands; the building, whilst no longer a school, has been converted into flats and stands next to a pub/restaurant, The Oatlands Chaser - formerly known as The Badger's Rest and the King's Manor.
Eileen Sheridan, the 1958 Miss United Kingdom, came from Walton-on-Thames; she went on to place 6th at the 1960 Miss World
Miss World
The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
contest.
In film and television
Some of the sketches for Monty PythonMonty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
were filmed in Walton. The old town hall can be seen in one sketch. Another sketch shows an Admiral Nelson dummy being thrown from one of the flats in Wellington Close and the public toilets near the pub "The Regent" are in the background of another sketch.
1971 cult horror film Psychomania
Psychomania
Psychomania is a British horror film and cult film starring Nicky Henson as a devil worshipping gang leader and Robert Hardy as the detective in charge of bringing them in.It is also known as Death Wheelers Are.....
was shot in Walton, including several key scenes in the town centre.
ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
sitcom Is It Legal?
Is It Legal?
Is It Legal? is a British television sitcom set in a solicitors office in Hounslow, west London, which ran from 1995 to 1998. It was produced by Hartswood Films and was shown on ITV for Series 1-2 and Channel 4 for Series 3...
was shot in Walton. The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a popular British television series comprising 143 half-hour, black and white episodes. It starred Richard Greene as the outlaw Robin Hood and Alan Wheatley as his nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham. The show aired weekly between 1955 and 1959 on ITV in London in the...
was filmed at Nettlefold Studios
Nettlefold Studios
Nettlefold Studios were located in what is now Hepworth Way, Walton-on-Thames. Cecil Hepworth began film making there in 1899, but the name derives from the subsequent owner, Archibald Nettlefold, who rebuilt the studios on the original site. During the late fifties the studio changed its name to...
in Walton.
In the media
The Walton Hop was a teen disco started by Deniz Corday in 1958. It is reputed to have been the first disco in the UK. During the 1970s and 1980s, it was frequented by now-convicted child sex offendersChild sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
such as former Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Chris Denning
Chris Denning
Chris Denning is an English disc jockey. His career was effectively over when he was revealed as a paedophile, and he has spent three decades in and out of prison in Britain and Eastern Europe...
, Tam Paton
Tam Paton
Thomas Dougal "Tam" Paton , was the manager and primary spokesman during the 1970s of the Scottish band, the Bay City Rollers....
(manager of the Bay City Rollers
Bay City Rollers
The Bay City Rollers were a Scottish pop band who were most popular in the 1970s. The British Hit Singles & Albums noted that they were "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh", and were "the first of many acts heralded as the 'Biggest Group since The Beatles' and one of the most screamed-at...
) and Jonathan King
Jonathan King
Jonathan King is an English singer, songwriter, impresario and record producer. He is also the author of three novels, Bible Two and The Booker Prize Winner , and Beware the Monkey Man , and an autobiography, 65 My Life So Far .King first came to prominence as an...
. It closed in 1990. Musician Luke Haines
Luke Haines
Luke Haines is an English musician, songwriter and author, who has recorded music under various names and with various bands, including The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder.-'New Wave':...
, born in Walton, released a record titled "The Walton Hop" in 2006.
Amanda Dowler, murder victim, was born in Walton in June 1988 and was still living there when last seen alive on 21 March 2002. Her body was found some 45 kilometres (28 mi) away in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
six months later. Levi Bellfield
Levi Bellfield
Levi Bellfield is a British serial killer. A former nightclub bouncer and manager of a car clamping business, he was convicted on 25 February 2008 of murdering Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange. He was also convicted of the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy...
, a 41-year-old man from Isleworth
Isleworth
Isleworth is a small town of Saxon origin sited within the London Borough of Hounslow in west London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane. Isleworth's original area of settlement, alongside the Thames, is known as...
serving a life sentence
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
for two murders and an attempted murder, was charged with the murder on 30 March 2010, just after the eighth anniversary of Dowler's disappearance.
Areas within Walton
- Ashley Park
- Burwood ParkBurwood ParkBurwood Park is a residential estate in Hersham, Surrey in the United Kingdom. It consists of approximately 400 houses and three of its four entrances are protected by automatic bollards.-History:...
- Halfway
- HershamHershamHersham is a village in Surrey, within the M25 boundary. It is within easy reach of Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The main A3 London to Portsmouth road runs through its boundaries...
- Oatlands Park
- Rydens
Nearest places
External links
- Walton Business Group ~ taking action for Walton
- Walton-on-Thames.org - local website with discussion forum
- Elmbridge Borough Council
- The Walton Society
- Parish of Walton-on-Thames