Surbiton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is a commuter town next to the river Thames, populated with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, spacious and grand late-19th century town houses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates.
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[edit] History
There is evidence that a settlement has existed at Surbiton since at least 1179. At the time, it was known as Suberton(e), Old English for southern farmstead. Norbiton lies to the northeast, and is separated from Surbiton by the Hogsmill river. Before the arrival of the railway, Surbiton was little more than a farm. The town started to prosper when a plan to build the main railway line down to the south coast closer to nearby Kingston was rejected by the residents there, resulting in the line being routed through a cutting at Surbiton. Surbiton railway station opened in 1838, and was originally named Kingston, and was only renamed Surbiton to distinguish it from the new Kingston station on the Shepperton branch line built later.
As a result Kingston is now on a branch line whereas passengers from Surbiton, a smaller town in comparison, can reach central London in one direction in about 18 minutes on a fast train and stations as distant as Portsmouth or Southampton in the opposite. This makes Surbiton a good town from which to commute into central London, and the population reflects this.
[edit] The Arts in Surbiton
The Pre-Raphaelite painters John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt came to Surbiton in 1851, 26 years before Richard Jefferies. Millais actually used the Hogsmill, close to Tolworth Court Bridge, as the background for his painting ‘Ophelia’. Holman Hunt used the fields just south of this spot as the background to ‘The Hireling Shepherd.’
Surbiton's main claim to popular fame is as an icon of suburbia in such British television programmes as The Good Life (starring Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal, though location filming was done in Northwood, Northwest London), and John Sessions' comedy series Stella Street, which has on occasion led to the town being nicknamed "Suburbiton". Other related trivia: the character from the 1980s ZX Spectrum computer games Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy was described as a Surbiton resident, and Black Sabbath played at the Surbiton Assembly Rooms on 19 May 1970. The Council sold the Assembly Rooms to Surbiton High School in the 1990s.
[edit] Food, drink & entertainment
Surbiton has a number of drinking establishments, though it plays second fiddle to its larger neighbour Kingston upon Thames.
The most notable is the Coronation Hall — originally built as a cinema. When it opened on 21 June 1911, the day of King George V's coronation (hence the name) it was capable of seating 600 people. Later renamed The Roxy, and then The Ritz, it continued showing movies until 1966. The building then became a bingo hall and was almost converted into a naturist health club. It is rumoured that underneath the pub there is a working whirlpool bath. The building has now been converted as a JD Wetherspoon pub. Its new owners restored the original name and decorated the interior with movie memorabilia.
[edit] Nearby Places
- Berrylands
- Chessington
- Claygate
- Esher
- Hampton
- Hinchley Wood
- Kingston upon Thames
- Long Ditton
- New Malden
- Norbiton
- Petersham
- Teddington
- Thames Ditton
- Tolworth
- Twickenham
- Worcester Park
[edit] See also
- Raven's Ait
- Surbiton Lagoon
- Kate Peddie
[edit] External links
- Kingston Borough Council
- Surbiton.com - community website
- Surbiton - 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article
