[30] The 2008 series of Primeval, shown on ITV1 in January, featured almost an entire episode filmed inside the Bentall Centre and John Lewis department stores. Turk Launches operates a Summer-only river tour between Hampton Court and Richmond St Helena.[42]. A regular singing group at the Rose Theatre caters to schools and families. Kingston upon Thames has been the location of Surrey County Council since it moved from Newington in 1893. However, due to the eastern landowners' resistance, the line had to take a longer route via Richmond upon Thames. It rendered £31 10s (£31.5). [37][38][39], Routes 111, 285 and X26 link Kingston directly to Heathrow Airport. [citation needed], The 1974 Doctor Who story "Invasion of the Dinosaurs" used several locations in the town for filming. It also has a Quaker meeting house, a Mosque and a Sikh Gurdwara. There are also direct services to Putney and Westminster from Hampton Court connected by the 10–15 minute interval route 111 to London Heathrow, the destination for X26 an express service also serving the bus station and the Bentall Centre. Its domesday assets were: a church, five mills, four fisheries worth 10s, 27 ploughs, 40 acres (160,000 m2) of meadow, woodland worth six hogs. As of 2012, Kingston has 276,438 square metres (2,975,550 sq ft) of total town centre floorspace, the 3rd highest in London. It was initially used as a mounting block, but in 1850 it was moved to a more dignified place in the market before finally being moved to its current location in the grounds of the Guildhall.[6][7][8][9]. Today, most of the town centre is part of the KT1 postcode area, but some areas north of Kingston railway station are within KT2. A portion of the bypass carries the A309 to Thames Ditton, Hampton Court and the A308. 130,300) of Greater London, SE England. It was this 'great bridge' that gave it its early importance in the 13th century. As well as the University's own sports facilities at Tolworth Court,... Shopping. The town has a large leisure centre next to Fairfield named the Kingfisher Centre, which contains an indoor swimming pool and gymnasium. This theatre opened on 16 January 2008 and seats about 900 people. It had been known as a Royal borough through custom and the right to the title was confirmed by George V in 1927. Kingston featured in Primeval again in May 2009 with several scenes shot in and around the Market Place. It was first mentioned in 838 as the site of a meeting between King Egbert of Wessex and Ceolnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury. A regular singing group at the Rose Theatre caters to schools and families. Central Kingston is a busy predominantly retail centre, with a small number of commercial offices and civic buildings. Kingston upon Thames (spelled with hyphens until 1965, and generally known locally as Kingston) is a town, former manor, ecclesiastical parish and borough now within Greater London, England, formerly within the county of Surrey. Kingston lay on the boundary between the ancient kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia, until in the early tenth century when King Athelstan united both to create the kingdom of England. Other charters were issued by later kings, including Edward IV's charter that gave the town the status of a borough in 1481. Kingston Upon Thames: In Brief Also known as just ‘Kingston’, this ancient market town can be found in south-west London, just 19 minutes train ride away from London Waterloo Station. Seven Saxon Kings were crowned in Kingston. Primary schools in the town include Latchmere School, Fernhill School, King Athelstan School and St Agatha's Catholic Primary School. [citation needed] There are several Chinese, Indian, Thai and Italian restaurants. It was founded in 1309 by a former mayor of London, Edward Lovekyn. Some vintage shots of Kingston upon Thames in all its 1970's glory. Kingston upon Thames has been twinned with Oldenburg in Germany since 2010. Sport. [22] In 2018, Kingston was ranked joint 5th in the UK by Knight Frank in the "High Street Investment Ranking", only bettered by Cambridge, Bath, Chichester and Reading. For instance no meat or other products derived from dead animals were allowed to be sold, and no electricity was permitted on the site unless generated by wind, sun, or bicycle power. This puts it as generating the fifth most amount of money from the retail sector in Greater London, passing Croydon, with just four West End alternatives ahead. The renowned Sopwith Camel, Hawker Fury, Hurricane, Hunter and Harrier were all designed and built in the town and examples of all of these aircraft can be seen today at the nearby Brooklands Museum in Weybridge. The renowned Sopwith Camel, Hawker Fury, Hurricane, Hunter and Harrier Jump Jet were all designed and built in the town and examples of all of these aircraft can be seen today at the nearby Brooklands Museum in Weybridge. Kingston Upon Thames was strategically important because it was the last place where the Thames could with a bridge before London. Kingston has been covered in literature, film and television. A primary stop exists on the nearby main (express) line in nearby Surbiton which has a peak hour non-stopping service to Waterloo. Kingston Wildcats School of Basketball is a community basketball development club that practices and plays its home fixtures at Chessington Community College, competing in the Surrey League and Basketball England National League. The Druid's Head is notable as one of the first taverns to make the famous dessert syllabub in the 18th century. He was a pioneer in the photography of the moving image. A number of annual festivals are organised by the Council and Kingston Arts Council including Kingston Readers' Festival, Think-in-Kingston and the Festival of the Voice. [34] Surbiton station was built in 1937, designed in art deco style by James Robb Scott. Over 120 years of history. It is where the comic Victorian novel Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome begins; cannons aimed against the Martians in H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds are positioned on Kingston Hill; in The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence the youngest Brangwen dreams of a job in Kingston upon Thames in a long, lyrical passage; Mr. Knightly in Emma by Jane Austen regularly visits Kingston, although the narrative never follows him there. [12] Kingston upon Thames has been the seat of Surrey County Council since it moved from Newington in 1893, and remains the seat of the county council to this day, despite not being governed by it. [5] Kingston lay on the boundary between the ancient kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia, until in the early tenth century when King Athelstan united both to create the kingdom of England. The bypass carries the A3, which links the area to Wandsworth, Clapham and the City of London to the north. This theatre opened on 16 January 2008 and seats approximately 899 people. Tradition dating to the 18th century holds that a large stone recovered from the ruins played a part in the coronations. One of the more unusual sights in Kingston is Out of Order by David Mach, a sculpture in the form of twelve disused red telephone boxes that have been tipped up to lean against one another in an arrangement resembling dominoes. Much of this became the new town of Surbiton, but the Surbiton Park estate, built in the grounds of Surbiton Place in the 1850s, remained part of Kingston during the period of the Municipal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames. Eastbound trains also travel on the Kingston loop line towards Teddington, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham and Richmond, after which trains continue towards Waterloo. Prior to the opening of the games, Kingston hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay on two occasions with the flame travelling through the borough on 24 July 2012 and aboard the Gloriana in a cauldron on 27 July 2012 en route to the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony. Kingston is mentioned (and used as a filming location) in episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus. British Aerospace finally closed its Lower Ham Road factory in 1992;[10] part of the site was subsequently redeveloped for housing but the riverside part houses a community centre and sports complex. It has been the location of Surrey County Hall from 1893, extraterritorially in terms of local government administration since Kingston became part of Greater London in 1965. The 12th century church of All Saints serves the Church of England parish of Kingston which lies ecclesiastically in the Diocese of Southwark, although there has been a church in Kingston since at least 838. A smaller 1960s shopping centre called Eden Walk exists nearby. Kingston upon Thames, also called Kingston, is a suburban town in Greater London, and is the centre of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.Its postcodes are KT1 and KT2. The Rotunda, in a former Bentalls furniture depository building (a local landmark), includes a bowling alley, fitness centre, a 15-screen Odeon multiplex cinema and a few restaurants. The River Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. Since 1965 Kingston has been a part of Greater London. Kingston lies in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, and there is a Roman Catholic Church dedicated to Saint Agatha. The town led to the South Western Main Line being in Surbiton as much of Kingston's wealth and status were as a direct consequence of the road and stagecoach network developed as a result of its crossing on the Thames. For much of the 20th century, Kingston was a major military aircraft manufacturing centre specialising in fighter aircraft – first with Sopwith Aviation, H G Hawker Engineering, later Hawker Aircraft, Hawker Siddeley and eventually British Aerospace. Kingston sent members to early Parliaments, until a petition by the inhabitants prayed to be relieved from the burden. Municipal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames, Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council, List of public art in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Kingston Athletic Club and Polytechnic Harriers, "Population – all data (Kingston upon Thames)", "2017 Vitality Rankings: Top 50 British Centres", "Competition: Kingston Town Centre Vision 2035", "Eagle Brewery Wharf events management plan consultation", "Retail Footprint 2010 reveals Britain's shopping successes and strugglers", "2013 London Town Centre Health Check Analysis Report", "Sex and books: London's most erotic writers", "Invasion of the Dinosaurs – Story Locations", "Kingston Green Fair on the banks of the Thames", "Kingston Station Onward Travel Information", "Buses from Norbiton and Kingston Hospital", "Oldenburg – Kingston's partner city in Germany", "Twin City Agreement signed between the City of Jaffna and City of Kingston in London", "Chantry Chapel of St Mary Magdalene,alternative name: Lovekyn Chapel", "A Brief History of Kingston upon Thames", Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston University, St Agatha's Roman Catholic Church, Kingston upon Thames, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kingston_upon_Thames&oldid=1010643366, Districts of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2020, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from September 2020, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 6 March 2021, at 15:16. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, two tenth-century kings were consecrated in Kingston: Æthelstan (925), and Æthelred the Unready (978). More recently, a scene from Mujhse Dosti Karoge, a Bollywood film starring Hrithik Roshan as the leading actor, was filmed by the toppled telephone boxes sculpture in Old London Road. Most of the town centre is part of the KT1 postcode area, but some areas north of Kingston railway station have the postcode KT2 instead. The Club holds two large timed race events (HEADs) in the Spring and Autumn. The ancient market is still held daily in the Market Place, including today such produce as fish, jewellery, exotic foods, local foods and flowers. The borough covered a much smaller area than the ancient parish, although as new parishes were split off the borough and parish eventually became identical in 1894. The name means 'the king's manor or estate' from the Old English words cyning and tun. The word "Green" in the title refers to the ethos of the fair as promoting sustainable development. Kingston upon Thames has been home to a bustling market for centuries with the oldest surviving records dating back to the early 1200’s, and Kingston’s historical market is still thriving today. There are certain other kings who are said to have been crowned there, but for whom the evidence (including the writings of Florence of Worcester and Ralph de Diceto) is less substantial: Edward the Elder (902), Edmund I (939), Eadred (946), Eadwig (956), Edgar the Peaceful (circa 960) and Edward the Martyr (975). Kingston is also home to Crack Comedy Club which opened at The Grey Horse Pub in 2002. Compared with other outer London boroughs and towns in Surrey, a high proportion of trips are made by bicycle in Kingston. Facts about Kingston Upon Thames . The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is one of only four royal boroughs. [25], John Galsworthy the author was born on Kingston Hill and Jacqueline Wilson grew up, and went to school in Kingston and still lives there today. New Malden, Wimbledon and Richmond upon Thames are on the lines. Local landowners would not consent to the line coming through their land so in 1838 the rail station was built a few miles out at Surbiton, which was known as Kingston Upon Railway and led to the development of Surbiton. In the Domesday Book it was held by William the Conqueror. The borough was the setting for four cycling events during the 2012 Summer Olympics, the men's road race, women's road race, men's road time trial and women's road time trial. The name Kingston is derived from Kinges Tun, meaning a royal farm or estate. [31] The word "Green" in the title refers to the ethos of the fair as promoting sustainable development. Aubrey's Antiquities of Surrey, vol. The 1974 Doctor Who story "Invasion of the Dinosaurs" used several locations in the town for filming. It is situated on the River Thames, about 33 feet (10 m) above sea level and 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Charing Cross (deemed the geographical centre of London). Shopping is well catered for and is generally towards the upper end of expectations, with a good mixture of familiar High Street chains and more select boutiques. About Kingston Here you will be able to find the latest news and information about Kingston Upon Thames, including information about nights out, travel and entertainment. Kingston was called Cyninges tun in 838 AD, Chingestune in 1086, Kingeston in 1164, Kyngeston super Tamisiam in 1321 and Kingestowne upon Thames in 1589. [29] Rock band Cardiacs were formed in the town. Kingston recognised the need for a railway, and in the 1860s Kingston opened. Kingston is also served by the A240, the A307 (Portsmouth Road), A308 and A310. The name means 'the king's manor or estate' from the Old English words cyning and tun. [citation needed]. About 45,000 people live in Kingston. Prior to the opening of the games, Kingston hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay on two occasions with the flame travelling through the borough on 24 July 2012 and aboard the Gloriana in a cauldron on 27 July 2012 en route to the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony. Kingston upon Thames formed an ancient parish in the Kingston hundred of Surrey. There is a record of a council held there in 838, at which Egbert of Wessex, King of Wessex, and his son Ethelwulf of Wessex were present. The parish of Kingston upon Thames covered a large area including Hook, Kew, New Malden, Petersham, Richmond, Surbiton, Thames Ditton and East Molesey. Contact Us. The population of the town itself, comprising the four wards of Canbury, Grove, Norbiton and Tudor, was 43,013 in the 2011 census. First recorded in a Royal Charter in 838, Kingston is known as the coronation site of as many as 7 Saxon Kings and the birthplace of England. Kingston lies approximately 33 feet (10 metres) above sea level. History of Kingston Cesar Picton (1755-1836) From Senegal to Kingston on Thames At the age of 6 Cesar was taken from his family in Senegal, West Africa … Probably because of the town's symbolic location, several tenth-century kings were crowned in Kingston, Æthelstan in 925, Eadred in 946 and Æthelred in 978. Kingston upon Thames is one of only four Royal Boroughs in England and Wales. Riverboats run regularly between Kingston and Hampton Court as well as Richmond all during the summer season. In 1965 the local government of Greater London was reorganised and the municipal borough was abolished. Central Kingston is a busy, largely pedestrian and predominantly retail centre, with a small number of commercial offices and civic buildings. Kingston was built at the first crossing point of the Thames upstream from London Bridge and a bridge still exists at the same site. Kingston Data uses cookies to enhance your use of this site. Its former area was merged with that of the Municipal Borough of Surbiton and the Municipal Borough of Malden and Coombe, to form the London Borough of Kingston upon Thames. Kingston boasts a wealth of beautiful green spaces just waiting to be discovered.