Molesey
Molesey | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town |
| |
Postcode district | KT8 | |
Dialling code | 020 | |
Police | Surrey | |
Fire | Surrey | |
Ambulance | South East Coast | |
Esher and Walton | ||
Molesey is a suburban district comprising two villages, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames.
East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second retail restaurant-lined street (Bridge Road) close to
Molesey is divided into three
History
The earliest documentary evidence of a settlement in Molesey appears in a 7th-century charter, shortly after
East Molesey appears in the
Along with neighbouring Thames Ditton, East Molesey formed a part of the ancient parish of Kingston upon Thames, based at the historic All Saints Church, Kingston upon Thames. From 1933, the Urban District of East and West Molesey became part of the Esher Urban District, which was originally recommended by the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London (the Herbert Commission) for inclusion within the new ceremonial county of Greater London. In 1974, the district eventually merged with its neighbour to the west, Walton and Weybridge Urban District, to form the new borough of Elmbridge within Surrey.[5]
Molesey was one of the many villages and towns along the
The boundary between East and West Molesey uses a roughly due north–south compass axis, based on a point of division by the Molesey Stone on the grass outside Molesey Library on Walton Road, though the Stone has been moved from its original position and the actual boundary between East and West Molesey has become somewhat blurred and disputed.
Women's suffrage
On 8 June 1913 the grandstand at the former Hurst Park Racecourse in Molesey was virtually destroyed after an arson attack by suffragettes Kitty Marion and Clara Giveen. The attack was said to be in revenge for the death of Emily Davison at the Epsom Derby earlier that month.[7] The pair were arrested the following day and imprisoned for three years, although both were released early after going on hunger strike.[8]
Locality
Molesey is directly south of the
Hampton Court Palace is immediately north-east of East Molesey across Hampton Court Bridge.
The Palace, together with the southern part of Bushy Park and most of Hampton Court Park are in the post town East Molesey.
Molesey Lock is just above Hampton Court Bridge, downstream of Sunbury Lock and upstream of Teddington Lock. Cigarette Island Park is just below the bridge, occupying the eastern extremity of the town.
Hurst Park is on the south bank of the Thames, from where there is a daily ferry service to Hampton on the Middlesex bank. It was home to a horse racing course from 1890 to 1962.[9]
The residential streets of East Molesey run directly into
The central shopping area of
Landmarks
Molesey itself has some interesting landmarks, including three listed Church of England churches and The Bell, a
Other historic buildings include the Grade II-listed Matham Manor, an altered 15th-century house with timber frames and red brick; and a 16th-century house, Quillets Royal, with an 18th-century extension (The Manor House). Both buildings lie near The Bell in Bell Road/Matham Road.[12]
In April 2017, 15th-century St Peter's Church on Walton Road, said to be the oldest building in Molesey, had lead stolen from the roof and historic masonry damaged in a nighttime theft. Thieves used scaffolding put up to install an antenna approved by Elmbridge Council. Press reports alleged that police had been alerted to the crime by a local resident but that they had declined to attend.[13]
Bars, public houses and restaurants
Molesey has many traditional pubs and restaurants, though several public houses have closed in recent years to become apartment buildings. They have largely consolidated on a few with successful niche products or music offerings such as The Poyntz Arms with live music on Friday evenings. Molesey's modern bars are composed of Signature Cafe Lounge and Bar, the Square Olive and the Prince of Wales in East Molesey.
Molesey East & West Conservative Club and the Royal British Legion Club are the only members' clubs (both in East Molesey).
The remaining pubs in West Molesey are The Cannon and The Royal Oak.
As of 2015, there are Chinese, Indian, French, Italian, Greek, Nepalese and Lebanese restaurants in the area, as well as branches of
Scout groups
Molesey has three Scout groups which all belong to Esher District. 1st Molesey is a Royal Navy-recognised Sea Scout group whilst 2nd and 3rd Molesey are both Land Scout Groups. All groups have sections from Beavers right through to Explorers. The groups take part in a wide variety of activities and events throughout the year at various locations.
River channels, flooding and speculative building
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2019) |
Molesey's
Before 1968 the whole area including expensive areas such as East Molesey flooded badly on a regular basis as they are in part located on the former flood plains of the Thames and the Mole. Even today localised flooding and standing water can be quite common in times of heavy rain as the area is very low lying and flat. Molesey can be the subject of flood warnings that affect the Thames Valley.
Molesey Lock is the third lock (and weir) on the River Thames, after Richmond and Teddington locks,[14] and marks the furthest point upstream that the influence of the tides on the Thames (regulated by the Thames Barrier at Woolwich) may be registered. The lock is located within 100 metres (330 ft) of Hampton Court Bridge, designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.
In the West Molesey area some houses are the result of over-optimistic development in the 1930s by developer Donald Gordon Howard who eventually went bankrupt trying to sell houses at exceptionally low prices – at £395 some of the cheapest in the London area – while implying a misleading proximity to Hampton Court. The attraction was cheap, low-lying land near the London reservoirs and quite remote from transport links, especially the railway. Speculative land dealing and building go back a long way in the area. Much of East Molesey resulted from large scale land speculation in the 1850s by Francis Jackson Kent who saw an opportunity to make a fortune when the railway arrived at Hampton Court in 1849, quickly buying up land nearby and selling it on to wealthy individuals or developers who rapidly built on low lying former meadows that had always been flood prone. They naturally remained so until the 1960s when the nearby River Mole was re channelled after a hugely expensive flood. Pictures of the East Molesey area and Hampton Court station environs (on the opposite bank to the Palace) in flood conditions recur in 19th and 20th centuries.
Molesey and adjacent areas of Esher, Walton and Hersham also have a significant amount of former council housing constructed by the predecessors to Elmbridge Council. There are also areas of post-war system built housing, thought[by whom?] to be of the concrete sectional type, built at the time of housing shortage in the years after World War 2 including on the West Molesey/East Molesey border. It was at one time home to the well-known company Roberts Radio who built a factory there in 1962.
Sports
Molesey was once the bare-knuckle
Cricket
'Moulsey Hurst' is a very early site of cricket (from 1731) and that tradition is continued to this day by
Rowing
Molesey Boat Club (established 1866) is home to some Olympic and World Championship medallists and domestic success at all ages, particularly in its adult crews. The rowing club also competes in the Amateur Molesey Regatta held annually in Hurst Park[16]
Football
Molesey F.C. is a non-league football team based in West Molesey. The club is currently a member of the Isthmian League and play at the Herds Renault Stadium, Walton Road. The original football club was established by former Corinthian player James Jenkinson Knox in Autumn 1892 under the name Hampton Court and East Molesey Association Football Club. Their first match was played on 24 September 1892 against Barnes, winning 14–5. In 1946 Molesey United and West Molesey Old Boys merged to form Molesey Football Club. The new club joined the Surrey Intermediate League and won the league in their first season.
Metropolitan Police F.C. is a non-league football team based in East Molesey and are based at the Imber Court Sports Ground.
AFC Molesey is a former non-league football team that was also based in West Molesey, a member of the Surrey County Intermediate League (Western) Division One and played at the West Molesey Recreation Ground, Walton Road. Up to the date that the club folded, the club had seen its popularity grown significantly following its winning several honours including the Lower Junior County Cup in the 2007/08 season and successful consecutive league promotions.
Molesey Juniors F.C. is a community youth football organisation based at the Wilderness Playing Fields, East Molesey
Swimming
Just beyond the gates of Hurst Park used to be the home of the open air Upper Deck swimming pool, the nearest open air pool now being across the ferry up Hampton High Street in Hampton. An indoor pool was built by the council nearby as a replacement. Flats are now built on the site of the outdoor pool. The entire riverside recreational area was previously referred to as Moulsey Hurst. Hurst swimming pool is in Dunstall Way in the north of Molesey.
Pool and billiards
The Poyntz Arms Public House and Molesey East & West Conservative Club host matches in the Tolworth and District Pool League.
Darts
Darts is a very popular sport in Molesey, played at several public houses including the Molesey Football Club, The Royal Oak, The Cannon and the Royal British Legion. Teams are made up of patrons and club members. All teams compete in the Molesey and District Darts League.
Cycling
In 2012 Bradley Wiggins won the Olympic Time Trial event. The course passed through East and West Molesey and Hurst Park, and the event finish was at Hampton Court Palace, which has an East Molesey postcode: Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9AU.
The Surrey Classic Cycle race passes East and West Molesey and Hurst Park yearly.
National Cycle Network route #4 passes along the River Thames towpath through Molesey.
Crime
This section provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject.(November 2023) |
Surrey Police statistics for reported crime in the West Molesey area for the period October 2021 to September 2022 recorded violence and sexual crime as the biggest single category with 328 instances, with anti-social behaviour having 180 instances and criminal damage and arson ranked third with 74. 31 burglaries were recorded, with 42 vehicle crimes.[17]
There were two murders in West Molesey in 2016–2017. A woman was found murdered with a machete or axe in the front garden of her house on Walton Road, Molesey in March 2016 resulting in extensive national publicity.[18] Police launched a second local murder investigation on 7 December 2017 when a woman reported as previously deliberately run down in the small hours of the morning in a car park on land between Hurst Road, Molesham Way and Walton Road, died in hospital.[19]
Transport
Rail service
The railway station in East Molesey is
Bus services
Four bus routes serve the town.
To the east
To the north-east East Molesey's northern point by its station, shopping parade and small riverside park is the terminus of a second Transport for London bus service,
To the west Route 461, operated by Falcon Coaches on behalf of Surrey County Council, runs from Kingston, through Molesey and on to Walton, terminating at Tesco, Addlestone.
To the south-west and south-east Route 514, also operated by Falcon on behalf of Surrey County Council, runs from Hersham to Kingston via Molesey, Thames Ditton, Long Ditton and Surbiton.
Notable residents
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2021) |
- Alfie Gilchrist, Chelsea Footballer
- Dominic Wood, English magician and presenter
- Ray Lewington, football manager and former player
- Chemmy Alcott, British Olympic alpine skier
- Rick Astley, British pop musician, lives in East Molesey[22]
- Mick Avory, drummer and percussionist for rock band The Kinks, grew up in West Molesey[23]
- Keith Barron, actor, lived in the town from the 1970s to 2017
- Ed Bishop, actor, lived in West Molesey
- Liv Boeree, professional poker player, lives in East Molesey
- Ronald Brooks (1899–1980), first-class cricketer and British Army officer
- Cottie Arthur Burland (1905–1983), head of ethnography at British Museum
- Bernie Constable (1921–1997), cricketer, brother of the below
- Dennis Constable (1925–2011), cricketer, brother of the above
- Bill Cotton, the television producer and executive and the son of big-band leader Billy Cotton, lived in East Molesey in his later years
- Terence Cuneo (1907–1996), artist lived for many years in East Molesey and is commemorated by a blue plaque on the site of his former home and studio in Ember Lane.[24]
- Hazell Dean, pop music singer, lives in the town
- Bob Falconer ( born 1962), of East Molesey, a former English cricketer
- Kenneth Falconer, mathematician, resident in the 1960s
- Ray Galton comedy dramatist, most notable for Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe and Son
- Marius Goring, actor
- Herbert "Barry" Hart (1894–1954), sculptor and stone carver, died at 2 Walton Road, East Molesey[25]
- Roy Holder, actor
- George Isaacs, politician
- Jentina, British rapper
- Eric Lyons, architect
- Lee Mack, stand-up comic, lives in East Molesey[26]
- Howard Parkes (1877–1920), cricketer, buried at Molesey Cemetery, West Molesey[27]
- John Orlando Parry (1810–1879), 19th century entertainer[28]
- Daniel Pemberton, musician
- Luke Shaw, professional footballer, grew up in West Molesey[29] and played for Molesey Juniors FC
- Alfred Sisley (1839–1899), Anglo-French impressionist painter, resided in East Molesey in 1874, executing nearly twenty paintings of the Upper Thames
- Steve Steen, actor, lives in East Molesey
- Les Strong, professional footballer who played for Crystal Palace and Fulham
- Michael Underwood, the physician who first described polio, was born in West Molesey[30]
- Julius Vogel (1835–1899), Prime Minister of New Zealand, resident in East Molesey in his final years
- Matt Willis, the musician, TV presenter and ex-actor, who is best known for being the bassist in Busted, lived in Molesey during his youth
- Freya Wilson, actress
Demography and housing
Output area | Detached | Semi-detached | Terraced | Flats and apartments | Caravans/temporary/mobile homes | Shared between households[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
East (ward) | 909 | 677 | 334 | 753 | 1 | 11 |
North (ward) | 454 | 879 | 818 | 358 | 0 | 0 |
South (ward) | 247 | 1,113 | 867 | 595 | 0 | 2 |
The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%.
Output area | Population | Households | % Owned outright | % Owned with a loan | hectares[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
East (ward) | 6,337 | 2,685 | 38 | 40 | 298 |
North (ward) | 6,008 | 2,509 | 37 | 41 | 164 |
South (ward) | 6,743 | 2,824 | 27 | 41 | 125 |
The proportion of households in the settlement who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1 per cent. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5 per cent. The remaining segment is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible per cent of households living rent-free).
There is a locally moored boat, the West Molesey houseboat, which is moored on the river Thames.
References
- ^ United Kingdom Census 2011 Office for National StatisticsRetrieved 21 November 2013
- Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ The Book of Molesey by Rowland G M Baker
- ^ Surrey Domesday Book Archived 15 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "History of Elmbridge Borough Council". Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
- ^ "Lower Mole Flood Alleviation Scheme". Environment Agency. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ "Clara Elizabeth Giveen (born 1887), Suffragette". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ISSN 1469-8552.
- ^ a b "Thameside Molesey – Hurst Park". www.moleseyhistory.co.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ "East Molesey conservation areas". Elmbridge Borough Council. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ "East Molesey (Kent Town) conservation area". Elmbridge Borough Council. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ The Heritage List for England online. Retrieved 10 April 2012
- ^ Pepe, Darren; Smurthwaite, Tom (6 April 2017). "Thieves scale phone company scaffolding to steal lead from church". Surrey Live.
- ^ "Complete List of Locks and Weirs on the River Thames". www.thamesvalleyguide.co.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
- ISBN 978086023-414-2. extracts available here
- ^ Molesey Boat Club website medal results 2011–2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012
- ^ "West Molesey: Crime types for the 12 months (Oct 2021 to Sep 2022)". www.police.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ Hughes, Amani; Ritchie, Candice (14 March 2016). "West Molesey murder probe after body of woman found". Surrey Live. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ Grafton-Green, Patrick (5 December 2017). "West Molesey: Murder probe launched after woman rammed by car near Hampton Court". Evening Standard. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ Route 411 Transport for London
- ^ Route R68 Transport for London
- ^ Graham, Hugh (21 October 2018). "Interview with Rick Astley". The Times. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ in Balmoral Crescent.
- ^ French, Claire (15 August 2013). "Blue plaque unveiled in memory of artist Terence Cuneo". Surrey Live. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013.
- "Artist's family sell home to raise cash". Surrey Comet. 5 August 2005. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023.
- ^ "(Herbert) Barry Hart". Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- ^ Clarke, Chloe (28 December 2021). "The comedian and Not Going Out star who calls Surrey home". Surrey Live. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ "Grave of Howard Roderick Parkes". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ "Parry, John, musician". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ "Shaw Savouring Chelsea Contest". Southampton F.C. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/28000. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
External links
- Molesey History – This site has many books, papers and pictures on the history of Molesey and the surrounding area from Rowland G M Baker's collection.
- Molesey News & Mail local newspaper
- Molesey Residents' Association – The local Residents Association.
- Elmbridge Borough Council – The local council.
- Molesey Life – Local guide to Molesey and the Hampton Court Palace area
- Thames Ditton and Weston Green Residents' Association - local Residents Association