Walton upon Thames, Surrey

Historical Description

Walton-upon-Thames, a village and a parish in Surrey. The village stands on the river Thames, with a station on the L. & S.W.R., 17 miles from London, and 4½ E of Chertsey, and a post, money order, and telegraph office. It is a resort of anglers, tourists, and boating parties, and has several good hotels and boathouses. The parish includes Hersham village, and comprises 6719 acres of land and 141 of water; population of the civil parish, 7988; of the ecclesiastical, 3200. It has an urban district council of fifteen members, and is divided into three wards, Walton returning six, Hersham six, and Oatlands three members to the council. The population has considerably increased owing to the erection of houses on the Oatlands Park estate, and to the erection of villas and ornate cottages in other parts. Ashley Park House is said to have been built by Cardinal Wolsey, and is now the seat of the Sassoon family. St George's Hill commands fine views, has remains of a Roman camp, called Caesar's Lodge, and is open to the public. Coway Stakes, generally regarded as the place where Caesar crossed the Thames in pursuit of Cassivelaunus, is adjacent to Mount Felix. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Winchester; gross value, £300 with residence. The church is partly Transition Norman, and The vestry contains a curious relic called the " Gossip's Bridle." The chapelries of Hersham and Oatlands are separate benefices. There are a Wesleyan chapel, a, literary institution, a public hall, a good boating club, the Metropolitan Convalescent Hospital, and ten almshouses.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

Ancestry.co.uk, in association with Surrey History Centre, have images of the Parish Registers for Surrey online.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Walton upon Thames from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Walton-Upon-Thames (St. Mary))

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Surrey is available to browse.

Maps

Online maps of Walton upon Thames are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Surrey papers online:

• Surrey Mirror
• Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser
• Surrey Advertiser

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Surrey, 1662-1668 is available on the Heraldry page.