Molesey
Coordinates: 51°23′42″N 0°21′12″W / 51.3949°N 0.3533°W
| Molesey | |
 Molesey
Molesey shown within Surrey |
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| Population | 18,565 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | TQ145675 |
| District | Elmbridge |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | EAST MOLESEY |
| Postcode district | KT8 |
| Post town | WEST MOLESEY |
| Postcode district | KT8 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Esher and Walton |
Molesey is a town in the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England. There are two distinct areas in the town: West and East Molesey. Neighbouring towns are Walton-on-Thames, Sunbury-on-Thames, Hampton and Kingston-upon-Thames; villages include Thames Ditton and the north bank side of the loosely-termed Hampton Court, the eateries, boutiques and train station of which spread across the river into Hampton Court within Molesey.[2] Molesey has a bus service operated by Transport for London and a railway station operated by South-West Trains (the station is named Hampton Court but is in Molesey). Situated within the Greater London Urban Area, approximately 13 miles (21 km) from Charing Cross, Molesey is a typical suburban area. It has the London dialling code (020).
In 2001, Molesey had a population of approximately 18,565.
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History [edit]
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This section requires expansion. (January 2011) |
The earliest documentary evidence of a settlement in Molesey appears in a 7th-century charter, shortly after Erkenwald founded Chertsey Abbey in AD 666. He secured from Frithwald, sub-king of Surrey, a charter endowing the abbey with much of the surrounding land, including Muleseg. Etymologists suggest that the town's name is derived from the personal name Mul (pronounced Mule) compounded with the Old English word eg, meaning an island or river meadow - thus Mul's Island. Therefore Molesey is not, as commonly believed, named after the River Mole that runs through it. The prefixes East and West did not appear until about the year 1200, before which there was only one parish centred around what is now known as East Molesey.[3] Molesey lay within the Saxon administrative district of Elmbridge hundred.
East Molesey appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Molesham. It was held partly by John from Richard Fitz Gilbert and partly by Roger d'Abernon. Its Domesday assets were: 2 hides and 3 virgates. It had 7 ploughs, 2 oxen, and 32 acres (130,000 m2) of meadow and woodland worth 10 hogs. It rendered £6 15s 0d. West Molesey was held by Odard Balistarius. Its Domesday assets were: 1 hide, 1 church, and 5 ploughs. It rendered £4.[4]
Molesey was one of the many villages and towns along the Thames valley affected by flooding in 1968; specifically here the flooding of the River Mole. Some barriers and overflow fields have been created since then by the Environment Agency and its precursors.[5]
East and West Molesey is traditionally divided by the Molesey Stone - it is located on the grass outside Molesey Library on Walton Road. In recent times a car broke the stone but Elmbridge Borough Council was informed of the damage and repaired it.
Locality [edit]
Molesey lies south of the River Thames near several large reservoirs that provide water within the London Basin. Some of these are now disused and are being converted into nature reserves. To the west lie Bessborough Reservoir and Knight Reservoir, to the north-west Molesey Reservoirs, to the south Island Barn Reservoir, and to the south-west Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir. There are walks beside Metropolitan green belt fields to the south along the river Mole to Esher and to the west along the Thames Path to Walton-on-Thames.
Hampton Court Palace is nearly opposite East Molesey across Hampton Court Bridge over the Thames. Molesey Lock is just above the bridge.
Hurst Park Racecourse is on the south bank of the Thames.
Landmarks [edit]
Molesey itself has some interesting landmarks, including three listed Church of England churches and The Bell, a public house, formerly known as "The Crooked House", built in the mid-15th century. Other Landmarks include The Jubilee Fountain in Bridge Road. Other historic buildings include an altered 15th-century house with timber frames and red brick, Matham Manor and a 16th-century house, Quillets Royal with an 18th-century extension (The Manor House) both near The Bell in Bell Road/Matham Road[6] I
Bars, Public Houses & Restaurants [edit]
Molesey has many traditional pubs and restaurants, though several public houses have closed in recent years to become apartment buildings. One of the most popular public houses is The Poyntz Arms which has seen its popularity improve significantly over the past five years due to its live music on Friday evenings.
There are also modern bars such as Staff's 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 member's clubs (both in East Molesey). In West Molesey there is The Europa, The Lord Hotham, The Cannon and The Royal Oak. There are several Chinese, Indian, French and Italian restaurants.
Sports [edit]
Molesey was once the bare-knuckle boxing centre of England,[7] and had a famous horse-racing track stretching the length of the River Thames from where Hurst Park School now stands, down to Molesey Lock. Much of the course was built on in the 1960s: the Hurst Park Estate has a mixture of three and two storey homes and a block of flats overlooking the river. Part of the open space that was part of the racetrack is now an riverside park. There is a wide grass expanse, a playground and open access to the Thames, features here include the popular Hampton Ferry and Molesey Regatta, a major event in the sport of rowing with catering and evening outdoor music.
Cricket [edit]
East Molesey Cricket Club is located alongside the South bank of the Thames, half a mile from Hampton Court Palace. Founded in 1871, it is a thriving local sports club with a long and glorious history. The Club’s first XI play in Surrey Championship Division 1 and there are three other senior Saturday league sides and one senior Sunday league side, regularly competing against other Surrey clubs. The club continues to place special emphasis on generating a love of cricket amongst Molesey's junior residents.
Rowing [edit]
Molesey Boat Club (est. 1866) is one of the UK's leading rowing clubs, with several Olympic and World Championship medallists in addition to domestic success at all ages. The rowing club also competes in the Amateur Molesey Regatta held annually in Hurst Park [8]
Football [edit]
Molesey F.C. is a football team based in West Molesey, the club is currently a member of the Combined Counties League Premier Division and plays at the Walton Road Stadium.
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 football team also based in West Molesey, the club is currently a member of the Surrey County Intermediate League (Western) Division One and plays at the West Molesey Recreation Ground, Walton Road, West Molesey. The club's popularity has grown significantly in recent years following its winning several honours including the Lower Junior County Cup in the 2007/08 season and successful league promotions. The team was previously known as Claygate Swans F.C.
Swimming [edit]
Hurst swimming pool is located in Dunstall Way, West Molesey.
Pool/Billiards [edit]
The Poyntz Arms Public House and Molesey East & West Conservative Club both play in the Tolworth and District Pool League.
Darts [edit]
The Molesey Football Club and the Royal British Legion (Molesey Branch) both have darts teams, made up of club members, that play in the Molesey and District Darts League.
Sports History [edit]
There are some large iron gates in the access road to Hurst Park called Graburn Way which were built so that races then started just east of the road and enabled the course to have a 'straight mile'. Just beyond the gates 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. Upmarket flats are now built on the site of the outdoor pool. The entire riverside recreational area was previously referred to as Moulsey Hurst.
'Moulsey Hurst' is a very early site of cricket (from 1731) and that tradition is continued to this day by East Molesey Cricket Club, which was established in 1871.
Transportation [edit]
Rail service [edit]
The railway station in East Molesey is Hampton Court railway station, operated by South West Trains. This is a terminus of a stopping commuter service to Waterloo. Principal stops are Surbiton and Clapham Junction. During the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show extra trains run to and from London.
Bus service [edit]
Buses run the short distance to nearby Kingston upon Thames and Richmond.
Molesey's main bus service, the 411 (previously the 131 from West Molesey to Wimbledon), is operated by Quality Line on behalf of Transport for London. The route starts at Central Avenue in West Molesey and runs through East Molesey, past Hampton Court Station and on to Kingston town centre.
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Sunbury-on-Thames | Hampton | Hampton Court Bushy Park |
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| Sunbury-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames |
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Hampton Court across Hampton Court Park & Golf Course: Kingston-upon-Thames |
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| Fieldcommon, Walton-on-Thames across Queen Elizabeth II reservoir: Walton-on-Thames |
Esher | Thames Ditton |
Notable people [edit]
- Phil Bayles, renowned national journalist and ITN London News Roving Reporter
- Chemmy Alcott, British Olympic Alpine skier.
- Mick Avory, drummer and percussionist for the British rock band The Kinks, grew up in Balmoral Crescent.
- Bill Cotton, the British television producer and executive and the son of big-band leader Billy Cotton, lived in East Molesey in his latter years.
- Bernie Constable (1921-1997), cricketer, brother of the below
- Dennis Constable (born 1925), cricketer, brother of the above
- Omid Djalili, comedian and actor, lives outside the town.
- Roy Holder, famous actor.
- Piers Morgan, presenter, lives in West Molesey.
- Lee Mack, Stand-up comic, lives in Hampton Court.
- Robert Robinson regularly quoted on his Radio Four programme, Stop the Week, from an alleged correspondent in East Molesey. Many believe this to have been merely a device used by Robinson to promote his own whimsical views on a variety of esoteric subjects.
- Les Strong, professional football player. Played for Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Fulham.
- Veronica Tudor-Williams, noted basenji breeder, lived in East Molesey, as noted in this 1954 newsreel.
- Liv Boeree, professional poker player, lives in East Molesey
Musician, TV Presenter and ex-actor Matt Willis moved to Molesey from Tooting, South London during his youth. Best known for being the bassist in the disbanded pop rock band 'Busted'. He released a solo album "Don't Let It Go To Waste" and won ITV's 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!' in 2006. He also DJ-ed for many successful club nights in 2008.
References [edit]
- ^ Surrey County Council census data
- ^ Example businesses demonstrating the frequent name use of Hampton Court since the coming of the railway station here include Hampton Court Emporium and Hampton Court Interiors and the BP Petrol Station
- ^ The Book of Molesey by Rowland G M Baker
- ^ Surrey Domesday Book
- ^ http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk Flood Prevention Scheme Map. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
- ^ The Heritage List for England online. Retrieved 2012-04-10
- ^ Baker, Rowland (1989). Thameside Molesey. U.K. ISBN 978086023 414 2. extracts available here
- ^ Molesey Boat Club website medal results 2011-2012. Retrieved 2012-4-10
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Molesey |
- 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.
- 1st Molesey (Jaguar) Sea Scout Group - One of Molesey's three Scout groups. 1st Molesey are RN Recognised and provide water activities for young people aged 6–18
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