Kingston upon Thames
Template:Infobox London place Kingston upon Thames, part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is an ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned, and is now a lively suburb of London. It is where the comic Victorian novel Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome begins and was also a major military aircraft manufacturing centre in the 20th century - notably with the Sopwith, Hawker Aviation and British Aerospace companies. It is the home of Kingston University.
History
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 was occupied by the Romans, and later it was either a royal residence or a royal demesne. There is a record of a council held there in 838, at which Egbert of Wessex, the first King of All England, and his son Ethelwulf of Wessex were present; and in this record it is styled Kyningenstum famosa ilia locus. Seven Saxon kings are traditionally said to have been crowned at Kingston, while seated on a large stone that stands outside the Guildhall.
The first charter was granted by King John in 1208 and this document still exists in the town's archives. Other charters were issued by later kings, including Edward IV's charter that gave the town the status of a borough in 1481.
The Lovekyn Chapel was founded in 1309 by a former mayor of London, Edward Lovekyn. It is the only private chantry chapel to survive the Reformation.
Some interesting relics have been discovered to support this history, and statues of some of the Saxon kings and of King John were preserved in a chapel. In 1730 the chapel containing the royal effigies collapsed, burying the sexton, who was digging a grave, the sexton's daughter and another person. The daughter survived this accident and was her father's successor as sexton. The daughter is commemorated by an engraving by M'Ardell.
Kingston sent members to early parliaments, until a petition by the inhabitants prayed to be relieved from the burden.
Kingston today
Central Kingston is a busy predominantly retail centre, with a small number of commercial offices and civic buildings. It has great many car parks, connected by a notoriously difficult one way system. It is one of the main centres of the south west London bus network, and it is connected to Twickenham, Richmond upon Thames, Wimbledon, and London Waterloo by overland train.
The many shops include a mall called "The Bentall Centre" that contains the Bentalls department store and large branches of the usual chain stores found in many British high streets. There is a large branch of the John Lewis department store with a Waitrose supermarket in the basement. The "Rotunda" near the railway station includes a bowling alley, finess centre, a 14-screen Odeon multiplex cinema and some fast-food restaurants. Recent developments along the riverside south of Kingston Bridge have added restaurants and a theatre. The ancient market still continues daily in the Market Place.
Kingston's civic buildings include the Guildhall which houses Kingston Council, the main offices of Surrey County Council (though since the offices are no longer in Surrey, they are soon to move to Guildford or Woking, and Kingston University are currently negotiating buying the building), the magistrates court, the county court, and a fine local museum and public library.
There are many excellent schools in Kingston including Surbiton High School (the top-ranking academic school in SW London in the Government's Value-Added Performance Tables), Kingston Grammar School and Tiffin School (famous for its rowing: winning the National Championships in two consecutive years). The former polytechnic is now known as Kingston University.
One of the more unusual sights in Kingston is several disused red telephone boxes that have been tipped on their sides in a pattern resembling dominos. This sculpture by David Mach was commissioned in 1988, and is called Out of Order.
Kingston is the home of two non-league Association football clubs, Kingstonian F.C. and AFC Wimbledon, both of which play at The Fans' Stadium, Kingsmeadow.
Kingston straddles two Parliamentary constituencies: the area north of the railway line is part of Richmond Park represented by Susan Kramer; the area south of the railway line (which includes the ancient town centre) is part of Kingston and Surbiton represented by Edward Davey. Both MPs are members of the Liberal Democrat party.
Ecclesiastically, Kingston lies in the Church of England diocese of Southwark. The suffragan or Area Bishop of Kingston is the Rt Rev. Dr Richard Cheetham.
External links
- Kingston Council official site
- Kingston Online - business and leisure information listings and links
- A Brief History of Kingston-upon-Thames by Tim Lambert
- Kingston University official site