Walton-on-Thames, known locally as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in northwest Surrey, England. It is in the Borough of Elmbridge, about 15 mi (24 km) southwest of central London. Walton forms part of the Greater London Built-up Area, sits within the KT postcode, and is served by a wide range of transport links.[1] According to the 2011 Census, the town has a total population of 22,834. The town itself consists mostly of suburban streets, with a historic town centre of Celtic origin. It is one of the largest towns in Elmbridge, alongside Weybridge.
The name "Walton" is Anglo-Saxon in origin and is cognate with the common phonetic combination meaning "Briton settlement" (literally, "Welsh Town" – weal(as) tun). Before the Romans and the Saxons were present, a Celtic settlement was here. The most common Old English word for the Celtic inhabitants was the "Wealas", originally meaning "foreigners" or "strangers".[2]William Camden identified Cowey Stakes or Sale, Walton as the place where Julius Caesar forded the River Thames on his second invasion of Britain. A fisherman removed several wooden stakes about thigh-width and 6 feet (1.8 m) high that were very black and hard enough to turn an axe, and shod with iron. He sold these to John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich, who used to come to the neighbouring Shepperton bank to fish, for half a guinea apiece.[3] Elmbridge Museum requires definitive evidence of these stakes, the evidence at present limited to pre 20th-century secondary sources that conflict as to detail.[4]
Walton appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Waletona".[5] The settlement was held jointly as overlords in the feudal system by Edward de Sarisber (Salisbury) and Richard de Tonbrige. Its Domesday assets were: 6 hides; 1 church (St. Mary's), 2 mills worth £1 5s 0d, 1 fishery worth 5s, 14 ploughs, 40 acres (16 ha) of meadow, supporting 50 hogs. It rendered £28.[2]
The nucleus of the village is in the north, while later development took place in the southern manors on all sides of the railway station. About half of the land was south of the South Western Main Line. This included, from west to east, Walton Heath, Burwood manor and Hersham manor; these together became the civil parish of Hersham in the 19th century.[6] On a smaller scale, the majority of Oatlands village, to the south-west, formed part of the town.[7] St. Mary's Parish Church has some Saxon material and an architectural structure of the 12th century, with later additions. The square flint tower, supported by a 19th-century brick buttress, has a working ring of eight bells, the oldest bearing the date 1606. In the north aisle is a large monument (1755) by the French rococo sculptor and bust maker Roubiliac to Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, commander-in-chief in Ireland, who lived at the former manor and house of Ashley Park in the parish; this was demolished and its many acres subdivided in 1920.[8] Also in the north aisle is a brass to John Selwyn (1587), keeper of Oatlands Park, with figures of himself, his wife and eleven children. An unusual relic kept in the church is a copy of a scold's bridle presented to the parish in the 17th century, which is mentioned in Jerome K. Jerome's classic Three Men in a Boat. The royal palace of Oatlands, built by Henry VIII in 1538, was a mile upstream to the west.
John Bradshaw lived in the Tudor manor house in the 17th century. He presided at Charles I's trial. Under the Inclosure Act 1800 there were enclosed (privatised from common land or manorial land subjected to agrarian rights of others) 3,117 acres (12.6 km2) of the Walton manors, which included holdings at Chertsey and 475 acres (1.9 km2) of arable common fields.
The world's first documented game of baseball was played in 1749 in Ashley Park, on the estate belonging to the wife of Charles Sackville, Earl of Middlesex. The Earl played in the match along with his friend, Frederick, Prince of Wales.[9]
A School Board was formed in 1878. A previously existing school was enlarged in 1881. The infant school was built in 1884.[7] The Methodist Church, with a spire taller than the tower of the Anglican Church, was built in 1887. The Baptist Church was built in 1901.[7]
A Public Hall, in High Street, was built in 1879 by Mrs Sassoon, who resided at Ashley Park House.[7] This is still in existence and is visible behind the present shopfront. Ashley Park Golf Club was laid out in the 1890s, but ceased to exist prior to 1918.[10]
During World War I, troops from New Zealand were hospitalised in the No. 2 New Zealand General Hospital at Mount Felix House, which is now demolished except for its stable block and clock tower.[11][12][13] They are remembered by a memorial in the cemetery, where those who died at Mount Felix are buried, and one in St Mary's Church where an annual service of remembrance is held. They are also remembered in the street name New Zealand Avenue, the Wellington Pub (formerly The Kiwi), and a small memorial in the Homebase car park.
Walton upon Thames Urban District merged with Weybridge Urban District to form Walton and Weybridge Urban District in 1933.[14]
In World War II, owing largely to the proximity of important aircraft factories at nearby Brooklands, the town was bombed on various occasions by the Luftwaffe. On 27 September 1940, fighter pilot F/Sgt. Charles Sydney, who was based with 92 Squadron at RAF Biggin Hill, died when his Spitfire (R6767) crashed in Station Avenue. He was buried in Orpington and was commemorated by a memorial plaque adjacent to the former Birds Eye HQ at Walton Court on Station Avenue, close to the crash site although this has recently disappeared with current major redevelopment of the Birds Eye site with new apartments. Hopefully the memorial will be re-erected and re-dedicated later.
Walton Town Hall, which was commissioned to serve as the offices of Weybridge Urban District Council, was designed by Sir John Brown Henson and Partners in the modernist style, featured a curved structure built from concrete with stone cladding and was completed in 1966.[15] It became surplus to requirements and was subsequently demolished after Walton on Thames was absorbed into the Borough of Elmbridge in 1974.[16]
The name of the town has resurfaced in the media in March 2023 in relation to Levi Bellfield and his bid to get married while in prison.[17]
The proportion of households in the town who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free).
Demographic change
For information on the 1851–1901 change in population see Transport below. In 2001 and after boundary changes the population was just over 1,500 lower at 22,834.[19] According to the 2001 census, the population of central Walton was 5,862, with Elmbridge's population being 121,936. Central Walton had a male population of 2,791 against Elmbridge's male population of 58,867, and the female population of central Walton was 3,071 against Elmbridge's 63,069.[20]
Commerce
The GSS (ONS specifically) identifies a Built-up Area of its name generally cited for other articles of this work as to their populations e.g. Guildford, Salisbury, which has a population of 66,566 and extends to Hersham, Sunbury-on-Thames and Shepperton.[21]
The Heart of Walton is the name given to the re-development of Walton town centre alongside the relatively short High Street.[22] This main area of the town centre was built in the 1960s and had become run down owing to poor maintenance. The redevelopment includes a shopping mall and 279 one- and two-bedroom apartments, many with views over the private gardens, avenues and public section of Ashley Park. The main part of the centre, a covered walkway, has several brand retailers including Next, Waterstone's, River Island and Desire by Debenhams. The public library was moved here. Further redevelopment has upgraded or built new shops, widening the scope high-end fashion, jewellery, bakery and supermarkets. Restaurants along the New Zealand Avenue side of The Heart include three independents, Nando's, Pizza Express, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Wagamama. Further restaurants exist along the High Street axis and at the far north-eastern and southern parades within the town boundaries. Around the periphery automotive, construction and landscaping businesses have a large presence and the Walton station area has a number of headquarters sized office buildings, including Kia Motors. As well as this, the long-awaited redevelopment of Walton bridge finished in 2013.
Walton-on-Thames is served by Walton-on-Thames railway station, which provides 4 trains per hour to London Waterloo, consisting of 2 semi-fast services and 2 stopping services, with the semi-fast services taking only 25 minutes to reach the terminus. This has proven pivotal to the demographics and to the nature and degree of the town's development – in 1851 its population was 4,106 which more than quadrupled in the 60 years to 1911, when its population reached 19,142.[23]
Barges moored by the towpath – Walton Marina in the background
Six versions of Walton Bridge have crossed the Thames, each westward, to Shepperton. Before the first bridge there was a ferry which went back at least to the early 17th century.
The first bridge, constructed between 1748 and 1750, was a timber structure that stood until 1783. Canaletto painted a picture of this bridge in 1754. The painting, which shows the rococo-style of this bridge, may be seen in the Dulwich Picture Gallery.
The second bridge was constructed in 1788 and stood until 1859. Constructed of brick and stone, it lasted much longer than its predecessor. This bridge was painted by J. M. W. Turner in 1805 following his sketching tour of the River Thames and River Wey.
After the second bridge collapsed a ferry crossing resumed until the construction of the third bridge in 1864. This was a girder bridge on stone piers. At the same time, a brick viaduct was constructed to span the flood plain to the south of the river. The viaduct is still standing.
The third bridge was damaged during World War II in 1940, leading to a permanent weight restriction. To alleviate this a fourth temporary bridge was constructed in 1953 on the downstream side of the old bridge; this was relegated to use by cyclists and pedestrians only until finally demolished in 1985.
The fourth bridge was constructed from prefabricated sections designed by A. M. Hamilton in 1930; built by Callender Cables Ltd, it was called the Callender-Hamilton Bridge. In 1999, the fourth bridge was replaced by yet another temporary, fifth bridge occupying the line of the original bridges. This initially had several problems and had to be resurfaced a number of times causing huge traffic disruptions. The fourth bridge was restricted for use by cyclists and pedestrians only once the fifth bridge was completed.
Building a sixth bridge began in 2011 and was completed in summer 2013, being opened to traffic on 22 July. The two previous bridges were removed. The supplemental brick viaduct to the east remains for cycle and pedestrian use.[24] The £32.4 million bridge is single span (has no piers in the river), which increases views from upstream and downstream and particularly navigation for boats – the first such bridge heading up the River Thames. This is also the only parabolic tied-arch bridge without piers across this river.[25]
Sport
The Walton riverside
The Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Centre is to the east of the town, near the Thames. The centre includes two swimming pools, an extensive gym, indoor courts and a climbing wall.
Walton Athletics Club was founded in 1942 and is based at the new Waterside Drive Athletic Arena. The club has around 200 members ranging in age from 9 years to over 60 years old. The club provides qualified coaching in all athletics disciplines and participates in a number of different leagues to provide appropriate competition for all age groups in track and field, cross country and road running.
Walton Casuals are a football club who are currently in the Isthmian League Division One South, a level above their neighbours Walton & Hersham. Nicknamed the Stags, they play at Church Road in a ground share with Whyteleafe while developments take place at the Waterside Drive Sports Hub. They previously played at the Waterside Stadium, just off Waterside Drive and adjacent to the modern Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Centre. They are expected to move into their new home ahead of the 2017–18 season. The club play in a tangerine orange and black home kit and a blue and white away kit.
Motor cycle racing was staged at Walton Bridge in October 1938. An event was staged on October 30 records that Walton Bridge raced a team from Hounslow at a venue described as Walton Bridge Speedway (on the programme). It is not clear if the event was a grass track meeting or a speedway meeting.
In local elections, recent contests for seats on Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council have been between the local Conservatives, local Liberal Democrats and the local Residents Association, the Walton Society.
The Walton Society was founded in 1975 by the writer and intellectual Ronald Segal, and entered local politics in 1980 with Gordon Chubb who served until his death in 2006. At one point there were nine Society councillors in all four Walton wards during the period of Residents Groups' control of Elmbridge from the 1990s to 2006. Following the 2012 elections, the Society held all three Walton Central seats, with the Conservatives holding all eight seats in the Ambleside, North and South wards. Following the 2024 elections, The Walton Society had only one Walton Central seat remaining, whilst the Conservatives held no seats in any ward. Both had lost power after a marked increase in support for the Liberal Democrats. Walton's most recent Labour councillor was defeated in 2000.
From 2005 to 2013 the Walton division of Surrey County Council was held by The Walton Society's Tom Phelps-Penry. Upon his retirement at the 2013 elections, the seat was gained by Conservative Rachael Lake who had previously held the seat from 1997 to 2005. The Walton South & Oatlands division has been Conservative held since it was created in 1973.
Notable people
This article's list of residents may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are residents, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(June 2018)
The following people(s) were born in Walton-on-Thames:
Anthony Watson, England International Rugby Union player.
Sarah Payne ((1991-10-13)13 October 1991 – July 2000), a high-profile British child abduction and murder victim in the U.K. (short for the United Kingdom).
The following people(s) have been residents of Walton-on-Thames:
John StrachanMC (1896–1988), cricketer and British Army officer.
In film and television
Some of the sketches for Monty Python were filmed in Walton. Walton Town Hall could be seen in one sketch.[31] Another sketch shows an Admiral Nelson dummy being thrown from one of the flats in Wellington Close.[32]
Location scenes for the cinema film Psychomania (1973) were shot in Walton, including the town's centre.
Series 8 of BBC sitcom Not Going Out features aerial views of Walton-on-Thames between scenes.[33]Find the Lady (1956 film) was filmed in Walton. A restaurant called The Hovel appears in some scenes. Though now gone the sign for the restaurant is available as a poster and jigsaw puzzle.
In the media
The Walton Hop was a teen disco started by Deniz Corday in 1958, and ran until 1990. It is reputed to have been the first public disco in the UK, enjoyed by thousands from surrounding areas. Musician Luke Haines, born in Walton, released a record titled "The Walton Hop" in 2006. During the 1970s and 1980s, it was frequented by now-convicted child sex offenders such as former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning, Tam Paton (manager of the Bay City Rollers) and Jonathan King.[34]
^Ronson, Jon (1 December 2001). "The fall of a pop impresario". guardian.co.uk. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
