| Chessington | |
|---|---|
 Gilders Road, Chessington | |
  Chessington Location withinGreater London | |
| Population | 18,973 (Chessington North and Hook and Chessington South wards 2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TQ183641 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CHESSINGTON |
| Postcode district | KT9 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
| 51°21′49″N0°17′59″W / 51.3635°N 0.2998°W /51.3635; -0.2998 | |
Chessington is an area in theRoyal Borough of Kingston upon Thames withinGreater London, which was historically part ofSurrey. At the2011 census it had a population of 18,973. The Bonesgate Stream, a tributary of theHogsmill River, runs through it. The popular theme park resortChessington World of Adventures, which incorporates Chessington Zoo, is located in the south-west of the area.
Neighbouring settlements includeTolworth,Ewell,Surbiton,Claygate,Epsom,Oxshott,Leatherhead,Esher,Kingston upon Thames,Worcester Park andMalden Rushett.
Its name came fromAnglo-SaxonCissan dūn = "hill belonging to [a man named] Cissa".
Chessington appears in theDomesday Book of 1086 asCisedune andCisendone. It was held partly by Robert de Wateville and partly by Milo (Miles) Crispin. Its Domesday assets were: 1½hides; part of amill worth 2s, 4ploughs,woodland worth 30hogs. It rendered £7.[2]
The mansion atChessington World of Adventures, known today as the Burnt Stub, was originally built in 1348. In theEnglish Civil War it became a royalist stronghold and was razed to the ground byOliver Cromwell's Parliamentary forces, giving it its modern name. The site became an inn and was then rebuilt on a grander scale from the 18th century by the Vere Barker family in a Neo-Gothic Victorian style. The grounds were turned into a zoo in 1931 by Reginald Goddard.Chessington Zoo became part of theTussauds Group in 1978 and is now operated as atheme park. Burnt Stub had no public access until 2003 when it became an attraction calledHocus Pocus Hall.[3]
Chessington Hall has a place in 18th-century literary history, as home of Samuel Crisp, a failed playwright and close friend ofFanny Burney. Chessington Road Recreation Ground was purchased on 16 October 1930 for £1,000.[4]
At 207 Hook Road is aBlue plaque commemorating the authorEnid Blyton, who lived at the address between 1920 and 1924.
The former farmhouse Barwell Court (on Barwell Lane) was used as a recording and residential studio during the 1970s through to the 1990s.
The formerRAF Chessington Hospital, demolished in the 1990s, first opened as RAF Hook around 1938 as a regional barrage balloon depot and was operated by RAFBalloon Command. It became a vital part of Britain's defence against theLuftwaffe in World War II, and originally featured a number of large barrage balloon sheds as well as extensive garages and workshops for the station's support vehicles.
Sega Amusements Europe has its head office in Chessington.[5]
The Chessington Industrial Estate[6] is located on Lion Park Avenue.
Chessington houses one of Europe's leading theme park resortsChessington World of Adventures. This includes azoo, atheme park, anaquarium and two four star hotels – the Safari Hotel and Azteca Hotel. In the grounds of the resort lies the historicBurnt Stub Mansion.
Chessington Garden Centre[7] is located in the south of the area near Malden Rushett.
Chessington offers a range of countryside activities with many open spaces including the "Chessington Countryside Walk" in theLondon Green Belt. Chessington Wood, in the south of the area, contains the source of the Bonesgate Stream, a tributary of theHogsmill River, in turn a tributary of theRiver Thames.
The areas of Chessington have these names:
Chessington World of Adventures (branded, is often referred to simply as "Chessington"), azoo andtheme park with a broader appeal. Within the park there is the Burnt Stub Mansion from theEnglish Civil War. Also one of the main employers in the area.
Churches include: St Paul's C of E, Hook Road, in the Diocese of Southwark;St Mary's C of E, Church Lane, in the Diocese of Guildford; Chessington Methodist Church, Moor Lane, in the Kingston circuit; St. Catherine of Siena RC, Leatherhead Road, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark; and Chessington Evangelical Church, the King's Centre,[8] Coppard Gardens.
The town is served by theSurrey Comet newspaper, and up to 2016 had the former free paperKingston Guardian.
Within the town there are various sporting organisations including: Non League football clubsChessington & Hook United F.C. andEpsom Athletic F.C., who both playfootball in theCombined Counties League; and KingstonRFC based on the Hook Road. Kingston RFC[9] play in Surrey division 2 union league. Chessington also is home to ChessingtonCricket Club, founded in 1919, play on the Sir Francis Barker recreation ground on Leatherhead Road, the 1st XI currently play in Division 1 of TheSurrey Championship.
On site with Chessington School is Chessington Sports Centre. The sports centre is home to many local sports clubs such as TheKingston Wildcats (2nd and youth teams), Genesis Gymnastics Club, Chessington Badminton Club and many others. The Sports Centre has a multi use sports hall, a fully equipped fitness suite and Kingston's only Climbing Wall, Chessington Rocks.
The formerFormula One racing teamBrabham had their factory in Chessington. The site is now occupied by theCarlin DPRGP2 team.[10]
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The main secondary school in Chessington is a mixed public school calledChessington School, but nearby secondary schools on the northern border of Chessington are the boys' schoolSouthborough High School inSurbiton andTolworth Girls' School and Centre for Continuing Education in Tolworth.
There are also many primary schools, e.g., Lovelace Primary, Ellingham Primary School.
There are trains, buses and taxis.
Chessington has tworailway stations:Chessington North andChessington South. They are half a mile apart withSouth Western Railway services every half-hour toLondon Waterloo. Chessington South is the end of the line.
The line past Chessington South has fallen into heavy disrepair and leads over a concrete bridge into a patch of full-grown trees. The crossover, signal, and rail electricity at this point are still active, even though a passenger train has never passed over this section.
Chessington is about four miles (6 km) from junction 9 of theM25 motorway. The town is situated on the A243 Leatherhead Road, close to theA3 London-to-Portsmouth trunk route to the north. The un-numbered Bridge Road runs through the area from the A243 toward the adjacent district of West Ewell, in the neighbouring borough ofEpsom and Ewell (the boundary being marked crossing the course of the Bonesgate Stream).
The Chessington area is served by a number of daily bus services, such as routes71,465,467, night route65 and local routesK2 andK4. It is also served by the school service 671.
Media related toChessington at Wikimedia Commons
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