Hersham

History

According to Hersham in Surrey:

Hersham began as a strip of woodland beside the River Mole. It was occupied by pre-historic folk whose flint instruments have been found in large numbers beside the River on Southwood Manor Farm. These date mostly from the mesolithic period. Somewhere around 200 B.C. a huge defensive earthwork was erected on top of St George's Hill (ecclesiastically in Hersham, but in Weybridge post town), probably as a refuge camp against invaders coming up the Thames Valley.

That this could have been constructed at all indicates a fairly large population in the district, a chieftain of some sort, organised labour and a desperate perhaps recurring danger. Bronze and Iron Age burials have been found on the slopes of the hill which was clearly a feature of some importance in ancient times.

The Anglo-Saxons may well have been the first permanent settlers here; they gave the name to the place and no older remains of actual dwellings in areas not mentioned above have been found. In the 12th century it was written Haverichesham suggesting Haeferick's hamlet or river bend settlement. By contraction the name become Haverisham, Haversham, Harsham or Hersham before finally settling only on the latter.

Hersham's first chapel of ease (Holy Trinity church, which was demolished in 1889 having been superseded) was built of yellow brick in Anglo-Norman style in 1839. Similarly congregationalists had a Round Chapel which existed from 1844 until 1961, the year in which the single dual carriageway in Hersham was created, and enabling its construction.

Instead of merely (for vestry and property owning matters such as poor relief, road maintenance, manorial ownership, land tax and tithes) being the southern hamlet of Walton, Hersham became an ecclesiastical parish in 1851. The dividing line was what then officially termed the "London and South Western Railway line" and all borders remain almost unchanged by later local government and ecclesiastical parish decisions. The present Anglican church of St. Peter was built by Mr. J. L. Pearson, R.A., in 1887. It is of brick and stone in 13th-century style. It has a nave and aisles, of five arcades, chancel, transepts, and a western tower and spire. Its site was given by Lieut. Col. Terry of Burvale, Hersham.

Hersham contained one manor alone known as Morehall alias Sylkesmore or Southwood. Mention of a court held at Hersham in 1272 by Reginald de Imworth and Matilda his wife, may indicate that he was then lord of the manor. When Henry VIII built Nonsuch Palace in Cheam as many as eighty loads of timber were obtained from Southwood, or the South Woods, for it. In 1540 he purchased from John Carleton the "manor of Morehall or Sylkesmore" in Hersham, together with lands and woods in Burwood and Hatch in Hersham. The manor remained in the possession of the Crown, and was granted by Philip II of Spain and Mary I of England to David Vincent. In 1579 Queen Elizabeth granted to Thomas Vincent "the manor, site, and demesne lands of Morehall, and the wood called Sylkesmore coppice". In the 18th century and until 1802 at least, the estate, then known as 'the manor of Southwood and Silksmore,' appears to have been held by the Frederick family.

This private retirement village with a percentage of accommodation available for disabled poor residents is set in a lightly undulating, elevated, wooded part of Hersham and was created from a bequest of £1m left by a London department store pioneer William Whiteley.

Geography

Hersham is in the borough of Elmbridge, in north-west Surrey and has no particular sub-localities except for Burwood Park, which alongside certain other addresses in the village is, when published for any purposes, due to its proximity to Walton on Thames railway station, done so under the name of Hersham's post town only, Walton on Thames. A planned community also exists in the south almost entirely for the retired, Whiteley Village.

The parish boundaries run from the South Western Main Line railway in the North, to the River Mole in the South and the East and through St George's Hill in the West.

Places within Hersham thus technically include a portion of Painshill Park of Saint George's Hill, all of Burwood Park, Walton Firs Scout Camp and Whiteley Village.

Notable people past and present

Notable events

King George III visited Weylands farm in Hersham where he saw the first drill plough. Queen Victoria wrote in her diary how she saw her first steam train in Hersham when she was a young girl.

In more recent times the punk group Sham 69 with lead singer Jimmy Pursey, had its roots in Hersham. The band's biggest hit was Hersham Boys. Sham 69 took their name from the remnants of a piece of graffiti in the area which made reference to when Walton and Hersham football club secured the Athenian League title in 1969.

Due to its proximity to London and Shepperton Studios, Hersham is frequently a filming location for film and television productions including Nighty Night, The Glass, Monty Python and Being April. The second series of the TV show, Ashes to Ashes was filmed in Hersham. The Mummy was filmed in Hersham.

Hersham is also home to Britain's largest colony of parakeets near Esher Rugby Club. This was estimated in 2004 to have consisted of around 7,000 birds.

Education

Within Hersham is the mixed, secondary Rydens School. The school holds specialist Business and Enterprise College status, and boasts an impressive drama programme. Its roll holds approx. 1200 students. Hersham also has three primary schools - Burhill, became primary in 2015, Bell Farm, became primary in 2014 and Cardinal Newman. Within the Hersham parish boundaries and Cobham post town are Feltonfleet School for boys and girls and Notre Dame School, Surrey for girls.

Rugby

Esher RFC is a multi-pitch rugby union club in Hersham since approximately 1939 (see notes). Their first men's team is notable in the region and saw 2012-14 among the upper 50% of clubs in RFU National League 1 (the third level of the sport in England), having been relegated in the previous season. Esher play at The Rugby Ground, 369 Molesey Road. The 1st XV play in a black-amber strip.

TV presenter John Inverdale has long been associated with the club, albeit the 2010s saw his involvement diminish.

Golf

Hersham Village Golf Club is on the opposite, south side of the village, where snooker player John Virgo has been a longstanding president.

Hersham's large second golf club is Burhill Golf Club (with North and South courses, the latter of which has been added from Cobham) near Burwood Park; during World War II, Barnes Wallis and several hundred staff were evacuated to Burhill Golf Club from the nearby Vickers-Armstrongs aircraft factory at Brooklands and designed the legendary Dambusters 'bouncing bomb'.

Economy

Four technology/trading estates exist in Hersham:

A major nearby conjoined set of trading estates spans the Weybridge/Byfleet border at Brooklands and London Heathrow Airport also has a range of employers, though this is across Walton on Thames itself and the borough of Spelthorne. Most important to the local economy is the accessibility of Central London — see Rail below, with train entries and exits per annum across the two stations bordering and in the town itself, at more than 500,000 per annum.

The very modest High Street contains almost entirely only convenience and socialising stores; fashion and leisure shops are to be found less than 2 miles (3.2 km) to the north, in Walton on Thames. As part of the development of Hersham a new shopping centre was built with a large supermarket (30k sq feet ) now occupied by Waitrose. A new Lidl supermarket was given permission in 2015 increasing the retail floorspace in addition to Waitrose.

Rail

Hersham is served by Hersham railway station and Walton-on-Thames railway station with a minimum of 2 trains per hour even on Sundays and differing types of services on the London Waterloo South Western Main Line. Fast trains stopping at Walton on Thames reach the London terminus within 30 minutes.

Roads

Hersham is connected to London via the A3. The A3 also connects the village to Guildford, and Portsmouth, which gives rise to its main pseudonym, "the Portsmouth Road". The M25 Junction 10 is 4 miles away and an A-roads and dual carriageway connect neighbouring (but not contiguous) Esher and Cobham and the almost bordering town of Weybridge, across a narrow strip of Walton on Thames.

Demography and housing

The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%.

The proportion of households in the settlement 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).