Chessington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the town of Chessington. For the nearby attraction, see Chessington World of Adventures.
| Chessington | |
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference: | TQ183641 |
| Latitude: | 51.363571° |
| Longitude: | -0.299835° |
| Administration | |
| London borough: | Kingston |
| County level: | Greater London |
| Region: | London |
| Constituent country: | England |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom |
| Other | |
| Ceremonial county: | Greater London |
| Historic county: | Surrey (Pre-1965) |
| Services | |
| Police force: | Metropolitan Police |
| Fire brigade: | London Fire Brigade |
| Ambulance service: | London Ambulance |
| Post office and telephone | |
| Post town: | CHESSINGTON |
| Postal district: | KT9 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Politics | |
| UK Parliament: | Kingston and Surbiton |
| London Assembly: | South West |
| European Parliament: | London |
| London | List of places in London | |
Chessington is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in Greater London, England. The Hogsmill river runs through it.
Contents |
[edit] History
Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Cissan dūn = "hill belonging to [a man named] Cissa". It was home of the former RAF Chessington, Hospital. Chessington Hall has a place in 18th century literary history, as home of Samuel Crisp, who was a failed playwright and close friend of Fanny Burney.
[edit] Geography
The areas of Chessington have these names:-
- Chessington North, also referred to as North Parade, immediately adjacent to Chessington North railway station.
- Hook, generally referred to as the central point in Chessington, although historically considered a separate entity. It incorporates the majority of bus routes which pass through the area, and is the terminus for routes 467 (Chessington To Epsom) and route 833 (Hinchley Wood School to Chessington).
- Copt Gilders, named after the farm which was once on this area.
- Chessington South, previously called Fleetwood, incorporating the majority of buildings south of Chessington Community College and Chessington South railway station.
- Southborough, referring to the Boys School which stands on the site, this area is close to the A3 Dual Carriageway and nearby Surbiton and Tolworth.
[edit] Local entertainment and leisure
- Chessington & Hook United F.C., who play football in the Combined Counties League.
- Chessington World of Adventures (branded, and often referred to simply as "Chessington"), a Zoo and Theme Park with a broader appeal. Within the park, The Burnt Stub Mansion From the English Civil War.
- Odeon Cinemas. In Epsom or Kingston
[edit] Transport
[edit] Rail
Chessington has two railway stations: Chessington North and Chessington South. They are half a mile apart with trains every half hour to London Waterloo. Chessington South is the end of the line. Many people know it as the Chessington World of Adventures Station. Image:ChesSthTrees.jpg The line was originally intended to split at Motspur Park railway station, pass through Chessington and proceed on to Leatherhead, but construction was halted at Chessington South in 1940 as World War II began, and it was then the Green Belt with Ashtead Commons 200+ year protection order that stopped it from continuing. As of 2005 plans were put in place for a tunnel.
The line past Chessington South has fallen into heavy disrepair and leads over a concrete bridge into a patch of full-grown trees. It is interesting to point out that the crossover, signal, and 3rd-rail electricity at this point is still active, even though a passenger train has never passed over this section.
[edit] Roads
Chessington is about four miles (6 km) from junction 9 of the M25 motorway. The town is situated on the A243 Leatherhead Road, close to the A3 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 of Epsom and Ewell (the boundary being marked crossing the course of the Hogsmill river).
[edit] Buses
Chessington is served by many regular bus routes, however, currently no services to the town officially run as designated night buses; as a result, Chessington has almost no overnight Bus Service. During the day, however, there are many routes to local towns, under Transport for London regulation. These Include;
[edit] Route 71
Kingston Cromwell Road Bus Station to Chessington World of Adventures, Via Surbiton, Hook, Chessington North and Copt Gilders.
This route began on a direct path between Leatherhead and Richmond upon Thames, travelling up Chessington's Leatherhead Road when entering the borough, with sister bus, Route 65, running from Ealing Broadway, serving the Copt Gilders housing estate and terminating in Chessington.
Route 65 was permanently curtailed back to Kingston, upon conversion from Routemaster Buses and Route 71 itself curtailed from Richmond upon Thames in the North to Kingston Upon Thames, and from Leatherhead in the south to the current terminus at Chessington World of Adventures, providing a service once again to the Copt Gilders Estate. The northern end of the route is now covered by Route 371.
This route is served by Alexander ALX400 Buses and operated by Transdev London.
[edit] Route 465
Kingston Cromwell Road Bus Station to Dorking Townfield Court, Via Surbiton, Hook, Leatherhead and Mickleham.
Route 465 began as a descendant of Route 71, after the southern section of the 71 route to Leatherhead was removed, to allow it to serve the area known as Chessington South better. In later years the northern section of Route 465, past Kingston, was removed in order to focus the route more upon the southern section, covering most of Surrey, however it must be pointed out that Transport for London's Oyster Card, and all other TfL ticketing methods, are valid throughout the journey.
Route 465 is generally served by Salvador Caetano's 'Nimbus' Buses, although occasionally, and more frequently recently, Dennis Darts may be seen running the route. The bus route is operated by Travel London, Under the Travel London (West) Branding.
This route was previously contracted to Tellings-Golden Miller.
[edit] Route 467
Hook Kingston By-Pass/Gladstone Road to Epsom Clock Tower or Epsom General Hospital, Via Ewell.
Route 467 is an hourly service provided by Transdev London which has already been considered for complete removal by Transport for London, albeit only being in service since 16th September 2000.[citation needed]
The route's passenger figures are low however Route 467 provides a 'vital service to the elderly, and to School Children'. [Surrey Comet] It is the only link between Chessington and Epsom not necessitating changing routes at Tolworth or Surbiton.
The route is well-known for it's lack of a consistant Bus Type;[citation needed] Both Dennis Darts and Alexander ALX400s regularly run the route. This is due to the lack of availability of a regular type of bus at Tolworth, the depot assigned for 467 operation. It was previously commonplace to see a mixture of Dennis Darts and MCW Metrobuses on route, before the Metrobus was phased out of Transdev's fleet in Public Service.
[edit] The 'K' routes
K1: New Malden Station to Kingston Via Tolworth, Sunray Estate and Surbiton. Technically this Transdev-Operated Route does not serve Chessington but serves a stop in Thornhill Road which is a very short walk from the Southborough area of the town.
K2: Kingston Hospital to Hook Library Via Chessington Industrial Estate, Tolworth, Berrylands and Surbiton.
K4: Kingston Hospital to Hook, Mansfield Park (Ripon Gardens) Via Villiers Avenue, Surbiton, Hook and Winey Park Estate.
Route K3 and Routes K5-10 do not serve Chessington. Route K50 is an annual Park and ride express bus to and from Chessington World of Adventures and Kingston Upon Thames during the Christmas Season.
[edit] Routes 671 and 833
Route 671 follows Route 71 for the majority of the Chessington section, however terminates early at Chessington South railway station.
Route 833 is a Surrey Connect-Operated bus on behalf of Hinchley Wood School. However recent publications from Hinchley Wood School suggest that Route 833 will be replaced with a service provided by Transport for London as opposed to the previously Surrey-Based operations after the buses in use for this route became less practical for use as School Shuttles.
[edit] Pubs and social clubs
[edit] Pubs
- The North Star
- The Cap in Hand
- The Chessington Oak (previously The Blackamoor's Head)
- The White Hart
- The Harrow (previously a Harvester (restaurant))
- The Lucky Rover
- The Maverick
- The Cricketers
- Monkey Puzzle
