Kingston upon Thames
Created | Updated Jul 14, 2003
Kingston upon Thames
There is evidence of habitation in the Kingston area from Neolithic times in the form of axe and arrow heads found in sites near the river. Further iron age and pre Saxon settlement has also been found. There is also some slight evidence of Roman occupation. A Roman altar to the ‘god of fortune’was found in Eden Street and coins and brooches nearby.
The Coronation Stone
The popular myth that the name Kingston is derived from ‘Kings stone’ on which Saxon kings were crowned is not supported by more recent investigation. The tradition that links the stone with Saxon coronations is relatively recent. The first mention of the stone is in 1793 and is associated with St Mary’s Chapel, an earlier church, which collapsed in 1730, and was adjacent to ‘All Saints Church’ near the current market place. St Mary’s was probably the site of the coronations and contained pictures of previous kings, the stone may have been part of that chapel and became associated with the story. It ‘might’ have been used to crown kings but it’s not likely. What is certain is that it was used as a horse mounting block by riders in the market place up ‘till its removal to its present site.
The Kings
Seven Saxon Kings were reputed to have been ‘crowned’ at Kingston, they were:
Edward the Elder in June 900
Athelstan Sept 925
Edmund 940
Edred Aug 946
Edwy Jan 956
Edward the Martyr
Ethlered the Unready 979
There is substantiation for only two of the above ceremonies for Athelstan and Ethlered to have taken place in Kingston, with some slighter evidence for perhaps Edred.
The Name
The name is derived from the old English words ‘cyninges’ and ’tun’ meaning ‘kings estate’. It was probably an extensive royal estate or administrative centre,owned by the king where local officials were placed to collect taxes. Its first mention as a royal meeting place is in 838 when a council of Kingston was held by Egbert. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Chingestum’
The Charters
Kingston received 5 royal charters through its history. The first from King John in 1200. The second followed in 1208 which enshrined various rights and privileges to Kingston. A third in 1256 from Edward I. and a fourth in 1481 from Edward IV established Kingston as a ‘town’. Probably the most important charter was that of 1628 which forbade any market to be set up within a radius of seven miles. It is a privilege jealously guarded by Kingston traders to this day.
Notable Worthy’s
Eadweard Muybridge. Born and died in Kingston and invented the ‘Zoopractiscope’ an early form of motion picture viewer. He was more famous for his use of linked camera’s taking series of pictures showing various forms of animal and human motion. His original set of a horse was to prove a bet on whether a trotting horse was at any time fully out of contact with the ground. He proved it was, briefly.
T.O.M. Sopwith. Founded the Sopwith Aviation Company in 1909 in a converted skating rink in Canbury Park Road. He continued to produce aircraft there throughout the first world war expanding to larger premises in the same road. Between the wars Sopwith Aviation became Hawker Aircraft Co still producing aircraft on the same site including Hawker Hurricanes through WW2. Eventually they expanded to further premises in Richmond Road near Ham and eventually became part of British Aerospace becoming a major employer until the factory was closed and demolished in 1993 to make way for a housing estate.
Frank Bentall opened a drapers shop in Clarence Street in 1867. He expanded into neighboring properties and into Wood street until it became a department store employing over 2000 people by 1939. In the early 1990’s the whole building was rebuilt using the Maurice Webb designed facade into the department store/shopping centre that was opened in 1995.
The East Surrey Regiment
The East Surreys were garrisoned at their barracks in Kings Road. They fought in both world wars and were amalgamated with other regiments in the sixties. The gatehouse in Kings road remains.
The ‘Royal’ Borough
A Royal commission in 1924 on London government threatened to annex Kingston into the London County Council. The then Mayor, Alderman Finney argued that Kingston could look after its own affairs quite well thank you and had been doing so since Anglo Saxon days. He worked to raise public awareness and Kingston retained its self governing authority. In 1927 he petitioned King George V to change the
borough’s name from ‘Kingston upon Thames’ to ‘The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames’.The King consented and the borough name changed.
Other Trivia
The three fishes on the Kingston coat of arms represent the three salmon fisheries mentioned in the Domesday Book
Kingston is twinned with Delft ....
‘Nipper’ the dog who’s portrait is used by HMV, ‘His Master’s Voice’ as a trademark is buried in the yard of ‘Barclays’ Bank. (exact location unknown)
Teddington Lock on the border of Kingston is the last Thames lock before the tidal reaches into London.
The Sopwith Aviation Co test flew ‘Baby’ floatplanes from the river at Turk's Boathouse just upriver from Teddington Lock.
During WW2 Kingston suffered the attention of the German Luftwaffe with 34 raids aiming for the Hawker factory.
In 1944/5 Kingston was on the receiving end of seven V1 ‘doodlebugs’ and two V2 rockets.
Very few 'old' buildings remain. The oldest is the 'Lovekyn Chapel' built in 1309 by the Lovekyn family as a chantry, it stands on a corner of London Road opposite Kingston Grammer School.
In the 1960's a thirteenth century building, 'The Old Malthouse' was pulled down by developers one day before a preservation order could be issued. Various pizza houses, 'trendy' cafe's and boutiques now stand on the site instead.
The original course of the Thames,which has been diverted over the years,was through what is now the town centre.
Kingston was originally an island bounded by the Thames and the 'Hogsmill' river which meet near the Guildhall.
The Hogsmill is crossed by a bridge which dates from the 12th century. It's called the 'Clattern' bridge, supposedly from the noise that horses hooves made on it.
There is evidence of habitation in the Kingston area from Neolithic times in the form of axe and arrow heads found in sites near the river. Further iron age and pre Saxon settlement has also been found. There is also some slight evidence of Roman occupation. A Roman altar to the ‘god of fortune’was found in Eden Street and coins and brooches nearby.
The Coronation Stone
The popular myth that the name Kingston is derived from ‘Kings stone’ on which Saxon kings were crowned is not supported by more recent investigation. The tradition that links the stone with Saxon coronations is relatively recent. The first mention of the stone is in 1793 and is associated with St Mary’s Chapel, an earlier church, which collapsed in 1730, and was adjacent to ‘All Saints Church’ near the current market place. St Mary’s was probably the site of the coronations and contained pictures of previous kings, the stone may have been part of that chapel and became associated with the story. It ‘might’ have been used to crown kings but it’s not likely. What is certain is that it was used as a horse mounting block by riders in the market place up ‘till its removal to its present site.
The Kings
Seven Saxon Kings were reputed to have been ‘crowned’ at Kingston, they were:
Edward the Elder in June 900
Athelstan Sept 925
Edmund 940
Edred Aug 946
Edwy Jan 956
Edward the Martyr
Ethlered the Unready 979
There is substantiation for only two of the above ceremonies for Athelstan and Ethlered to have taken place in Kingston, with some slighter evidence for perhaps Edred.
The Name
The name is derived from the old English words ‘cyninges’ and ’tun’ meaning ‘kings estate’. It was probably an extensive royal estate or administrative centre,owned by the king where local officials were placed to collect taxes. Its first mention as a royal meeting place is in 838 when a council of Kingston was held by Egbert. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Chingestum’
The Charters
Kingston received 5 royal charters through its history. The first from King John in 1200. The second followed in 1208 which enshrined various rights and privileges to Kingston. A third in 1256 from Edward I. and a fourth in 1481 from Edward IV established Kingston as a ‘town’. Probably the most important charter was that of 1628 which forbade any market to be set up within a radius of seven miles. It is a privilege jealously guarded by Kingston traders to this day.
Notable Worthy’s
Eadweard Muybridge. Born and died in Kingston and invented the ‘Zoopractiscope’ an early form of motion picture viewer. He was more famous for his use of linked camera’s taking series of pictures showing various forms of animal and human motion. His original set of a horse was to prove a bet on whether a trotting horse was at any time fully out of contact with the ground. He proved it was, briefly.
T.O.M. Sopwith. Founded the Sopwith Aviation Company in 1909 in a converted skating rink in Canbury Park Road. He continued to produce aircraft there throughout the first world war expanding to larger premises in the same road. Between the wars Sopwith Aviation became Hawker Aircraft Co still producing aircraft on the same site including Hawker Hurricanes through WW2. Eventually they expanded to further premises in Richmond Road near Ham and eventually became part of British Aerospace becoming a major employer until the factory was closed and demolished in 1993 to make way for a housing estate.
Frank Bentall opened a drapers shop in Clarence Street in 1867. He expanded into neighboring properties and into Wood street until it became a department store employing over 2000 people by 1939. In the early 1990’s the whole building was rebuilt using the Maurice Webb designed facade into the department store/shopping centre that was opened in 1995.
The East Surrey Regiment
The East Surreys were garrisoned at their barracks in Kings Road. They fought in both world wars and were amalgamated with other regiments in the sixties. The gatehouse in Kings road remains.
The ‘Royal’ Borough
A Royal commission in 1924 on London government threatened to annex Kingston into the London County Council. The then Mayor, Alderman Finney argued that Kingston could look after its own affairs quite well thank you and had been doing so since Anglo Saxon days. He worked to raise public awareness and Kingston retained its self governing authority. In 1927 he petitioned King George V to change the
borough’s name from ‘Kingston upon Thames’ to ‘The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames’.The King consented and the borough name changed.
Other Trivia
The three fishes on the Kingston coat of arms represent the three salmon fisheries mentioned in the Domesday Book
Kingston is twinned with Delft ....
‘Nipper’ the dog who’s portrait is used by HMV, ‘His Master’s Voice’ as a trademark is buried in the yard of ‘Barclays’ Bank. (exact location unknown)
Teddington Lock on the border of Kingston is the last Thames lock before the tidal reaches into London.
The Sopwith Aviation Co test flew ‘Baby’ floatplanes from the river at Turk's Boathouse just upriver from Teddington Lock.
During WW2 Kingston suffered the attention of the German Luftwaffe with 34 raids aiming for the Hawker factory.
In 1944/5 Kingston was on the receiving end of seven V1 ‘doodlebugs’ and two V2 rockets.
Very few 'old' buildings remain. The oldest is the 'Lovekyn Chapel' built in 1309 by the Lovekyn family as a chantry, it stands on a corner of London Road opposite Kingston Grammer School.
In the 1960's a thirteenth century building, 'The Old Malthouse' was pulled down by developers one day before a preservation order could be issued. Various pizza houses, 'trendy' cafe's and boutiques now stand on the site instead.
The original course of the Thames,which has been diverted over the years,was through what is now the town centre.
Kingston was originally an island bounded by the Thames and the 'Hogsmill' river which meet near the Guildhall.
The Hogsmill is crossed by a bridge which dates from the 12th century. It's called the 'Clattern' bridge, supposedly from the noise that horses hooves made on it.
