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The town's [[leisure centre]] was built in the [[1960s]], and was extended in the 1980s with the Mole Barn. [[As of 2006]] plans have been drawn up by [[Mole Valley]] District Council to build a new modern centre on the site.
The town's [[leisure centre]] was built in the [[1960s]], and was extended in the 1980s with the Mole Barn. [[As of 2006]] plans have been drawn up by [[Mole Valley]] District Council to build a new modern centre on the site.


It also has a theatre, once named after [[Dame Sybil Thorndike]], which is also used as a cinema and for art exhibitions. The theatre is now owned by a religious group called the Pioneer People, and is now called The Leatherhead Theatre.
It also has a theatre, once named after [[Dame Sybil Thorndike]], which is also used as a cinema and for art exhibitions. The theatre is now owned by a religious group called the [[Pioneer People]], and is now called The Leatherhead Theatre.


[[Bocketts Farm]] off Young Street which includes rare breeds and a petting zoo.
[[Bocketts Farm]] off Young Street which includes rare breeds and a petting zoo.

Revision as of 16:16, 27 June 2006

For other uses of this name, see Leatherhead (disambiguation).

Template:Infobox England place Leatherhead is a medium-sized town in Surrey, England, on the River Mole, Surrey. It is thought to be of Saxon origin.

Located in the centre of the County of Surrey and at a junction of north-south and east-west communications, the town was a focus for passenger transport throughout its history. From the construction of the bridge over the River Mole in the early medieval period, to the days of the Swan Hotel that for 300 years provided services to horse driven coaches, to the building of the M25 motorway, travel and transport has continued to dominate the form and function of Leatherhead.

History

Saxon-Norman & Medieval

The origins of the town of Leatherhead appear to be Anglo-Saxon. The Leatherhead Museum has traced the history of the town from its beginnings in about 880 AD when it was known as Leodridan, (later in the Domesday Book as Leddrede) - believed to have meant the place where people can ride across the river. The early town population appears to have grown up on the east side of the River Mole, although Hawks Hill, on the west side of the river, is said to be the site of an old Saxon burial ground.

A market serving the developing agricultural economy developed at this crossroads and in 1248 Henry III granted to Leatherhead a weekly market and annual fair. The town survived an extensive fire in 1392, when the town was largely rebuilt. In common with many similar medieval towns it had a market house and set of stocks, probably located at the junction of Bridge Street, North Street and High Street.

The Running Horse Pub. Dating back to 1403, On the bank of the River Mole, the Running Horse is one of the oldest buildings in Leatherhead. And has just celebrated 600yrs. History has it that Henry VIII's daughter, Elizabeth I spent a night at the Inn due to floods making the River Mole impossible to cross.

File:Elizabeth I (Ermine Portrait).jpg
Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabethan

In the Elizabethan and Stuart periods the town was associated with several notable people. Edmund Tilney, Master of the Revels, who was in effect the official censor of the time to Queen Elizabeth I lived in the Mansion house (A local Wetherspoons Pub is now named after him). Sir Thomas Bludworth of Thorncroft was Lord Mayor of London during the disastrous fire of 1666.

Victorian

The Town was chosen to have a Private School built in the 1800's by a group of Clergymen. St John's School was built in the latter half of the 1800's. Seeing many famous pupils, (See Below).

The Letherhead Institute was built. The spelling was said to be the spelling of Leatherhead in the Victorian times.

World War II & Onwards

Cherkley Court on the Beaverbrook grounds was home of Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook. During World War II, Winston Churchill, the new British Prime Minister, would appoint him as Minister of Aircraft Production and later Minister of Supply. Under Aitken, fighter and bomber production increased so much so that Churchill declared: "His personal force and genius made this Aitken's finest hour".

Once having several industries in the town, including Ronson's Lighters, and Goblin Vacuum Cleaners. Both were used as ammunitions plants in World War II. Most of the plants pulled out of the town in the late 70's early 80's. With the town moving to a more office place life style.

In the late 1970's, early 1980's, Mole Valley District Council decided to modernise the town, with a new pedestrianised high street, and large one way system.

In 1986, the town was joined to the UK Motorway system, when the M25 motorway was built at the north of the town, with Leatherhead being known as Junction 9.

Town Centre

It has a small pedestrianised town centre, which despite containing a upgraded supermarket and many specialist shops has recently been voted amongst the worst in the United Kingdom.

The Parish Church is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Schools include St Johns School, All Saints CofE First School, Woodville Middle School and Therfield Secondary School. Template:GBdot-gr There is a local football team and it is home to a small steam train enthusiast group. The Mill Pond is popular local walking spot and close by are Headley Heath, Oxshott woods, Box Hill and Bookham Common.

The town's leisure centre was built in the 1960s, and was extended in the 1980s with the Mole Barn. As of 2006 plans have been drawn up by Mole Valley District Council to build a new modern centre on the site.

It also has a theatre, once named after Dame Sybil Thorndike, which is also used as a cinema and for art exhibitions. The theatre is now owned by a religious group called the Pioneer People, and is now called The Leatherhead Theatre.

Bocketts Farm off Young Street which includes rare breeds and a petting zoo.

Leatherhead's Royal School for the Blind (now SeeAbility) was once the work-place for Paul Heaton, but he was fired after encouraging residents to try cycling! Most of the School is now sold off as private flats.

In the late 1990s, the town's only hotel the Bull Hotel closed down, and has since been pulled down. In the early 2000s Travelodge opened a new hotel on the site of the old Swan hotel.

North Leatherhead or Leatherhead Common

Is the area north of the Kingston Road bridge. It is known for having Therfield Secondary School, and All Saints CofE First School, as well as the bulk of the town's Council Housing. Bordered to the north by Leatherhead Golf Course, Ashtead Common, and M25 motorway and to the south, by the British Rail system.

There is a Social club, the North Leatherhead Community Association or NLCA based in the old All Saints School, next to the Kingston Road Playing Grounds.

There are two large stores in the area, B&Q Hardware and Tesco Supermarkets.

Local Area

The Villages of Fetcham, Ashtead, Headley are often looked at as part of Leatherhead more so for Postal reasons with Royal Mail.

In the Village of Headley, there is an RAF Hospital, RAF Headley Court. There is no airport like other RAF bases, though its playing fields can be used for helicopters.

5 miles north of Leatherhead is Chessington World of Adventures, one of The Tussauds Group premier UK theme parks.

To the West of the Town is Stane Street, an old Roman Road, though most is now built over or rural footpaths. This is leading From London to Dorking and so on to Chichester.

In Great Bookham, Polesden Lacey, a stately home situated in the south of that village. Where King George VI spent his honeymoon.

Local Leisure & Entertainment

Pubs, and Social Clubs

The Symbol of the Royal British Legion, poppies used on Remembrance Day

Pubs

Social Clubs

  • NLCA or North Leatherhead Community Association
  • Leatherhead and District Social Club, C&IU Affiliate.
  • Leatherhead Royal British Legion Club, C&IU Affiliate.
  • Constitutional Club (Former Conservative Club)
  • Ashtead Village Club (Ashteads's only Social Club) C&IU Affiliate.
  • Fetcham Sports and Social Club (Fetcham's only Social Club)
  • RAF Headley Club, this club is open only to Service men and woman, plus there families of RAF Headley Court

Education

State Education

  • All Saints Church of England First School (Will cease as of 1/9/06)
  • St Marys Church of England First school (Will cease as of 1/9/06)
  • Woodville County Middle School (Will cease as of 1/9/06)

As of 1st September 2006 The Leatherhead Trinity School and Children's Centre will come into being it is the result of a merge between Woodville School, St Mary's School and All Saints School. A new uniform has also been unveiled which will be predominately red. As well as being a bold colour it was chosen because it is different from the uniforms of the three old schools.

Private Education

Transport

Rail

Leatherhead is served by Leatherhead railway station however over the years Leatherhead has had four railway stations, two of which were only temporary. The current one is the only surviving station. Originally, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the London and South Western Railway companies were arguing over who was going to build a railway line into Leatherhead, but an agreement was reached that one would build the line on condition that the other was granted equal running rights over it. The LBSCR built their own station slightly south of the junction of the LSWR line to Guildford and their own to Dorking, Horsham and beyond, while the LSWR built theirs a few hundred yard to the south-west.

Only part of the steps up from road level (the road to the stations runs in a cutting) to platform level above survive of this, because after the Southern Railway Co. took over both the LSWR and the LBSCR in the Grouping of 1923, use of both stations declined and so it was decided to re-route the LSWR line through the LBSCR station (necessitating a very sharp curve for trains using the Guildford line). The LBSCR station survives, although the Stationmaster's House (an integral part of the main building) is boarded up along with the building on Platform 2.

At one point it was planned to link Leatherhead with Chessington South Railway station. But this was put on hold due to a protection order on Ashtead Common. As of 2005 plans were put in place for a tunnel.

Road

  • The main London to Worthing road, the A24, also runs though the town, and makes up part of the towns large bypass.
  • The M25 motorway was built to the north of the town, with Leatherhead being accessible at Junction 9.
  • Local taxi firms serve the town.

Air

  • Leatherhead is lucky to be very close to London's two major Airports.
    • Gatwick: 30-40 minutes anti-clockwise on the M25 then M23.
    • Heathrow: 30-40 minutes clockwise on the M25.

Famous Residents - Past and Present

Town's claims to fame

File:Ft-mch.jpg
A Martian tripod fighting-machine, from Jeff Wayne's 1978 musical version of The War of the Worlds.
  • Leatherhead is mentioned in the original H. G. Wells book The War of the Worlds. On Day Ten (roughly) was when Leatherhead (where the narrator sent his wife for safety) was destroyed by a Martian, killing everyone. Fortunately, his wife made it out before the attack and they were reunited after the Martian's destruction. Chapter 10, "In the Storm", begins with the words "Leatherhead is about twelve miles from Maybury Hill."
  • The Town Centre has recently been voted amongst the worst in the United Kingdom, on a BBC TV Show.
  • Surrey Sound Recording Studios. Many bands recorded here, including Rick Astley and Bros.
  • In the 1974-75 season Leatherhead F.C., or The Tanners, were drawn against Leicester City F.C. at home in the FA Cup Fourth Round Proper, but the game was switched to Filbert Street. The BBC's Match of the Day cameras and over 32,000 people saw a dramatic match, in which the Tanners went two goals up, and then saw a goalbound shot that would have made it 3-0 cleared off the line. Leicester City's fitness and class eventually told as the top-flight team fought back to win 3-2 in the second half. Leicester City went on to play Arsenal F.C. in the next round.

Local government

Leatherhead had been an urban district up to 1974.

Leatherhead is now a part of Mole Valley District Council area. Dorking is the administrative centre of Mole Valley District Council.

Emergency Services

Leatherhead is served by these emergency sevices:

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