The London, Surrey boundary - Chessington

The London Boundary - the Kingston/Surrey Border. Chessington
TQ 17899 63236

Suburban area on the edge of London, with a lot of local authority housing and open space


Post to the north Hook
Post to the west Claygate
Post to the east Chessington

Sites on the London, Kingston side of the boundary

Barwell
Means the place near a pool where barley grows. Possibly Roman or medieval.

Barwell Court
Marked thus on the Ordnance Survey map of 1819 and as '’Bun-el Court on Rocque's map of 1765. Named from ‘Berewelle’ 1242, ‘Berewell’ 1375, that is 'the barley spring or stream' from Old English. The Lane to it goes down the lion's barrel on the Kingston Zodiac. It was owned by Merton Priory then annexed to the ownership of Hampton Court after the Reformation. The present house dates from 1872 and is now flats. Was for a while it was a recording studio where the Boomtown Rats recorded. Owned by Sony and Virgin.

Cox Lane
Port of Call
Chessington South Station . Terminus of South Western Rail from Chessington North. Opened from Tolworth and intended to continue to Leatherhead. This was an attempt by Southern Railway to integrate building with suburban station. All the stations on this line used concrete extensively, influenced by the stations designs on the underground but not up to Holden’s design standards. Influenced by cinema and marine architecture they are striking but materials have now weathered. On the platforms 200 ft long Chisarc cantilevered concrete canopy with porthole glass and a mix of coloured fluorescent lighting tubes. At street level there was a car park, toilets, parcels office and lock up shops. Subways and stairs to the platform and also a separate parcels ramp. Waiting rooms with furniture and a stove. Porters’ room. Cinema and manic architecture. However here the road building was anove the loine and the footbridge was not completed.  Was called Chessington Grange but changed two years later. Opened by the Mayor and the baby elephant who took the party to lunch at the zoo. It is a fascinating example of late 1930s Southern Railway station architecture. Perhaps it has not weathered so well as contemporary structures on the London Underground, but there is no denying the line is unique. With its sweeping concrete canopies, it is as much a part of their era as the music of Maurice Winnick, and the films of Jessie Matthews. In 1971, the office at street level was closed because of vandals, and tickets now have to be obtained from a window on the platform. Unexploded bomb south of station.
Proposed extension to Leatherhead remains. It was originally intended to rejoin the original route north of Leatherhead. However the line was never built beyond Chessington South as the war intervened, then the Green Belt policy put an end to development south of what had become the terminus. Although the extension to Leatherhead was never completed, remains of an embankment may be seen south of Chessington. This is most visible when viewed from the bridge carrying Garrison Lane over the line, although it is also discernable to the left of the stairs which link the booking hall with the down side. The Embankment made up of spoil dumped almost as far as Chalky Lane. In the 1940s the embankment was continued by Royal Engineers as a training exercise goes as far as Chessington Wood. Can be seen plus railway fencing.
Goods yard. Just across the road from the passenger station was the entrance to the goods yard opened in 1939. after May 1963 it was used by Messrs. Charrington & Co. as a coal concentration depot. Mechanised solid fuel distribution depot. Used two of the three sidings, and continued to be rail served into the 1980s, when road haulage was used. It replaced several other sidings throughout the area. It closed in 1988 and the operation moved to Purley.


Cheshire Gardens
Government Buildings Ordnance Survey. evacuated during the war from Southampton
RAF Chessington Convalescent and Rehabilitation Centre

Hook Road
239a garden divided into two. Flower garden contains herbaceous plants, shrubs, climbers and topiary. There is a also a gravel garden, rose tunnel and pond. The Kitchen Garden divided by paths has vegetables, soft fruit, fruit trees and herbs all planted with flowers.
325, earlier c 19, stuccoed
435, dated 1669, brick and weather- boarding.
St Paul. By Carpenter & Ingelow, 1881-3 in the style of c. 1310. Stained Glass Window designed by Seddon and executed by Belham & Co. Chancel window by Kempe, 1900

Winey Hill
Part of the Barwell Estate. In 1937 Surbiton Council bought it from Lady Barker and it became public open space.

Sources
Chessington Station. Wikipedia. Web site
Day. London Underground
Kingston Zodiax
London Borough of Kingston. Web site
Pevsner and Cherry. South London
St. Paul. Web site

Comments

Rosemary Jackson Hunter said…
would love to find any sort of picture of Barwell Court around 1789 - 1830 when it was in the pocession of Dixon family ... owned by ancestors!

Popular posts from this blog

South Norwood

Bromley by Bow

River Lea/Bow Creek Canning Town