Esher
From Freepedia
- This article is about the town. For the Myst V character, see Esher (Myst).
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Population: | 8,387 |
| Ordnance Survey | |
| OS grid reference: | Maps for TQ145645 |
| Administration | |
| District: | Elmbridge |
| County: | Surrey |
| Region: | South East England |
| Nation: | England |
| Other | |
| Ceremonial county: | Surrey |
| Traditional county: | Surrey |
| Post office and telephone | |
| Post town: | ESHER |
| Postcode: | KT10 |
| Dialling code: | 01372 |
| Politics | |
| UK Parliament: | Esher and Walton |
| European Parliament: | South East England |
| Image:England flag large.png | |
Esher is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. It is a suburban development situated 14.1 miles (22.7 km) south west of Charing Cross.
It grew as a stagecoach stop on the London–Portsmouth road that was later designated as the A3 road, although it has long been bypassed. In the sixteenth century, Henry VIII of England commandeered the area as a royal hunting ground, and the town remained wealthy. Clive of India built the Claremont mansion, and this later became a royal residence used by Queen Victoria. Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg lived there until he became King of the Belgians. Queen Victoria lent the house to the exiled French King Louis-Philippe and his consort Queen Marie-Amelie after the revolution of 1848.
George Harrison of the Beatles had a house (called Kinfauns) in Esher, during the 1960s. The other Beatles were regular visitors to the house, and Harrison's primitive home recording studio.
Sandown Park racecourse lies in the town near to its station (served by the Waterloo via Weybridge service). The town itself is now primarily a dormitory town for commuters to London.
