View source for Claygate

{{Short description|Village and parish in Surrey, England}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{infobox UK place
|country =                 England
|official_name=             Claygate
|static_image_name=Claygate03.JPG
|static_image_width=250
|static_image_caption=Claygate Parade and village sign, showing bricks and the [[Claygate Pearmain]]
|map_type= Surrey
|coordinates = {{coord|51.360|-0.342|display=inline,title}}
| population = 7,168
| population_ref = (Civil Parish 2011)<ref name=ons>[http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030211201309/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/ |date=11 February 2003 }} [[United Kingdom Census 2011]] ''[[Office for National Statistics]]'' Retrieved 21 November 2013</ref>
|area_total_km2=4.71
|os_grid_reference=     TQ1563
|shire_district=          [[Borough of Elmbridge|Elmbridge]]
|shire_county =            [[Surrey]]
|region=                  South East England
|constituency_westminster=[[Esher and Walton (UK Parliament constituency)|Esher and Walton]]
|post_town=         [[Esher]]
|postcode_district =       KT10
|postcode_area=            KT
|dial_code=       01372<br>020 (small part)
|civil_parish = Claygate
|london_distance={{cvt|14+1/4|mi|km|round=0.5}}
}}
'''Claygate''' is an affluent<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dann|first=Kitty|date=2013-09-02|title=Paying a high price to live in Elmbridge|url=http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/paying-high-price-live-elmbridge-5828687|access-date=2021-10-04|website=SurreyLive|language=en}}</ref> suburban village in [[Surrey]], England, {{convert|14|mi|km|abbr=off}} southwest of central London. It is the only [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the [[borough of Elmbridge]]. Adjoining [[Esher]] and [[Hinchley Wood]] to the west and north respectively, and bordered by green belt land to the south and east, Claygate lies within the [[Greater London Built-up Area]].

Claygate was once in the main manor of [[Thames Ditton]], but is now administered from [[Esher]]. It is primarily residential and has a small number of offices, outlying farms and two small shopping areas, the Old Village and the Parade, with hair and beauty shops, a supermarket, five [[pubs]] and a number of restaurants.

Claygate lies on the [[Claygate Beds]], a clay formation up to {{convert|15|m|ft|-1|abbr=off}} thick, which extends well beyond the village. These beds are the youngest part of the [[London Clay]] geological formation, forming a transition between the clay and the sandier [[Bagshot Beds]] above.<ref name=sumbler>{{cite book |author=Sumbler, M. G. |year=1996 |title=London and the Thames Valley |edition=4th |series=British Regional Geology series |publisher=[[British Geological Survey]] |isbn=0-11-884522-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/britishregionalg0000unse_f3e7 }}</ref>

==History==
===Etymology===
Claygate may have its name from the clay pits in the village that provided bricks for a large surrounding area including some of [[Hampton Court Palace]].  Claygate's lack of main thoroughfares has been attributed to the angle of the [[River Thames]] leading the [[A307 road (Great Britain)|A307]] main road (from London) south-west instead through [[Esher]], as well as historical conditions where through roads became impassible in wet weather because of the clay; often close to the surface.<ref>Malcolm W H Peebles ''The Claygate Book: a History of a Surrey Village'' (1983)</ref>  Equally, mid-distance routes chose a line to avoid this land, before the advent of road surfacing, such as those through [[Tolworth]] and Esher.

===Manor===
Claygate appears in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as a [[Manorialism|manor]] of Thames Ditton, ''Claigate''. This main manor of the village was held by [[Westminster Abbey]]. Its domesday assets were: {{frac|1|2}} [[hide (unit)|hide]]; 2 [[plough]]s, {{convert|5|acre|ha|0|abbr=off}} of [[meadow]], [[woodland]] worth 1 hog. It rendered £2 10s 0d per year to its [[feudal system|overlords]].<ref>[http://www.gwp.enta.net/surrnames.htm Surrey Domesday Book] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715015325/http://www.gwp.enta.net/surrnames.htm |date=15 July 2007 }}</ref> The manor descended (after its purchase in 1565) from the [[Vincent baronets|Vincent family]] to the [[George Evelyn (disambiguation)|Evelyn family]].  Much land remained in the manor when it was sold between 1718 and 1721 to the [[Earl of Lovelace]], the King family and currently [[Hugh F. Locke King|Locke King]] family who had sold the vast majority of its land by 1970.<ref name=m/>

===Other medieval history===
Claygate was formed as an [[parish|ecclesiastical parish]] from [[Thames Ditton]] in 1841. Scant remains were traced in boundary lines of an early medieval track running from [[Kingston upon Thames|Kingston Hill]] to the ford of the [[River Mole, Surrey|Mole]] near to a square entrenchment in [[Leatherhead]] almost in [[Stoke D'Abernon]].<ref name=m/>

===19th century===
In about 1822 the [[Claygate Pearmain]] apple was discovered by John Braddick, growing in a hedge here.  In 1840 its church, Holy Trinity, was built of stone in 14th-century style, with a tower, enlarged in 1860, and restored in 1902. The school was built in 1838 as a Church school, and enlarged in 1849.<ref name=m>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43008 |title=Parishes: Thames Ditton |editor=H.E. Malden  |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |date=1911 |work=A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3 |access-date=21 November 2013}}</ref> It was rebuilt by the School Board of Thames Ditton in 1885. Claygate has a Baptist chapel, built in 1861.

Claygate's development chiefly was in the 60 years after the construction of its railway line and station (on the [[New Guildford Line]]); [[Claygate railway station|the station]] opened in 1885.

With commanding views over the surrounding countryside is Ruxley Towers, a [[Neo-Gothic]] [[Victorian era|Victorian]] edifice constructed by [[Henry Thomas Foley, 5th Baron Foley|Lord Foley]] who owned a considerable amount of land. On the other side of the village is Telegraph Hill where a [[Semaphore line|semaphore]] station was built in 1822 to transmit messages between the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] and [[Portsmouth]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Telegraph Hill |url=http://www.org2b.com/claygate/index.php?LMCL=S9zJfO&title=Telegraph_Hill |website=The Claygater |access-date=3 February 2020}}</ref>

===20th century===
In 1911 brick and tile production works, rather than retail sites, continued to employ men near the station in the 1910s. In 1911 Claygate was under the same urban council as Thames Ditton.<ref name=m/>

=== 21st century ===
The Al-Hilli family who were killed in the [[Annecy shootings]] in France, lived in Claygate.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Proto|first=Laura|date=2015-08-12|title=Surrey home of murdered Al-Hilli family put up for sale|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/surrey-home-of-murdered-alhilli-family-put-up-for-sale-three-years-after-their-deaths-a2487416.html|access-date=2021-08-23|website=www.standard.co.uk|language=en}}</ref>

==Geography==
Claygate's topsoil rests upon the youngest [[London Clay#Claygate Beds|beds of the London Clay]] after which the village is named, here [[Bagshot Formation|capped in places by sand]] in the southern part of the civil parish.  Claygate has its own [[Parish councils in England|parish council]]. Apart from an interweave of streets with [[Esher]], Claygate is surrounded by woodlands and open countryside, including Claygate Common, Princes Covert, Winney Hill, Surbiton Golf Course, Telegraph Hill, [[Esher Commons|Littleworth Common and Arbrook Common]]. Much of the outlying farmland is used for grazing ponies, two farms are run for cultivation. [[The Rythe]] is a major stream running north through Claygate, and as a responsive channel in the clay basins has been implicated in late 20th century flash flooding in small pockets of the village: a major flood alleviation scheme has been completed which commenced in 2002.<ref>[http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/46052_battle_lines_drawn_in_sewer_inquiry "Battle lines drawn in sewer inquiry"] Paul McManus, Get Surrey, the website of the Surrey Advertiser and [[Surrey Herald]], 12 November 2002</ref> The centre-to-centre distance from London is {{convert|14+1/4|mi|km|abbr=off|round=0.5}}.<ref>[http://gridreferencefinder.com/ Grid Reference Finder] distance tools</ref>

Many of Claygate's residents commute to the capital using the train services, see [[#Transport|Transport]]. Claygate is in the relatively small area between the [[M25 motorway|M25]] and [[Kingston-upon-Thames]]. Constrained by the Green Belt, demand has resulted in Claygate being subject to a level of permitted in-fill and back-garden development.<ref name=c>[http://www.claygate.info/planning.html Planning pages] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130613033942/http://www.claygate.info/planning.html |date=13 June 2013 }} Claygate Parish Council. Retrieved 21 November 2013</ref>

[[File:Claygate04.JPG|right|thumb|View over Claygate from Telegraph Hill to Ruxley Towers]]

==Commerce and services==
"The Parade" is the larger of Claygate's two shopping areas. It starts at Claygate railway station and continues through The Parade itself into Hare Lane.

Claygate has five [[pubs]]: one of the annual village traditions is a [[Boxing Day]] tour of these by [[Morris dance]]rs.

Local newspapers covering Claygate include ''The Surrey Advertiser'', ''The Surrey Comet'' and ''The Herald'', and two freely distributed newspapers, ''The Informer'' and ''The Guardian''.  Claygate is in the editorial area of [[BBC Surrey]], although its proximity to London means all of the capital's radio stations can be heard.

There are several small farms in Claygate; many of the farms are or incorporate horseriding centres.

==Community==
[[Image:Claygate02.JPG|thumb|right|Holy Trinity Church]]
Established in 1885, Claygate (Primary) School initially stood on Elm Road. Although the Infant School closed a little after celebrating its centenary, 'The Firs', which served as the Junior School, transitioned into the primary site. Later in the 20th century, the original school building was repurposed to house Claygate's Youth Centre/Community Centre and the Capelfield surgery. Additionally, Rowan Preparatory School operates as a private independent institution, offering nursery and primary education specifically for girls.

The local Anglican church, "Holy Trinity," constructed in 1840, stands out due to its unique dual spires. The community also houses the First Church of Christ Scientist. For adherents of [[Roman Catholicism]], the Church of the Holy Name, located on Arbrook Lane in Esher, offers services.

The Claygate Village Association is a non-political charity founded in 1946; it organises some of the key village events; the Christmas lights, The Claygate Music Festival, the Claygate Gardens Trail, Claygate in Bloom and for the first time in 2014, the Claygate Spring Festival. The village is served with medical support by Capelfield Surgery.
Community groups, clubs,  and sports teams. include Claygate Cricket Club and Claygate Royals Football Club.  A major annual event is the Claygate Flower & Village Show which takes place on the Recreation Ground in late July each year. 2013 saw the 100th show, where there were 7,000 visitors.

A monthly magazine covers the borough with one other edition nationally, ''Living Within''.<ref>[http://www.livingwithin.com/the-areas-we-cover.html Areas covered] Living Within. Retrieved 21 November 2013.</ref>

==Education==
Claygate is served by a mix of state and independent schools that also serve the areas of Esher and Hinchley Wood, all of which share the KT10 postcode.

=== State Primary Schools ===

* Esher Church School
* Cranmere Primary
* [[Hinchley Wood School|Hinchley Wood Primary]]
* Claygate Primary

=== Independent Primary Schools ===

* Rowan Preparatory School
* Shrewsbury House Pre-Prep
* [[Milbourne Lodge School|Milbourne Lodge]]

=== State Secondary Schools ===

* Esher College
*Esher Church of England High School 
* [[Hinchley Wood School]]

=== Independent Secondary Schools ===

* [[Milbourne Lodge School|Milbourne Lodge]]
* [[Claremont Fan Court School|Claremont Fan Court]]

==In arts and the media==
[[File:TelegraphHouse01.JPG|thumb|Semaphore House on Telegraph Hill]]
Filming carried out in Claygate includes:
*''[[The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film)|The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner]]'' (Tony Richardson 1961) starring [[Tom Courtenay]], set at Ruxley Towers (Ruxton Towers in the film) and showing much of the surrounding countryside before the construction of the Esher By-pass.
*The BBC TV situation comedy ''[[Wyatt's Watchdogs]]'' which starred [[Brian Wilde]] and [[Trevor Bannister]] and was about a [[Neighbourhood Watch]] group.
*''[[Never the Twain]]'' (1981) which used the Greek Vine restaurant (now Averna, an Italian restaurant) frontage on The Green as the shop fronts. The [[Thames Television]] sitcom starred [[Windsor Davies]] and [[Donald Sinden]] as two grumpy [[antique]] shop owners.
*A sketch for ''[[The Two Ronnies]]''
*A shampoo commercial
*A clip from ''[[Men Behaving Badly]]''. (filmed outside ''The Winning Horse'')

Previous residents of Claygate include "[[Monty Python|Python]]" [[Terry Jones]], "[[Rolling Stone]]" [[Ronnie Wood]], and presenter/actor [[Michael Aspel]]. British historian [[Frances Yates]] (1899-1980), a longtime resident, is buried in the churchyard at Holy Trinity church. Claygate often has a celebrity to switch on its Christmas lights. These have included [[Cliff Richard]], [[Gloria Hunniford]], [[Tony Stamp]] and [[Roger Valentine]] from ''[[The Bill]]'', [[Bernie Nolan]], [[Mick Hucknall]], [[Ronnie Wood]], [[Anthea Turner]] and most recently [[Bobby Davro]].<ref name=c/>

==Transport==
;Rail
[[Claygate railway station]] is managed by [[South Western Railway (train operating company)|South Western Railway]], which operates all services.<ref>{{cite web |title= Trains to Claygate station |publisher= South Western Railway |url= https://www.southwesternrailway.com/travelling-with-us/at-the-station/claygate |access-date= 5 October 2023 }}</ref> Trains run to {{rws|London Waterloo}} via {{rws|Surbiton}} and to {{rws|Guildford}} via {{rws|Effingham Junction}}.<ref>{{cite web |title= 11: Guildford via Effingham Junction to London Waterloo |date= 4 September 2023 |publisher= South Western Railway |url= https://www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey/-/media/b2c4fdd2796d4134b6cb3cdd96b06448.ashx |access-date= 5 October 2023 }}</ref>

;Buses
Claygate is served by [[London Buses]]' [[London Buses route K3|route K3]] to Esher, Surbiton, Kingston and Roehampton Vale, operated by [[London United Busways|London United]].

;Roads
The A3 trunk road has its Hinchley Wood and Esher (A309) spur road directly north of Claygate allowing a traffic-lit junction with convenient access to/from London, and second junction by the Scilly Isles Roundabout with access to [[Hampton Court Bridge]] for journeys north.

A third A3 junction is almost 2&nbsp;km along Copsem Lane to the south for journeys towards the south-west and west, Wisley interchange or for journeys east, continuing south along the [[A245 road|A245]] to the [[Leatherhead]] Common junction of the [[M25 motorway|M25]].

==Demography==
The proportion of households in Claygate who owned their home outright was 8.5% above the regional average.  The proportion who owned their home with a loan was 4.0% higher than the regional average; providing overall a lower proportion than average of rented residential property and of [[social housing]] relative to the average in [[Surrey]], the district and the national average. As with neighbouring [[Esher]], Claygate has a large number of very large properties (mansions). These are concentrated within the Ruxley Private Estate, on the Esher-Claygate border and in the roads to the south of the railway station.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/property/house-and-home/is-elmbridge-britains-beverly-hills-2190344.html|title=Is Elmbridge Britain's Beverly Hills?|date=21 January 2011|work=The Independent|access-date=6 March 2017|language=en-GB}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|- 
|+ '''2011 Census Key Statistics'''
|-
!Output area !!Population !!Households !!% Owned outright !!% Owned with a loan!!hectares<ref name=ons/>
|-
|Claygate (CP)||7,168	||2,788   ||41.0 ||39.1||471<ref name=ons/>
|}

==Politics==
Claygate is served by a parish council made up of 10 elected representatives. The parish council has some responsibilities, acquired from Surrey County and Elmbridge Borough Councils, such as highway, garden sites and [[tree planting]]. The parish council is also influential in its responses to planning applications in the area.

Claygate is in the parliamentary constituency of [[Esher and Walton]], which from its inception in 1997 until 2024 had been a relatively [[safe seat]] for the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]. The local MP since 2024 is [[Monica Harding]]. Local government is administered by [[Elmbridge Borough Council]] and [[Surrey County Council]].

At [[Surrey County Council]], one of its 81 councillors represents the area within the ''Hinchley Wood, Claygate and Oxshott'' division.<ref>[http://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/mgWardMap.aspx Electoral Divisions] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202225249/http://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/mgWardMap.aspx |date=2 December 2013 }} Surrey County Council. Retrieved 6 November 2013</ref>

At [[Elmbridge Borough Council]] all wards of the borough are deemed appropriate to be represented under the current constitution of councillors by three councillors.<ref name=r>[http://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/committees/wardmembers.htm?wardid=1 Your local councillors] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610200908/http://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/committees/wardmembers.htm?wardid=1 |date=10 June 2015 }} [[Elmbridge Borough Council]] . Retrieved 20 November 2013</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Elmbridge Borough Councillors
!colspan="2"|Election!!Member<ref name=r/>!!
Ward
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}" |
|2016
|Mary Marshall || Claygate
|-
|style="background-color:{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}" |
|2016
|Alex Coomes || Claygate
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}" |
|2016
|Kim Cross || Claygate
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Surrey County Councillor
!colspan="2"|Election!!Member<ref>[http://mycouncil.surreycc.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=124 Your Councillor] [[Surrey County Council]]. Retrieved 6 November 2013</ref>!!
Electoral Division
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}" |
|2013
|Mike Bennison || Hinchley Wood, Claygate and Oxshott
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

10. Your Councillors by Ward Elmbridge Borough Council *[http://mygov.elmbridge.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=WARD&VW=LIST&PIC=0] Retrieved 2 September 2016
* Malcolm W H Peebles ''The Claygate Book: a History of a Surrey Village'' (1983) and ''Millennium edition'' (1999)
* Claygate Village Residents Association ''Claygate Village: Enquire Within'' (1983)

==External links==
{{Commons category|Claygate}}

*[https://claygate.org.uk/index.php/Main_Page Discover Claygate website]
*[http://www.claygateparishcouncil.gov.uk Claygate Parish Council website]
*[http://www.claygateflowershow.co.uk The Claygate Flower & Village Show website]
*[http://www.claygatemusicfestival.com The Claygate Music Festival website]
*[http://www.holynameesher.org.uk Holy Name Church website]
*[http://www.holytrinityclaygate.org.uk Holy Trinity Church website]
*[http://www.claygatescouts.org/site_map.htm 1st Claygate Scouts – Scouting in Claygate since 1909]
*{{Exploring Surrey's Past |place=Claygate |access-date=31 May 2017 |fewer-links=yes}}

{{Geochain box
|Geochain = Admiralty [[Semaphore line]] 1822
|type = station
|upwards = [[Coombe, Kingston upon Thames|Coombe Warren]]
|downwards = [[Chatley Heath]]
|thisis = Cooper's Hill<br>(Telegraph Hill)
}}

{{Elmbridge}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Surrey]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Surrey]]
[[Category:Borough of Elmbridge]]