| Hersham | |
Hersham Vilage |
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Hersham
Hersham shown within Surrey |
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| Population | 11,913 [1] |
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| OS grid reference | TQ114641 |
| District | Elmbridge |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Walton on Thames |
| Postcode district | KT12 |
| Dialling code | 01932 and 01372 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Esher and Walton |
| List of places: UK • England • Surrey | |
Hersham is a village in Surrey, within the M25 boundary. It is within easy reach of Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The main A3 London to Portsmouth road runs through its boundaries. Close by towns include Esher, Weybridge and Walton-on-Thames.
Hersham Green, which is within the village, is three and a half acres of open space where regular events take place throughout the summer months. Within a few minutes walk of the built-up area of Hersham to the east are green fields and meadows alongside the River Mole and open countryside.
House prices vary from small bedsits at £160,000 to popstar mansions in Burwood Park at £10 million. Many stars use the Hersham Village Golf Club where snooker player John Virgo is the president. Another golf course is Burhill near Burwood Park.
Hersham is served by Hersham railway station and Walton-on-Thames railway station both on the main London Waterloo Southwest line.
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According to the George Greenwood book Hersham in Surrey[2] published by Elmbridge Borough Council in 1986 from which we quote:
Hersham began as a strip of woodland beside the River Mole. It was occupied by pre-historic folk whose flint instruments have been found in large numbers beside the River on Southwood Manor Farm (Burhill Road KT12 4BJ) These date mostly from the mesolithic period. Somewhere around 200 B.C. a hugh defensive earthwork was erected on top of St. Georges Hill (actually in Hersham, but Weybridge postal area), probably as a refuge camp against invaders coming up the Thames Valley.
That this could have been constructed at all indicates a fairly large population in the district, a chieftain of some sort, organised labour and a desperate perhaps re-occurring danger. Bronze and Iron Age burials have been found on the slopes of the Hill which was clearly a feature of some importance in ancient times.
The Anglo-Saxons seem to have been the first permanent settlers here. They gave their names to the place. In the 12th century it was written Haverichesham and probably pronounced Haeferick's Hamlet. By contraction the name become Haverisham, Haversham and finally Harsham or Hersham.
Whiteley Village which is in Hersham was created from a will of £1m left by a London businessman, William Whiteley.
Hersham is located in the borough of Elmbridge, North of Surrey. It has a growing population and is at the rural/urban fringe; where town meets country.
The parish boundaries run from the South Western Main Line railway in the North, to the River Mole in the South and the West
Places within Hersham include Painshill Park, two-thirds of Saint George's Hill, Burwood Park and Whiteley Village.
| Walton-on-Thames | West Molesey | East Molesey | ||
| Weybridge | Esher | |||
| Hersham | ||||
| Whiteley Village | Cobham | Claremont Park |
Hersham is connected to London via the A3 and South West Main Line to London Waterloo. The A3 also connects the village to Guildford, and Portsmouth. The M25 is 4 miles away which has direct access to London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport.
On Surrey County Council, Hersham has a Conservative representative, and since May 1, 2008 the party has all six councillors on Elmbridge Borough Council, where there are two wards. Hersham North ward is the area between the A244 Esher Road /A317 Queens Road and the railway line at Walton on Thames and Hersham railway stations. Politically the ward often splits its votes between Labour, Conservative or Residents according to the candidate and popularity of the national parties. Labour councillors were regularly elected in this ward from the 1950s until 2000, notably Paul Vanson and Irene Hamilton. A born and bred local independent Roy Green of the Hersham Village Society (HVS -founded 1980)[1] with a couple of short breaks represented Hersham North from 1979-2008.
In 2000 Roy Green's HVS took two of the three seats leaving Irene Hamilton as the Borough's sole Labour councillor, but she lost her seat to Bob Mott of the HVS three years later. HVS in turn lost all three seats to the Conservatives between 2006 and 2008,(Mary Sheldon, Ian Donaldson and Doug Packer) the first time the ward had been represented by more than one Conservative. Roy Green's heavy defeat in 2008, which he attributed to illness and inability to canvass, was one four gains which gave overall Conservative control of Elmbridge. Independent Roy Green came bounding back at the 2009 County elections with 1,650 votes just missing the SCC seat by 70 votes and also made a strong showing in the 2010 Hersham South contest, having taken up the cause of Whiteley Village elderly residents in that ward, though Ruth Mitchell and John O'Reilly were both elected with comfortable majorities.
In September 2010, Doug Packer resigned from the Council and a by-election in Hersham North was held on October 21st. The Conservative candidate, Simon Desborough was elected with 463 votes, a majority of 10 over Roy Green, standing again in his old seat, who polled 453 votes. The May 2011 elections saw Ian Donaldson only just held on to his seat when he defeated Roy Green by just 26 votes. In Hersham South, which extends from the village centre through Burhill and Burwood Parks right down Seven Hills Road to the edge of Cobham, the Conservatives - currently Mayor John Sheldon and Council Leader John O'Reilly and newcomer Ruth Mitchell - have regularly polled well over 50%. (Although they did come close to losing one of their seats to the HVS in the 1980s when they won by just two votes).
King George III visited Weylands farm in Hersham where he saw the first drill plough. Queen Victoria wrote in her diary how she saw her first steam train in Hersham when she was a young girl.
In more recent times the punk group Sham 69 with lead singer Jimmy Pursey, had its roots in Hersham. The band's biggest hit was Hersham Boys. Sham 69 took their name from the remnants of a piece of graffiti in the area which made reference to when Walton and Hersham football club secured the Athenian League title in 1969.
Due to its proximity to London and Shepperton Studios, Hersham is frequently a filming location for film and television productions including Nighty Night, The Glass, Monty Python and Being April. The latest series of the TV show, Ashes to Ashes was filmed in Hersham.
Hersham is also home to Britain's largest colony of feral parakeets near Esher Rugby Club. This is estimated to consist of around 7,000 birds.[4]
Within Hersham is the mixed, secondary Rydens School. The school holds specialist Business and Enterprise College status, and boasts an impressive drama program. The roll holds approx. 1200 students. Hersham also has an infant school- Burhill, a junior school- Bell Farm and an all-through RC primary school Cardinal Newman. Within the Hersham Parish boundaries is Feltonfleet School for boys and girls.
Esher RFC is a rugby union club situated in Hersham who are currently spending the 2010–11 season in the RFU Championship, the second level of the sport in England. Esher play at The Rugby Ground, 369 Molesey Road. The 1st XV play in a black-amber strip.
TV presenter John Inverdale has long been associated with the club and to date still remains partially involved.
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