Coordinates: 51°22′09″N 0°21′54″W / 51.3691°N 0.365°W / 51.3691; -0.365

Esher
Esher High Street with the Diamond Jubilee statue
Esher  Esher shown within Surrey
Population	8,387 [1]
OS grid reference	TQ145645
District	Elmbridge
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ESHER
Postcode district	KT10
Dialling code	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

Esher ⁱ/ˈiːʃər/^{[notes 1]} is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. It is a very prosperous part of the Greater London Urban Area, largely suburban in character, and is situated 14.1 miles (22.7 km) south west of Charing Cross.

Esher lies on the A307, Portsmouth Road. Esher railway station (served by the Waterloo via Weybridge service) connects the town to London Waterloo. Sandown Park Racecourse lies in the town near the station.

History[link]

Esher lay within the Saxon administrative district of Elmbridge hundred.

Esher appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Aissela and Aissele. It was held partly by the Abbey of the Cross in Normandy; partly by William de Waterville; partly by Reginald; partly by Hugh do Port; partly by Odard Balistarius (probably a crossbowman). Its domesday assets were: 14 hides 6 ploughs, 2 acres (8,100 m²) of meadow. It rendered £6 2s 0d.^[2]

In the 16th century, King Henry VIII commandeered the area as a royal hunting ground, and the town was wealthy. It grew as a stagecoach stop on the London–Portsmouth road that was later designated as the A3 road, although it was bypassed in the mid-1970s, when it became the A307. Clive of India built the Claremont mansion, and this later became a royal residence used by Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria lent the house to the exiled French King Louis-Philippe and his consort Queen Marie-Amelie after the revolution of 1848. Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg lived there until he became King of the Belgians.

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.

Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees also owned a house called The Firs in Esher, during 1970s-2004 and sold after his death. This is where the hit single "Juliet" was written and recorded by Maurice & Robin for brother Robin's solo album project in the 1980s.

Government[link]

Esher is within the Esher and Walton parliamentary constituency which has been represented by Dominic Raab, a member of the Conservative Party, since 2010.^[3] Esher is part of the East Molesey and Esher ward of Surrey County Council. The ward is represented by a Residents Association councillor.^[4] The town is covered by the Esher ward of Elmbridge borough council which is represented by three Conservative councillors.^[5]

Esher was part of the Esher parliamentary constituency until it was abolished due to boundary changes before the 1997 general election.^[6]

Education[link]

Esher has a mix of State and Private schools. There are four state primary schools across the area of Esher, Hinchley Wood and Claygate.^[7] Esher Church of England High School is the state secondary school in the town of Esher.^[7] Hinchley Wood School in Hinchley Wood has been an Academy since February 2012.^[8] Hinchley Wood is also one of the Further education establishments in the area.^[9] Esher College is in nearby Thames Ditton.

Status in the media[link]

Claremont House which is in the town

Esher has been presented in some parts of the media as a particularly middle class part of suburbia. Monty Python referred to Esher at least three times.

The sitcom On the Up starring Dennis Waterman was set in Esher.

Moore Place, on the outskirts of Esher (now a bar and restaurant called Esteem), featured as the restaurant in the 4th episode of the first series of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.^[10]

St George's Church, Esher

Economy and Newspapers[link]

There are some office buildings located in the High Street and its continuation, Portsmouth Road. There is a local farmers market held on one Saturday every month, moving forward one week each month. Vendors from all over Surrey sell locally sourced produce and two nearby riverside farms, one with large shop and grow-your-own to the public.
The Esher News and Mail closed down in 2009; current newspapers include the Surrey Herald: Cobham, Esher and Claygate edition and Living Within magazine/newspaper.

See also[link]

• Esher Place
• St. George's Church, Esher
• Claremont
• Esher Commons
• West End, Esher

Notes[link]

1. ^ Not /ˈɛʃər/

References[link]

1. ^ Population figures (PDF)
2. ^ Surrey Domesday Book
3. ^ "Members of Parliament for Elmbridge". Elmbridge borough council. http://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/council/elections/mps.htm. Retrieved 7 March 2012. 
4. ^ Web Operations Team (25 August 2009). "Cooper, Nigel". Surrey County Council. http://online.surreycc.gov.uk/members/membook.nsf/vwWebLookupMembersByOrdId/14032?opendocument. Retrieved 7 March 2012. 
5. ^ "Ward Members". Elmbridge borough council. http://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/committees/wardmembers.htm?wardid=4. Retrieved 7 March 2012. 
6. ^ Oliver Florence (23 April 2010). "Ian Taylor looks back on 23 years as an MP". Get Surrey. http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/special_features/s/2069986_ian_taylor_looks_back_on_23_years_as_an_mp. Retrieved 7 March 2012. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Hannah Blackburn (7 March 2012). "Surrey County Council - Schools by Location". Surrey County Council. http://online.surreycc.gov.uk/education/schools.nsf/SchoolsByLocation?OpenView&Start=1&Count=30&Expand=21#21. Retrieved 7 March 2012. 
8. ^ Ian Fuoco (2 March 2012). "School status changes in academic year 11-12". Surrey County Council. https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/learning/teachers-and-education-staff/schools-and-learning-finance/numbers-on-roll-statistics/school-status-changes-in-academic-year-11-12. Retrieved 7 March 2012. 
9. ^ "Hinchley Wood School and Sixth Form Centre". BBC News. 19 October 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/04/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/936_5416.stm. Retrieved 7 March 2012. 
10. ^ Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares: Moore Place - TV.com

External links[link]

• History of Esher
• Christ Church, Esher
• West End Flower Show

Destinations from Esher

	West Molesey	East Molesey	Thames Ditton
	Hersham, Walton-on-Thames		Hinchley Wood
		Esher    East
	Cobham	Oxshott	Claygate

v t e Towns, villages and hamlets in the Elmbridge District of Surrey, England Claygate Cobham Downside Esher Hersham Hinchley Wood Long Ditton Molesey Oxshott Stoke d'Abernon Thames Ditton Walton-on-Thames Weybridge Whiteley Village