This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2006)

Coordinates: 51°22′48″N 0°16′51″W / 51.3799°N 0.2807°W / 51.3799; -0.2807

Tolworth
Tolworth roundabout, from the southern approach to the traffic interchange.
Tolworth  Tolworth shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ197659
London borough	Kingston
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SURBITON
Postcode district	KT5, KT6
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Kingston & Surbiton
London Assembly	South West
List of places: UK • England • London

Tolworth is a mostly residential area of outer South London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, located 11.1 miles (17.9 km) south west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include: New Malden, Kingston, Surbiton, Berrylands, Chessington, Ewell and Worcester Park.

History[link]

Tolworth, in the Domesday Book, was called Taleorde. Its Domesday assets were held partly by Picot from Richard de Tonebrige and partly by Radulf (Ralph) from the Bishop of Bayeux. It rendered: 2½ hides; also 4 hides with Long Ditton; 1 mill without dues, 8 ploughs, 10½ acres and ½ rod of meadow. It rendered £6.^[1]

An extensive low-lying development of 1940s single storey brick buildings, bounded by the A3 to the north and the rail line to the south, was occupied by the Ministry of Defence and the Directorate of Overseas Surveys but after remaining empty for some years it was demolished in 2008 and the site currently awaits redevelopment.

In the 1930s, '40s and '50s the clay extraction requirements of a brick factory north of the A3 off Red Lion Road (now Red Lion Industrial Park) produced a large water-filled pit (known locally as "The Bluey") which was used as a landfill site for bomb-damage and industrial material removed from bomb-sites resulting from the "Blitz". This land has been reclaimed and is now a recreation ground. The Civil Defence Corps used to have a training site with a full-size mock-up of a bomb-damaged housing estate.

During World War II a number of V1 flying bombs came down on Surbiton and Tolworth, including the notorious "Derby Day Disaster" of June 1944 when 12 people were killed by a V1 at Tolworth Park Road.^[2]

David Bowie launched his Ziggy Stardust stage show with the Spiders from Mars—Ronson, Bolder and Woodmansey—at the Toby Jug pub in Tolworth on 10 February 1972.

Description[link]

Architecturally, Tolworth consists mainly of high-density 1930s semi-detached properties, and small to medium commercial and retail developments. There is a concentration of industrial activity in an area bounded on the north by A3 London-to-Portsmouth trunk route, which runs through the area. The access junction for the A3, linking it on the north with the Broadway and on the south with the A240 Kingston Road toward Epsom, is known as the Toby Jug Roundabout, named after the public house which stood beside it until demolished in 2002. The area is also served by a branch railway line running from London Waterloo to Chessington South two stops to the south, with services run by South West Trains.

Facilities[link]

Tolworth Tower[link]

Tolworth Tower
The Tower in the distance shadows everything for miles around.
General information
Location	Tolworth, London, England, UK
Coordinates	TQ197659
Completed	1964
Height	265 ft (81 m)
Technical details
Floor count	22

The principal shopping centre - the Broadway - is dominated by Tolworth Tower,^[3] an office block designed by the late Richard Seifert and opened in 1964. The tower is 265 feet high with 22 floors. The ground floor of the building is occupied largely by a single retail unit - currently a Marks and Spencer supermarket - and smaller retail units along the Broadway, the remainder taken up with access to the other floors. The remaining floors of the building was originally occupied by commercial and government offices, but the north wing has recently re-opened as a Travelodge hotel. The building is a local landmark and is the tallest building for miles around.

View from the top of Tolworth Tower over the local area

The offices and studios of Radio Jackie, a commercial radio station broadcasting to south-west London and north Surrey, can be found on the Broadway. The broadcast mast is sited, with many other antennae, atop Tolworth Tower.

Community centre[link]

Tolworth is the home of its own community arts centre: The CornerHOUSE (Previously known as the Douglas Centre).^[4]

Tolworth Hospital[link]

Tolworth Hospital provides services for South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust. The Trust provides a comprehensive mental health and social care service to the residents of Kingston, Richmond, Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth boroughs, as well as a number of specialist regional and national services.^[5]

Transport[link]

National Rail[link]

Tolworth is served by South West Trains with its own train station located just a short was from the main shopping area called Tolworth Broadway. Tolworth railway station has train services direct to London Waterloo (Northbound) and Chessington South (Southbound). Trains come to the station every half hour. Trains also stop at Clapham Junction, Vauxhall and Raynes Park.

London Buses[link]

London Buses connect Tolworth with long distance buses and local buses with destinations shown below:

• Hook
• Surbiton
• Kingston
• Epsom
• West Ewell
• New Malden
• Putney
• Kingston Vale
• Roehampton
• Norbiton (Kingston Hospital)
• Berrylands
• Kingston University
• Twickenham
• Hounslow
• Teddington
• Fulwell
• Hampton Wick

Road[link]

Standing on the A3 from London to Guildford, Tolworth has good connections to London and to the M25 motorway. Kingston town centre is just 2 miles distant and Surbiton is just under 1 mile away.

Nearby attractions[link]

Also in the immediate area are Chessington World of Adventures,^[6] Richmond Park,^[7] Sandown Park,^[8] and Hampton Court ^[9]

In the area[link]

Many things to do are situated around the Tolworth Broadway which is practically the heart of the community with shops, banks, cafes, fast food shops, barbers, an M&S supermarket, Tolworth Tower, a Travelodge hotel and 'Charrington Bowl'. Also near Tolworth railway station there is a Goals Soccer Centre.

Local geography[link]

Destinations from Tolworth

	Surbiton, Kingston Upon Thames	Berrylands, Norbiton	New Malden
	Surbiton		Malden Manor, Worcester park
		Tolworth    East
	Chessington	Chessington	Ewell

Industry[link]

Apart from the MoD and DOS sites on the south side of the A3, Gala Cosmetics had a large production facility as did Andre Rubber (who specialised in bonding rubber to metal and made components for cars, docks, armoured fighting vehicles, hospitals, warships and diving helmets) - now the site of the Hook Rise South Industrial Park. Decca Radar had a large research and development facility beside Tolworth railway station. Their well-resourced sports ground still exists - though presumably without the full-size .22 rifle range with its fine collection of re-bored Martini-Henrys, as used in the Zulu Wars of the 19th century.

Education[link]

For education in Tolworth see the main Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames article.

Sport and recreation[link]

Tolworth has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V, where Corinthian-Casuals F.C. (two semi-pro football teams that have since merged) plays its home games.

Alexandra Park on King Charles Road has a basketball court, as featured on the basketball website.^[10]

Tolworth is also the current home of several amateur football teams, Tolworth Athletic (who play in the Surrey South Eastern Combination League) and West London Blues.^[11][12]

Kingston University also has a sports ground in Tolworth at Old Kingston Road

Tolworth has always had enthusiastic support for the Scouting movement, and is today represented by 1st Tolworth Scouts ^[13]

A 32 lane Bowling Alley is situated at the Toby Jug roundabout ^[14]

Cultural references[link]

Tolworth is mentioned in the first episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, in the sketch 'Picasso/Cycling Race'.

Notable residents[link]

• Musician, Eric Clapton used to live in Tolworth, attending Hollyfield School.
• The actor Drew Varley, probably best known as Mungojerrie in Cats, was born here.
• Alan Wheatley, who is probably best known for his role as the Sheriff of Nottingham in the TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood in the 1950s, was born in Tolworth. He was also the first person killed by a Dalek in an episode of Doctor Who in 1964.
• Actor David Hemmings, lived on the Sunray Estate in the 1950s while attending Glyn Grammar School in Ewell.
• News anchor Dan Elliott, was set to move to Tolworth in March 2011.
• David Brocklehurst, Tolworth legend.
• Author and scriptwriter Todd Devotto (Love child of musician Andy 'MONKEY' Reynolds and TV celeb Anthea Turner)Has a house in Tolworth

References[link]

External links[link]

• UK skyscraper list 2001, for Tolworth Tower data
• Radio Jackie
• The CornerHOUSE
• Surbiton.com local community news
• Tolworth Regeneration Strategy

v t e Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Districts Berrylands Chessington Coombe Kingston upon Thames Kingston Vale Motspur Park New Malden Norbiton Old Malden Surbiton Tolworth Hook, London Malden Rushett Attractions Bushy Park Hampton Court Palace Chessington World of Adventures Coronation Stone Richmond Park Constituencies Kingston and Surbiton Richmond Park Other topics People Public art Schools Parks and open spaces in Kingston upon Thames

Rev Dr Paul Poovathingal CMI PhD (born 1961), popularly known as the 'Padum Pathiri' or 'singing priest of India',^[1] is a noted carnatic music (Indian classical music) vocalist, composer and lyricist and is the first vocologist in India. He is an ordained priest in the religious congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI). He has composed around 1000 songs and released 35 music albums.^[2] He is a disciple of the legendary Carnatic musician and playback singer Padmabhushan Dr K J Yesudas and of Chandramana Narayan Namboothiri. He is the first Indian Christian priest in the world to earn Ph.D. in Carnatic Music. He has performed classical music before Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, President of India and before Bharat Ratna M.S.Subbulakshmi.

Spirituality and Music[link]

He focuses on the spiritual dimension of Indian classical music. He is also a proponent of music yoga (nada yoga) and advocates regular practice of pranayama to improve voice and general well being. He also promotes religious harmony through the medium of music.^[3] His music repertoire encompasses devotional songs based on Christian, Muslim and Hindu religious themes. His music compositions are based on carnatic music melody (raga) using the Carnatic musical scale (swara). They have a humanistic and universal appeal.^[4][5] According to Fr Paul Poovathingal, "music is a bridge between all religions".^[6]

Inculturation of Music in Church in India
He has been an exponent of 'inculturation' or the process to express Christian faith through indigenous art forms, adapting indigenous cultural expressions. His research was in the field of ethnomusicology and focused on carnatic music and Christianity. He has popularized Indian Christian themes in Carnatic music. He introduced raga-based chanting in Christian liturgical music in Kerala and India.

Education & Career[link]

Paul learnt music, during his school years, from CC Chummar, a musician of Viyyur, Thrissur. He used to win prizes in music competitions. He started studying Indian classical music at the age of 17 under Sodharan Bhagavathar of Varandarappilly, Thrissur. He started musical compositions while studying in the seminary. While studying in Christ College, Bangalore and Dharmaram Vidyapeeth, Bangalore, he continued his music practice under Vidwan VK Krishnamurthy. He completed his priestly formation and studies in philosophy and theology and was ordained a priest in 1990. In 1996, Tarangini Music produced music album 'Snehasarovaram' with 8 Christian devotional songs composed by him and sung by Dr K J Yesudas and Sujata. In 1992 he joined the Sangeeth Siromani Course in Delhi University and continued his studies in music in Delhi University earning M.A. Music Degree with distinction and earning the gold medal. In Delhi, he learnt music from Prof. T.N.Krishnan, Prof. T. R. Subramaniam, Dr. Leela Omcheri, Dr. Guruvayoor T. V. Manikandan, Dr. Vasanthi Rao, Dr. Radha Venkitachalam, Prof. Deepti etc. He continued his studies in Carnatic Music during 1996-2004 period and obtained M.Phil and Ph.D. in Carnatic Music from University of Madras. His doctoral thesis submitted in 2003 was guided by Dr Karaikudi Subaramanian, and titled 'Carnatic Music and Christianity'. He studied vocology in Columbia University in 2003 and at the National Center for Voice and Speech, Denver, Colorado in 2006.

As a music researcher, he has published 11 research papers on various aspects of Karnatic Music and its relation to religion, philosophy and Christianity.

Indian Classical Music Concerts[link]

He has staged Indian classical music performances in USA, Canada, European countries, UAE, Bahrain, South Africa and India. His musical concerts have been widely acclaimed.^[7][8] Fr Paul Poovathingal performed before Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, President of India, at the Rastrapati Bhavan, New Delhi on June 11, 2007.^[9] He was accompanied by Prof Abdul Aziz on the violin, Guruvayur Sanoj on the mridangam and Shornur Rajesh on the ghatam (a pot-shaped percussion instrument). He started the concert with 'Vatapi Ganapathim' in Hamsadhvani (in praise of Ganesha, the Hindu deity symbolizing the power of the Supreme Being to remove all obstacles and ensure success in one's endeavors, and also symbolizing the conquest of one's ego). This was followed by 'Salathullah Salamullah' (a song in praise of Allah) in Anandha Bhairavi ragam. He then sang 'Sree Yesu Natham' in Abhogi ragam. He also sang the song 'Jai ho, Jai Ho Bharatmata Ki', a national integration song evoking patriotism, in 'Kalyani' ragam. He ended the concert with the song 'Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu' (an invocation for harmony in all creation) in 'Madhyamavathi ragam'. Dr Abdul Kalaam referred to their musical troupe as a 'national integration team' uniting religions and hearts.

Chetana Sangeet Natya Academy[link]

The Chetana group of Institutions for Performing Arts in Thrissur, Kerala, India, is managed by the CMI Congregation. Chetana Sangeet Natya Academy, Thrissur was founded by Fr Poovathingal in April 2005. It was inaugurated by Dr K J Yesudas and blessed by Cardinal Vithayathil. Currently he functions as Director of the Academy.

In February 2007, he produced Arnos Pathiri's Puthenpana (Life of Christ) using Indian Classical Dance form (Bharata Natyam and Mohiniattam) and Karnatic Music. He provided the concept and composed the music along with Prof. Abdul Azeez. The dance was choreographed by Kalamandalam Shobana Sajeev Kumar and Kalamandalam Husnabanu. The music was sung by Kalamandalam Rajeev. The dance was presented by teachers and students of Chetana Sangeet Natya Academy.^[10]

Chetana Music College[link]

In 2007, Chetana Music College, Thrissur was inaugurated by Dr K.J. Yesudas. The College is currently affiliated to the University of Madras. Fr Poovathingal is the founder-Principal of Chetana Music College.

Chetanotsavam[link]

Fr Paul has been organizing Chetanotsavam, a national music and dance festival, at Chetana Sangeeth Natya Academy, Thrissur since 2005. Chetanotsavam-2010 was a two-day music and dance festival organized by Chetana Sangeet Natya Academy and Chetana Music College in Thrissur. The highlights of the festival included a two-hour Carnatic music concert by Mavelikkara P. Subramaniam, a kuchipudi dance performance by Sreelakshmi Govardhan and a contemporary dance by a Mexican artiste Abril Gomez.^[11]

Chetana National Institute of Vocology[link]

Fr Paul Poovathingal founded Chetana National Institute of Vocology in Thrissur, Kerala, India in 2005. The Institute of Vocology is the first of its kind in India. Prof Ingo Titze (known as the father of vocology) is an advisor to the Board of the Institute. The Institute has been conducting certificate courses and seminars on vocology. The Institute also has a voice clinic run by Fr. Poovathingal.

Voice Clinic[link]

Fr Paul is a pioneering vocologist of India, helping those who have voice problems. His voice clinics and vocology seminars help to guide musicians, actors, teachers, managers, speakers, lawyers and anyone who uses voice, to improve voice delivery.^[12][13]
Fr. Paul Poovathingal says: "Voice is a gift from God. Every voice is unique and distinct. Voice is an inseparable part of human personality."

Recognition & Awards[link]

He has received the awards listed below:

• Saraswathi Millennium Award (2006) from the Saraswathi Trust, New York, USA.
• Rio Grande Puraskaram (2007) from Indian Cultural Association, McAllen, Texas, USA.
• Kerala (India) Catholic Bishops Conference Award (2008) for contribution to Christian classical music.
• Kala Ratna Award (2009) from Kala Sadan, Thrissur, India.

References[link]

1. ^ The Singing Priest- Website
2. ^ Snehasarovaram -Music Album -1991
3. ^ K. Santhosh. 2004. 'Carnatic Ragas from the Pulpit', The Hindu 14 September 2004
4. ^ Carnatic music gets a Christian touch, The Times of India, Jan 16,2010
5. ^ G.S.Paul, Harmonious Notes, 'the Hindu' March 6, 2009
6. ^ The Singing Priest, Mutiny.WordPress.com
7. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98VR2QPaAQU
8. ^ Fr Poovathingal's musical concert
9. ^ Singing Priest Enthralls Audience at President's Palace: http://smcim.smonline.org/news33.htm
10. ^ Laudable Choreography, GS Paul, 'the Hindu', Feb 9, 2007
11. ^ Inspiring Performances, G.S.Paul, 'the Hindu', April 29, 2010
12. ^ http://www.scrollindia.com/tourism-zone/about-vocology-voice-culture-useful-and-necessary
13. ^ The Singing Priest with a Healing Mission, GS Paul, 'Vignette'