Egham predates 670 AD when
Chertsey Abbey was founded; one of the earliest Chertsey charters mentions
Egeham. The place-name means "Ecga's farm". Egham appears in the
Domesday Book of 1086 as
Egeham. It was held by
Chertsey Abbey and kept by that institution after the conquest when its assets were: 15
hides; 12
ploughlands, of
meadow, together with
woodland, 'herbage and pannage' worth 75
hogs. It rendered one of the largest sums in Surrey to its
feudal overlords per year, £30 10s 0d. The village of Egham was, before 19th-century losses, an ancient parish covering land totalling in the counties of
Berkshire (briefly) and
Surrey; incorporating Egham, Egham Hill, Cooper's Hill,
Englefield Green,
Virginia Water, Shrubs Hill,
Runnymede,
Egham Hythe, and a considerable portion of
Windsor Great Park. In the medieval period it was divided into four roughly equal
tythings: • Hythe (which was on fairly similar boundaries to
Egham Hythe) • Town • Strode (later also known as Stroude), but which now denotes a much smaller, and inconsistent area • Englefield, which is partly
Englefield Green, partly
Virginia Water sculpture by David Parfitt, also showing
Robert Fitzwalter at right
Magna Carta was sealed at nearby
Runnymede in 1215, 'Kenwolde Court', 'Markwood', 'Kingswood' and 'Alderhurst' for a time home of
Lord Thring. Parts of Egham have featured in national and international news in the 21st century. On 12 September 2007 a case of
foot-and-mouth disease was found in Egham, from the
previous outbreak found in early August 2007. Occasional flooding of
Runnymede and parts of
Egham Hythe have taken place following exceptional Thames Valley winter rainfall. Units of the army were deployed to assist with defences and dealing with damage from flooding in the
2013-14 winter storms. ==Governance==