Esher

Esher lay within the Saxon feudal division of Elmbridge hundred. In the 16th century King Henry VIII annexed several of the manors to the Honour of Hampton Court, including Esher, to form a royal hunting ground. The town slowly grew as a stagecoach stop on the London–Portsmouth road that was later numbered the A3, 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. In 1841 Esher had 1261 inhabitants across . Queen Victoria lent Claremont 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. By 1908, Esher contained the fashionable residences of several important figures including Lady Emma Talbot; Sir Robert Hawthorn Collins, the Duchess of Albany and Sir Edgar Vincent, K.C.M.G. who was later created 1st Viscount D'Abernon. George Harrison of The Beatles owned a house named Kinfauns in Esher, in the 1960s. The other Beatles were regular visitors to the house, and Harrison's primitive home recording studio. Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees owned a home called The Firs in Esher, from the 1970s until 2004, which was sold after his death. The hit single "Juliet" was written and recorded by Maurice and Robin Gibb in the Studio at The Firs for Robin's solo album project in the 1980s. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle placed the murder of fictional character, Mr. Garcia, in and around Esher in his Sherlock Holmes mystery, "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge". In the mystery, Dr. Watson described his and Holmes' arrival in Esher by stating, "It was nearly six o'clock before we found ourselves in the pretty Surrey village of Esher, with Inspector Baynes as our companion." == Government ==

Esher is within the Esher and Walton parliamentary constituency which is represented by Monica Harding, a member of the Liberal Democratic party, since July 2024. The predecessor Esher parliamentary constituency was replaced on boundary changes before the 1997 general election. Esher is part of the East Molesey and Esher ward of Surrey County Council. The ward is represented by a Residents' association councillor. The town is covered by the Esher ward of Elmbridge Borough Council, which has elections in three years out of four (is elected in thirds). Esher Town Hall has reverted to its original name of Sandown House and has been converted into apartments. ==Education==

Esher has a mix of state and private schools. There are four state primary schools across the postal district of Esher, including Esher Church School and Cranmere in Esher itself, as well as schools in Hinchley Wood and Claygate. Esher Church of England High School is the state secondary school in the town of Esher. Hinchley Wood is also one of the Further education establishments in the area.{{cite news Esher is also home to the West End Playgroup & Forest School, a pre-school for 2-5 year olds. ==Culture, community and sport==

Cinema The Everyman (formerly Odeon) cinema is a central feature of Esher's High Street with four screens. Sport Esher Cricket Club was established in 1863. They play matches in the Esher Park private estate, in New Road and have a youth cricket training and playing squad. The members of the cricket club also wanted to play tennis and established the Esher Lawn Tennis Club in 1889. A second cricket club arrived in 1875 as West End (Esher) Cricket Club. Esher has a history with horse racing since the purpose-built Sandown Park race course opened in 1875. In 1881 Esher Leopold football club was established which was formed out of the ashes of the dissolved Weybridge Swallows club. The club played at Sandown Park, close to the racecourse. The club's sole contribution to the national game was its one appearance in the FA Cup, a 5–0 home defeat to the holders, Old Carthusians, in 1881–82, although the club did reach the semi-finals of the Surrey Senior Cup, losing to Reigate Priory. The club continued into the 1883–84 season. Esher Rugby Club was established in 1923 and play on the Hersham borders at the Molesey Road stadium, where they have several training grounds there. A smaller football club AFC Westend was established in 2003. Amenities, local events and media Esher Theatre is a 300-seat performing arts venue on Esher High Street, which opened on 4 September 2021. Esher West End hosts an annual flower show and the Hampton Court Flower Show is nearby. Similarly, Surrey Wildlife Trust manage Wisley and Ockham Commons, partly within the borough of Elmbridge and Esher is approximately midway between the two leading Surrey and International Gardens, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and RHS Garden, Wisley. A weekly newspaper, Esher News and Mail, closed down in 2009. Current newspapers include the Surrey Herald: Cobham, Esher and Claygate edition and Living Within monthly magazine/newspaper. Vantage points include various outcrops of Esher Commons close to Hersham, Cobham and Oxshott for free public use; Esher Place (national training centre of Unite, the union) where a grass garden amphitheatre was built by Lutyens for what was the manor house; the facilities at Sandown Park racecourse and Claremont Landscape Garden. ==Housing==

The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%. The proportion of households in the settlement who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free). ==Notable residents==

• • Pattie Boyd (1944–), model and photographer. • John Cobb (1899–1952), racing driver. • Maurice Gibb (1949–2003), pop musician. • Sam Kelly (1943–2014), actor. • Ada Lovelace (1815–52), mathematician, lived at Sandown House, no. 1, Esher High Street. • Roots Manuva (1972–), hip-hop musician. • Montague Phillips (1885–1969), composer and his wife Clara Butterworth lived at Clare Cottage, Clare Hill for 50 years. • Roger Scantlebury (1936–), computer scientist. • Sophie Dora Spicer Maude (1854–1937), writer. • Eric Sykes (1923–2012), comedic actor and writer. • Chris Tarrant (1946–), television light entertainment presenter. == See also ==

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