Tolworth is a suburban area in the Surbiton district, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. It is southwest of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Berrylands, Chessington, Epsom, Ewell, Kingston, Long Ditton, New Malden, Surbiton and Worcester Park. Surbiton is the nearest, about a mile to the northwest. Tolworth is divided in two by the A3 Kingston Bypass and is situated slightly north of the Greater London-Surrey border.
History 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: hides; also 4 hides with Long Ditton; 1 mill without dues, 8 ploughs, acres and rod of meadow. It rendered £6.
The Evelyn family, who had settled in Surrey, played a prominent role and established gunpowder mills at Tolworth, probably in 1561.
In John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870–72) Tolworth was described: "TALWORTH, a hamlet in Long Ditton parish, Surrey; 2½ miles SSE of Kingston upon Thames. Acres, 1,190. Pop., 434. Houses, 81. An ancient manor-house here was held by the Earl of Kent, uncle of Edward III.; and is now a farmhouse."
For much of the 19th century, the Earls of Egmont were Tolworth's principal landowners.
By 1908 things were changing: the population growth was accelerating due to the development of the brickfields and the construction of Tolworth Sewage Farm (which opened in 1891), both in Red Lion Lane (now Red Lion Road). With a proper sewerage system Tolworth was ready for development. St Matthew's Church had been built for a congregation of 800 and trams now ran from the Red Lion.
In 1919 the Medical Officer of Health reported that Surbiton was a residential neighbourhood with no dominating factories or works. The only new feature of late, he said, is the springing up of a few "motor garages," each employing a few hands on the care and repair of cars. He advised that the Electric Light Works and a belated resuscitation of the Tolworth Brickfields represented the leading "works" in Surbiton. The reference to the brickworks probably relates to it being owned by William Alen until his bankruptcy in 1881. Surbiton Urban District Council entered into an agreement with Callenders Cables & Construction (later to become British Insulated Callender's Cables) under which the company laid electrical supply cables around Surbiton. In 1916 the council sold the Surbiton and District Electricity Co, based in Hollyfield Road, to Callenders. The opening of the Kingston bypass (A3 road) in 1927 was a major catalyst for expansion which included of new residential roads, containing 2,000 houses. This period also saw the construction of Tolworth Broadway, aligning with the Kingston Road, on the former Tolworth Lodge Farm.
In the 1930s and 1940s the clay extraction requirements of a brickworks 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. The Civil Defence Corps used to have a training site with a full-size mock-up of a bomb-damaged housing estate. This land has been reclaimed and is now a recreation ground. The Tolworth Brickworks Company Ltd. decided in September 1946 that the company should be voluntarily wound up – a process that continued until at least 1951.Tolworth Brickworks (Kingston By-Pass) Controlled Tip 1938, (including Bluey Pond) 1946, 1952 held by Kingston Museum and Heritage Service Clay extraction also took place at "The Wood" near Surbiton Station, Fishponds Park. as well as in Claygate
Off Worcester Park Road/Old Malden Lane was the access to Tolworth Hall and nearby, along the Hogsmill River, were watercress beds.
Until 1965 Tolworth, as a part of Surbiton, was in the county of Surrey.
Station Estate Plans for the Station Estate were approved by Surbiton Corporation and Surrey County Council in January 1940,Agreement between Tolworth Finance and Land Corporation Limited, The Surbiton Corporation and The County Council of Surrey dated 22 January 1940 comprising 459 houses and 10 shops on four sites, separated by the Kingston Road and the Southern Railway Chessington Branch Line (which was to be extended to Leatherhead).
As part of the agreement the owners gave up part of the land to form the wider and re-aligned Kingston Road. Dean Court and Drayton Court were constructed in 1959 on part of the "Station Estate" land and the Developer "Lansdowne Court Investments" is acknowledged in the naming of Lansdowne Close. Earlier plans had envisaged six semi detached and one detached house between the Toby Jug and Tolworth Station.plan attached to conveyance dated May 1954 between the Tolworth Finance and Land Corporation and the Minister of Works
Wartime bomb damage During World War II a number of V1 flying bombs fell 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. Between 7 October 1940 and 6 June 1941, 25 high explosive bombs were dropped on the current Tolworth and Hook Rise ward but there were as many again in the few adjacent streets around Douglas Road which is now part of Surbiton Hill ward.
Ace of Spades A short distance away is the Ace of Spades (junction) at Hook, named after the famous "Ace of Spades Roadhouse" which became a popular venue following the opening of the Kingston bypass in 1927 by the Minister of Transport, Stanley Baldwin. This was described as a pioneer roadhouse, with meals served at any time in a restaurant with seating for 700 to 800, dancing until 3 am, a swimming pool, miniature golf course, polo ground, riding school, and an airstrip. The pub was burnt down in the 1950s.
Historic bus stop Until 2011, the green at the junction of Ewell Road, Red Lion Road and King Charles Road opposite the former Red Lion Public house was the site of an extremely rare double fronted wooden bus stop, located at the former Tolworth turning point of the 603 trolleybus service, which ceased in May 1962. (It was previously served by trams between 1906 and 1931.) The shelter was removed after Transport for London decided that it was the only bus stop they were not prepared to maintain, on the basis that it was wooden.
Musical heritage David Bowie launched his Ziggy Stardust stage show with the Spiders from Mars at the Toby Jug pub in Tolworth, on 10 February 1972. Other bands to play there included Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, The Yardbirds, John Lee Hooker, Black Sabbath, King Crimson, Blodwyn Pig, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Free, Jethro Tull, Taste, Family, Chicken Shack, Genesis and Ten Years After.Surrey in the Sixties – Mark Davidson and Ian Currie The Toby Jug pub was demolished in the year 2000, becoming part of the controversial Tesco site (detailed later in this article). It is reported that there was a Maestrovox electronic organ attached to the piano in the pub dining room and dance hall. The pub is remembered by the naming of the adjacent Toby Way.
During the 1980s gigs were occasionally held at Tolworth Recreation Centre including, on 12 March 1983, one by New Order.
Tesco-owned former green fields An site bounded by the railway line serving Tolworth to the east, the A240 to the north and Hook Rise South & the A3 road to the West. Plans were drawn up in the 1930s for the site to be used for circa 130 family homes in a similar style to much of Tolworth – this was part of a larger development to be known as the "Station Estate".
As part of the war effort, the land was taken over by the Ministry of Works and developed from green fields in the 1940s. It became an extensive but discreet development of low single-story brick building covering the majority of the site. It remained in government hands for a variety of uses from the MAFF and Ministry of Defence to the Directorate of Overseas Surveys; in its heyday it was reported to have employed over 1,000 people. It was finally vacated by the last 370 MAFF staff in October 1998 in preparation for sale.
Tesco purchased the site by private treaty in 2002, avoiding any offer for sale on the open market. In 2000 the vacant possession value of the site was recorded in Hansard at £9.6 million. A number of surrounding buildings were purchased by Chinacorp, a developer working with Tesco.
The site is zoned by the local authority, Kingston Council, for residential and community use. The site has been subject to a number of planning applications for the construction of a retail store of up to and up to 660 dwellings in buildings up to 12 storeys high.
In 2015 Tesco sold the site to developer Meyer Homes, who were given permission from the Planning Inspectorate in July 2019 for a 950-home development (including a new nursery, doctor's surgery and police building).
Description Architecturally, Tolworth consists mainly of low-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 it was closed and demolished in 2002 under the ownership of Tesco and its partners. 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 Western Railway.
Governance On 1 April 1895 Tolworth became a civil parish, being formed from part of Long Ditton, on 1 April 1965 the parish was abolished. At the 1951 census (one of the last before the abolition of the parish), Tolworth had a population of 18,253.
Facilities The principal shopping centre is situated west of the A3 in Tolworth Broadway, with the landmark Tolworth Tower, at its junction with the A3. Tolworth Tower, built on the site of the former Tolworth Odeon Cinema is an office block designed by George Marsh of R. Seifert and Partners and opened in 1963.
The offices and studios of 107.8 Radio Jackie, a commercial radio station broadcasting to south-west London and north Surrey, can be found on the Broadway in what had been the Crown Post Office. The broadcast mast is sited, with many other antennas, atop Tolworth Tower.
Tolworth Greenway The Tolworth Greenway was a public space planning scheme, the Mayor's "Great Outdoors" initiative. The barrier on the central reservation was removed, which itself has been widened. The stripey green "sureset" resin surface allows users to walk the length of Tolworth Broadway on the Greenway and to cross the Kingston Bypass (A3) at street level. The scheme aimed to revitalise Tolworth Broadway, improve safety and reduce traffic speeds. Critics believed that the area would be more dangerous, as pedestrians would cross the road wherever they chose.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
Tolworth Court Farm This historic farm site dates back to Norman times. Tolworth Court Farm Fields is now a Local Nature Reserve, and consists of a system of fields and hedgerows. Previously owned by the London Borough of Lambeth, it was purchased by the Royal Borough of Kingston in the 1980s. There is access from Kingston Road (A240) near Jubilee Way.
Community centre Tolworth is the home of the arts centre: The CornerHOUSE (Previously known as the Douglas Centre).
Police stations