Surbiton

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Template:Infobox London place Surbiton is a suburban area of London situated in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.

It is a commuter town next to the river Thames, populated with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, spacious and grand late-19th century town houses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates.

1 History
2 Food, drink & entertainment
3 Nearby Places
4 External links

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History

There is evidence that a settlement has existed at Surbiton since at least 1179. At the time, it was known as Suberton, which is the Old English for southern farmstead. Norbiton lies to the north-east, and is separated from Surbiton by the Hogsmill river. Before the arrival of the railway line, Surbiton was little more than a farm. The town started to prosper when a plan to build the main railway line down to the south coast through nearby Kingston was rejected by the residents there, resulting in the line being routed through Surbiton. Surbiton railway station was opened in 1838, and was originally named Kingston, and was only renamed Surbiton to distinguish it from the new Kingston station on the Shepperton branch line that was built at a later date.

Image:Surbiton train station.id.jpg

As a result Kingston is now located on a branch line whereas passengers from Surbiton, a smaller town by comparison, can reach central London in one direction in around 15 minutes and stations as distant as Portsmouth or Southampton in the opposite. This makes Surbiton a good town from which to commute into central London, and the population reflects this.

Surbiton's main claim to popular fame is as an icon of suburbia in such British television programmes as The Good Life (starring Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal, though location filming was ironically done in Northwood, North-West London), and John Sessions' comedy series Stella Street, which has on occasion led to the town being nicknamed "Suburbiton". Other related trivia: the character from the 1980s ZX Spectrum computer games Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy was described as a Surbiton resident, and Black Sabbath played at the Surbiton Assembly Rooms on 19th May 1970. The Council sold the Assembly Rooms to Surbiton High School in the 1990's.

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Food, drink & entertainment

Surbiton has a number of drinking establishments, though it plays second fiddle to its larger neighbour Kingston upon Thames.

Starting at the east of the town centre one finds the Coronation Hall - originally built as a cinema. When it opened on 21 June 1911, the day of King George V's coronation (hence the name) it was capable of seating 600 people. Later renamed The Roxy, and then The Ritz, it continued showing movies until 1966. The building then became a bingo hall and was almost converted into a naturist health club. It is rumoured that underneath the pub there is a working Jacuzzi. The building has now been converted as a JD Wetherspoon pub. Its new owners restored the original name and decorated the interior with movie memorabilia.

The next pub along the street is the St Mark's Tavern, renamed from the Rat and Parrot in January 2006. The Surbiton Flyer is, as its name implies, next door to Surbiton station. A Fullers house, it was refurbished during 2004. Other local pubs include The Fox and Hounds, The Black Lion, The Royal Charter, The Antelope, The Grove Tavern and The Victoria. There is also a modern "West End chic" cocktail bar, The Rubicon, on Maple Road. For a late drink head down past the YMCA and on Brighton Road you'll find the Saucy Kettle. More pubs exist on Ewell Road.

Ex-pubs include The Railway Tavern, The Rising Sun, The Southampton, The Lamb and another pub on Brighton Road that at one point in the early 90s turned into a hip-bistro called Gallery 66.

Surbiton also has a large choice of Indian restaurants. Coming from Tolworth on the Ewell Road towards Surbiton town centre there's the Image:Victoria rd surbiton.id.jpg