Editing Weybridge (section)

==History==
===Early history===
The earliest evidence of human occupation in Weybridge is from the [[Bronze Age Britain|Bronze Age]]. A number of weapons, including socketed [[axe|axe heads]], a [[rapier]], and a [[palstave]], were retrieved from the River Wey close to the Wey Bridge in 1912.<ref name=Gardner_1912>{{cite journal |last1= Gardner |first1= Eric |year= 1912 |title= Some Prehistoric and Saxon Antiquities found in the Neighbourhood of Weybridge |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_25/surreyac025_129-135_gardner.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 25 |pages= 129–135 |access-date= 10 August 2021 |archive-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130341/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_25%2Fsurreyac025_129-135_gardner.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name=White_1999_p3>{{harvnb|White|1999|p=3}}</ref> At least fifty [[Urn#Cremation urns|cinerary urns]] dating from the same period were found in the area in the 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref name=Gardner_1912/> Three of the urns were recovered from a [[tumulus|barrow]] during building work on the [[Silvermere]] estate (south of St George's Hill) and were found to contain bones and charcoal.<ref name=Brayley_1841_pp394-397>{{harvnb|Brayley|Britton|1841|pp=394–397}}</ref>

A [[List of copper alloys|copper-alloy]] bucket, now held by the [[British Museum]], was discovered during the construction of the Brooklands racetrack in 1907. It is thought to have originated in northern Italy in the late Bronze or early [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] and similar vessels have been found in Austria, Belgium and Germany.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1907-0715-1 |title= The Brooklands Bucket |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= November 2014 |publisher= The British Museum |access-date= 10 August 2021 |archive-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130403/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1907-0715-1 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Smith |first1= Reginald A. |year= 1908 |title= The Weybridge Bucket, and Prehistoric Trade with Italy |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_21/surreyac021_165-169_smith.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 21 |pages= 165–169 |access-date= 10 August 2021 |archive-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130356/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_21%2Fsurreyac021_165-169_smith.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> During the Iron Age, there was a [[hillforts in Britain|fort]] on St George's Hill. It covered an area of around {{convert|14|acre|ha|abbr=on}} and was protected by a rampart and ditch.<ref name=Gardiner_1911>{{cite journal|last1= Gardner |first1= Eric |year= 1911 |title= The British stronghold of St George's Hill, Weybridge |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_24/surreyac024_040-055_gardner.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 24 |pages= 40–55 |access-date= 10 August 2021 |archive-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130356/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_24%2Fsurreyac024_040-055_gardner.pdf |url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Poulton |first1= Robert |last2= O'Connell |first2= Martin |year= 1984 |title= St George's Hill fort, excavations in 1981 |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_75/surreyac075_275-280_poulton.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 75 |pages= 275–280 |doi= 10.5284/1069087 |access-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-date= 19 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210819210952/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_75%2Fsurreyac075_275-280_poulton.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> Most traces of the fort were destroyed by housebuilding in the first half of the 20th century.<ref name=White_1999_p3/> Remains of a [[Roundhouse (dwelling)#United Kingdom|roundhouse]] and archaeological evidence of iron workings were discovered in the triangle of land between the railway lines in 1981.<ref name=Tomalin_1984>{{cite journal |last1= Tomalin |first1= David J. |last2= Hanworth |first2= Rosamond |year= 1984 |title= St George's Hill fort, excavations in 1981 |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-2249-1/dissemination/pdf/r_vol_4/surreyrv004_001-088_hanworth.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Society Research Volumes |volume= 4 |pages= 1–88 |access-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-date= 19 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210819210955/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-2249-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fr_vol_4%2Fsurreyrv004_001-088_hanworth.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>

There is not thought to have been a significant [[Roman Britain|Roman]] presence in Weybridge, but 68 bronze [[Roman currency|coins]] of the late 3rd and early 4th centuries were found at Brooklands in 1907.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Hill |first1= G. F. |year= 1909 |title= A hoard of Roman Bronze coins of the Tetrarchy, from the Brooklands motor-track, Weybridge |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_22/surreyac022_184-191_hill.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 22 |pages= 184–191 |access-date= 10 August 2021 |archive-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130344/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_22%2Fsurreyac022_184-191_hill.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> Much of the [[hoard]], which included [[nummus|''nummi'']] from the reigns of [[Diocletian]] (284–305 CE),<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1907-1009-19 |title= Coin of Diocletian |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= November 2014 |publisher= The British Museum |access-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130339/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1907-1009-19 |url-status= live }}</ref> [[Maximian]] (286–305),<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1907-1009-44 |title= Coin of Maximian |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= November 2014 |publisher= The British Museum |access-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130348/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1907-1009-44 |url-status= live }}</ref> [[Constantius Chlorus|Constantius I]] (305–306)<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1907-1009-32 |title= Coin of Constantius I |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= November 2014 |publisher= The British Museum |access-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130415/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1907-1009-32 |url-status= live }}</ref> and [[Galerius]] (305–311), was donated to the British Museum.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1907-1009-36 |title= Coin of Galerius |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= November 2014 |publisher= The British Museum |access-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-date= 18 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210818130354/https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1907-1009-36 |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Governance===
There are three separate entries for Weybridge in Domesday Book. The first area of land described was held by  [[Odo of Bayeux|Bishop Odo of Bayeux]] as tenant-in-chief and Herfrid of Throwley as [[lord of the manor|lesser tenant]]. It included {{convert|16|acre|ha|abbr=on}} of meadow and woodland for five swine with a value of £5 per annum. The other two entries list areas belonging to [[Chertsey Abbey]], totalling a further 16 acres of meadow, land for four swine and ploughland for 1½ plough teams. None of the entries records a church or a mill in the settlement.<ref name=Surrey_Domesday/><ref name=Weybridge_Domesday>{{cite web|url= https://opendomesday.org/place/TQ0764/weybridge/ |title= Weybridge |author= Powell-Smith A |year= 2011 |publisher= Open Domesday |access-date= 22 August 2021 |archive-date= 16 January 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190116093724/https://opendomesday.org/place/TQ0764/weybridge/ |url-status= live}}</ref>

There are only sporadic surviving references to Weybridge in the following centuries. A chapel is mentioned in a [[papal bull]] issued by [[Pope Alexander III]] in 1176 and a later document shows that Chertsey Abbey had sold the [[advowson]] to [[Newark Priory]] by 1200. By 1262, the Priory had obtained a license that confirmed its rights to appoint a priest, to hold church property and to collect [[tithe]]s from the local residents. In 1284 the village was held by Geoffrey de Lucy as a lesser tenant of Chertsey Abbey.<ref>{{harvnb|White|1999|pp=8–19}}</ref>

[[File:Palace - Oatlands.jpg|thumb|right|Oatlands Palace (17th century)]]
[[File:Oatlands Palace gateway, Weybridge, Surrey.jpg|thumb|Entrance gateway to the former Oatlands Palace built {{circa|1545}}<ref name=Oatlands_gateway>{{NHLE|num=1191628|desc=Entrance gates and walls to Oatlands Palace|grade=II|fewer-links=yes|accessdate=4 September 2021}}</ref>]]
Following the [[dissolution of the monasteries]], Weybridge was held by the Rede family for three years, before passing to the Crown in 1537.<ref>{{harvnb|White|1999|pp=10–12}}</ref> In June of the same year, [[Henry VIII]] began to construct [[Oatlands Palace]] by expanding an existing late-medieval manor house located to the north of the town centre. Some of the stone used in the construction of the foundations was taken from the demolition of Chertsey Abbey.<ref name=EM_Oatlands>{{cite web |url= https://elmbridgemuseum.org.uk/online-exhibitions/oatlands-from-henry-viiis-palace-to-first-world-war-hospital/ |title= Oatlands Palace |publisher= Elmbridge Museum |date= March 2021 |access-date= 22 August 2021 |archive-date= 22 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210822130044/https://elmbridgemuseum.org.uk/online-exhibitions/oatlands-from-henry-viiis-palace-to-first-world-war-hospital/ |url-status= live }}</ref> Henry had intended that the palace would become the residence of his fourth wife, [[Anne of Cleves]], but the marriage was annulled after six months.<ref name=EM_Oatlands/> The king married his fifth wife, [[Catherine Howard]], at Oatlands, but rarely visited thereafter.<ref>{{harvnb|White|1999|p=13}}</ref> Following Henry's death the palace remained a possession of the Crown until the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]], when the contents were sold and the buildings demolished.<ref>{{harvnb|White|1999|pp=16–18}}</ref> Only a side entrance gate and adjoining sections of walls, which date from {{circa|1545}}, remain.<ref name=Oatlands_gateway/>

[[Tudor period#Local government|Reforms during the Tudor period]] reduced the importance of [[manorial court]]s and the day-to-day administration of towns such as Weybridge became the responsibility of the [[vestry]] of the parish church.<ref name=Kümin_1996_pp250-255>{{harvnb|Kümin|1996|pp=250–255}}</ref> The Weybridge vestry oversaw the distribution of [[poor relief]] and the maintenance of local roads. In the 1840s, responsibility for poor relief was transferred to the Chertsey Board of Guardians of the Poor. Local drainage and highways boards were established in the 1860s and in the 1870s a burial board was created to purchase land for new cemeteries.<ref name=White_1999_pp86-88>{{harvnb|White|1999|pp=86–88}}</ref>

The [[Local Government Act 1888]] transferred many administrative responsibilities to the newly formed [[Surrey County Council]] and was followed by an [[Local Government Act 1894|1894 Act]] that created the Weybridge Urban District Council (UDC). Initially the council met at the [[National school (England and Wales)|National school]], but moved to Aberdeen House at the junction of High Street and Baker Street in 1908. As a result of the [[Local Government Act 1929]], the UDCs of Weybridge and Walton were combined in 1932. In 1951 the [[civil parish]] of Weybridge had a population of 8083.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10070790/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Cobham CP/AP through time|publisher=[[A Vision of Britain through Time]]|accessdate=27 April 2024}}</ref> On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished. The [[Walton and Weybridge Urban District|unified council]] was merged with the [[Esher Urban District|Esher UDC]] to form [[Elmbridge Borough Council]] in 1974.<ref name=White_1999_pp86-88/>

===Transport and communications===
The name "Weybridge" suggests that there has been a bridge over the River Wey in the area since Anglo-Saxon times. During the [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan period]], the bridge was a wooden structure, {{convert|240|ft|m|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|5.25|ft|m|abbr=on}} wide and was maintained by [[Elizabeth I]] in her capacity as lord of the manor.<ref name=White_1999_pp40-43>{{harvnb|White|1999|pp=40–43}}</ref> The structure was rebuilt in 1808 on 13 wooden arches. The present bridge dates from 1865 and is constructed from brick, iron and stone.<ref name=White_1999_pp40-43/><ref>{{cite journal|last= Williams |first= David |date= May 2004 |title= Weybridge |url= https://www.surreyarchaeology.org.uk/sites/default/files/SAS375_0.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Society Bulletin |volume= 375 |page= 16 |access-date= 22 September 2021 |archive-date= 26 November 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201126232608/https://www.surreyarchaeology.org.uk/sites/default/files/SAS375_0.pdf |url-status= live}}</ref> A second bridge, downstream of the first, was completed in 1945 and now carries the A317.<ref name=White_1999_pp40-43/>

[[File:Thames Lock.jpg|thumb|right|Thames Lock, Wey Navigation]]
Both the Thames and the Wey have been used for transport since ancient times. By the 14th century, there was a [[wharf]] at Weybridge used for shipment of timber<ref name=White_1999_pp40-43/> and, in 1463, Thomas Warner was given permission to build a dock on his land, which became known as the "Crown Wharf".<ref>{{harvnb|Thacker|1920|p=426}}</ref> In 1537, materials for the construction of Oatlands Palace were transported to Weybridge by river.<ref name=White_1999_pp40-43/> The [[Wey and Godalming Navigations|River Wey Navigation]] was authorised by [[Act of Parliament (UK)|Act of Parliament]] in 1651. Twelve [[lock (water navigation)|locks]] (including two flood locks) and {{convert|9|mi|km|abbr=on}} of new [[canal|cuts]] were constructed between the Thames and [[Guildford]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hadfield|1969|pp=118–119}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Vine|1996|p=10}}</ref> Thames Lock was rebuilt in concrete in the 1930s, but like all the locks on the Wey, it was originally turf sided.<ref name=Fisher_2013_p244>{{harvnb|Fisher|2013|p=244}}</ref>{{refn| The water level on the Weybridge section of the Thames was lowered in the 19th century, necessitating the addition of a third lockgate at Thames Lock, which holds back sufficient water for boats to clear the bottom cill of the original lock.<ref name=Fisher_2013_p244/><ref>{{cite web|url= http://weyriver.co.uk/theriver/wey_nav_10.htm |title= Wey Navigation: Town Lock to the Thames |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2012 |publisher= The Wey Valley |access-date= 28 August 2021 |archive-date= 11 August 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200811163252/http://weyriver.co.uk/theriver/wey_nav_10.htm |url-status= live}}</ref>|group=note}}

The earliest locks on the upper Thames were built in the 17th century, following the establishment of the [[Oxford-Burcot Commission]].<ref>{{harvnb|Thacker|1914|p=9}}</ref> However, efforts to improve the stretch of the river through Weybridge did not start until the following century. In 1789, a [[flash lock]] was installed at [[Sunbury Lock|Sunbury]], but was replaced by a [[Lock (water navigation)|pound lock]] in 1812.<ref>{{harvnb|Thacker|1920|pp=435–436}}</ref> [[Shepperton Lock]] opened the following year.<ref>{{harvnb|Thacker|1920|p=419}}</ref> The construction of the locks regulated the flow of the river and increased its depth, facilitating navigation and maintaining an adequate head of water to power [[watermill|mills]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Oliver |first1= Stuart |year= 2010 |title= Navigability and the improvement of the river Thames, 1605-1815 |journal= The Geographical Journal |volume= 176 |issue= 2 |pages= 164–177 |doi= 10.1111/j.1475-4959.2010.00354.x |jstor= 40835641 |bibcode= 2010GeogJ.176..164O }}</ref>

The River Thames through Weybridge was further improved when the [[Desborough Cut]] was opened in 1935. The {{convert|100|ft|m|abbr=on|adj=mid|wide}} navigable channel bypasses a {{convert|3|mi|0|spell=in|adj=on}} meander and was primarily designed to increase the flood capacity of the river.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times|title= "Desborough Channel" opened |date= 11 July 1935 |page= 16 |issue= 47113}}</ref> Construction of the cut created the {{convert|45|ha|acre|adj=on|abbr=on}} Desborough Island,<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/things-to-do/walks/explore-surrey-s-islands-of-the-river-thames-7109700 |title= Explore Surrey's islands of the River Thames |last= Vickers |first= Miranda |orig-date= 19 June 2013 |date= 3 February 2021 |work= Great British Life |access-date= 14 September 2021 |archive-date= 16 September 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210916202411/https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/things-to-do/walks/explore-surrey-s-islands-of-the-river-thames-7109700 |url-status= live}}</ref> the entirety of which is in Weybridge.<ref name=WS_Boundaries/>

[[File: Weybridge_Waterloo_-_Basingstoke_train_passing_geograph-2670448-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|thumb|right|[[Weybridge railway station]], 1958{{refn|A [[BR Standard Class 4 4-6-0]] steam locomotive hauls an express service to {{rws|Basingstoke}} through {{rws|Weybridge}}, while an [[electric multiple unit]] waits in the [[bay platform]] to form a service via {{rws|Chertsey}}.|group=note}}]] 
The [[London and Southampton Railway|London and Southampton Railway Company]] opened the [[Weybridge railway station|station at Weybridge]] in May 1838.<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1989|loc=Fig. 32}}</ref>{{refn|The London and Southampton Railway Company had not intended to construct a station at Weybridge, but was required by the authorizing Act of Parliament to build two road bridges over the line near the town. Following a negotiation with the Weybridge Vestry, the company agreed to open a station on a trial basis for 12 months in exchange for being allowed to build only one bridge.<ref>{{harvnb|Douglas Smith|2003|p=ii}}</ref>|group=note}} Initially the station had two platforms and was in a deep [[cut (earthworks)|cutting]] between St George's Hill and Weybridge Heath. The typical journey time to London was around an hour and, by 1841, a [[Travelling Post Office|mail train]] was stopping daily. A junction was created to the west of the station in 1848, when the line to {{rws|Chertsey}} was constructed.<ref name=White_1999_pp40-43/>{{refn|The line was extended from Chertsey to {{rws|Virginia Water}} in 1866.<ref name=White_1999_pp40-43/>|group=note}}{{refn|A triangle of railway lines to the west of Weybridge station was created when Byfleet Junction was constructed in 1885.<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1986|loc=Fig. 108}}</ref>|group=note}} Additional tracks on the main line through the station were added in 1885<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1986|loc=Fig. XXIX}}</ref> and 1902.<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1986|loc=Fig. 103}}</ref> The lines through the station were [[railway electrification in Great Britain|electrified]] in 1907,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Electric Trains to Weybridge |date= 23 December 1936 |page= 2 |issue= 47565 }}</ref> although [[steam locomotives of British Railways|steam locomotives]] continued to haul long-distance [[express train|express services]] through Weybridge until 1967.<ref name=White_1999_pp40-43/> The [[goods station|goods yard]] was closed in 1964 and [[signalling control|signal boxes]] in the local area were shut in March 1970, when control of the lines was transferred to Surbiton Panel Box.<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1986|loc=Fig. 106}}</ref> An arson attack in January 1987, resulted in the destruction of the 1904 station building.<ref>{{harvnb|Douglas Smith|2003|p=53}}</ref>

A manual telephone exchange opened in Weybridge in 1912 and was replaced in 1954 by an automated facility in Heath Road, which had sufficient capacity for 2500 lines.<ref>{{harvnb|Barker|Barker|1993|p=13}}</ref>

===Residential development===
Although Weybridge was still only a small village in the early 18th century, a high proportion of the residents were members of the aristocracy. In 1724, the [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] noted that it was increasingly becoming a place for "gentile retirement" and recorded eighteen upper-class families living in the area.<ref>{{harvnb|Greenwood|1983|p=15}}</ref> The settlement was dominated by two estates: Portmore Park, to the north west of the centre, was the seat of the Colyear family, the [[Earl of Portmore|Earls of Portmore]]; Oatlands Park, to the east, had been built on the former [[deer park (England)|deer park]] belonging to Oatlands Palace and was purchased by [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Prince Frederick, the Duke of York and Albany]], in 1790.

[[File:10-16 Hanger Hill, Weybridge - geograph.org.uk - 903285.jpg|thumb|right|[[Georgian architecture|Georgian-style]] houses at the north end of Hanger Hill, constructed in the late 1990s{{refn|The houses were designed by the architect Robert Adam (b. 1948) and were built on the site of the former Stag and Hounds [[pub|public house]], facing the Cricket Green.<ref name=John_2010_p168-169>{{harvnb|John|2010|pp=168–169}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.robertadamarchitect.com/row-houses-Weybridge |title= A row of houses in Weybridge |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= 9 September 2021 |publisher= Robert Adam Architectural Consultancy Ltd |access-date= 19 September 2021}}</ref>|group=note}}]]
Towards the end of the 18th century, Weybridge was beginning to expand beyond its medieval footprint. In 1800, [[Weybridge Heath]], an area of  [[common land]] to the south east of the village centre, was [[enclosure|enclosed]]. The [[Byfleet and Weybridge Inclosures Act 1800]] ([[39 & 40 Geo. 3]]. c. lxxxvii) enabled the Duke of York to purchase almost the whole of St George's Hill and to add it to the Oatlands Estate. Four years later, Hanger Hill, one of the roads running across the heath, was laid out and plots alongside it were sold for [[housebuilding]].<ref name=Greenwood_1983_pp31-33>{{harvnb|Greenwood|1983|pp=31–33}}</ref>

The Duke of York sold Oatlands Park in 1824, but the new owner, [[Edward Hughes Ball Hughes]], was forced to lease the house and the surrounding {{convert|900|acre|ha|abbr=on}} to [[Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere]], three years later.<ref name=White_1999_pp25-26>{{harvnb|White|1999|pp=25–26}}</ref> The remainder of the Oatlands estate was sold in stages between 1828 and 1846. Housebuilding began almost as soon as the land was released, stimulated in part by the opening of Weybridge railway station in 1838. The majority of the houses in Oatlands village were completed by 1859.<ref name=Greenwood_1983_pp60-61>{{harvnb|Greenwood|1983|pp=60–61}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|W&WLHS|1983|pp=5–6}}</ref> Oatlands Park House was sold to the developer [[Walter George Tarrant|W. G. Tarrant]] in 1909.<ref name=Greenwood_1983_pp60-61/>

[[File:Portmore Park gate piers, Weybridge, Surrey.jpg|thumb|Entrance gateway to the former Portmore Park estate]]
The west side of Weybridge High Street was developed when the Portmore Park estate was broken up in 1880s.<ref>{{harvnb|Greenwood|1983|p=29}}</ref> The estate, approximately covering the area between the High Street and the River Wey, had been established by [[Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk]] in the 1670s. It was purchased by the Locke King family in 1861, who sold the land for residential development in the final decades of the 19th century.<ref>{{harvnb|Greenwood|1983|pp=55–57}}</ref>

St George's Hill was developed by W. G. Tarrant, who bought {{convert|936|acre|ha|abbr=on}} of land from the Edgerton family in 1911. A year later he began the construction of the Tennis and Golf Clubs and published a series of promotions in the ''Surrey Herald'' to advertise the houses that he intended to build.<ref name=White_1999_pp51-52>{{harvnb|White|1999|pp=51–52}}</ref> Strict [[Covenant (law)|covenants]] were imposed on the development and the minimum size of each property was fixed as {{convert|1|acre|ha|abbr=on|spell=in}}. Construction was interrupted by the First World War, but resumed shortly afterwards, continuing until the start of the [[Great Depression in the United Kingdom|Great Depression]] in the late 1920s.<ref>{{harvnb|Swenarton|2001|pp=16–18}}</ref>

The first [[council house|council housing]] in the town was built by the Weybridge UDC between 1923 and 1927, when 160 houses were constructed on the Old Palace Gardens estate. Following the end of the Second World War, the Weybridge and Walton UDC built over 1000 houses in the two towns.<ref>{{harvnb|White|1999|p=92}}</ref>

===Brooklands===
[[File:Brooklands_1907.jpg|thumb|right|Brooklands, 1907]]
{{Main|Brooklands}}
Brooklands, the first purpose-built motor-racing [[race track|circuit]] in the world, opened in 1907.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine= Autocar |volume= 127 |issue= 3731 |last= Sammy |first=Davis |author-link=S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis |title= How Brooklands started |page= 43 |date= 17 August 1967}}</ref> Constructed on farmland to the south of Weybridge, the concrete track was designed by [[Capel Lofft Holden]] and had a total length of {{convert|2.75|mi|km|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/explore/our-history/birth-brooklands |title= Birth of Brooklands |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2020 |publisher= Brooklands Museum |access-date= 31 August 2021 |archive-date= 20 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210820010639/https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/explore/our-history/birth-brooklands |url-status= live}}</ref>{{refn|In the early modern period, Brooklands was a farm. The land was bought by the Duke of York in 1804 and, by 1835, it was in the ownership of [[Peter King, 7th Baron King|Peter King, 7th Baron King of Ockham, Surrey]]. It remained in the hands of the Locke King family and was inherited by [[Hugh F. Locke King]] in 1885.<ref>{{harvnb|Greenwood|1983|pp=9–10}}</ref>|group=note}} The first races for motorcars took place in July 1907 and for [[motorcycle racing|motorcycles]] in February the following year. Both attracted a large number of entrants from across Europe<ref>{{harvnb|Knowles|2005|p=54}}</ref><ref name="Johnson_1981_p9"/><ref>{{harvnb|Venables|2007|p=24}}</ref> and by 1911, the [[British Automobile Racing Club]] had established a programme of regular race meetings.<ref>{{harvnb|Venables|2007|pp=36–37}}</ref>

Motor racing ceased for the duration of the First World War and did not resume until 1920. The first two [[British Grand Prix|British Grands Prix]] took place at the circuit in [[1926 British Grand Prix|1926]] and [[1927 British Grand Prix|1927]].<ref>{{harvnb|Knowles|2005|p=63}}</ref> The [[JCC 200 Mile race]] also took place at the circuit from 1921 to 1928, and again in 1938. In the early 1930s, Malcolm Campbell developed the [[Campbell-Railton Blue Bird]], his final [[land speed record]] car, at Brooklands. Racing ceased for a second time at the outbreak of the Second World War.<ref>{{harvnb|Knowles|2005|p=65}}</ref>

[[File:Vickers factory.jpg|thumb|right|Vickers factory, 1930]]
Brooklands also played a key role in the development of the British aeronautical industry. In 1907, the aviation pioneer, [[Alliott Verdon Roe|A. V. Roe]], performed the first flight by a British-built aeroplane at the circuit shortly after it opened in 1907.<ref name=Johnson_1981_p9>{{harvnb|Johnson|1981|p=9}}</ref>{{refn|Roe’s flight took place four years after the first powered flight by the [[Wright brothers]] and covered a distance of {{convert|79|ft|m|abbr=on}} at a [[Altitude#In aviation|maximum height]] of {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}} above the ground.<ref name=Johnson_1981_p9/>|group=note}} By 1912, several [[flight training|flying schools]] had been established at Brooklands and the [[Vickers Limited|Vickers]] company began manufacturing aircraft in 1915.<ref>{{harvnb|Barton|1985|loc=Chapter: The Cradle of British Aviation}}</ref> The [[Sopwith Camel]] was among several aircraft developed at Brooklands during the First World War.<ref>{{harvnb|Jackson|2007|p=2}}</ref>

Aircraft manufacture continued during the 1920s and 1930s. Among those working at the Vickers factory was [[Barnes Wallis]], who was involved in designing the [[Vickers Wellesley|Wellesley]] and the  [[Vickers Wellington|Wellington]] [[bomber]]s. The [[Hawker Aircraft|Hawker Aircraft company]] opened a factory at Brooklands in 1935 and began building prototypes of the [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricane fighter]].<ref>{{harvnb|Venables|2007|pp=227–231}}</ref> Aircraft manufacture intensified during the Second World War and new factories, warehouses and hangars were rapidly built, encroaching onto the racing circuit. The track was breached near Byfleet to improve access for deliveries to the site and a large workshop was cut into the concrete at the north end.<ref>{{harvnb|Venables|2007|pp=244}}</ref> Following the end of hostilities in 1945, the track was considered to be in such poor condition that a resumption of motor racing was ruled impossible.<ref>{{harvnb|Knowles|2005|pp=88–89}}</ref>

In the late 1940s and 1950s, the manufacturers based at Brooklands started to transition towards the production of civilian [[airliners]]. Vickers began producing the VC series of aircraft with the [[Vickers VC.1 Viking|VC1 Viking]] in 1945.<ref>{{harvnb|Venables|2007|pp=249–250}}</ref>  The [[Vickers VC10|VC10]] was launched in 1964, by which point the company had been nationalised as the [[British Aircraft Corporation]] (BAC).<ref>{{harvnb|Venables|2007|pp=254–255}}</ref> Increasingly BAC began to refocus manufacturing at Brooklands to the production of aircraft parts, with final assembly elsewhere.<ref name=Venables_2007_pp256-257>{{harvnb|Venables|2007|pp=256–257}}</ref>{{refn|Thirteen [[BAC One-Eleven]] aircraft, out of a total 235, were manufactured at Brooklands. The last to be completed was flown on 19 December 1970 and no further aircraft were built at the site.<ref name=Venables_2007_pp256-257/>|group=note}} Components of the British-built [[Concorde]]s were manufactured at the site in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1977, BAC merged with [[Hawker-Siddeley]] to form [[British Aerospace]]<ref name=Venables_2007_pp256-257/> and the combined entity began to run down the Brooklands site. Aerospace manufacturing finally ceased in Weybridge in 1988.<ref name=White_1999_pp61-62>{{harvnb|White|1999|pp=61–62}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Venables|2007|p=262}}</ref>

===Commerce and industry===
Although no mill is mentioned in the Weybridge entries in the Domesday book, watermills appear to have played an important role in the economy of the area since at least the [[early modern period]]. The earliest record of a mill in the town is from 1693, when a paper mill was built at the confluence of the Wey and Thames.<ref name=White_1999_pp55-56>{{harvnb|White|1999|pp=55–56}}</ref>

Ironstone was quarried from Weybridge Heath and St George's Hill, although the dates of these workings are uncertain.<ref name=Gardiner_1911/><ref name=Tomalin_1984/> In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, iron was smelted at a mill on Whittet's Ait and there is reference to iron and steel manufacture taking place at two mills in [[Byfleet]] in 1760. The Whittet's Ait mill appears to have been used as a "Brass Wire Mill" in the 1760s and the machinery required for iron smelting had been fitted by 1769.<ref name=White_1999_pp55-56/>

[[File:Whittets Ait.jpg|thumb|Apartments on the site of the former oil-seed mill at Thames Lock<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/949041 |title= Apartments above Thames Lock |last= Horn |first= Graham |date= 3 September 2008 |publisher= UK Geograph |access-date= 19 September 2021 |archive-date= 23 September 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190923182844/https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/949041 |url-status= live }}</ref>]]
A mill for grinding malt was built on the Wey upstream of Thames Lock in around 1819, but had fallen into disrepair by 1830. In 1842 a new mill for extracting [[vegetable oil]] from seeds was built on the same site<ref name=White_1999_pp55-56/> and the Whittet's Ait mill was also being used for the same purpose by the 1930s. In the 1970s, Whittet's Ait was the site of a solvent refinery.<ref>{{harvnb|Crocker|1999|p=51}}</ref>

For much of the 20th century, Weybridge was a centre for the [[Aerospace manufacturer|aerospace industry]]. The Lang Propeller Works was established on Whittet's Ait in 1913<ref name=White_1999_pp61-62/><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.surreyinthegreatwar.org.uk/story/lang-propeller-ltd-of-weybridge/ |title= Lang Propeller Ltd of Weybridge|last= Page |first= Michael |date= 7 November 2016 |publisher= Surrey in the Great War |access-date= 16 October 2021 }}</ref> and, in 1915, the Vickers company took over the [[Itala (company)|Itala]] motor works at Brooklands. The circuit was also the base for several other aircraft manufacturers including [[Avro]], [[Sopwith Aviation Company|Sopwith]] and [[Blériot Aéronautique|Blériot]].<ref>{{harvnb|Crocker|1999|pp=67–68}}</ref>

As of 2021, the European headquarters of [[Sony]]<ref>{{cite web |url= https://campaign.odw.sony-europe.com/dynamic/legal/companyinfo/companyInformation.jsp?country=gb&language=en |title= Company Information |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2021 |publisher= Sony Europe B.V. |access-date= 6 September 2021 |archive-date= 3 September 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210903201308/https://campaign.odw.sony-europe.com/dynamic/legal/companyinfo/companyInformation.jsp?country=gb&language=en |url-status= live }}</ref> and the UK headquarters of [[Procter & Gamble]] are at Brooklands.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/its-really-inside-procter-gamble/861684 |title= What it's really like inside Procter & Gamble |last= Wilkerson |first= Becky |date= 12 November 2008 |publisher= Campaign |access-date= 6 September 2021 |archive-date= 6 September 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210906195854/https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/its-really-inside-procter-gamble/861684 |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Weybridge in the world wars===
At the start of the First World War, Weybridge became a training base for the 244 Motorised Transport Company, an army unit of mechanics and drivers operating as part of the 19th [[ammunition column|Divisional Supply Column]]. The company served throughout the war in the [[Gallipoli campaign|Gallipoli]] and [[Balkans theatre|Balkans campaigns]].<ref name=White_1999_pp119-122>{{harvnb|White|1999|pp=119–122}}</ref> There were two military hospitals in Oatlands. Barnham Lodge opened as a 35-bed hospital in 1915 and, by 1917, a small operating theatre was in use and the facility was being run by the [[British Red Cross]]. Oatlands Park Hotel was requisitioned in 1916 as a hospital for the [[New Zealand Expeditionary Force]] and was primarily used to treat "medical & tuberculosis cases and limbless men".<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.oatlands-heritage.org/index.php/did-you-know/little-known-facts/the-hospitals |title= The three Oatlands Hospitals |author=<!--Not stated--> |year= 2012 |publisher= Oalands Heritage Group |access-date= 16 September 2021}}</ref>

Ethel Locke King, the chair of the [[Chertsey]] branch of the Red Cross, was instrumental in establishing 15 hospitals in the local area during the First World War.<ref name=Brooklands_ELK>{{cite web |url= https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/explore/museum-from-home/brooklands-women-ethel-locke-king |title= Brooklands Women Ethel Locke King |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2020 |publisher= Brooklands |access-date= 6 September 2021 |archive-date= 6 September 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210906195218/https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/explore/museum-from-home/brooklands-women-ethel-locke-king |url-status= live }}</ref> She also organised a rest station for troops at Weybridge railway station.<ref name=White_1999_pp119-122/> In January 1918, Locke King became a Dame Commander of the British Empire.<ref name=Brooklands_ELK/>

The presence of the Vickers aircraft factory made Weybridge an obvious target for enemy bombing during the Second World War.<ref name=White_1999_pp124-126>{{harvnb|White|1999|pp=124–126}}</ref> The defence of the town was coordinated by the 3rd Surrey Battalion of the Home Guard<ref>{{harvnb|Crook|2000|p=25}}</ref> and five platoons of the C company were stationed at Brooklands.<ref>{{harvnb|Crook|2000|p=60}}</ref> The local civil defence headquarters were established at the UDC offices in Aberdeen House and the council built a large [[air raid shelter]] at the Churchfields Recreation Ground. Serious bombing began in the local area in August 1940 and by December of that year 97 residents had died and 1300 houses had been damaged.<ref name=White_1999_pp124-126/>

A devastating air raid took place on the Vickers plant in September 1940, when 83 people were killed.<ref>{{cite news |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 2 July 2013 |orig-date= 3 September 2004 |title= The day the Luftwaffe bombed Vickers |url= https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/day-luftwaffe-bombed-vickers-4849006 |work= Surrey Live |access-date= 6 September 2021 |archive-date= 6 September 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210906195226/https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/day-luftwaffe-bombed-vickers-4849006 |url-status= live }}</ref> A {{convert|500|lb|kg|abbr=on}} bomb landed on the floor of the factory, but failed to explode. Five men of the [[Canadian Military Engineers|Royal Canadian Engineers]] successfully removed the bomb from the building before it exploded. [[John Patton (GC)|Lieutenant John Patton]] was subsequently awarded the [[George Cross]] for his role in the incident.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/history-from-police-archives/RB1/Pt2/pt2Vickers.html |title= Attack on Vickers Armstrong aircraft factory 1940 |last= Bartlett |first= Robert |year= 2010 |publisher= Open University |access-date= 6 September 2021 |archive-date= 21 February 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200221234443/http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/history-from-police-archives/RB1/Pt2/pt2Vickers.html |url-status= live}}</ref> Later in the war, 19 [[V-1 flying bomb]]s landed in the Weybridge and Walton area.<ref name=White_1999_pp124-126/>