Editing Chessington

{{About|the town|the nearby attraction|Chessington World of Adventures}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name            = Chessington
| static_image_name        = Shops on Gilders Road, Chessington - geograph.org.uk - 5643733.jpg
| static_image_caption     = Gilders Road, Chessington
| coordinates              = {{coord|51.3635|-0.2998|display=inline,title}}
| population               = {{#expr:{{london ward populations|00AXGB|population}}+{{london ward populations|00AXGC|population}}}}
| population_ref           = ({{london ward populations|00AXGB|ward}} and {{london ward populations|00AXGC|ward}} wards {{london ward populations|year}}){{london ward populations|reference}}
| os_grid_reference        = TQ183641
| london_borough           = Kingston upon Thames
| region                   = London
| country                  = England
| post_town                = CHESSINGTON
| postcode_area            = KT
| postcode_district        = KT9
| dial_code                = 020
| constituency_westminster = [[Kingston and Surbiton (UK Parliament constituency)|Kingston and Surbiton]]
}}

'''Chessington''' is an area in the [[Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames]] within [[Greater London]], which was historically part of [[Surrey]]. At the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] it had a population of 18,973. The Bonesgate Stream, a tributary of the [[Hogsmill River]], runs through it. The popular theme park resort [[Chessington World of Adventures]], which incorporates Chessington Zoo, is located in the south-west of the area.

Neighbouring settlements include [[Tolworth]], [[Ewell]], [[Surbiton]], [[Claygate]], [[Epsom]], [[Oxshott]], [[Leatherhead]], [[Esher]], [[Kingston upon Thames]], [[Worcester Park]] and [[Malden Rushett]].

==History==
Its name came from [[Old English|Anglo-Saxon]] ''Cissan dūn''  = "hill belonging to [a man named] Cissa".

Chessington appears in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as ''Cisedune'' and ''Cisendone''. It was held partly by Robert de Wateville and partly by Milo (Miles) Crispin. Its Domesday assets were: 1½ [[hide (unit)|hide]]s; part of a [[Mill (grinding)|mill]] worth 2s, 4 [[plough]]s, [[woodland]] worth 30 [[hog (swine)|hog]]s. It rendered £7.<ref>[http://www.gwp.enta.net/surrnames.htm Surrey Domesday Book] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715015325/http://www.gwp.enta.net/surrnames.htm |date=15 July 2007 }}</ref>

The mansion at [[Chessington World of Adventures]], known today as the Burnt Stub, was originally built in 1348. In the [[English Civil War]] it became a royalist stronghold and was razed to the ground by [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s Parliamentary forces, giving it its modern name. The site became an inn and was then rebuilt on a grander scale from the 18th century by the Vere Barker family in a Neo-Gothic Victorian style. The grounds were turned into a zoo in 1931 by Reginald Goddard. [[Chessington Zoo]] became part of the [[Tussauds Group]] in 1978 and is now operated as a [[theme park]]. Burnt Stub had no public access until 2003 when it became an attraction called [[Hocus Pocus Hall]].<ref>(now known as "room on a broom" attraction)[https://books.google.com/books?id=uiltnIBk-F4C&dq=burnt+stub+chessington&pg=PA92 Leisure/tourism Geographies: Practices and Geographical Knowledge] By David Crouch, 1999, Routledge,{{ISBN|0-415-18109-7}}</ref>

[[ File:Chessingtonmap.jpg|thumb|Map of Chessington in the 1880s]] 
[[Chessington Hall]] has a place in 18th-century literary history, as home of Samuel Crisp, a failed playwright and close friend of [[Fanny Burney]]. Chessington Road Recreation Ground was purchased on 16 October 1930 for £1,000.<ref>[http://www.epsom-ewell.gov.uk/EEBC/Leisure+and+Culture/Parks+and+countryside/Chessington+Road+Open+Space.htm Chessington Road recreation ground]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928035322/http://www.epsom-ewell.gov.uk/EEBC/Leisure%2Band%2BCulture/Parks%2Band%2Bcountryside/Chessington%2BRoad%2BOpen%2BSpace.htm |date=28 September 2007 }}</ref>

At 207 Hook Road is a [[Blue plaque]] commemorating the author [[Enid Blyton]], who lived <!-- and worked as a nanny --> at the address between 1920 and 1924.

The former farmhouse Barwell Court (on Barwell Lane) was used as a recording and residential studio during the 1970s through to the 1990s. 

The former [[RAF]] Chessington Hospital, demolished in the 1990s, first opened as RAF Hook around 1938 as a regional barrage balloon depot and was operated by RAF [[Balloon Command]]. It became a vital part of Britain's defence against the [[Luftwaffe]] in World War II, and originally featured a number of large barrage balloon sheds as well as extensive garages and workshops for the station's support vehicles.

==Notable residents==
* [[Enid Blyton]], author of ''Noddy'', the ''Secret Seven'' and the ''Famous Five'', lived at 207, Hook Road.
* [[Jack Brabham|Sir Jack Brabham]], Australian Formula 1 World Champion owned a house which he sometimes lived in, opposite the garage he owned.  
* [[Jan Brittin]], England cricketer
* [[Helen Chamberlain]], TV presenter
* [[Petula Clark]], singer from the 1960s
* [[George Cohen]], member of the 1966 England World Cup-winning team.
* [[Jimmy Conway (footballer)|Jimmy Conway]], Fulham & Republic of Ireland footballer, lived on Leatherhead Road, until 1976.
* [[Samuel Crisp]], dramatist in the 1700s, lived in [[Chessington Hall]].
* [[Chris Garland]], Chelsea footballer, for a few years in early 1970s.
* [[Bob Geldof]] lived at Barwell Court for two years in the late 1970s along with members of his band [[The Boomtown Rats]] and TV presenter girlfriend [[Paula Yates]]. Previous occupants of the house were the progressive rock bands [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] (who wrote their album ''[[Selling England by the Pound]]'' whilst staying there in 1973), [[Van Der Graaf Generator]] and [[Gong (band)|Gong]]. A subsequent inhabitant and manager of Barwell Court was bass guitarist [[John Giblin]] (also known for his work with [[Simple Minds]], [[John Martyn]], [[Kate Bush]] and others).
* [[Harry Hawker]], well known engineer, test pilot and racing driver, lived in Hook until 1921.
* [[Kelly Reilly]], actress, in US TV series [[Yellowstone (American TV series)|Yellowstone]]
* [[Errol Brown]], singer in [[Hot Chocolate]]
* [[Tim Smith (Cardiacs)|Tim Smith]] and [[Jim Smith (bassist)|Jim Smith]] (respectively singer/guitarist/composer and bass guitarist/backing singer in [[Cardiacs]]) grew up in Chessington.
* [[Paul Darrow]], actor, [[Kerr Avon]] from [[Blake's 7|Blakes 7]]. Born in Chessington

==Economy==
[[Sega]] Amusements Europe has its head office in Chessington.<ref>"[http://www.sega-amusements.co.uk/ Contacts]." Sega Amusements Europe. Retrieved 31 January 2011. "address Sega Amusements Europe Ltd 42 Barwell Business Park Leatherhead Road Chessington Surrey KT9 2NY UK."</ref>

The Chessington Industrial Estate<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://completelyindustrial.co.uk/scheme/Chessington-Industrial-Estate-Chessington|title=Chessington Industrial Estate, Chessington - Completely Industrial|website=completelyindustrial.co.uk|access-date=2019-02-07}}</ref> is located on Lion Park Avenue.

==Attractions==
Chessington houses one of Europe's leading theme park resorts [[Chessington World of Adventures]]. This includes a [[Chessington Zoo|zoo]], a [[Chessington World of Adventures#Theme park|theme park]], an [[Chessington Zoo#Chessington Sea Life Centre|aquarium]] and two four star hotels – the Safari Hotel and Azteca Hotel. In the grounds of the resort lies the historic [[Burnt Stub Mansion]].

Chessington Garden Centre<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessingtongardencentre.co.uk/centreinformation|title=Centre Information – Chessington Garden Centre}}</ref> is located in the south of the area near Malden Rushett.

Chessington offers a range of countryside activities with many open spaces including the "Chessington Countryside Walk" in the [[London Green Belt]]. Chessington Wood, in the south of the area, contains the source of the Bonesgate Stream, a tributary of the [[Hogsmill River]], in turn a tributary of the [[River Thames]].

==Locality==
[[File:St Mary's Church Chessington - geograph.org.uk - 1735432.jpg|thumb|255px|St Mary's Church, Chessington]]
[[File:Chessington Hook Lane.jpg|thumb|Hook Road, Chessington]]
The areas of Chessington have these names:
* Chessington North, also referred to as North Parade, immediately adjacent to [[Chessington North railway station]]. 
*[[Hook, London|Hook]], generally referred to as the central point in Chessington, although historically considered a separate entity. 
* Copt Gilders, named after the farm which was once in this area.
* Chessington South, previously called Fleetwood, incorporating the majority of buildings south of [[Chessington School]] and [[Chessington South railway station]].
* Southborough is close to the A3 and nearby [[Surbiton]] and [[Tolworth]].
* [[Ace of Spades (junction)|The Ace of Spades]], the area surrounding the roundabout linking Hook Road with the A3/Kingston Bypass.

[[Chessington World of Adventures]] (branded, is often referred to simply as "Chessington"), a [[zoo]] and [[amusement park|theme park]] with a broader appeal. Within the park there is the Burnt Stub Mansion from the [[English Civil War]]. Also one of the main employers in the area.

Churches include: St Paul's C of E, Hook Road, in the Diocese of Southwark; [[St Mary the Virgin's church, Chessington|St Mary's C of E]], Church Lane, in the Diocese of Guildford; Chessington Methodist Church, Moor Lane, in the Kingston circuit;  St. Catherine of Siena RC, Leatherhead Road, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark; and Chessington Evangelical Church, the King's Centre,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thekingscentre.org.uk/|title=Home – The King's Centre|work=thekingscentre.org.uk}}</ref> Coppard Gardens.

The town is served by the ''[[Surrey Comet]]'' newspaper, and up to 2016 had the former free paper ''[[Kingston Guardian]]''.

===Sport===
Within the town there are various sporting organisations including: Non League football clubs [[Chessington & Hook United F.C.]] and [[Epsom Athletic F.C.]], who both play [[association football|football]] in the [[Combined Counties League]]; and Kingston [[rugby union|RFC]] based on the Hook Road. Kingston RFC<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kingstonrfc.com |title=Kingston Rugby Club |work=kingstonrfc.com}}</ref> play in Surrey division 2 union league. Chessington also is home to Chessington [[Cricket]] Club, founded in 1919, play on the Sir Francis Barker recreation ground on Leatherhead Road, the 1st XI currently play in Division 1 of The [[Surrey Championship]].

On site with Chessington School is Chessington Sports Centre. The sports centre is home to many local sports clubs such as The [[Kingston Wildcats]] (2nd and youth teams), Genesis Gymnastics Club, Chessington Badminton Club and many others. The Sports Centre has a multi use sports hall, a fully equipped fitness suite and Kingston's only Climbing Wall, Chessington Rocks.

The former [[Formula One]] racing team [[Brabham]] had their factory in Chessington. The site is now occupied by the [[Carlin DPR]] [[GP2 Series|GP2]] team.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carlin.co.uk/about.php|title=Carlin – Tomorrow's F1 stars today|work=Carlin|access-date=20 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070822064801/http://www.carlin.co.uk/about.php|archive-date=22 August 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Local geography ==

{{Geographic Location
|title = '''Destinations from Chessington'''
|Northwest = [[Hinchley Wood]]
|North     = [[Surbiton]], [[Kingston Upon Thames]]
|Northeast = [[Tolworth]]
|West      = [[Claygate]], [[Esher]]
|Centre    = Chessington
|East      = [[Ewell]], [[Epsom]]
|Southwest = [[Oxshott]]
|South     = [[Malden Rushett]], [[Leatherhead]]
|Southeast = [[Ashtead]], [[Ashtead Common]]
}}

==Education==
{{main|Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames#Education}}
The main secondary school in Chessington is a mixed public school called [[Chessington School]], but nearby secondary schools on the northern border of Chessington are the boys' school [[Southborough High School]] in [[Surbiton]] and [[Tolworth Girls' School and Centre for Continuing Education]] in Tolworth.

There are also many primary schools, e.g., Lovelace Primary, Ellingham Primary School.

==Transport==
There are trains, busses and taxis.

===Rail===
[[ File:Chessington North station - geograph.org.uk - 42265.jpg|thumb|[[Chessington North railway station]]]] 
Chessington has two [[railway stations]]: [[Chessington North railway station|Chessington North]] and [[Chessington South railway station|Chessington South]]. They are half a mile apart with [[South Western Railway (train operating company)|South Western Railway]] services every half-hour to [[London Waterloo railway station|London Waterloo]]. Chessington South is the end of the line. 

The line past Chessington South has fallen into heavy disrepair and leads over a concrete bridge into a patch of full-grown trees. The crossover, signal, and rail electricity at this point are still active, even though a passenger train has never passed over this section.

===Roads===
Chessington is about four miles (6&nbsp;km) from junction 9 of the [[M25 motorway]]. The town is situated on the A243 Leatherhead Road, close to the [[A3 road|A3]] London-to-[[Portsmouth]] trunk route to the north. The un-numbered Bridge Road runs through the area from the A243 toward the adjacent district of West Ewell, in the neighbouring borough of [[Epsom and Ewell]] (the boundary being marked crossing the course of the Bonesgate Stream).

===Buses===
The Chessington area is served by a number of daily bus services, such as routes [[London Buses route 71|71]], [[London Buses route 465|465]], [[London Buses route 467|467]], night route [[London Buses route 65|65]] and local routes [[London Buses route K2|K2]] and [[London Buses route K4|K4]]. It is also served by the school service 671.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|London}}
{{Commons category-inline}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070609122424/http://www.kingston.gov.uk/information/nhoodhome/so.htm Local Neighbourhood Information for Chessington & Hook]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20200727205329/http://www.chessingtonttc.co.uk/ Chessington Table Tennis Club]}}
* [http://www.stpaulschurchhook.org.uk St. Paul's C of E Church, Hook Road, Chessington, KT9 1EF]
* [http://www.chessingtonmethodist.org.uk Chessington Methodist Church, Moor Lane, Chessington,  KT9 2DJ]
* [http://www.stcatherineofsiena.org.uk St. Catherine of Siena RC Church, 100 Leatherhead Road, Chessington, KT9 2HY]
* [http://www.thekingscentre.org.uk Chessington Evangelical Church, the King's Centre, Coppard Gardens, Chessington]
* [http://www.stmaryschessington.org St. Mary's C of E Church, Garrison Lane, Chessington, KT9 2LB]

{{LB Kingston upon Thames}}
{{London Districts}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Districts of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames]]