80-573: Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey , England. Its council is based in Dorking , and the district's other town is Leatherhead . The largest villages are Ashtead , Fetcham and Great Bookham , in the northern third of the district. Most of the district is on the escarpments of or adjoins the Surrey Hills , a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , which cover parts of
160-565: A multistorey car park , was constructed in its place. At the same time a one-way system was created and the High Street was pedestrianised. By September 1981, the scheme was already attracting criticism from local traders and residents, who blamed the traffic alterations for a steep decline in footfall . In January 1983, the County Planning Officer admitted that the "complexity of present routes undoubtedly detracts from
240-481: A shout , a type of boat up to 16 metres (52 ft) in length, used to transport produce to market. Several schemes were proposed to make the Mole navigable in the 17th and 18th centuries, but none were enacted. The turnpike road between Epsom and Horsham , which ran through Leatherhead, was authorised by Parliament in 1755. Turnpikes to Guildford and Kingston were opened in 1758 and 1811 respectively and one of
320-434: A borough or district council. In these cases local government functions are divided between county and district councils, to the level where they can be practised most efficiently: Many districts have borough status , which means the local council is called a borough council instead of district council and gives them the right to appoint a mayor . Borough status is granted by royal charter and, in many cases, continues
400-425: A district will consist of a market town and its more rural hinterland. However districts are diverse with some being mostly urban such as Dartford, and others more polycentric such as Thurrock. Non-metropolitan districts are subdivisions of English non-metropolitan counties which have a two-tier structure of local government. Two-tier non-metropolitan counties have a county council and several districts, each with
480-589: A four-year term of office. Surrey County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no district council elections. Most of the district lies within the Mole Valley constituency , the exception being Ashtead which is within the Epsom and Ewell constituency . The council is based at Pippbrook on Reigate Road in Dorking, which was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1984. It
560-477: A mesne lord to the tenant-in-chief, Bishop Odo of Bayeux . Finally there are sporadic mentions in surviving documents of a manor called "Minchin", which may have belonged to Kilburn Priory in Middlesex . For the majority of its history, Thorncroft Manor appears to have remained as a single, intact entity, with the exception of the subinfeudation of Bocketts Farm , which took place before 1300. In 1086,
640-560: A new drama festival. Leatherhead began to expand at the start of the 20th century and the population grew from in 4,694 in 1901 to 5,491 in 1911. New housing developments were built between 1900 and 1905 in Fairfield, Highlands and Kingston Roads, and Queen Anne's Garden. Later in the decade, houses were constructed in Copthorne, Clinton, Reigate and Woodville Roads, Kingston Avenue and St Nicholas Hill. The first council housing in
720-452: A point where a continuation of Elm Road would meet the river. The first indication of a bridge at Leatherhead is a local deed dated to 1250, which was witnessed by a "Simon of the Bridge". Later that century, in around 1286, a Peter Dryaw of Fetcham is recorded as mortgaging the annual rent of a house "at the bridge in the town of Ledderede" to Merton College, Oxford . It is possible that
800-402: A serious fire had destroyed much of Leatherhead, Wimbledon defaulted on the rent and was accused of dismantling several of the manor buildings. From the start of the 15th century, the land was divided between twelve lessees and the manor then disappears from the historical record. Surviving records of Pachenesham Parva from around 1330 suggest that it covered an area of 46 ha (114 acres) on
880-457: A style enjoyed by a predecessor authority, which can date back centuries. Some districts such as Oxford or Exeter have city status , granted by letters patent , but this does not give the local council any extra powers other than the right to call itself a city council . By 1899, England had been divided at district level into rural districts , urban districts , municipal boroughs , county boroughs and metropolitan boroughs . This system
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#1732790671693960-669: A terminus, but its line was extended westwards to Bookham in 1885. The two railway companies were amalgamated in 1923, when the Southern Railway was formed. All railway lines through Leatherhead were electrified in 1925 and the LSWR station was closed in 1927. In the late 1930s, a southward extension of the Chessington branch line was proposed, but the creation of the Metropolitan Green Belt prevented
1040-403: A third tier of local government for their areas. The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2019. The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: The leaders of
1120-491: A type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially shire counties ) in a two-tier arrangement. Non-metropolitan districts with borough status are known as boroughs , able to appoint a mayor and refer to itself as a borough council. Some shire counties now have no sub divisions so are a single Non-metropolitan district such as Cornwall. Typically
1200-494: A unitary authority or those that transferred from one county to another, including those that changed name. Nor does it include unitary authorities that have been abolished ( Bournemouth and Poole ). Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley district of Surrey , England, about 17 mi (27 km) south of Central London . The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole , from which its name
1280-690: A weekly market being held until the mid- Elizabethan era . The construction of turnpike roads in the mid-18th century and the arrival of the railways in the second half of the 19th century attracted newcomers and began to stimulate the local economy. Large-scale manufacturing industries arrived following the end of the First World War and companies with factories in the town included Ronson and Goblin Vacuum Cleaners . Several organisations working with disabled people also opened treatment and training facilities, including The Royal School for
1360-473: Is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leatherhead was a royal vill and is first mentioned in the will of Alfred the Great in 880 AD. The first bridge across the Mole may have been constructed in around 1200 and this may have coincided with the expansion of the town and the enlargement of the parish church. For much of its history, Leatherhead was primarily an agricultural settlement, with
1440-626: The 1841 census , 18.5% of the town's inhabitants were employed in agriculture-related trades, but forty years later , the proportion had fallen to 5.4%. Larger-scale industries arrived in Leatherhead in the first half of the 20th century. In 1928, the Rayon manufacturing company opened a factory in Ermyn Way, close to the border with Ashtead parish and was replaced ten years later by the manufacturing plant for Goblin Vacuum Cleaners . Also in
1520-573: The 1st Canadian Division was posted to Dorking and Leatherhead, and was responsible for completing the construction of Young Street between Givons Grove and Fetcham. The local unit of the Home Guard , Company F of the 6th Battalion of South Eastern Command, was formed with 200 recruits in May 1940. The training centres for the company included the Drill Hall on Kingston Road and an anti-tank obstacle
1600-604: The District Councils' Network , special interest group which sits within the Local Government Association . The network's purpose is to "act as an informed and representative advocate for districts to government and other national bodies, based on their unique position to deliver for local people." This is a list of two-tier non-metropolitan counties and their districts. All unitary authorities are also non-metropolitan districts, which, with
1680-475: The Iron Age . Flints , a probable well and two pits were discovered in 2012 during building work on Garlands Road and the finds suggest that the site was also used in the early Roman period . Traces of Iron Age field systems and settlement activity have been observed at Hawks Hill, Fetcham (about 1 km (0.62 mi) southwest of the town centre) and on Mickleham Downs (about 3 km (2 mi) to
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#17327906716931760-465: The M25 was opened between Wisley and Reigate. The right to hold a weekly market and an annual fair was granted to Leatherhead in 1248 by Henry III . The market place is thought to have been at the junction of Bridge Street, North Street and High Street and the town stocks were probably in the same area. The market appears to have ended in the mid- Elizabethan era , however the annual fair continued and in
1840-479: The M25 motorway are the main thoroughfares and relative to London the incidence of car ownership is high. The area hosts hill-focussed sub-laps of the London–Surrey Classic cycling tour each year. The neighbouring districts are Epsom and Ewell , Reigate and Banstead , Crawley , Horsham , Waverley , Guildford , Elmbridge and Kingston upon Thames , the latter being a London borough . The district
1920-653: The North Downs and Greensand Ridge , including locally Leith Hill , Polesden Lacey and Box Hill . Denbies Wine Estate , the largest vineyard in the country, is on the hills north-west of Dorking. The Pilgrims' Way footpath runs along the North Downs. There are stations on the London – Worthing and Reading – Gatwick Airport railways, and in the northern third, a commuter stopping-service pattern line, London – Guildford (via Epsom) line. The A24 road and
2000-560: The Wimbledon -Woking main via a 132 kV substation at Leatherhead. Leatherhead Police Station was on Kingston Road, to the north of the town centre. It closed in 2011. The building was demolished and retirement apartments were built on the site. In 2021, the local police force is Surrey Police and the nearest police station to the town is at Reigate . The headquarters of the Police Federation of England and Wales
2080-457: The tollhouses was sited near to the present Leatherhead Institute. Stagecoaches , which had begun to run through Leatherhead to London in the 1680s, increased in frequency after the building of the turnpikes. By 1838 there were daily coaches to Arundel , Bognor and Worthing , which typically stopped at the Swan Inn in the High Street. With the arrival of the railway at Epsom in 1847,
2160-666: The 1930s, a silk-making farm and electrical cable factory were established in the town. Following the end of the Second World War, Ronson , the US-based manufacturer of cigarette lighters , opened a manufacturing plant at Dorincourt, to the north of the town. The factory moved to Randalls Road in 1953, but it closed in 1981 when the company went into liquidation. A business park opened in its place. The Ex-services Welfare Society purchased Long House on Ermin Way following
2240-760: The 20th Battalion of the University and Public Schools Brigade of the Royal Fusiliers were billeted with local residents. The recruits were primarily drawn from the Manchester area and underwent training at Randalls Farm. The Kensington Rifles of the London Regiment were also garrisoned in the town in the month before their deployment to the Western Front in April 1915. Later that year,
2320-557: The Blind , Queen Elizabeth's Foundation and the Ex-services Welfare Society . Towards the end of the 20th century, manufacturing in Leatherhead had begun to decline and the town was instead starting to attract service sector employers . The former industrial areas were converted to business parks , which attracted multinational companies, including Esso and Unilever . A controversial redevelopment took place in
2400-671: The Dorking and Leatherhead Battalion of the Volunteer Training Corps , which was formed with the intention to defend the local area in the event of invasion. In October 1914, a Red Cross Hospital opened on Bull Hill. By March 1915 it had 33 beds and was fully occupied. It closed in February 1919. Elsewhere in the town, the Forty Foot recreation ground was used to grow wheat and Venthams, a local firm of coachbuilders , began to manufacture munitions . Leatherhead
2480-516: The UDCs of Leatherhead and Dorking with the majority of the Dorking and Horley Rural District. Leatherhead developed at a crossing point of the River Mole at the intersection between the north–south Kingston –Dorking and east–west Epsom–Guildford roads. The original position of the ford is unclear, but it may have been around 90 m (100 yd) upstream of the present Leatherhead Bridge at
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2560-575: The UK headquarters of Esso . The UK head offices of Unilever (on the site of the former CERL) and Hyundai were opened in Leatherhead in 2008 and 2020 respectively. A controversial redevelopment of the road network in the town centre took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The project began with the demolition of the Prince of Wales pub in 1979 and the Swan Centre, a covered shopping centre with
2640-417: The appeal of the town to car-borne shoppers." In 2002, BBC News named Leatherhead as having one of the worst High Streets in the country. Five years later, in 2007, the local press reported that the town was "bustling with people, and packed full with an abundance of shops, entertainment facilities and job opportunities." The revival in fortunes was attributed to a variety of community initiatives, including
2720-454: The areas for Wales and England had been enacted separately and there were no Welsh metropolitan areas, the term 'non-metropolitan district' does not apply to Wales. A similar system existed in Scotland , which in 1975 was divided into regions and districts, this was also abolished in 1996 and replaced with a fully unitary system . In England most of the district councils are represented by
2800-425: The border with Ashtead. The clubhouse of the golf club suffered a direct hit, but the civilians taking cover in the shelter beneath it were fully protected and survived without injury. In October of the same year, the oil storage tanks next to the waterworks were set alight by an incendiary bomb . The resulting fires could not be extinguished until more than 24 hours later. In March 1941, St Andrew's Catholic School
2880-628: The college in Oxford that he had founded in 1264. Merton College remained the lords of the manor until 1904 and the continuity of ownership ensured that an almost complete set of manorial rolls from 1278 onwards has been preserved. In 1497, Richard FitzJames , the Warden of the College , authorised the expenditure of £37 for a new manor house , which was used until the Georgian era . In contrast,
2960-477: The construction of the first bridge coincided with an expansion of the town and the enlargement of the parish church, which took place around 1200. It is not clear to what extent the Mole was used for navigation in the past, but in the early Middle Ages, it is likely that shallow-bottomed craft were able to reach Leatherhead from the Thames for much of the year. In the late 13th century, Thorncroft Manor purchased
3040-422: The council since 2012 have been: Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2026. Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 13 wards , with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for
3120-566: The east bank of the River Mole, to the north west of the town centre. The manor appears to have remained intact through the Middle Ages and land was added to the estate as the remainder of Pachesham was broken up. By the early 17th century, the area was known as Randalls Farm and, in 1805, the associated land totalled 182 ha (450 acres). Reforms during the Tudor period replaced the day-to-day administration of towns such as Leatherhead in
3200-495: The end of the First World War. The charity constructed a factory in the grounds to provide employment for disabled veterans, producing electrical items, such as electric blankets . In 1933, the organisation opened a treatment centre at Tyrwhitt House in Oaklawn Road, named after Reginald Tyrwhitt , its president at the time. In 1981, the factory was purchased by Remploy . It continued to manufacture electrical goods, but under
3280-487: The exception of those of Berkshire , are coterminous with non-metropolitan counties. For a full list of districts of all types including unitary authorities, metropolitan districts and London boroughs , see Districts of England . This is a list of former two-tier districts in England which have been abolished, by local government reorganisations such as the 2009 structural changes to local government in England . It does not include districts that still exist after becoming
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3360-476: The first of 63 Belgian refugees arrived in Leatherhead, remaining in the town until the end of the war. Concerns that the town's water supply might be poisoned by enemy spies, prompted the authorities to arrange a guard on the waterworks on Guildford Road. Many of the duties were undertaken by the local Scout troop and members of the Boys' Brigade , which was affiliated with St Mary's Church. Many local men joined
3440-432: The hands of the vestry of the parish church. The vestry was charged with appointing a parish constable , maintaining a lock-up and organising a basic fire service. Until 1834, it also administered poor relief and was responsible for building a workhouse on Kingston Road in 1808. During the 19th century, local government reforms gradually removed the duties of running of the town's infrastructure and services from
3520-740: The late 17th century was held on 8 September, the feast of the Nativity of Mary . The construction of the turnpikes, and later the railways, attracted wealthier residents to Leatherhead. Many of these incomers had accumulated their wealth as entrepreneurs in London and had no previous connection to the area. By the start of the Victorian era , they were beginning to influence the local economy. Small, family-based manufacturing firms began to grow, engaged in industries such as brick-making , milling of logs , tanning , shoemaking , malting and brewing . In
3600-469: The lexical field of lēd (grey) can also extend to brown, but this is not widely accepted. Leatherhead is a town in central Surrey , around 17 mi (27 km) south of the centre of London. It lies on the southern edge of the London Basin and the highest point in the parish, at Leatherhead Downs, is 135 m (443 ft) above ordnance datum . The High Street runs roughly west to east and
3680-469: The line through Worcester Park enabled these services to be extended to London Waterloo from April of the same year and, in August 1859, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) began to run trains from Leatherhead to London Bridge . The Mole Gap through the North Downs had been identified as a potential railway corridor as early as the 1830s, but the line south from Leatherhead to Dorking
3760-561: The long-distance coaches were discontinued and horse-drawn omnibuses took over local journeys. The first railway to arrive in Leatherhead was built by the Epsom and Leatherhead Railway Company. The line, which terminated at a station in Kingston Road, opened on 1 February 1859. Initially all trains were operated by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and, for the first two months, only ran as far as Epsom . The completion of
3840-793: The majority of the former Dorking Urban District. The rest of the district is covered by civil parishes : A Legatum Prosperity Index published by the Legatum Institute in October 2016 showed Mole Valley as the second most prosperous council area in the United Kingdom, after the nearby Borough of Waverley . Mole Valley is served by these emergency services: 51°18′57.68″N 0°29′37.31″W / 51.3160222°N 0.4936972°W / 51.3160222; -0.4936972 Non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts , or colloquially " shire districts ", are
3920-425: The manor house in around 1293, which he enclosed with a moat . Excavations of the manor house site (now known as The Mounts) in the mid-20th century provided evidence of several medieval buildings, including a hall, a chapel and a probable stable block. The value of the manor appears to have declined in the mid-14th century and, in 1386, it was let to William Wimbledon for an annual sum of £20. In 1393, one year after
4000-464: The manor of Pachesham became fragmented as the Middle Ages progressed. By the time of the Domesday Book, it was already divided into two parts, the smaller of which was later referred to as "Pachenesham Parva". No written record of either part of the manor survives from the subsequent 200 years, but in 1286 land belongong to Pachesham was recorded as passing to Eustace de Hacche. De Haache rebuilt
4080-565: The manor was held by Richard fitz Gilbert and it passed through his family (the Clares ) to his granddaughter, Margaret de Clare, who married into the de Montfitchet family of Essex. Her great-grandson, Richard de Montfichet , sold the manor to John de Cheresbure in around 1190 and it was next purchased by Philip Basset and his second wife, Ela, Countess of Warwick in around 1255. In 1266, they granted Thorncroft (which provided an income of £20 per year) to Walter de Merton , who used it to endow
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#17327906716934160-513: The name 'Leatherhead' are uncertain. Early spellings include Leodridan (880), Leret (1086), Lereda (1156), Ledreda (1160) and Leddrede (1195). The name is usually thought to derive from the Old English lēode (people) + rida (a riding path or ford that can be ridden), and thus meaning 'a public ford'. Richard Coates has suggested a derivation from the primitive Welsh lēd-rïd (Brittonic *letorito-) meaning 'grey ford', where
4240-413: The new ownership, its operations expanded to include the assembly and packaging of mechanical equipment. The Remploy factory closed in 2007, with the loss of 43 jobs. The Ex-services Welfare Society, now known as Combat Stress , continues to operate its treatment centre at Tyrwhitt House in north Leatherhead. Large-scale manufacturing in Leatherhead was short lived and, as the 20th century progressed,
4320-494: 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). The town gasworks , close to the junction of Kingston Road and Barnett Wood Lane, were built in 1850 by the Leatherhead Gas Company. The first gas was produced in February 1851 and
4400-552: The scheme from being enacted. The construction of the A24 bypass (between Givons Grove and Leatherhead Common) started in 1931 and the final section opened in May 1934. Young Street (the A246 between Bocketts Farm and Givons Grove) was built by the Corps of Royal Canadian Military Engineers between June 1940 and May 1941. In October 1985, the town was joined to the UK motorway system when
4480-621: The settlement is in the will of Alfred the Great in 880, in which land at Leodridan was bequeathed to his son, Edward the Elder . By the 10th century, there was a minster church in Leatherhead, and the town was administered as part of the Copthorne Hundred . The medieval history of Leatherhead is complex, since the parish was divided into a number of manors. The town appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Leret and
4560-422: The site of the former Goblin factory in Ermyn Way (now the location of the offices of Esso ). Excavations uncovered the remains of at least 40 individuals and the artefacts found, including knives, buckles and necklaces, suggest that they were pagan burials. From the mid-9th century, Leatherhead was the centre of a royal vill , which encompassed Ashtead , Fetcham and Bookham . The first known reference to
4640-463: The south). Also to the south, the Druid's Grove at Norbury Park may have been used for pre-Christian pagan gatherings. An Anglo-Saxon settlement at Leatherhead was most likely founded on the east side of the River Mole in the second half of the 6th century. A burial ground, dating to the same period, has been identified on the west side at Hawks Hill. A second cemetery was discovered in 1984 on
4720-470: The town centre in the early 1980s, which included the construction of the Swan Centre. The work, which also included the pedestrianisation of the main shopping area, was widely blamed for a decline in the local retail economy. In 2002, the BBC identified Leatherhead as having one of the worst High Streets in England, but in 2007, the local press described the town centre as "bustling". The origins and meaning of
4800-428: The town centre. The Givons Grove estate, to the south of the town, was developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Originally a constituent of Thorncroft Manor, it was an area of arable land, known as "Gibbons Farm", named after a prominent local family. In 1919, the estate was bought by the aircraft manufacturer, Humphrey Verdon Roe , whose wife, Marie Stopes , would live at Norbury Park for 20 years from 1938. It
4880-598: The town on Mole Valley District Council (the headquarters of which are in Dorking): Leatherhead is represented by a swan on the crest of the Mole Valley District Council coat of arms . Since 2004, Leatherhead has been twinned with Triel-sur-Seine ( Île-de-France , France). Region-wide, 28% of dwellings were detached houses and 22.6% were apartments. The proportion of households who owned their home outright compares to
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#17327906716934960-505: The town started to attract service sector industries . Among the research institutes formerly based in the town, Leatherhead Food Research was founded in 1919 and the Central Electricity Research Laboratories (CERL) opened in 1950. Both organisations left the town in the early 2000s. The Ronson and Goblin factories closed in the early 1980s and their sites were redeveloped, in the latter case for
5040-521: The town, a development of 59 houses in Poplar Road, was built by Leatherhead UDC in 1921. Preference for rehousing was given to ex-servicemen and their families. In 1925, 90 council houses were constructed in Kingston Road. Private residential developments also occurred around the same time, including the construction of the St Mary's Road estate, on the site of the former Elm Bank mansion, south of
5120-550: The two formations results in a high water table and springs are found at regular intervals along the boundary between them. Several settlements were established along this spring line in Anglo-Saxon and early medieval times, including the villages of Ashtead , Fetcham and Effingham , which are linked to Leatherhead by the Guildford to Epsom road. The earliest evidence of human activity in Leatherhead comes from
5200-526: The two-tier structure, but reforms in the 1990s and 2009 reduced their number to 192. A further 55 non-metropolitan districts are now unitary authorities, which combine the functions of county and borough/district councils. In Wales , an almost identical two-tier system of local government existed between 1974 and 1996 (see Districts of Wales ). In 1996, this was abolished and replaced with an entirely unitary system of local government, with one level of local government responsible for all local services. Since
5280-564: The vestry. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 placed the workhouse in the care of a board of guardians at Epsom and the Local Government Act 1888 transferred many administrative responsibilities to the newly formed Surrey County Council . The Leatherhead Urban District Council (UDC) was formed six years later and in 1903 the county council was placed in charge of the town's National schools . The Local Government Act 1972 created Mole Valley District Council , by combining
5360-620: Was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and the Local Government Act 1972 . Non-metropolitan districts were created by this act in 1974 when England outside Greater London was divided into metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties. Metropolitan counties were sub-divided into metropolitan districts and the non-metropolitan counties were sub-divided into non-metropolitan districts. The metropolitan districts had more powers than their non-metropolitan counterparts. Initially, there were 296 non-metropolitan districts in
5440-574: Was again a garrison town in the Second World War. Troops from the Royal Corps of Signals were billeted in late 1939 and a year later, the first Canadian soldiers began to arrive in the local area. From September 1939, children from Streatham and Dulwich were evacuated to Leatherhead and the Royal School for the Blind was taken over by King's College Hospital . The cottage hospital on Poplar Road opened in May 1940 and by June of that year
5520-424: Was almost completely destroyed by a bomb. During the second period of bombing, in the summer of 1944, 16 V-1 flying bombs landed in the Leatherhead area, including one at Thorncroft Manor. Leatherhead is in the Epsom and Ewell parliamentary constituency . Councillors are elected to Surrey County Council every four years. The town is part of the 'Leatherhead and Fetcham East' ward. Five councillors represent
5600-401: Was built in the grounds of a large Victorian house, called Pippbrook House, which had served as the headquarters of the old Dorking Urban District Council from 1931 and then as Mole Valley District Council's headquarters until the new building opened. The former Leatherhead Urban District, which included Ashtead , Fetcham , Great Bookham and Little Bookham , is an unparished area , as is
5680-461: Was created in 1884, when a stream-driven pumping station was constructed in Waterways Road. The works, designed by John William Grover , were capable of lifting 90,000 litres (20,000 imp gal) per hour to a reservoir on Reigate Road. A second diesel-powered station was constructed alongside the first in 1935 and was later converted to electric power . The steam-powered works were demolished in 1992. An electricity generating station
5760-422: Was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering three former districts which were all abolished at the same time: The new district was named after the River Mole , which flows through the area. Mole Valley District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council . Parts of the district are covered by civil parishes , which form
5840-404: Was held by Osbern de Ow as a mesne lord to William I . Its Domesday assets were one church, belonging to Ewell , and 40 acres (160,000 m ) of land. It was valued at an annual income of £1. To the south was the manor of Thorncroft, which was held by Richard son of Gilbert as tenant-in-chief . To the north was the manor of Pachesham, subdivided into two parts, each of which was held by
5920-502: Was installed at the east end of the High Street, close to the Leatherhead Institute. The Home Guard company was disbanded four years later, once the threat of invasion had passed. Leatherhead experienced two main periods of bombing during the war. The first wave of attacks took place from late 1940 until early 1941. During the first raid, early in the morning on 27 August 1940, 20 high-explosive bombs were dropped along
6000-449: Was not opened until 1867. The Kingston Road station, which had been laid out as a terminus, was closed and two new adjacent stations (either side of the present Station Approach) were opened. The LBSCR station, which was closer to the town centre, was initially the only one connected to the line to Dorking. It was designed by C. H. Driver in a fine Gothic Revival style and is the station that survives today. The LSWR built its station as
6080-596: Was opened in Bridge Street in 1902. Initially it was capable of generating 75 kW of power, but by the time of its closure in 1941, its installed capacity was 2.2 MW. Under the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926 , Leatherhead was connected to the National Grid , initially to a 33 kV supply ring , which linked the town to Croydon , Epsom, Dorking and Reigate. In 1939, the ring was connected to
6160-540: Was part of the Guildford to Epsom road, which crossed the River Mole at the Town Bridge. The Mole, which passes to the west of the centre, has cut a steep-sided valley through the North Downs , south of the town. Leatherhead is at the southern edge of the London Basin , where the permeable upper chalk of the North Downs dips beneath the impermeable London Clay . The difference in properties between
6240-551: Was primarily used for street lighting, but was also supplied to some private houses. Until the railway was opened in 1859, coal was delivered by road from Epsom. In 1911, the Leatherhead company acquired that of Cobham and, from 1929, also supplied gas to Woking via a connection at Effingham Junction . In 1936, the company was acquired by the Wandsworth Gas Company and the Leatherhead gasworks closed two years later. The first public water supply in Leatherhead
6320-414: Was sold to a consortium of developers in 1927, who divided the land into plots for housing. Similarly in 1935, Yarm Court was sold and the estate developed for housing. Following the end of the Second World War, new housing was constructed to the north of the town centre, along Cleeve, Kingston and Copthorne Roads, to replace properties damaged by bombing. At the start of the First World War, members of
6400-560: Was treating 78 members of the British Expeditionary Force , who had been evacuated from Dunkirk . The Goblin factory in Ermyn Way was used to make munitions, including mine sinkers, shell fuses and camouflage netting. From the outbreak of war, the defence of Leatherhead was coordinated by the XII Corps of Eastern Command , reinforced from July 1940 by VII Corps GHQ Mobile Reserve. The 3rd Infantry Brigade of
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