Borough of Runnymede
The Borough of Runnymede is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Addlestone and the borough also includes the towns of Chertsey and Egham. The borough is named after Runnymede, a water me ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, England, southwest of central London. It grew up around
Chertsey Abbey
Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey.
It was founded in 666 AD by Saint Erkenwald who was the first abbot, and from 675 AD the Bishop of London. At the same ti ...
market charter
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
first appeared in the early 15th century.
The River Bourne through the town meets the Thames at Weybridge. The
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church has a medieval tower and chancel roof. The 18th-century
listed buildings
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
include the current stone Chertsey Bridge and Botleys Mansion. A curfew bell, rung at 8pm on weekdays from
Michaelmas
Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...
to
Lady Day
In the Western liturgical year, Lady Day is the common name in some English-speaking and Scandinavian countries of the Feast of the Annunciation, celebrated on 25 March to commemorate the annunciation of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mar ...
ties with the romantic local legend of Blanche Heriot, marked by a statue of her and the bell at Chertsey Bridge. Green areas include the Thames Path National Trail, Chertsey Meads and a round knoll (St Ann's Hill) with remains of a prehistoric
hill fort
A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...
known as Eldebury Hill. Pyrcroft House dates from the 18th century and Tara from the late 20th.
Train services are run between Chertsey railway station and London Waterloo by
South Western Railway
South Western Railway Limited, trading as South Western Railway (SWR), is the British state-owned train operating company that took over the services of the South Western Railway (2017–2025), operator of the same name from FirstGroup and MTR ...
. The town is within the M25, accessible via junction 11. It has a population of 15,967.
Toponymy
The first written mention of Chertsey is by
Bede
Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
, in which he describes the location as ''Cerotaesei, id est Ceroti insula'' (translated as "Chertsey, that is the island of ''Cerotus''"). The settlement appears in 13th-century copies of 7th-century charters as ''Cirotesige'', ''Cirotesge'' and ''Cerotesge''. The manor is recorded as ''Certesi'' in
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
in 1086 and as ''Certeseye'' in 1129–30. Other later forms include ''Charteseye'' (mid-14th century), ''Charsey'' (in 1543) and ''Chutsey'' (in 1606). The first use of the modern spelling "Chertsey" is from 1559.
The first part of the toponym "Chertsey" is thought to refer to a
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
individual, whose name was subsequently Latinised to ''Cerotus''. The second part derives from the
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''ēg'' and means "island or well-watered land".
History
Chertsey is one of the oldest market towns in England. Its
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...
dates to the 12th century (see below) and the farmhouse of the Hardwick in the elevated southwest is of 16th-century construction. It grew to all sides but the north around Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 A.D. by Eorcenwald, Bishop of London, using a donation by
Frithwald
Frithwald (Old English: ''Friþuweald''ASC MS D , s.a. 762. or ''Friðewald''; d. 762 × 764) was an hundreds, used in the
feudal system
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring socie ...
until the establishment of
Rural District
A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. I ...
s and
Urban District Council
In England and Wales, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local government responsibilities with a county council. ...
s, the name chosen for the wider Chertsey area hundred was
Godley Hundred
Godley was a hundred in what is now Surrey, England. Egham, Thorpe, Chertsey and Chobham are all mentioned in the Chertsey Abbey charter of 673 AD due to a donation by Frithuwold. Chobham manor needed to be large to have a reasonable economic ...
.
In the 9th century, the abbey and town were sacked by the Danes, leaving a mark today in the name of the neighbouring village, Thorpe, and refounded as a subsidiary abbey from
Abingdon Abbey
Abingdon Abbey (formally Abbey of Saint Mary) was a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery in Abingdon-on-Thames in the modern county of Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. Situated near to the River Thames, it was founded in 675 AD and was ...
by King
Edgar
Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear").
Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...
in 964.
Chertsey appears in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
as ''Certesi''. It was held partly by Chertsey Abbey and partly by Richard Sturmid from the abbey. Its Domesday assets were: 5 hides, 1
mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
* Factory
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Paper mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* Sugarcane mill
* Textile mill
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic ...
and 1
forge
A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...
at the hall, 20
plough
A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...
s, 80
hectares
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. A ...
of
meadow
A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...
,
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
worth 50 hogs. It rendered a larger than average sum for the book of manor and ecclesiastical parish entries, £22.
The abbey grew to become one of the largest
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
abbeys in England, supported by large fiefs in the northwest corner of Sussex and Surrey until it was dissolved by
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
in 1536. The King took stone from the abbey to construct his palace at
Oatlands Palace
Oatlands Palace is a former Tudor and Stuart royal palace which took the place of the former manor of the village of Oatlands near Weybridge, Surrey. Little remains of the original building, so excavations of the palace took place in 1964 t ...
; the villagers also used stone for raising the streets. By the late 17th century, only some outer walls of the abbey remained. During this period until at least 1911 a wider area was included in Chertsey:
Ottershaw
Ottershaw is a village in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. The village developed in the mid-19th century from a number of separate hamlets and became a parish in its own right in 1871.
Th ...
(and Brox) was an ecclesiastical district; whose church-sponsored (first built) schools were built in 1870, so too was
Addlestone
Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Runnymede (borough), Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement.
Geography
Addlesto ...
.
Today the history of the abbey is reflected in local place names and the surviving former fishponds that fill with water after heavy rain. The nearby Hardwick Court Farm, now much reduced in size and cut off from the town by the M25, has the successor to the abbey's large and well-supported 15th-century
tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...
barn, mostly rebuilt in the 17th century.
The eighteenth-century Chertsey Bridge provides an important cross-river link, and Chertsey Lock is a short distance above it on the opposite side. On the south west corner of the bridge is a bronze statue of local heroine Blanche Heriot striking the bell by Sheila MitchellFRBS.
The summit of St Ann's Hill in Chertsey was a vital viewing point for the Anglo-French Survey, which calculated the distance between the
Royal Greenwich Observatory
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in G ...
and the
Paris Observatory
The Paris Observatory (, ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world. Its historic building is on the Left Ban ...
using
trigonometry
Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics concerned with relationships between angles and side lengths of triangles. In particular, the trigonometric functions relate the angles of a right triangle with ratios of its side lengths. The fiel ...
. A grid of triangles was measured all the way to the French coast, to join up with the French survey; St Ann's Hill was crucial for the link with the base-line of the English survey on
Hounslow Heath
Hounslow Heath is a local nature reserve in the London Borough of Hounslow and at a point borders London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames. The public open space, which covers , is all that remains of the historic Hounslow He ...
.
In the 18th century, Chertsey Cricket Club was one of the strongest in the country and beat the rest of England (excluding Hampshire) by more than an innings in 1778. The Duke of Dorset, (who played cricket for Chertsey), was appointed Ambassador to France in 1784. He arranged to have the Chertsey cricket team travel to France in 1789 to introduce cricket to the French nobility. However, the team, on arriving at Dover, met the Ambassador returning from France at the outset of the French Revolution and the opportunity was missed.
The original Chertsey railway station was built by the London and Southampton Railway and opened on 14 February 1848. The present station, across the level crossing from the site of the original one, was opened on 10 October 1866 by the London and South Western Railway. The Southern Railway completed electrification of the line on 3 January 1937.
Samuel Lewis devotes one of his longest entries to the small town in his 1848
topographical
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scienc ...
guide to England:
Chertsey Regatta has been held on the river for over 150 years, which is in the non-Olympic regional sport of skiffing which has a club on this reach of river. Similarly the Olympic sport of
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...
flood meadow
A flood-meadow (or floodmeadow) is an area of grassland or pasture beside a river, subject to seasonal flooding.Huhta, Ari‐Pekka, Rautio, Pasi (2014). Flood meadows in Finland - their development during the past century. '' Nordic Journal of ...
, reservoirs and golf course. The Burway was in the medieval period let out by the abbey as over of grazing pasture (and remains postally associated with the town). The Burway faces Laleham Park, the largest municipal park of a neighbouring borough.
Chertsey was the home of
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a British British Whig Party, Whig politician and statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centurie ...
, who had wished to be buried there but instead is buried in Westminster Abbey. The nearby estate that is now the large Foxhills Golf Estate, Spa and Restaurant, close to Ottershaw and Lyne, was named in honour of him, but was not his home.
A long history of metal working exists, and from the 19th century a prosperous bell foundry, Eldridge, was in Windsor Street. Herrings, an iron foundry, flourished during the 19th century and was situated in Gogmore Lane.
The Chertsey troop of the Berkshire Yeomanry occupied the Drill Hall on Drill Hall Road since 1977. The unit has close ties with the borough and was granted the freedom of Runnymede in 2009. The Drill Hall closed at the end of March 2010 and the troop had to return to Windsor due to cuts in the Territorial Army in 2009–2010.
Geography
Location and topography
Chertsey is part of the
London commuter belt
The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to work area, Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London' ...
in the outermost part of the
Greater London Urban Area
The Greater London Built-up Area, or Greater London Urban Area, is a conurbation in south-east England that constitutes the continuous urban sprawl of London, and includes surrounding adjacent urban towns as defined by the Office for National Sta ...
buffer
Buffer may refer to:
Science
* Buffer gas, an inert or nonflammable gas
* Buffer solution, a solution used to prevent changes in pH
* Lysis buffer, in cell biology
* Metal ion buffer
* Mineral redox buffer, in geology
Technology and engineeri ...
of designated areas of
Green Belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...
. Measuring from centre to centre, Chertsey is from London, from Addlestone, and from the county town, Guildford. The traditional, yet commercially important town centre is a conservation area, joined by an arcade to a medium-sized supermarket and car park to the south.
The character of this central area is that of a traditional small town, with relatively narrow building frontages set hard up against the pavement, so that they clearly define the public space. The centre of the town is richly endowed with listed buildings most of which date from the 16th and 17th centuries. In addition to the more than 56 numbered houses/shops (42 buildings) nationally
listed buildings
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
, nine other buildings in the conservation area are locally listed. A further 11 buildings outside the centre are also nationally listed.
Elevation is generally low at 14m in the Town Centre and 11 m on the River Thames at Chertsey Bridge, making it the lowest place in Chertsey. The highest point is on the peak of wooded and inhabited St. Ann's Hill which reaches an elevation of 77 m, making it the second-highest point in
Runnymede
Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey, bordering Berkshire and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is, with ...
floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...
terrace
Terrace may refer to:
Landforms and construction
* Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river
* Terrace, a street suffix
* Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...
between the River Thames to the north and The Bourne to the south. Much of the terrace consists of river gravels deposited on the sandy Bagshot Beds, which in turn overlie the London Clay. The
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...
in this area is
loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...
y and the
water table
The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...
is naturally high.
St Ann's Hill appears as an island of
Tertiary
Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to:
* Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago
* Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...
strata, surrounded by river deposits. The hill is composed primarily of the Bagshot Beds, but is capped by Bracklesham Clays with a thick pebble bed. South west of the town centre, the
chert
Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...
and
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
pebble deposits at Cockcrow Hill and Sandgates were probably deposited by an earlier course of The Bourne.
Economy
Aside from being a London "commuter town", Chertsey is home to the head office of
Compass Group
Compass Group plc is a British multinational contract foodservice company headquartered in Chertsey, England. It is the largest contract foodservice company in Europe, ahead of Sodexo, employing over 500,000 people. It serves meals in location ...
, Compass Group-Our Offices . Retrieved January 2016. and the UK head office and European headquarters of
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SEC; stylized as SΛMSUNG; ) is a South Korean multinational major appliance and consumer electronics corporation founded on 13 January 1969 and headquartered in Yeongtong District, Suwon, South Korea. It is curr ...
. Samsung moved there in 2005; previously the Samsung offices were in
New Malden
New Malden is a suburban area in southwest London, England. It is within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Merton, and is from Charing Cross. Neighbouring localities include Kingston upon Thames, Kingston, Norb ...
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
''. 6 October 2014. Retrieved on 2 November 2015.
Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park, formerly also known as Thorpe Park Resort, is a theme park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertai ...
, part of Merlin Entertainments Ltd, is on the northern boundary, connected by frequent buses from Staines-upon-Thames and Chertsey.
Landmarks
Chertsey Bridge
Chertsey Bridge is a
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
and Grade II* listed structure that has a listed ''City (of London tax) Post'' at one end, and nearby milestones. It is predominantly of
ashlar
Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones.
Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...
light stone with two white flagstone
york stone
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
pavements with a low weight limit and narrow carriageways inappropriate to HGVs, which have
Staines Bridge
Staines Bridge is a road bridge running in a south-west to north-east direction across the River Thames in Surrey. It is on the modern A308 road and links the boroughs of Spelthorne and Runnymede at Staines-upon-Thames and Egham Hythe. The b ...
,
Walton Bridge
Walton Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in England, carrying the A244 between Walton-on-Thames and Shepperton, crossing the Thames on the reach between Sunbury Lock and Shepperton Lock.
The bridge is the first Thames road bri ...
or motorway alternatives to reach Spelthorne.Chertsey Bridge Grade II* listing
Samuel Lewis included it in his opening description of the town above: "... iver Thamesover which is a handsome stone bridge of seven arches, built in 1785, at an expense of £13,000, defrayed jointly by the counties of
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
and
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
Chertsey has an admission-free museum on Windsor Street, which provides considerable information about the history of Chertsey.
The museum holds the Olive Matthews costume collection, which is of national importance, contains around three thousand pieces of costume and was donated by Matthews to the museum in 1969.
The museum contains clocks by two local makers, James Douglass and Henry Wale Cartwright. (Note however that there were three successive watchmakers called James Douglass (or Douglas) in the Douglas family, the latter based in Egham)
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, formally came into being on 12 September 1939. It now has 400 beds and a wide range of acute care services, on the straight A road to Woking close to the much younger parish of Ottershaw. Hospital Radio Wey has been broadcasting to the patients and staff of St Peter's Hospital since 1965 and now also broadcasts on the internet as RadioWey.
St Peter's Church
St Peter's church has a 13th/14th-century west tower (with 18th-century bricks above the belfry) and east chancel; a collection of the abbey's paving tiles is in its sanctuary; several are also in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
and a 15th-century chancel roof. St Peter's is surrounded by many Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
s in the three mixed shopping and residential streets of the town centre however is Grade II* listed building.
Curfew House and 25 Windsor Street
Curfew House is four narrow houses west of the church, a taller red brick building in a group of five buildings of the same era; the name derives from the cruel King
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
and Blanche Heriot history and story which took place in the town centre. Below an open
pediment
Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
are brick
pilaster
In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s with moulded wood
cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
, with
dentil
A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Rev ...
s. Brick-coped
gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
ends front the street. Enriched wood
architrave
In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns.
The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...
features as part of its entrance door and reeded panels with raised centres. Its keystone is dated ''1725'', inside a Tympanum is inscribed: "c5 Founded by Sr Wm PERKINSKBE For Fifty Children clothed and taught Go and do likewise".
25 Windsor Street is also at Grade II* architecturally, early C18 however a larger three-storey house in brown brick with a tile roof, nipped. A moulded wood
eaves
The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...
cornice, altered, has supporting brackets. Five sash windows with bars make up the windows. A central entrance encased door has an open
pediment
Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
in the
Tuscan order
The Tuscan order (Latin ''Ordo Tuscanicus'' or ''Ordo Tuscanus'', with the meaning of Etruscan order) is one of the two classical orders developed by the Romans, the other being the composite order. It is influenced by the Doric order, but wit ...
with flat
pilaster
In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...
s. Radial bars segment its arched
fanlight
A fanlight is a form of lunette window (transom window), often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing (window), glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open Hand fan, fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, ...
. At the top floor is a stone moulded band; the middle floor band is also rendered; the ground floor band is lined and painted. Red gauged brick flat arches top the windows with window dressings and
quoins
Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th-century encyclopedia, ...
. Its front railings have spearhead bars and metal standards with vases, gadrooned.
Pyrcroft House
Pyrcroft House on Pyrcroft Road leading to St Ann's Hill is a Grade II* listed building that was referenced by
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...
and has a brick front with gauged flat arches to its windows, supplemented by square brick pilasters to the corners. Moulded brick cornice underlies a
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
(flat/almost flat) roof. Carved stone vases ornament the masonry in the corners; a band of rendering marks off the first floor. A large centre first floor window is arched with stone keystone and impost blocks, radial bars at its head. Other windows are all sash windows with bars; 12 paned. Its entrance door has a Regency period framing of its door. Wood panelling with subdued embellishment decorates the rooms.
Botley Park and Bournewood House
Owner Joseph Mawbey had architect Kenton Couse build this substantial Georgian building surrounded by a manicured estate, now a private nursing home. U-shaped it is a rectangle of three storeys with seven windows to each of the four fronts, built of
ashlar
Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones.
Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...
its ground floor is rusticated with a
modillion
A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a Cornice (architecture), cornice which helps to support them. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally transl ...
eaves cornice; a parapet roof tops the structure. Each front has three centre window bays that project slightly with a pediment above and their original glazing bars intact. Ground floor windows have keystones. Upper windows have moulded architraves, those on 1st floor with cornices over, the centre one with a pediment. On the north front, the centre projection has four engaged Ionic columns with a pediment above containing a cartouche flanked by swags of husks; a
piano nobile
( Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ) is the architectural term for the principal floor of a '' palazzo''. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the house ...
to one side connects the middle floor with a doorway with a rectangular fanlight, approached by a horse-shoe shaped stair connected with doorway by a bridge, beneath which is the service entrance to the ground floor below. Two fronts are prolonged in the same style by large modern additions. Entrance has a good hall with screen of four Ionic columns and a high plaster ceiling. Other good ceilings and doorcases to principal rooms on 1st floor.
Bournewood House is part of Bournewood Park Hospital a central building in a large medical NHS trust adjoining St Peter's Hospital, formerly a nursing wing of the above hospital when it was run from the
Victorian period
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...
as a mental hospital or asylum retreat.
Sport and leisure
Football
Chertsey has a
Non-League football
Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...
club, Chertsey Town F.C. who play at Alwyns Lane. The town is also home t Dial Square F.C. who have ground-shared with The Curfews since August 2022.
Chertsey Meads
Chertsey Meads adjoin a start of a southern variant of the
Thames Path
The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from one of its sources near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 ...
on the south bank from where the path crosses the river at Chertsey Bridge. On the north of this park is the main Thameside development, the Bridge Wharf estate, through which passes this strand of the Thames Path, the long northern border then follows the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
towards Addlestone to the confluence, by private houses, on the south side of the
River Bourne, Chertsey
The River Bourne or the Chertsey Bourne is in Berkshire and Surrey; it runs from sources in Windsor Great Park and Swinley Forest through to the River Thames.
Course Upstream of Virginia Water (village)
After gathering a number of streams fl ...
. Narrower parks and allotments, interspersed by relatively few developments, follow this brook upstream through the town centre, which rises a few miles above
Virginia Water
Virginia Water is a commuter village in the Borough of Runnymede in northern Surrey, England. It is home to the Wentworth Estate and the Wentworth Club. The area has much woodland and occupies a large minority of the Runnymede district. Its na ...
(the actual lake of the same name as the more recent settlement as a whole) to its north and south. Much of its upper catchment area still remains
Crown Estate
The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...
.
Altogether the open space covers . Nearby across Bridge Street by the bridge, to the north of this, is the Chertsey Camping and Caravanning Club Site There is another camping site at Laleham Park on the opposite bank of the Thames.
Annually, in early August, the Chertsey Agricultural Show is held here.
Great Cockcrow Railway
This 7.25" gauge miniature railway, off Hardwick Lane, opened in September 1968.
The Black Cherry Fair
This is an annual event on the 2nd Saturday of July each year with live music and refreshments.
Education
Schools in Chertsey include;
*St Anne's Roman Catholic primary school
* Salesian Catholic Secondary School (split site)
*Pyrcroft Grange Primary (former split site)
*Stepgates Community School
* Sir William Perkins's School, independent girls' school established originally for boys and girls in 1725.
*Chertsey High School (opened in 2017)
Chertsey High School
Chertsey High School is a non-faith school which welcomes children from different faiths and non-faith backgrounds, whilst maintaining strong Christian principles; the school ethos is ''Knowledge, Determination and Love''. It opened in 2017 using the buildings that remained from the original Meads School, built in 1965. During a two-year occupancy, a new school building was developed alongside, opposite Clay Corner on the Chertsey Road. In 2019, the new school building opened its doors to 450 students, and has the capacity for 900 students over the coming years. The school has developed state-of-the-art facilities, including a 3G sports pitch, which it shares with its neighbours, Abbey Rangers Football Club.
Salesian School
The Salesian School is a state-funded, voluntary-aided Catholic comprehensive school with endowments for 1,200 pupils, located in Chertsey since the 1920s.
Governance
Chertsey is located in the Borough of Runnymede and Weybridge.
It was represented in Parliament by former Conservative MP
Philip Hammond
Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede (born 4 December 1955) is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019 and Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016, having previously served as Defence ...
from 1997 until his resignation in 2019. It is currently represented by Conservative MP Ben Spencer.
The town is divided into two wards for the purpose of
Borough Council
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
elections – Riverside (Cllr Derek Cotty, Cllr Stephen Dennett, Cllr Shannon Saise-Marshall) and West (Cllr Dolsie Clarke, Cllr Mark Nuti, Cllr Myles Willingale). The town is represented on
Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Surrey, England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1974 the Conservative Party has held the majority.
The leader ...
by Cllr Mark Nuti.
Borough councillors
''Italics'' indicate a by-election
County councillor
Religion
*St. Anne's Church is a Catholic church in Eastworth road. St. Anne's School is a Catholic Primary school in Free Prae road. Salesian School is a Catholic Secondary school and Sixth Form College located in Guildford Road and Highfield Road respectively.
*St. Peter's is a town-centre Anglican church with a range of ministries. Sunday worship is held at 9 am (traditional) and 10.30 am (contemporary).
*Beacon Church is a community church based on Guildford Street in central Chertsey.
*The International Community Church of Surrey, a non-denominational, international congregation, meets at Chertsey Hall each week.
*Equippers Church is based at the Hub near Chertsey High School and meets each Sunday and in homes during the week.
Waterloo to Reading Line
Waterloo most commonly refers to:
* Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces
* Waterloo, Belgium
Waterloo may also refer to:
Other places
Australia
*Waterloo, New South Wales
...
to the
South West Main Line
The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south wes ...
in
Weybridge
Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...
, all three currently operated by
South Western Railway
South Western Railway Limited, trading as South Western Railway (SWR), is the British state-owned train operating company that took over the services of the South Western Railway (2017–2025), operator of the same name from FirstGroup and MTR ...
, benefiting from a level crossing and a road bridge sweeping north–south traffic around to the west of the town centre.Map created by
Ordnance Survey
The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
, courtesy of
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
Weybridge railway station
Weybridge railway station is near the established midpoint of Weybridge in Surrey, England and south of its town centre. It is on the South West Main Line and operated by South Western Railway (train operating company), South Western Railway.
I ...
is timetabled as 11 minutes away and the journey time to London Waterloo varies between 50 minutes to 66 minutes depending on choice of route.
;Road
The A320 is a mixed dual and single carriageway road connecting
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
to
Staines-upon-Thames
Staines-upon-Thames, also known simply as Staines, is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and River Colne, Hertfordshire, Colne. ...
via Chertsey which is south of Staines Bridge. Scenic Chertsey Bridge was built in the 18th century, see above, this links to
Shepperton
Shepperton is a village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Spelthorne district, in north Surrey, England, around south west of central London. The settlement is on the north bank of the River Thames, between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Tha ...
. Chertsey is close to J11 of the M25 to two sides of the town (one exit bordering Ottershaw) and gives its name to the intersection of a main SSW motorway, the M3 with the M25 London Orbital Motorway.
In fiction and popular culture
Literary connections
*
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's ''
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
'', Act I, Scene 2, mentions Chertsey as the burial place of Henry VI ( Lady Anne: "Come now towards Chertsey with your holy load.")
*
Abraham Cowley
Abraham Cowley (; 161828 July 1667) was an English poet and essayist born in the City of London late in 1618. He was one of the leading English poets of the 17th century, with 14 printings of his ''Works'' published between 1668 and 1721.
Early ...
, the 17th-century poet, lived in Chertsey after his return from exile. Abraham Cowley Mental Health Unit at St Peter's Hospital was named after him.
*After the death of the father of
Thomas Love Peacock
Thomas Love Peacock (18 October 1785 – 23 January 1866) was an English novelist, poet, and official of the East India Company. He was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley, and they influenced each other's work. Peacock wrote satirical novels ...
, the future novelist and his mother lived with her father, Thomas Love, in Gogmoor Hall for about twelve years.
*
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
while writing ''
Oliver Twist
''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...
'' (1838), visited Chertsey, where Twist is forced by
Bill Sikes
William Sikes is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists (alongside Monks) in the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. Sikes is a malicious criminal in Fagin's gang, and a vicious robber and murderer. Throughout much o ...
to take part in an attempted burglary.
*
Edward Lear
Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...
makes reference to Chertsey in '' A Book of Nonsense'':
::There was an Old Lady of Chertsey,
::Who made a remarkable curtsey;
:::She twirled round and round,
:::Till she sunk underground,
::Which distressed all the people of Chertsey.
* Albert Smith, born in Chertsey in 1816, wrote the play '' Blanche Heriot, or The Chertsey Curfew'' (1842) and the short story " Blanche Heriot: A Legend of Old Chertsey Church" (1843).
* John Maddison Morton was living in Chertsey when he wrote ''Box and Cox'' (1847), which ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' in 1891 called "the best farce of the nineteenth century". It was the basis for F. C. Burnand's libretto for
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...
's one-act comic opera ''Cox and Box'' (1866).
*The poem " Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight", written in 1867 by the American Rose Hartwick Thorpe, was also based on the legend of Blanche Heriot.
*
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
's novel ''
The War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...
'' has Chertsey destroyed by
Martian
Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. Trends in the planet's portrayal have largely been influenced by advances in planetary science. It became the most popular celes ...
fighting-machines in the afternoon.
* Antony Trew, naval officer and author of 17 novels and a volume of stories, died in Chertsey in 1996.
* Jerome K. Jerome, in his "
Three men in a boat
''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous novel by English writer Jerome K. Jerome describing ...
", writes: "Harris and I would go down in the morning, and take the boat up to Chertsey, and George... would meet us there".
Television and film
*The final series of the TV series '' Public Eye'' (1965–1975) was filmed in and around Chertsey.
*The TV series ''
Moving Wallpaper
''Moving Wallpaper'' is a British satirical comedy-drama television series set in a TV production unit. It ran on ITV for two series in 2008–09. The subject of the first series was the production of a soap called '' Echo Beach'', each episode ...
'' (2008–2009) was filmed and set in Chertsey.
*Chertsey made a fleeting appearance in the 1964 classic film '' First Men in the Moon'' with the Old Town Hall standing in for Dymchurch Town Hall.
*Other films partly shot in or around Chertsey include ''
The Italian Job
''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy Caper story, caper film written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson (film director), Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres ...
The Dark Knight
''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, from a screenplay co-written with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005), and the second inst ...
'' (2008) and '' One Chance'' (2013).
*Portions of the music video for the
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentDon't Go Away" were filmed in Chertsey in August 1997.
Chertsey Panto
The Chertsey Panto has been performed since 2012 in aid of local charities at the Crown public house in Chertsey.
Radio Wey
Radio Wey is a hospital radio station, based at St. Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, which also broadcasts to the local community. The station has been running since 1965, originally at Weybridge Hospital and then transferred to studios in the grounds of St. Peter's Hospital in 1979.
Patrick Moraz
Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and the Moody Blues.
Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age an ...
and
Bill Bruford
William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and tou ...
was recorded at Gallery Studios, engineered by Barry Radman and assisted by Trevor Smith.
Notable residents
* Richard Steere (1721) colonial American poet and merchant born in Chertsey.
* Reverend Peter Cunningham (1805) political poet and cleric died in Chertsey.
* John Narrien (17821860) astronomer and author born in Chertsey.
* Charles Cooper Henderson (18031877) painter born at Abbey House, Chertsey.
*
Albert Richard Smith
Albert Richard Smith (24 May 181623 May 1860) was an English physician, author, entertainer, and mountaineer.
Biography
Literary career
Smith was born at Chertsey, Surrey. The son of a surgeon, he studied medicine in London and in Paris, an ...
(18161860) author, entertainer and mountaineer born in Chertsey.
* Ethel Mary Boyce (18631936), English composer, pianist and teacher, born and lived in Chertsey.
*
Charlie Llewellyn
Charles Bennett "Buck" Llewellyn (29 September 1876 – 7 June 1964) was the first non-white South African Test cricketer. He appeared in 15 Test matches for South Africa between 1895 and 1912, and played in English cricket as a professional for ...
(18761964) the first non-white South African
Test cricket
Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
er died in Chertsey.
* James Ottaway (19081999) actor born in Chertsey.
* Leslie Lewis (19241986) Olympic
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
athlete born in Chertsey.
*
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...
(19461978) drummer with the rock band
the Who
The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
lived at " Tara" on St Ann's Hill from 1971 to 1975.
*
Mike Rutherford
Michael John Cloete Crawford Rutherford (born 2 October 1950) is an English guitarist, bassist and songwriter, best known as co-founder, lead guitarist and bassist of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis. He and keyboardist Tony Banks (musici ...
(b. 1950) guitarist and co-founder of the band
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
born in Chertsey.
* Sir
Ian Khama
Seretse Khama Ian Khama() (born 27 February 1953) is a Motswana politician and former military officer who was the fourth President of the Republic of Botswana from 1 April 2008 to 1 April 2018. After serving as Commander of the Botswana Defenc ...
(b. 1953)
President of Botswana
The president of the Republic of Botswana is the head of state and the head of government of Botswana, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Botswana Defence Force, according to the Constitution. The president is elected by the National A ...
20082018 born in Chertsey.
*
Vince Clarke
Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...
and Erasure lived in Chertsey from 1990 to 2003 and recorded much of the Erasure material in the studio adjacent to his home.
* Sean Lock (19632021) comedian born in Chertsey.
* Chesney Hawkes (b. 1971) singer and songwriter lived in Chertsey.
*
Ashley Giles
Ashley Fraser Giles (born 19 March 1973) is a former English first-class cricketer, who played 54 Test matches and 62 One Day Internationals for England before being forced to retire due to a recurring hip injury. Giles played the entirety of ...
(b. 1973) England cricketer born in Chertsey.
* Richard Johnson (b. 1974) England cricketer born in Chertsey.
*
Tim Brabants
Jules Timothy Brabants Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 23 January 1977) is a British Kayak racing, sprint kayaker who has competed since the late 1990s. Competing in four Summer Olympics, he won three medals with one gold (2008 Summer Ol ...
Robert Green
Robert Paul Green (born 18 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played in the Premier League and Football League and for the England national team.
Green made his first-team debut for Norwi ...
(b. 1980)
goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
was born in Chertsey.
* Jimmy Chauveau (b. 1989) singer and songwriter born in Chertsey.
* Harvey Elliott (b. 2003)
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...