Claygate is an affluent suburban village in

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 is the only

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

borough of Elmbridge Elmbridge is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Esher, and other notable towns and villages include Cobham, Walton-on-Thames, Weybridge and Molesey. The borough lies just outside the a ...

. Adjoining

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in the borough of Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole, Surrey, River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London, close to the London–Surrey border; with Esher Commons at its ...

and

Hinchley Wood Hinchley Wood is a suburb in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England, approximately 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Charing Cross in central London, and within the Greater London Urban Area. It developed largely around its railway statio ...

to the west and north respectively, and bordered by green belt land to the south and east, Claygate lies within the

Greater London Built-up 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 ...

. Claygate was once in the main manor of

Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred south-west of Charing Cross in central London. Thame ...

, but is now administered from

. It is primarily residential and has a small number of offices, outlying farms and two small shopping areas, the Old Village and the Parade, with hair and beauty shops, a supermarket, five

pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

and a number of restaurants. Claygate lies on the

Claygate Beds The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 54-50 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from the ...

, a clay formation up to thick, which extends well beyond the village. These beds are the youngest part of the

London Clay The London Clay Formation is a Sediment#Shores and shallow seas, marine formation (geology), geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 54-50 million years ago) age which outcrop, crops out in the southeast of England. The London C ...

geological formation, forming a transition between the clay and the sandier

Bagshot Beds In geology, the Bagshot Beds are a series of sands and clays of shallow-water origin, some being fresh-water, some marine. They belong to the upper Eocene formation of the London and Hampshire basins, in England and derive their name from Bagsh ...

above.

History

Etymology

Claygate may have its name from the clay pits in the village that provided bricks for a large surrounding area including some of

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

. Claygate's lack of main thoroughfares has been attributed to the angle of the

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 ...

leading the

A307 A3, A03 or A.III may refer to: * A3 paper, a paper size defined by ISO 216 Biology * A3 regulatory sequence, a sequence for the insulin gene * Adenosine A3 receptor, a human gene * Annexin A3, a human gene * ATC code A03 ''Drugs for functio ...

main road (from London) south-west instead through

, as well as historical conditions where through roads became impassible in wet weather because of the clay; often close to the surface. Equally, mid-distance routes chose a line to avoid this land, before the advent of road surfacing, such as those through

Tolworth Tolworth is a suburban area in the Surbiton district, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. It is southwest of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Berrylands, Chessington, Epsom, Ewell, Kingston upon Thames, Kingston, Lo ...

and Esher.

Manor

Claygate 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 ...

of 1086 as a manor of Thames Ditton, ''Claigate''. This main manor of the village was held by

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. Its domesday assets were:

hide Hide or hides may refer to: Common uses * Hide (skin), the cured skin of an animal * Bird hide, a structure for observing birds and other wildlife without causing disturbance * Gamekeeper's hide or hunting hide or hunting blind, a structure to hi ...

; 2

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, 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 1 hog. It rendered £2 10s 0d per year to its overlords. The manor descended (after its purchase in 1565) from the

Vincent family The Vincent family have been described by ''The Times'' as a "family of career criminals hohave a string of convictions for targeting elderly householders". They are part of a Gypsy community living in the county of Kent, England.Evelyn family. Much land remained in the manor when it was sold between 1718 and 1721 to the

Earl of Lovelace Earl of Lovelace was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1838 for William King-Noel, 8th Baron King, a title created in 1725. History The King or Locke King family stems from the only known child of Jerome King, ...

, the King family and currently Locke King family who had sold the vast majority of its land by 1970.

Other medieval history

Claygate was formed as an

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

from

in 1841. Scant remains were traced in boundary lines of an early medieval track running from Kingston Hill to the ford of the

Mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

near to a square entrenchment in

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon ...

almost in

Stoke D'Abernon __NOTOC__ Stoke d'Abernon () is a village and former civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district, in Surrey, England. It is on the bank (geography), right bank of the River Mole contiguously south of ...

19th century

In about 1822 the

Claygate Pearmain Claygate Pearmain is an apple cultivar. It was found at Claygate, Surrey in England and brought to the attention of the Royal Horticultural Society by John Braddick in 1821. The apple was a popular eating apple in Victorian times and spread thro ...

apple was discovered by John Braddick, growing in a hedge here. In 1840 its church, Holy Trinity, was built of stone in 14th-century style, with a tower, enlarged in 1860, and restored in 1902. The school was built in 1838 as a Church school, and enlarged in 1849. It was rebuilt by the School Board of Thames Ditton in 1885. Claygate has a Baptist chapel, built in 1861. Claygate's development chiefly was in the 60 years after the construction of its railway line and station (on the New Guildford Line); the station opened in 1885. With commanding views over the surrounding countryside is Ruxley Towers, a

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

edifice constructed by Lord Foley who owned a considerable amount of land. On the other side of the village is Telegraph Hill where a

semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

station was built in 1822 to transmit messages between the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

20th century

In 1911 brick and tile production works, rather than retail sites, continued to employ men near the station in the 1910s. In 1911 Claygate was under the same urban council as Thames Ditton.

21st century

The Al-Hilli family who were killed in the

Annecy shootings The French Alps shootings, known in France as the Chevaline massacre (), were the deaths on 5 September 2012 of three members of a British family and a French citizen on the near Chevaline, Haute-Savoie, Chevaline, Haute-Savoie, France, near the ...

in France, lived in Claygate.

Geography

Claygate's topsoil rests upon the youngest beds of the London Clay after which the village is named, here capped in places by sand in the southern part of the civil parish. Claygate has its own parish council. Apart from an interweave of streets with

, Claygate is surrounded by woodlands and open countryside, including Claygate Common, Princes Covert, Winney Hill, Surbiton Golf Course, Telegraph Hill, Littleworth Common and Arbrook Common. Much of the outlying farmland is used for grazing ponies, two farms are run for cultivation.

The Rythe The Rythe is a tributary of the River Thames in north Surrey, England. It runs through woodland for approximately half of its course, but is also culverted and passes through suburban gardens. It joins the Thames between Thames Ditton and Long ...

is a major stream running north through Claygate, and as a responsive channel in the clay basins has been implicated in late 20th century flash flooding in small pockets of the village: a major flood alleviation scheme has been completed which commenced in 2002. The centre-to-centre distance from London is . Many of Claygate's residents commute to the capital using the train services, see

Transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

. Claygate is in the relatively small area between the M25 and

Kingston-upon-Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

. Constrained by the Green Belt, demand has resulted in Claygate being subject to a level of permitted in-fill and back-garden development.Planning pages
Claygate Parish Council. Retrieved 21 November 2013 Claygate04

Commerce and services

"The Parade" is the larger of Claygate's two shopping areas. It starts at Claygate railway station and continues through The Parade itself into Hare Lane. Claygate has five

: one of the annual village traditions is a

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

tour of these by

Morris dance Morris dancing is a form of English folklore, English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins, their shoes or both. A ban ...

rs. Local newspapers covering Claygate include ''The Surrey Advertiser'', ''The Surrey Comet'' and ''The Herald'', and two freely distributed newspapers, ''The Informer'' and ''The Guardian''. Claygate is in the editorial area of

BBC Surrey BBC Radio Surrey is the BBC's local radio station serving Surrey and north-east Hampshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at the University of Surrey in Guildford. According to RAJAR, BBC Radio Surrey ...

, although its proximity to London means all of the capital's radio stations can be heard. There are several small farms in Claygate; many of the farms are or incorporate horseriding centres.

Community

Established in 1885, Claygate (Primary) School initially stood on Elm Road. Although the Infant School closed a little after celebrating its centenary, 'The Firs', which served as the Junior School, transitioned into the primary site. Later in the 20th century, the original school building was repurposed to house Claygate's Youth Centre/Community Centre and the Capelfield surgery. Additionally, Rowan Preparatory School operates as a private independent institution, offering nursery and primary education specifically for girls. The local Anglican church, "Holy Trinity," constructed in 1840, stands out due to its unique dual spires. The community also houses the First Church of Christ Scientist. For adherents of

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, the Church of the Holy Name, located on Arbrook Lane in Esher, offers services. The Claygate Village Association is a non-political charity founded in 1946; it organises some of the key village events; the Christmas lights, The Claygate Music Festival, the Claygate Gardens Trail, Claygate in Bloom and for the first time in 2014, the Claygate Spring Festival. The village is served with medical support by Capelfield Surgery. Community groups, clubs, and sports teams. include Claygate Cricket Club and Claygate Royals Football Club. A major annual event is the Claygate Flower & Village Show which takes place on the Recreation Ground in late July each year. 2013 saw the 100th show, where there were 7,000 visitors. A monthly magazine covers the borough with one other edition nationally, ''Living Within''.

Education

Claygate is served by a mix of state and independent schools that also serve the areas of Esher and Hinchley Wood, all of which share the KT10 postcode.

State Primary Schools

* Esher Church School * Cranmere Primary * Hinchley Wood Primary * Claygate Primary

Independent Primary Schools

* Rowan Preparatory School * Shrewsbury House Pre-Prep * Milbourne Lodge

State Secondary Schools

* Esher College *Esher Church of England High School *

Hinchley Wood School Hinchley Wood School is a secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status in Hinchley Wood, Surrey, England. Overview Hinchley Wood School admits pupils from the age of eleven to between sixteen and eighteen. The school has a Sixt ...

Independent Secondary Schools

* Milbourne Lodge * Claremont Fan Court

In arts and the media

Filming carried out in Claygate includes: *'' The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner'' (Tony Richardson 1961) starring

Tom Courtenay Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (; born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he achieved prominence in the 1960s as part of actors of the British New Wave. Courtenay has received numerous acco ...

, set at Ruxley Towers (Ruxton Towers in the film) and showing much of the surrounding countryside before the construction of the Esher By-pass. *The BBC TV situation comedy ''

Wyatt's Watchdogs ''Wyatt's Watchdogs'' was a BBC1 situation comedy that starred Brian Wilde and Trevor Bannister. Created and written by Miles Tredinnick, the six-episode series was transmitted in the autumn of 1988. Alan J. W. Bell produced and directed the ...

'' which starred

Brian Wilde Brian George Wilde (13 June 1927 – 20 March 2008) was an English actor best known for his roles in television comedy, most notably Mr Barrowclough in ''Porridge (1974 TV series), Porridge'' and Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst in ''Last of the Summer ...

and

Trevor Bannister Trevor Gordon Bannister (14 August 193414 April 2011) was a British actor. He was best known for having played the womanising and wisecracking junior salesman Mr Lucas in the sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1979, and for his role ...

and was about a

Neighbourhood Watch A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime a ...

group. *''

Never the Twain ''Never the Twain'' is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991. The series starred Windsor Davies (previously known for ''It Ain't Half Hot, Mum'') and Donald Sinden as rival antique dealers, and al ...

'' (1981) which used the Greek Vine restaurant (now Averna, an Italian restaurant) frontage on The Green as the shop fronts. The

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

sitcom starred

Windsor Davies Windsor Davies (28 August 1930 – 17 January 2019) was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing Battery Sergeant Major Williams in the sitcom '' It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' (1974–1981) over its entire run. The show's popularity resulted ...

and

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was an English actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including '' The Cruel Sea'' ( ...

as two grumpy

antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

shop owners. *A sketch for ''

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from 10 April 1971 to 25 December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo se ...

'' *A shampoo commercial *A clip from ''

Men Behaving Badly ''Men Behaving Badly'' is a British sitcom that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang ( Martin Clunes) and his flatmates Dermot Povey ( Harry Enfield; series 1 only) and Tony Smart ( Neil Morrissey; series ...

''. (filmed outside ''The Winning Horse'') Previous residents of Claygate include "

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (prog ...

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh actor, comedian, director, historian, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones a ...

, "

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, and a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing lead guitar with several Brit ...

, and presenter/actor

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television presenter and newsreader. He hosted programmes such as '' Crackerjack!'', '' Ask Aspel'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', '' This Is Your Life'', '' Strange ...

. British historian

Frances Yates Dame Frances Amelia Yates (28 November 1899 – 29 September 1981) was an English historian of the Renaissance, who wrote books on the history of esotericism. After attaining an MA in French at University College London, she began to publish ...

(1899-1980), a longtime resident, is buried in the churchyard at Holy Trinity church. Claygate often has a celebrity to switch on its Christmas lights. These have included

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

Gloria Hunniford Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, OBE (born 10 April 1940) is a television and radio presenter, broadcaster and singer from Northern Ireland. She is known for presenting programmes on the BBC and ITV, such as '' Rip Off Britain'', and her regula ...

, Tony Stamp and Roger Valentine from ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'',

Bernie Nolan Bernadette Therese Doneathy (; 17 October 1960 – 4 July 2013) was an Irish actress, singer and television personality, formerly lead vocalist of the girl group the Nolans. She was the second youngest of sisters Anne, Denise, Maureen, Lind ...

Mick Hucknall Michael James Hucknall (born 8 June 1960) is an English singer and songwriter. Hucknall achieved international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter of the soul-influenced pop band Simply Red, with whom he enjoyed a 25-year caree ...

Anthea Turner Anthea Turner (born 25 May 1960) is an English television presenter. She was a host of ''Blue Peter'' from 1992 until 1994, and of ''GMTV'' from 1994 until 1996. Early life Turner was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and educated at the ...

and most recently

Bobby Davro Robert Christopher Nankeville, known professionally as Bobby Davro (born 13 September 1958), is an English actor and comedian. He made his television debut in 1981 followed by breakthrough in ''Live from Her Majesty's'' (1983); this was follo ...

Transport

;Rail Claygate railway station is managed 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 ...

, which operates all services. Trains run to via and to via . ;Buses Claygate is served by

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

' route K3 to Esher, Surbiton, Kingston and Roehampton Vale, operated by London United. ;Roads The A3 trunk road has its Hinchley Wood and Esher (A309) spur road directly north of Claygate allowing a traffic-lit junction with convenient access to/from London, and second junction by the Scilly Isles Roundabout with access to

Hampton Court Bridge Hampton Court Bridge is a Grade II listed bridge that crosses the River Thames in England approximately north–south between Hampton, London and East Molesey, Surrey, carrying the A309. It is the upper of two road bridges on the reach ab ...

for journeys north. A third A3 junction is almost 2 km along Copsem Lane to the south for journeys towards the south-west and west, Wisley interchange or for journeys east, continuing south along the A245 to the

Common junction of the M25.

Demography

The proportion of households in Claygate who owned their home outright was 8.5% above the regional average. The proportion who owned their home with a loan was 4.0% higher than the regional average; providing overall a lower proportion than average of rented residential property and of

social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

relative to the average in

, the district and the national average. As with neighbouring

, Claygate has a large number of very large properties (mansions). These are concentrated within the Ruxley Private Estate, on the Esher-Claygate border and in the roads to the south of the railway station.

Politics

Claygate is served by a parish council made up of 10 elected representatives. The parish council has some responsibilities, acquired from Surrey County and Elmbridge Borough Councils, such as highway, garden sites and

tree planting Tree planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purposes. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture and from the lower-cost but slower and les ...

. The parish council is also influential in its responses to planning applications in the area. Claygate is in the parliamentary constituency of

Esher and Walton Esher and Walton () is a constituency in Surrey represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Since 2024, it has been represented by Monica Harding of the Liberal Democrats. Prior to this, Dominic Raab of the Conservative Party, who ...

, which from its inception in 1997 until 2024 had been a relatively

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both. With such seats, there is very little chance of a seat changing h ...

for the Conservative Party. The local MP since 2024 is

Monica Harding Monica Bernadette Etheldreda Harding is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Esher and Walton since 2024. Before she entered politics, Harding was a management consultant, and director and CEO of org ...

. Local government is administered by

Elmbridge Borough Council Elmbridge may refer to these places in England: ;Current uses *Borough of Elmbridge, a district in northwest Surrey * Elmbridge, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, a suburb and electoral ward *Elmbridge, Worcestershire, a small village and civil parish ...

and

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 ...

. At

, one of its 81 councillors represents the area within the ''Hinchley Wood, Claygate and Oxshott'' division.Electoral Divisions
Surrey County Council. Retrieved 6 November 2013 At

all wards of the borough are deemed appropriate to be represented under the current constitution of councillors by three councillors.Your local councillors

. Retrieved 20 November 2013

References

10. Your Councillors by Ward Elmbridge Borough Council

Retrieved 2 September 2016 * Malcolm W H Peebles ''The Claygate Book: a History of a Surrey Village'' (1983) and ''Millennium edition'' (1999) * Claygate Village Residents Association ''Claygate Village: Enquire Within'' (1983)

External links

Discover Claygate websiteClaygate Parish Council websiteThe Claygate Flower & Village Show websiteThe Claygate Music Festival websiteHoly Name Church websiteHoly Trinity Church website
* {{authority control Villages in Surrey Civil parishes in Surrey Borough of Elmbridge