Norbiton

History

Its name was originally Norberton(e) and it was named in a similar way to Surbiton on the opposite side of the Hogsmill River. The origin of the place-name is from the Old English words north, bere and tun (meaning northern grange or outlying farm).

The area was originally a part of the parish of All Saints Church, Kingston upon Thames. In 1840 a separate Norbiton parish was created, with St Peter's Church built between 1840 and 1842 to a design of Gilbert Scott and William Moffatt.

Until the mid-nineteenth century much of Norbiton was made up of country estates, all since sold as housing land. These included:

Norbiton Hall, a manor from the 16th century. Residents included Richard Taverner, who lived there 1547–75 and Sir Anthony Benn, 1605–18. In 1829, the Surrey MP Charles Pallmer sold the estate to Mary, Countess of Liverpool, widow of the late prime minister Lord Liverpool. It was finally demolished in the 1930s to make way for a complex of flats, also called Norbiton Hall. These flats were built between 1933 and 1935 and received local listing in 2018.

Norbiton Place was bought by Sir John Philipps, who died there in 1764. One of the family's servants was Cesar Picton, originally an African slave, he was brought to England aged six in 1761. He lived at Norbiton Place for nearly thirty years, before becoming a successful coal-merchant in Kingston. In the early 1800s Norbiton Place became the main residence of Charles Pallmer, owner of neighbouring Norbiton Hall. Much of the main house was pulled down after 1830,

Kingston Lodge, opposite Norbiton Hall, was leased by Novelist George Meredith in 1865. Disliking the increasing development of the area, he moved away at the end of 1867.

Norbiton today

Norbiton's housing stock largely consists of large Victorian and Edwardian family houses, plus small localised brownfield redevelopments of 1960s, 1980s and modern flats. It contains more council and social housing than most other areas of Kingston – one of the largest such sites, the Cambridge Road estate, was used as a fictional council estate in TV drama The Bill, as well as the BBC sitcom Some Girls. In 2020 plans were agreed to regenerate the Cambridge Road estate, including demolishing 865 existing homes and building 2,170 new ones. Homes on the renewed estate will obtain heating by a process that turns treated sewage into clean energy, the first such scheme in England.

As Norbiton is only 25 minutes by train from Waterloo station, the suburban population includes a large concentration of London commuters. Norbiton railway station was used as a location for the British sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. The headquarters of the Fire Brigades Union is located close to the station, on Coombe Road.

Kingsmeadow football stadium in Norbiton was bought by Chelsea FC in 2016 and has been used for the home matches of Chelsea F.C. Women since 2017. It was previously used as a home ground by Kingstonian F.C. (1989–2017) and by AFC Wimbledon (2002–20).

In the 2018 Kingston borough elections, both council seats in Norbiton ward were gained by the Liberal Democrats from Labour, leaving Labour with no seats on the council.

Education

Education in Norbiton. See the main Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames article.

Politics

Norbiton is part of the Kingston and Surbiton constituency for elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

Norbiton is part of the Norbiton ward for elections to Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council.

Transport and locale

Nearby places

• Berrylands
• Canbury
• Coombe
• Kingston
• New Malden
• Surbiton
• Wimbledon

Nearest railway stations

• Norbiton railway station
• Kingston railway station
• Berrylands railway station
• New Malden railway station

References

References

1. "Kingston Ward population 2011". Office for National Statistics.
2. {{cite vob. link
3. (2011). "A Dictionary of British Place Names". Oxford University Press.
4. (1983). "[[Pevsner Architectural Guides]]. The Buildings of England London 2: South". Penguin.
5. Malden, H.E.. (1911). "A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3". Victoria County History, London, 1911.
6. Elisabetta Tonazzi. (February 2018). "Norbiton Hall: Heritage assessment for designation as locally listed building with inclusion in the local list of Building of Townscape Merit (BTM)".
7. Prosser, G.F.. (1828). "Select Illustrations of the County of Surrey". Rivington, London..
8. {{NHLE
9. bankrupt]] in 1831.{{London Gazette. (26 April 1831)
10. {{cite DNB12
11. Jenkinson, Orlando. (20 March 2020). "Residents back Cambridge Road estate regeneration". [[Surrey Comet]].
12. Ambrose, Jillian. (26 February 2021). "Thames Water hopes to harness human 'poo power' to heat homes". [[The Guardian]].
13. Ames, Nick. (25 April 2017). "Kingstonian leave Kingsmeadow: collateral damage in a modern football parable?". [[The Guardian]].
14. White, Jim. (7 February 2020). "After 29 years 'without a home fixture', AFC Wimbledon fans have lent enough money to rebuild Plough Lane". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
15. (4 May 2018). "Kingston local election results 2018". [[Surrey Comet]].
16. "Location of Kingston and Surbiton (Constituency) - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament".
17. (25 March 2021). "The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (Electoral Changes) Order 2021".