Leatherhead

There is a local football team and it is home to a small steam train enthusiast group. The Mill Pond is popular local walking spot and close by are Headley Heath, Oxshott woods, Box Hill and Bookham Common.

The town's leisure centre was built in the 1960s, and was extended in the 1980s with the Mole Barn. As of 2006 plans have been drawn up by Mole Valley District Council to build a new modern centre on the site.

It also has a theatre, once named after Dame Sybil Thorndike, which is also used as a cinema and for art exhibitions. The theatre is now owned by a religious group called the Pioneer People, and is now called The Leatherhead Theatre.

Bocketts Farm off Young Street which includes rare breeds and a petting zoo.

Leatherhead's Royal School for the Blind (now SeeAbility) was once the work-place for Paul Heaton, but he was fired after encouraging residents to try cycling! Most of the School is now sold off as private flats.

In the late 1990s, the town's only hotel the Bull Hotel closed down, and has since been pulled down. In the early 2000s Travelodge opened a new hotel on the site of the old Swan hotel.

North Leatherhead or Leatherhead Common

Is the area north of the Kingston Road bridge. It is known for having Therfield Secondary School, and All Saints CofE First School, as well as the bulk of the town's Council Housing. Bordered to the north by Leatherhead Golf Course, Ashtead Common, and M25 motorway and to the south, by the British Rail system.

There is a Social club, the North Leatherhead Community Association or NLCA based in the old All Saints School, next to the Kingston Road Playing Grounds.

There are two large stores in the area, B&Q Hardware and Tesco Supermarkets.

Local Area

The Villages of Fetcham, Ashtead, Headley are often looked at as part of Leatherhead more so for Postal reasons with Royal Mail.

In the Village of Headley, there is an RAF Hospital, RAF Headley Court. There is no airport like other RAF bases, though its playing fields can be used for helicopters.

5 miles north of Leatherhead is Chessington World of Adventures, one of The Tussauds Group premier UK theme parks.

To the West of the Town is Stane Street, an old Roman Road, though most is now built over or rural footpaths. This is leading From London to Dorking and so on to Chichester.

In Great Bookham, Polesden Lacey, a stately home situated in the south of that village. Where King George VI spent his honeymoon.

Local Leisure & Entertainment

*Leatherhead Leisure Centre
*Cannons Health Club
*The Theatre (Former Thorndike Theatre)
*Leatherhead F.C.
*Leatherhead & Cobham Cricket Club
*Leatherhead Golf Club
*Tyrrells Wood Golf Club
*Miniature Railway Club
*Bocketts Farm
*Leatherhead Museum
*Leatherhead Army Cadet Force
*Odeon Cinemas (In Epsom)

Pubs, and Social Clubs

The Penny Black

Pubs

*The Star. (Surrey/Greater London County line runs through the bar.)
*Royal Oak. (Greene King)
*The Plough
*The Penny Black. (Youngs former Hogshead Brewery)
*The Edmund Tilney. (Wetherspoons, Free house)
*Dukes Head. (The Spirit Group, division of Punch Taverns)
*The Running Horse. (Blotto and Stuffed, Free house)
*The Bell (Fetcham's only Pub). (Youngs former Greene King)
*The Cocked horse (Headley's only Pub). (formally the Cock Inn.)

The Symbol of the Royal British Legion, poppies used on Remembrance Day

*The Woodman. (In Ashtead, Ember Inns)
*The Brewery. (In Ashtead, Ember Inns)
*The Leg of Mutton and Cauliflower. (In Ashtead.)

Social Clubs

*NLCA or North Leatherhead Community Association
*Leatherhead and District Social Club, C&IU Affiliate.
*Leatherhead Royal British Legion Club, C&IU Affiliate.
*Constitutional Club (Former Conservative Club)
*Ashtead Village Club (Ashteads's only Social Club) C&IU Affiliate.
*Fetcham Sports and Social Club (Fetcham's only Social Club)
*RAF Headley Club, this club is open only to Service men and woman, plus there families of RAF Headley Court

Education

State Education

*All Saints Church of England First School (Will cease as of 1/9/06)
*St Marys Church of England First school (Will cease as of 1/9/06)
*Woodville County Middle School (Will cease as of 1/9/06)As of 1st September 2006 The Leatherhead Trinity School and Children's Centre will come into being it is the result of a merge between Woodville School, St Mary's School and All Saints School. A new uniform has also been unveiled which will be predominately red. As well as being a bold colour it was chosen because it is different from the uniforms of the three old schools.
*Therfield Secondary School
*St Andrews Catholic Secondary School. Just in Ashtead.
*Fetcham Infants School for ages 4-7
*Oakfield Junior School for ages 7-11

Private Education

*Downsend School. Just in Ashtead.
*Downsend Lodge
*St John's School

Transport

Rail

The entrance to the station

Leatherhead is served by Leatherhead railway station however over the years Leatherhead has had four railway stations, two of which were only temporary. The current one is the only surviving station. Originally, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the London and South Western Railway companies were arguing over who was going to build a railway line into Leatherhead, but an agreement was reached that one would build the line on condition that the other was granted equal running rights over it. The LBSCR built their own station slightly south of the junction of the LSWR line to Guildford and their own to Dorking, Horsham and beyond, while the LSWR built theirs a few hundred yard to the south-west.

Only part of the steps up from road level (the road to the stations runs in a cutting) to platform level above survive of this, because after the Southern Railway Co. took over both the LSWR and the LBSCR in the Grouping of 1923, use of both stations declined and so it was decided to re-route the LSWR line through the LBSCR station (necessitating a very sharp curve for trains using the Guildford line). The LBSCR station survives, although the Stationmaster's House (an integral part of the main building) is boarded up along with the building on Platform 2.

At one point it was planned to link Leatherhead with Chessington South Railway station. But this was put on hold due to a protection order on Ashtead Common. As of 2005 plans were put in place for a tunnel.

Road

*The main London to Worthing road, the A24, also runs though the town, and makes up part of the towns large bypass.

View across Heathrow Airport.

*The M25 motorway was built to the north of the town, with Leatherhead being accessible at Junction 9.

*Local taxi firms serve the town.

Air

*Leatherhead is lucky to be very close to, two of London's major Airports.
**Gatwick: 30-40 minutes anti-clockwise on the M25 then M23.
**Heathrow: 30-40 minutes clockwise on the M25.

Michael Caine

Famous Residents - Past and Present

*Donald Campbell, Bluebird pilot and fastest man on water.
*Michael Caine
*Marc Bolan, who went to school in Leatherhead
*Kevin Williams, the "Home Doctor".
*Ben Dover, Adult film maker and star.
*Ray Allen - ventriloquist best known for Lord Charles
*Francis Rossi, Front man Status Quo Went to School in Leatherhead.

Bobby G

*Bobby G, Singer Bucks Fizz, winners Eurovision Song Contest 1981. Born in Epsom lived, raised, schooled, and worked in Leatherhead.
*Max Bygraves, Singer, host Family Fortunes.
*Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Opera Singer.
*Lord Richard Rogers, Architect who went to School at St Johns Leatherhead.
*Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, World War II.

Town's claims to fame

*The Town Centre has recently been voted amongst the worst in the United Kingdom, on a BBC TV Show.

A Martian tripod fighting-machine, from Jeff Wayne's 1978 musical version of The War of the Worlds.

*Leatherhead is mentioned in the original H. G. Wells book The War of the Worlds. On Day Ten (roughly) was when Leatherhead (where the narrator sent his wife for safety) was destroyed by a Martian, killing everyone. Fortunately, his wife made it out before the attack and they were reunited after the Martian's destruction. Chapter 10, "In the Storm", begins with the words "Leatherhead is about twelve miles from Maybury Hill."
*Edmund Tilney, Master of the Revels to Queen Elizabeth I, lived in the Mansion house. The Master of the Revels was in effect the official censor of the time. All of William Shakespeare's work would have passed his eyes before going public. In the movie, Shakespeare in Love, he is portrayed by the actor Simon Callow. (A local Wetherspoons Pub is now named after him).
*Surrey Sound Recording Studios. Many bands recorded here, including Rick Astley and Bros.
*In the 1974-75 season Leatherhead F.C., or The Tanners, were drawn against Leicester City F.C. at home in the FA Cup Fourth Round Proper, but the game was switched to Filbert Street. The BBC's Match of the Day cameras and over 32,000 people saw a dramatic match, in which the Tanners went two goals up, and then saw a goalbound shot that would have made it 3-0 cleared off the line. Leicester City's fitness and class eventually told as the top-flight team fought back to win 3-2 in the second half. Leicester City went on to play Arsenal F.C. in the next round.

Local government

Leatherhead had been an urban district up to 1974. Although, Leatherhead is now a part of Mole Valley District Council area. Dorking is the administrative centre of Mole Valley District Council.

Arms of Mole Valley District Council

*The Coat of Arms of Mole Valley.
*The two Cocks are for Dorking, the Swan for Leatherhead, on the shield the wavey lines are for the River Mole, the acorns are for the 3 parks in the District, and the points are for the North Downs

Emergency Services

Leatherhead is served by these emergency sevices:
*Surrey Police. Though Leatherhead Police Station is only used for minor issues now, everything else is handled from Dorking Police Station.
*South East Coast Ambulance Service as of 1st July 2006, is the local NHS Ambulance Services Trust. The Surrey Ambulance Service, Sussex, and Kent Ambulance services have all merged, and have now ceased to exist.
*Surrey Fire & Rescue Service, Actually in Fetcham, but called Leatherhead Fire Station. With a full time crew.
**1 x Water Tender Ladder
**1 x Water Carrier
*Hospital, Small NHS unit with no A&E. It is used for outpatients and rehab.

Leatherhead: Encyclopedia BETA

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