Coordinates: 51°19′44″N 0°24′34″W / 51.3289°N 0.4094°W
| Cobham | |
  Cobham
Cobham shown within Surrey |
|
| Population | 10,918 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Elmbridge |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Cobham |
| Postcode district | KT11 |
| Dialling code | 01932 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Esher and Walton |
| List of places: UK • England • Surrey | |
Cobham is a town in Surrey, England, about 20 miles (32 km) south-west of central London; and 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Leatherhead. It is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt. To the north of the town is the A3 and Hersham Village. Cobham Fairmile has a population of 4,760[2] whilst neighbouring Cobham and Downside has a population of 6,158.[3] It is also home to the Chelsea Football Club training ground and many of the team's players live in the area.
Contents |
History
Cobham is an ancient settlement whose origins can be traced back through Roman times to the Iron Age. Cobham lay within the Saxon administrative district of Elmbridge hundred.
Cobham appears in Domesday Book as Covenham. It was held by Chertsey Abbey. Its domesday assets were: 12½ hides; 3 mills worth 13s 4d, 10 ploughs, 1-acre (4,000 m2) of meadow, woodland worth 40 hogs. It rendered £14.[4] Coveham or Covenham which is thought to mean a settlement in the curve of a river.
Being close to the old Brooklands race circuit there was a good deal of associated motor racing activity at Cobham between the wars. Reid Railton set up a manufacturing facility and built the well known Railton straight eight road cars there at Fairmile works in the thirties. In the seventies Cobham resident Mike Chambers built Huron Formula Fords and a Formula Atlantic car at the Silvermere works just the other side of the A3 and Geoff Uren prepared the BMW team saloon cars and Graham Hill's Jaegermeister sponsored Formula 2 car.
Local area
On the outskirts of Cobham is Stoke d'Abernon, whose name is taken from a family who settled here at time of the Norman conquest in 1066.
The local newspaper is the Cobham News & Mail.[5]
It is also near to Chelsea F.C.'s training ground close to Cobham and Stoke d'Abernon railway station, and its exclusive private estates are home to many of Chelsea's players.
Cobham Mill
The River Mole provides a setting for Cobham's best-known landmark which is the red brick water mill, constructed in 1822 and once part of a much larger complex. It stands on the site of earlier mills dating back to the Middle Ages. The mill was in use until 1928 when it became uneconomical to continue operating.
In 1953 the main part of the mill was demolished by Surrey County Council to alleviate traffic congestion on Mill Road. The remaining building was restored to full working order by the Cobham Mill Preservation Trust, and is now open to the public from 2pm to 5pm on the second Sunday of each month between April and October.
Education
The primary school is called St Andrew's.[6] There is no state secondary school. The two main local prep schools are Parkside School and Feltonfleet School. There are three independent schools: Notre Dame; ACS (The American Community Schools) Cobham International and Reed's School.[7]
Local leisure & entertainment
Painshill Park is nearby. Cobham has three football clubs: Cobham Football Club, Cobham United Football Club and Cobham Town FC (formed 2007). Cobham is also the location of Chelsea F.C.'s new state-of-the-art training complex. There is Cobham Rugby Football Club[8] and Cobham Village Club along with a branch of the Royal British Legion. Cobham Players[9] is the only group regularly presenting plays, musicals, pantomimes and other entertainments in Cobham.
Local politics
The Member of Parliament is Conservative Ian Taylor[1] in the Esher and Walton constituency. He regularly shops in Cobham at weekends. In local government Cobham is part of Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council. Divided into two wards, Cobham Fairmile[2] and Cobham & Downside[3] for Elmbridge voting, there are five councillors, all Conservative. For Surrey County voting, Cobham is paired with Stoke d'Abernon.
Cobham, with its many old buildings, conservation areas and housing development pressures has a very active Heritage Trust,[4] re-formed in 2007, and a lower-profile Residents Association[5]. Unlike neighbouring areas in Elmbridge, Residents and amenity groups [6] do not contest local elections in Cobham, although occasionally independents have stood without success, most recently in a 2007 by-election. The only non-Conservative elected was a Liberal/Focus [7] councillor, Mike King in 1984 in the Fairmile ward, which includes some high density social and private housing beside the A3, as well as more upmarket private estates. Cobham and Downside ward includes the village centre, private estates off the A245 Stoke Road, semi-rural Downside and into Hatchford south of the M25.
For the 2009 Surrey County election, the local Conservatives have selected Elmbridge councillor and former Parliamentary candidate John V. C. Butcher [8] in preference to Dorothy Mitchell who has served the area since 1983. Another of the Cobham & Downside members on Elmbridge, Mike Bennison since 2005 also represents the next 3 stops up the line to London Oxshott Claygate and Hinchley Wood on Surrey County Council.
Road and rail links
To the north and west of the town is the A3 trunk road, a major arterial route from London to Portsmouth. This road links to the M25 motorway at Junction 10, immediately to the south of Cobham.
- The A307, Portsmouth Road starts in Cobham and runs northwards to the adjoining town of Esher. This is also known as the "old A3"
- The A245 runs through the centre of the town and leads to Leatherhead in the South East and Byfleet to the west.
Cobham & Stoke d'Abernon railway station, opened in 1885, is on the "New Guildford Line" from London Waterloo with journey times around 40 minutes.
Police and fire services
Nowadays, Cobham Police Station is only used for minor issues; everything else is handled from Esher Police Station.
- Surrey Fire & Rescue Service, called Painshill Fire Station has a full time crew together with:
- 1 x Water Tender Ladder,
- 1 x Incident Command Unit,
- 1 x Forward Command Vehicle
References
Nearest places
External links
- Aerial photographs of Cobham
- Cobham Bus Museum
- Cobham Conservation and Heritage Trust
- Cobham Park
- Official website for Cobham Rugby Football Club
- Official website for Cobham Sports Association incorporating Cobham Rugby, Cobham Tennis and Cobham Cricket
- Official website for Cobham Football Club
- Cobham Players
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