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Tolworth
OS grid reference	TQ197659
London borough	Kingston
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SURBITON
Postcode district	KT5, KT6
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Kingston & Surbiton
London Assembly	South West
European Parliament	London
List of places: UK • England • London

Coordinates: 51°′″N 0°′″W / 51.3799, -0.2807

Tolworth is a mostly residential suburb of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, located 11.1 miles (17.8 km) south west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include: Berrylands, Surbiton, Chessington, Ewell and New Malden.

Background

Tolworth, in the Domesday Book, was called Taleorde. Its domesday assets were held partly by Picot from Richard de Tonebrige and partly by Radulf (Ralph) from the Bishop of Bayeux. It rendered: 2½ hides; also 4 hides with Long Ditton; 1 mill without dues, 8 ploughs, 10½ acres and ½ rod of meadow. It rendered £6.^[1]

Architecturally Tolworth consists mainly of low-density 1930s semi-detached properties, and small to medium commercial and retail developments. There is a concentration of industrial activity in an area bounded on the north by A3 London-to-Portsmouth trunk route, which runs through the area. The access junction for the A3, linking it on the north with the Broadway and on the south with the A240 Kingston Road toward Epsom, is known as the Toby Jug Roundabout, named after the public house which stood beside it until 2002 when it was demolished. The area is also served by a branch rail line running from London Waterloo to Chessington South two stops to the south, with services run by South-West Trains. An extensive low-lying office development, bounded by the A3 to the north and the rail line to the south, was once occupied by the Ministry of Defence, but has lain vacant for a number of years.

The principal shopping centre - the Broadway - is dominated by Tolworth Tower, an office block designed by the late Richard Seifert and opened in 1964. The tower is 80.8 m high with 22 floors. The ground floor of the building is occupied largely by a single retail unit - currently a Marks and Spencer supermarket - and smaller retail units along the Broadway, the remainder taken up with access to the other floors. The remaining floors of the building was originally occupied by commercial and government offices, but the north wing has recently re-opened as a Travelodge hotel. The building appears in the Taschen book of Boring Postcards.

The offices and studios of Radio Jackie, a commercial radio station broadcasting to south-west London and north Surrey, can be found on the Broadway. The broadcast mast is sited, with many other antennae, atop Tolworth Tower.

Tolworth is the home of its own community arts centre: The CornerHOUSE (Previously known as the Douglas Centre). It is from here that the mythical village of Tolorth D'Arcy, the forunner of modern Tolworth, was created. Many local legends have been sourced from Tolorth D'Arcy for the annual pantomimes.

Tolworth is mentioned in the very first episode of Monty Python, in the sketch 'Picasso/Cycling Race'.

In the early 1970's a pillar box in Raeburn Avenue was painted lime green for a brief period. However the Post Office decided that the familiar red colour should be restored. Since then all pillar boxes in the town have remained in their traditional colour.

Notable Resident

Alan Wheatley, who is probably best known for his role as The Sheriff of Nottingham in the TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood in the 1950s was born in Tolworth. He was also the first person killed by a Dalek in an episode of Doctor Who in 1964.

Greg Tanner - TV reporter (ITV News) and presenter (UKTV SLAM)

Martin Hamilton - Local Hero

Education

For education in Tolworth see the main Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames article.

Sport and recreation

Tolworth has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V, which Corinthian-Casuals play home games at (two very famous amateur football teams that have since merged).

Alexandra Park on King Charles Road has a basketball court - made famous by the basketball website Streetball.co.uk Image:Http://www.streetball.co.uk/pictures/tolworth july06/ring.jpg

References

1. ^ Surrey Domesday Book

External links

• UK skyscraper list 2001, for Tolworth Tower data
• Radio Jackie
• The CornerHOUSE
• Surbiton.com local community news

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Districts	Berrylands · Chessington · Coombe · Kingston upon Thames · Kingston Vale · Motspur Park · New Malden · Norbiton · Old Malden · Surbiton · Tolworth
Attractions	Bushy Park · Hampton Court Palace · Chessington World of Adventures · Thorpe Park
Constituencies	Kingston and Surbiton · Richmond Park
Parks and open spaces in Kingston upon Thames

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