Esher
Coordinates: 51 ° 22 ′ N , 0 ° 22 ′ W
Esher [ˈiːʃə] is a town in the English county of Surrey . It belongs to the Borough of Elmbridge and is located southwest of London on the River Mole not far from its confluence with the Thames on the Rythe . The population is 8387.
history
Esher was first mentioned in the Domesday Book and for a long time was an important stagecoach station on the road from London to Portsmouth - later the A3 expressway was built along the route. In the 16th century, King Henry VIII declared the area around Esher a royal hunting ground. Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive , had Claremont Mansion built in the Palladian style as his country house in the 18th century; the house was later used as a secondary residence by Queen Victoria. Here also lived Leopold of Saxe-Coburg before he went as king of Belgium. Victoria later made the house available to King Louis Philippe, who was expelled from France in 1848, as a residence in exile. In the 1960s, the Beatles guitarist George Harrison lived in Esher in his "Kinfauns" house, which also housed a recording studio.
Attractions
Not far from the city's train station is the Sandown Park harness racing track . Also worth seeing is St. George's Church, the structure of which largely dates from the Tudor period.
Personalities
- Thomas Wolsey (1475-1530), Archbishop of York (1514-1530); lived temporarily on his country estate in Esher
- Francis John Williamson (1833-1920), sculptor; worked and died in Esher
- Adeline Genée (1878–1970), Danish ballet dancer; died in Esher
- Leslie Halliwell (1929–1989), writer and film historian; died in Esher
- George Harrison (1943–2001), guitarist for the Beatles, lived here from 1964 to 1970
- Tony Lee (1934-2004), jazz musician; died in Esher
- Lily James (born 1989), actress
