Walton-upon-Thames
Walton-on-Thames
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 The Old Manor House, Walton-on-Thames |
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 Walton-on-Thames
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| Walton-on-Thames shown within Surrey | |
| Area | 9.66 km2 (3.73 sq mi) |
| Population | 22,834 (2011 Census) |
| • Density | 2,364/km2 (6,120/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TQ103663 |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WALTON-ON-THAMES |
| Postcode district | KT12 |
| Dialling code | 01932 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Walton-on-Thames /ˈwɔːltən ɒn ˈtɛmz/ is a town on the River Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey. An outlying suburb of London, the town is centred 15.3 miles (24.6 km) south west of Charing Cross and is between the towns of Weybridge (to the south-west) and Molesey (to the north-east). Its waterside has the Thames Path National Trail between Sunbury Lock and Shepperton Lock. Its own localities include Ashley Park and Field Common. Its station on the South West Main Line has proven important to its development – its services run with a minimum of one stop before London Waterloo station. The town is divided into four wards and is a local hub in terms of retail and services.
The name "Walton" is Anglo-Saxon in origin and is cognate with the common phonetic combination meaning "Briton settlement" (literally, "Welsh Town" – weal(as) tun). Before the Romans and the Saxons were present, a Celtic settlement was here. The most common Old English word for the Celtic inhabitants was the "Wealas", originally meaning "foreigners" or "strangers".William Camden identified Cowey Stakes or Sale, Walton as the place where Julius Caesar forded the River Thames on his second invasion of Britain, which stakes the Venerable Bede spoke of remaining in his time. A fisherman removed several stakes about thigh-width and 6 feet (1.8 m) made of wood that was very black and hard enough to turn an axe, and shod with iron. He sold these to John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich, who used to come to the neighbouring Shepperton bank to fish, for half a guinea a piece. Elmbridge Museum requires definitive evidence of these stakes, the evidence at present limited to pre 20th-century secondary sources that conflict as to detail.
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