The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is the oldest of the Royal Boroughs in England and Wales, with great historical interest.
The main town in the borough, Kingston upon Thames, has existed on the banks of the River Thames in south-west London for many hundreds, if not thousands of years, with the oldest relics being aged at around 300,000 years old. Many Roman relics have also been found in the surrounding areas.
Areas included in the borough:
Kingston was famous in antiquity for being the coronation place of seven Anglo-Saxon monarchs, listed below
Kingston still has a monument, the Coronation Stone , on which the monarchs were said to have actually been crowned. A coin from the reign of each of the monarchs listed is set into the base of the stone, which now stands outside the local council offices, the Guildhall.
Sopwith Aviation Company had a factory in the Canbury Park area of Kingston, where the famous Sopwith Camel was produced during World War I.
Modern day Kingston benefits from one of the best shopping areas outside of central London, with a varied selection of high street stores, and a large number of independent boutiques and retailers.
The most famous shop in Kingston is Bentalls , started by Frank Bentall in 1867 in Clarence Street, where it (or least the completely rebuilt Bentalls) stands to this day, although Clock's sandwich shop is obviously fairly popular, as it has won 'Sandwich Shop of The Year' in the UK a few times.
Close to Kingston, and located between Kingston, Richmond, and Roehampton, is Richmond Park, one of the old Royal parks.
The current borough was formed in 1965 as a merger of the previous Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames along with the boroughs of Malden and Coombe and Surbiton. All of these areas were historically in Surrey.
Last updated: 05-17-2005 18:08:18
