Kingston upon Thames

Kingston upon Thames, part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is an ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned, and is now a lively suburb of London. It is where the aquatic adventure in Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome begins and was also a major military aircraft manufacturing centre in the 20th century – notably with the Sopwith, Hawker Aviation and British Aerospace companies. It is the home of Kingston University.

It is currently home to two well-known non-league Association football clubs, Kingstonian F.C. and AFC Wimbledon, both of which play at The Fans' Stadium, Kingsmeadow.

It is one of the most picturesque towns on the banks of the Thames; and its antiquarian attractions are of the highest order. It was occupied by the Romans, and in aftertimes it was either a royal residence or a royal demesne, so early as the union of the Saxon Heptarchy; for there is a record extant of a council held there in 838, at which Egbert of Wessex, the first king of all England, and his son Ethelwulf of Wessex were present; and in this record it is styled Kyningenstum famosa ilia locus. Some of the Saxon kings were also crowned here; and adjoining the church is a large stone, on which, according to tradition, they were placed during the ceremony. Many interesting relics have from time to time been discovered in illustration of these historical facts, and till the year 1730, the figures of some of the above kings and that of king John (who chartered the town) were preserved in a chapel adjoining the above spot. In that year, however, the chapel fell, and with it were demolished the royal effigies. At the time the chapel fell, the sexton, while digging a grave was buried under the ruins, with another person, and his daughter. The latter, notwithstanding she lay covered seven hours, survived this misfortune seventeen years, and was her father's successor. The memory of this event is preserved by a print of this singular woman, engraved by M'Ardell. Mr. Lysons, with his usual accuracy, enumerates nine kings who were crowned here. Kingston formerly sent members to parliament, till, by petition, the inhabitants prayed to be relieved from the burden!

One of the more notable sights in Kingston is that of several telephone boxes, which have been tipped on their sides in a pattern resembling dominos. The sculpture by David Mach was commissioned in 1988, and is called Out of Order.

Modern Day Kingston

Central Kingston is now very good for shopping. There is a shopping centre called Bentalls which has lots of shops including: an extremely large HMV, a Food Court, a two storey WHSmiths with a Costa Coffee and there is also a large Watersones. Aswell as this there are two GAMEs in Kingston and two Orange Shops. Kingston is very busy but most of the shops are not open for long on Sundays. If you want some activities there is "The Rotunda" next to the train station which has bowling, David Loyds, a 14 screen Odeon and lots of restaurants including Pizza Express and Frankie and Benny's. Finally there is a LaserQuest hidden away opposite the Rotunda 100 metres down the road.

External links

• AFC Wimbledon official site
• Kingstonian FC official site
• Kingston University official site
• Kingston Council official site
• Kingston Online – business and leisure information listings and links
• A Brief History of Kingston-upon-Thames by Tim Lambert