In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Leatherhead like this:
LEATHERHEAD, a small town, a parish, and a subdistrict, in Epsom district, Surrey. The town stands on the river Mole, at a fourteen arched bridge across the stream and at the terminus of a branch of the Southwestern railway, 4 miles SW by S of Epsom; was known to the Saxons as Leodre, Ledret, and Leadride; appears to have been long a place of considerable importance; was the seat of the sheriff county court prior to the end of Henry III. ...
's reign; was also a market town; consists now of four streets, with large gardens sloping down from the back of one of them to the river; and has a head post office, ‡ a railway station with telegraph, two chief inns, a church, an Independent chapel, a mechanics, institute, national and infant schools, and charities £200. One of the inns has a spacious apartment for balls, concerts, and public meetings. A small inn, a timber built house recently much altered, close to the bridge, is said to be the hostel of "Dame Eleanor Rummyng, " celebrated by Skelton, the laureate of Henry VIII. The church stands on an eminence above the Mickleham road; is a cruciform edifice of the 13th century; was given, about the middle of the 14th century, to the priory of Leeds in Kent; has a tower with octagon staircase at the NE corner, and strong double buttresses at each of the other corners; contains carved screens at the division between the nave and the transepts; contains also, in its E window, stained glass brought from Rouen by the Rev. J. Dallaway, at the time when he was publishing his history of West Sussex; and contains likewise a beautiful monument to Mrs. Dickson, and many ancient marble tablets. A fair is held on 10 October; and malting, brewing, and tanning are carried on.—The parish contains also the hamlet of Pattersham, and comprises 3, 507 acres. Real property, £10, 336. Pop., 2, 079. Houses, 384. The manor, with Randall Park, belongs to R. Henderson, Esq. Leatherhead House was the seat of the Gores, and of Judge Jeffreys. Thorncroft is the seat of A. Colvin, Esq.; and Gibbons Grove, of D. Fletcher, Esq. Bricks and tiles are made. An extensive common was enclosed in 1862. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Winchester. Value, £300.* Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Rochester.—The sub-district contains also five other parishes. Acres, 16, 684. Pop., 6, 160. Houses, 1, 153.
Leatherhead through time
Leatherhead is now part of Mole Valley district. Click here for graphs and data of how Mole Valley has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Leatherhead itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Leatherhead, in Mole Valley and Surrey | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/280
Date accessed: 18th April 2024
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