KINGSTON-upon-THAMES, a parish in the first division of the hundred
of KINGSTON, county of SURREY, comprising the market-town of Kingston,
which has a separate jurisdiction, and the hamlets of Ham with
Hatch, and Hook, and containing 6091 inhabitants, of which number,
4908 are in the town of Kingston, 17 miles (N. E.)
from Guildford, and 12 (S.W.) from London, on the
road to Portsmouth. This town, which, according to
Leland, was built in the time of the Saxons, appears
to . have derived its name Kyningestun from its having
been held in royal demesne, and the place in which
many of the Saxon kings were crowned, among whom
were Athelstan, Edwin, Ethelred, Edward the Elder,
Edmund, Edward the Martyr, and Edred. Near the
town-hall is a large st6ne, on which, according to tradition,
the ceremony of coronation was performed, and
statues of several of those monarchs were preserved in
the chapel of St. Mary near the spot, which, having
been undermined by the digging of a1 grave, fell down
in 1730. The present town appears to have risen from
the ruins of a more ancient one, called Moreford, from
a ford across the Thames, and which Dr. Gale supposes
to have been the Tamesa of the geographer of Ravenna,
a conjecture resting chiefly on the frequent discovery
o"f numerous relics of Roman antiquity in the immediate
vicinity. Vestiges of the old town, a little
to the east of the present, were till very lately discernible
in the foundations of houses and other buildings;
and the site of a Roman cemetery seems to have
been ascertained by the numerous sepulchral urns,
containing ashes and other relics, that have been
found on the spot. Recently, on digging the foundation
for a new bridge across the river, several Roman
military weapons, consisting of spear-heads and
swords, of beautiful workmanship and in a good state
of preservation, were discovered, and are now in the
possession of a gentleman resident in the neighbourhood;
about the same time also were found several
human skeletons, with Roman ornaments lying near
them, in a field near the spot, on the Surrey side of the
river; these discoveries have given rise to an opinion
that Csesar, on quitting his encampment on Wimbledon
common, crossed the Thames at Kingston, and not at
Weybridge, as has hitherto been imagined; the skeletons
being those of some of his troops that fell in endeavouring
to force the passage of the river against the
opposing Britons, whose slain are supposed to be interred
in a tumulus (not yet opened) in a field called
the Barrow field, on the Middlesex side of the river, and
about half a mile from the spot where the weapons
were found. In the latter part of the reign of Egbert,
an ecclesiastical council was held at Kingston, at which
that prince was present, together with most of the dignitaries
of the Anglo-Saxon church, and the nobility.
During the parliamentary war, the inhabitants embraced
the cause of their sovereign, and suffered severely
for their loyalty and attachment to the interests of the king.
The town is pleasantly situated on the southern bank
of the Thames, over which was a very ancient wooden
bridge, noticed in a record of the 8th of Henry III.,
and, with the exception of Old London bridge, the
oldest of that river; it has been replaced by an elegant
structure of Portland-stone, consisting of five
spacious elliptical arches, completed in 1828, at an
expense of £40,000, and surmounted by a handsome
cornice and balustrade, with galleries projecting over
the piers. The houses are in general indifferently built,
and the appearance of the town, which is paved and
lighted under the provisions of a local act of parliament,
passed in the 13th of George III., is by no means prepossessing;
the inhabitants are supplied with water by
pumps attached to their houses, and from a conduit on
Combe hill, the water of which is conveyed also by pipes
under the river Thames, laid down by Cardinal Wolsey
for the supply of Hampton Court palace. The air is
very salubrious, and the environs abound with beautiful
scenery. The trade is principally in malt, a great quantity
of which is made: there are also an extensive
distillery and brewery, and several flour and oil mills.
The market days are Wednesday and Saturday, but the
former has nearly fallen into disuse: the fairs are on
the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in Whitsun-week,
for horses, cattle, and toys; August 2nd and the followingday,
for horses; and November 13th and seven following
days, which is a large fair for sheep, of which
generally about twenty thousand are exposed for sale;
also for horses, of which there are seldom less than a
thousand; and for cattle, of which frequently ten thousand
head are sold.
Kingston returned members to parliament from the
4th of Edward II. until the 47th of Edward III., since
which time it has made no return. The first charter of
privileges was granted by King John, in the 10th year
of his reign, which was confirmed and extended by
succeeding sovereigns; under that of the 14th of
Charles I. the government is vested in a corporation,
consisting of two bailiffs, high steward, recorder, and an
indefinite number of gownsmen and peers, and a councilof
fifteen, assisted by a town cleric, two coroners, four
Serjeants at mace, and other officers; James II., in
1685, granted a new charter for a mayor and twelve aldermen;
but, in October 1688, this charter was annulled,
the preceding one of Charles I. remaining in force. The
bailiffs, who are also clerks of the market, are chosen
from four of the peers and gownsmen nominated by
the council of fifteen, the bailiffs and recorder selecting
one, and the peers the other; the fifteen also elect two
free tenants of the manor to the office of ale-conner,
which forms their introduction into the corporation, and
two of their own body become peers, and are eligible to
the office of bailiff. The bailiffs, the late bailiffs, and
the recorder, are justices of the peace within the town
and liberties, and have power to hold sessions for the
trial of all offenders not accused of capital crimes. The
freedom of the town is inherited by the eldest son on
the death of his father, or acquired by servitude of seven
years apprenticeship to a member of either of the
three companies of Mercers, Vintners, and Cordwainers.
Among the privileges which the freedom confers is exemption
from tolls throughout the realm, from serving
on juries for the county, and, anciently, from contributing
to the expenses of the knights of the shire, A
singular custom connected with the election of the
members of the corporation is observed, and is said to
be sanctioned by the charter. A match at foot-ball
takes place, in which the lower orders engage with so
much zeal and activity, that the inhabitants of the
principal streets find it expedient to barricade all the
windows in front of their houses.
The corporation hold general courts of session in
April and October, and a petty session every Saturday;
at which time they also hold a court of record for the recovery
of debts to any amount, at which the bailiffs and
recorder preside: the steward of this court is the attorney
general, for the time being, and its jurisdiction extends
over the hundreds of Kingston, Elmbridge, Copthorne,
and Effingham. A court for the hundred of ancient demesne
is held every third Saturday, before the bailiffs;
and as lords of the manor, they hold courts leet and
baron on the Tuesday in Whitsun-week. The town-hall
is an ancient building erected in the reign of Elizabeth,
and partly rebuilt in that of James I., or more probably
of Queen Anne, whose statue is set up on the outside of
the building, and whose portrait is placed in the hall:
the lower part is appropriated to the use of the market,
and the upper part comprises rooms for the several
courts, and for the general business of the corporation;
the windows are ornamented with stained glass, in which
are the arms of James I. surrounded by small shields,
containing the armorial bearings, or devices of the
Saxon and other kings. The town gaol is a small neat
building, erected in 1829, at an expense of £1100, for
the confinement of debtors. The Winter and the Lent
assizes for the county are held in this town, which is included
in the home circuit: the court-house in which
they are held was built by the corporation, in 1811, at
an expense of £10,000, and contains two spacious
courts for the crown and nisi prius causes: a grand jury
room and requsite offices, attached to which is a house
for the accommodation of the judges. The house of
correction for the county comprises sevenwards, one
work-room, two day-rooms, and two airing-yards, for
the classification of prisoners.
The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry
of Surrey, and diocese of Winchester, rated
ip the king's books at £20. 6. 3., endowed with £1000
royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Provost and
Fellows of King's College, Cambridge. The church,
dedicated to All Saints, is an ancient cruciform structure,
in the decorated style of English architecture, with
a tower rising from the intersection, formerly surmounted
by a spire, which having been greatly injured
by a storm in November 1703, was taken down. There
are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of
Friends, and Independents. The free grammar school
was founded by Queen Elizabeth, who endowed it with
lands and tenements producing about £100 per annum,
for a head master and an usher appointed by the bailiffs,
with the approval of the bishop of the diocese: there
are about fourteen scholars, who are instructed in the
classics and mathematics: the remains of an ancient
chapel, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, are appropriated
to the use of the school, and are at present undergoing
a course of repair, in which due regard is paid to
the preservation of the original architecture. The Bluecoat
school for boys, of whom thirty-two are clothed,
and that for girls, of whom thirty-six are clothed, are
supported by a share of the funds bequeathed, for charitable
uses by Messrs. Smith, Tiffin, Belitha, Mrs. Elizabeth
Brown, and others. A National school, in which
two hundred and sixty boys, and one hundred and fifty
girls, are instructed, and for which school-rooms were
built, in 1819, by N. Pallmer, Esq., at an expense of
£ 1200; and an infant school for one hundred and
fifty children, for which a building "was erected, in
1828, at an expense of £600, are supported by subscription.
Almshouses for six aged men and six aged
women were founded, in 1665, by William Cleave, Esq.,
alderman of London, who endowed them with houses
and lands producing upwards of £400 per annum, to
which was added £ 1000 in the three per cent, reduced
annuities, by John Tilsley, Esq., the dividends on
which are appropriated weekly in sums of four shillings
each, to the almspeople, in addition to £1. 16. per
month from the original endowment: the buildings
comprise twelve neat tenements under one roof, with a
large common hall in the centre. A dispensary is supported
by subscription; and there are numerous charitable
bequests for the relief of the indigent poor. An
hospital, with a chapel dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene,
was founded here, in 1309, by Edward Lovekin, of
which the original endowment was considerably augmented
by his son, John Lovekin, four times lord
mayor of London between the years 1348 and 1356.
Dr. George Bate, physician to Charles II.; Dr. William
Battie, a physician of considerable repute in
cases of insanity; and Judge Hardinge, were interred
here.