Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in London, England.It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a lively suburb situated 10 miles (16.1 km) south west of Charing Cross. It is one of ten major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Its location places it as a major route out of the city of London into the commutter belt, and Kingston station is well served for trains entering London, most of which come from Twickenham and Sunbury.
History of Kingston upon Thames
Kingston was built at the first crossing point of the Thames upstream from London Bridge and a bridge still exists at the same site. Kingston was occupied by the Romans, and later it was either a royal residence or a royal demesne. There is a record 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 Kyningestun famosa illa locus. In Old English, tun, ton or don meant farmstead - so the name Kingston may have been thought to mean farmstead of the kings. Seven Saxon kings are traditionally said to have been crowned at Kingston, while seated on a large stone - The Coronation Stone - that stands outside the Guildhall. There is a local rumour that these Saxon coronations gave Kingston its name, but the records of the 838 council disprove this. (Dickens 1887)
The first charter was granted by King John in 1208 and this document still exists in the town's archives. Other charters were issued by later kings, including Edward IV's charter that gave the town the status of a borough in 1481. Some interesting relics have been discovered to support this history, and statues of some of the Saxon kings and of King John were preserved in a chapel. In 1730 the chapel containing the royal effigies collapsed, burying the sexton, who was digging a grave, the sexton's daughter and another person. The daughter survived this accident and was her father's successor as sexton. Another chapel, The Lovekyn Chapel, still exists. It was founded in 1309 by a former mayor of London, Edward Lovekyn. It is the only private chantry chapel to survive the Reformation.