Visit Weybridge Places

Welcome to Visit Weybridge Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Weybridge

  

Weybridge Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Weybridge

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Weybridge history

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Early history

A number of weapons, including socketed axe heads, a rapier, and a palstave, were retrieved from the River Wey in 1912. At least fifty cinerary urns dating from the same period were found in the area in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A copper-alloy bucket, now held by the British Museum, was discovered during the construction of the Brooklands racetrack in 1907.

Governance

There are three separate entries for Weybridge in Domesday Book. The first area of land described was held by Bishop Odo of Bayeux as tenant-in-chief. The other two entries list areas belonging to Chertsey Abbey, totalling a further 16 acres of meadow, land for four swine and ploughland for 1½ plough teams.

Transport and communications

The name “Weybridge” suggests that there has been a bridge over the River Wey in the area since Anglo-Saxon times. During the Elizabethan period, the bridge was a wooden structure, 240 ft (73 m) long and 5.25 ft (1.60 m) wide. The present bridge dates from 1865 and is constructed from brick, iron and stone. A second bridge, downstream of the first, was completed in 1945 and now carries the A317.

Residential development

Weybridge was still only a small village in the early 18th century. In 1724, the rector noted that it was increasingly becoming a place for “gentile retirement” and recorded eighteen upper class families living in the area. The settlement was dominated by two estates: Portmore Park and Oatlands Park.

Brooklands

Brooklands was the first purpose-built motor-racing circuit in the world. Constructed on farmland to the south of Weybridge, the concrete track was designed by Capel Lofft Holden and had a total length of 2.75 mi (4.43 km) The first races for motorcars took place in July 1907 and for motorcycles in February the following year. Motor racing ceased for the duration of the First World War and resumed in 1920.

Commerce and industry

The earliest record of a mill in the town is from 1693, when a paper mill was built at the confluence of the Wey and Thames. Ironstone was quarried from Weybridge Heath and St George’s Hill, although the dates of these workings are uncertain. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, iron was smelted at a mill on Whittet’s Ait.

Weybridge in the world wars

At the start of the First World War, Weybridge became a training base for the 244 Motorised Transport Company. Barnham Lodge opened as a 35-bed hospital in 1915 and Barnham lodge opened in 1917. Oatlands Park Hotel was requisitioned in 1916 as a hospital for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The presence of the Vickers aircraft factory made the town an obvious target for enemy bombing.

Weybridge culture & places

Art

Elmbridge Museum collection includes works by Charles Claude Houssard (1884–1958), Edwin Lock (active 1929–1961), and Nancy Wallis. Guildford House Gallery holds two riverside views of Weybridge by Winifred Schofield. Brooklands Museum holds a number of artworks that reference the area’s motor racing and aviation heritage.

Literature

Several authors have lived in Weybridge. The town is mentioned in several works of literature. H. G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds (1897) is entitled “What I saw of the destruction of Weybridges and Shepperton”

Music

You Me at Six was formed in Weybridge in 2004. Four members of the group attended Brooklands College. Amateur choirs rehearsing regularly in the town include the Treble Clef Choir for ladies’ voices.

Weybridge toponymy

The first written records of a settlement at Weybridge date from the 7th century. It appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Webrige and Webruge and in subsequent surviving documents as Waibrigge and Wabrigge. Brooklands is first recorded in 1383 as Otelands, which may indicate that the area was used for the cultivation of oats.

Weybridge geography / climate

Location and topography

Weybridge is in northwest Surrey, approximately 27 km (17 mi) southwest of central London. The town centre is close to the confluence of the River Wey and the River Thames, but the settlement also includes St George’s Hill and Brooklands, to the south. The highest point in the town is 78 m (256 ft) above ordnance datum.

Geology

The rock strata on which Weybridge sits were deposited in the Cenozoic. The Bagshot Sands are the main outcrop to the south of the town and at Brooklands.

You can visit Weybridge places with Walkfo Weybridge to hear history at Weybridge’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Weybridge has 59 places to visit in our interactive Weybridge map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Weybridge, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Weybridge places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Weybridge & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 59 audio facts unique to Weybridge places in an interactive Weybridge map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Weybridge Places Map
59 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Weybridge historic spots	Weybridge tourist destinations	Weybridge plaques	Weybridge geographic features
Walkfo Weybridge tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Weybridge

  

Best Weybridge places to visit

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Weybridge has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Weybridge’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Weybridge’s information audio spots:

Coxes Lock Coxes Lock is towards the northern end of the Wey Navigation parallel to the River Wey in Addlestone, Surrey. The tallest non-ecclesiastical/civic building in South-East of England outside London pre-dating about 1880 is the east of the former mill blocks, which are now apartments.

BAC Concorde G-BBDG G-BBDG (manufacturer’s serial number 202, known as “Delta Golf”) was the British development Concorde built for evaluation testing. Along with the French Concorde F-WTSB, the aircraft was used to enable sufficient testing to allow for the Concorde fleet to receive certification.

Walton and Weybridge Urban District Walton and Weybridge Urban District was a local government district in Surrey, England from 1933 to 1974. It was one of the largest urban areas in the country’s history.

Oatlands Palace Oatlands Palace is a former Tudor and Stuart royal palace. It took the place of the former manor of the village of Weybridge, Surrey. Little remains of the original building, so excavations of the palace took place in 1964 to rediscover its extent.

Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club (WLARC) is a rowing club on the River Wey and River Thames. The club is based at Boat House, Walton Lane, Wey Bridge, Elmbridge, Surrey.

Lock Island Lock Island is an island in the River Thames connected to Shepperton Lock. Facing the attached by lock-gate bridge mainland is a hedge-lined lawn hosting a café. The Thames River Police have a station on the island.

Weybridge United Reformed Church The Decorated Gothic Revival church was designed in 1864 by John Tarring and opened the following year. The church joined the United Reformed Church denomination in 1972. Historic England has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

Foxwarren Park Foxwarren Park, at Wisley in Surrey, was designed in 1860 by the railway architect Frederick Barnes for brewing magnate and MP Charles Buxton. It was then owned by Hannah Weinstein and chosen for films and television series including The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Burwood Park Burwood Park is a private residential estate in Hersham, Surrey. It consists of approximately 400 detached houses dating from the early 20th century to the present day.

Visit Weybridge plaques