Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is the oldest of four Royal Boroughs[?] in England and Wales, with great historical interest.

The main town in the borough, Kingston upon Thames, has existed on the banks of the River Thames in south-west London for many hundreds, if not thousands of years, with the oldest relics being aged at around 300,000 years old. Many Roman relics have also been found in the surrounding areas.

Areas included in the borough:

• Berrylands[?]
• Chessington
• Coombe[?]
• Kingston upon Thames
• Kingston Vale[?]
• Malden Rushett[?]
• Motspur Park[?]
• New Malden
• Norbiton
• Old Malden[?]
• Surbiton
• Tolworth

Kingston was famous in antiquity for being the coronation place of seven Anglo-Saxon monarchs, listed below

Name	Year
Edward the Elder, (son of Alfred the Great)	900AD
Athelstan	925AD
Edmund I[?]	939AD
Eadred[?]	946AD
Eadwig[?]	956AD
Edward II[?] the Martyr	975AD
Ethelred the Unready	979AD

Kingston still has a monument, the Coronation Stone[?], on which the monarchs were said to have actually been crowned. A coin from the reign of each of the monarchs listed is set into the base of the stone, which now stands outside the local council offices, the Guildhall.

Sopwith Aviation Co[?] had a factory in the Canbury Park area of Kinsgton, where the famous Sopwith Camel was produced during World War I.

Modern day Kingston benefits from one of the best shopping areas outside of central London, with a varied selection of high street stores, and a large number of independent boutiques and retailers.

The most famous shop in Kingston is Bentalls[?], started by Frank Bentall[?] in 1867 in Clarence Street, where it (or least the completely rebuilt Bentalls) stands to this day, although Clock's sandwich shop is obviously fairly popular, as it has won 'Sandwich Shop of The Year' in the UK a few times.

Close to Kingston, and located between Kingston, Richmand, and Roehampton, is Richmond Park, one of the old Royal parks.

External links

• Kingston Council - http://www.kingston.gov.uk/