Abrams Archaeology have been delighted to work on the Archaeological Priority Areas Appraisal for the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. This work has been done on behalf of the Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service advisor to the local planning authority (Kingston Council). Updating the APA Appraisal document for Kingston Upon Thames will, upon completion feed into decisions made upon development proposals for the Borough. It also forms a supporting document to the emerging Kingston Local Plan.
The APA Appraisal can be found at these links:
https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/our-planning-services/greater-london-archaeology-advisory-service/greater-london-archaeological-priority-areas/
https://historicengland.org.uk/content/docs/planning/apa-kingston-upon-thames-2021-pdf/
Development within the Borough can potentially improve the quality of life for residents and properly informed and considered decisions (including an element of consideration for archaeology) align with Historic England’s main purpose (to improve people’s lives by protecting and championing the historic environment). Research, selection of Archaeological Priority Areas and the written element of the report was led by Joe Abrams (Abrams Archaeology). Graphics and GIS work on the project has been delivered by Izabela Jurkiewicz (Arte-Facts - https://arte-facts.co.uk/).
We have also worked closely with the Greater London Historic Environment Record (GLHER) and the Surrey County Council HER in order to produce the report.
This London Borough contains land which was formerly Cyninges tun (838 AD). The name means 'the king's manor or estate' from the Old English words cyning and tun. This later became Kingestowne upon Thames (1589)[1]. It belonged to the king in the early Medieval period and was the earliest royal borough. It lies within the Thames Valley National Character Area (115) within which the “River Thames provides a unifying feature through a very diverse landscape of urban and suburban settlements, infrastructure networks, fragmented agricultural land, historic parks, commons, woodland, reservoirs and extensive minerals workings.”[2] While Kingston upon Thames is a small portion of National Character Area 115, it contains many of these attributes. The north-western part has an urban feel in Kingston Town centre, while Surbiton, in popular culture, has become iconic as an example of suburbia[3]. Coombe Hill has leafy residential streets and some relatively large green spaces (golf courses). It lies immediately adjacent to Richmond Park and close to Wandsworth Common. The land takes on a rural, agrarian and open character towards the southern end, particularly at Telegraph Hill. There is Woodland to the east and west of this narrow end of the Borough.
The Hogsmill River flows north-westwards across the Borough and intersects it at a broadly central point, just within the Borough (Old Malden) is the location where John Everett Millais painted the backdrop to Ophelia (1851-52) (https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-ophelia-n01506). The boundaries of the Borough are defined by ancient watercourses. Notably, the western boundary of the Borough is marked by a watercourse (Tolworth Brook) which rises at The Grapsome and runs north through Chessington and the Berrylands to join the Hogsmill River. Along the eastern boundary of the borough runs the Bonesgate Stream, another tributary of the Hogsmill River. The Thames defines part of the western boundary at Kingston Town.
Our work has led to the review of existing, known landscapes along with the identification of new clusters of classes of remains. It covers prehistory to the modern period and it describes remains of an agricultural, industrial settlement and military nature. The Appraisal is being reviewed and edited in January and is due for release later in 2021.
[1]Mills, A.D. (2010). "Kingston upon Thames". A Dictionary of London Place Names (2nd ed.)
[2] NCA Profile:115 Thames Valley (NE379) http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/3865943?category=587130 – accessed 20/10/2020.
[3] Page 178. The Making of a Suburb. David Jeevendrampillai. In: Tilley, C. (ed). 2019. London's Urban Landscape. Another Way of Telling.
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