Walton-on-Thames has had six bridges over the Thames since 1750, some painted by Canaletto and Turner. The world's first documented game of baseball was played here in 1749, and an early film studio here made the first film of Alice in Wonderland.
Oldest first
Newest first
🏰
Middle Ages
1066 – 1485
1086
📜
Waletona in the Domesday Book
Walton appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Waletona'.
From the records: “Walton appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Waletona".”
1100s
Still here today
⛪
St Mary's Church
St Mary's Parish Church has some Saxon material and a building from the 1100s, with later additions. Its flint tower has eight bells; the oldest is dated 1606. Inside is a large monument from 1755, by the sculptor Roubiliac, to Richard Boyle, Viscount Shannon, who lived at Ashley Park.
From the records: “Mary's Parish Church has some Saxon material and an architectural structure of the 12th century, with later additions.”
1400s
⛴️
A ferry to Shepperton
A ferry to Shepperton is recorded in the 1400s, though nobody is sure exactly where it crossed.
From the records: “A Shepperton ferry is recorded in the 15th century – at which position however is uncertain.”
🎩
Georgians
1714 – 1837
1749
World first
⚾
The first baseball game on record
The world's first documented game of baseball was played in 1749 in Ashley Park, on the estate of the wife of Charles Sackville, Earl of Middlesex.
From the records: “The world's first documented game of baseball was played in 1749 in Ashley Park, on the estate belonging to the wife of Charles Sackville, Earl of Middlesex.”
1750
🌉
A famous wooden bridge
In 1747, local landowner Samuel Dicker got permission to build a bridge at Walton. The wooden bridge was finished in August 1750; several barrows (burial mounds) were removed to build it. It became famous: Daniel Defoe wrote about it in 1753, and Canaletto painted it in 1754. Its wood decayed, and it was taken down in 1783.
From the records: “In 1747 Samuel Dicker, local landowner and later MP for Plymouth, obtained permission to build a bridge at Walton.”
1780
🎨
A stone bridge Turner painted
A law of 1780 allowed a second bridge, made of stone with brick inside. In 1805 the painter Turner made three paintings of it. One was sold in 2018 for £3.4 million, and the government blocked it from leaving the country.
From the records: “The second bridge made of stone (and internally of brick) was permitted, with additional tolls, under the Walton-Shepperton Bridge (Rebuilding and Tolls) Act 1780 (20 Geo. 3. c. 32) obtained by the nephew of Mr.”
🚂
Victorians
1837 – 1901
1838
🚂
One of the first stations
Walton station opened in 1838, one of the first stations on the South West Main Line, between Ditton Marsh (now Esher) and Weybridge.
From the records: “The station first operated in 1838, and was one of the first stations on the South West Main Line, between Ditton Marsh (now Esher) and Weybridge.”
1864
🔩
An iron bridge
The third bridge, built in 1863–64, was an iron lattice bridge on stone piers. From 1870 people no longer had to pay a toll to cross it.
From the records: “The third bridge, built 1863–64, was an iron girder lattice bridge on stone piers.”
1879
🏛️
A hall and new schools
In 1879, Mrs Sassoon of Ashley Park House built a Public Hall in the High Street. A School Board was set up in 1878, a school was enlarged in 1881, and an infant school was built in 1884.
From the records: “A Public Hall, in High Street, was built in 1879 by Mrs Sassoon, who resided at Ashley Park House.”
1899
🎥
A film studio in a house
In 1899, the film-maker Cecil Hepworth rented a house in Hurst Grove for £36 a year and set up Hepworth Studios. By around 1900 it was making 100 films a year, and by 1905 Hepworth had built a larger glass stage and begun making trick films.
From the records: “Cecil Hepworth leased a house for £36 per annum in Hurst Grove, Walton-on-Thames, in 1899, and established Hepworth Studios.”
✈️
The World Wars
1901 – 1945
1903
World first
🐇
The first Alice in Wonderland film
In 1903, Hepworth released the first film adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
From the records: “Hepworth was a pioneering studio in the early 20th century and released the first film adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Alice in Wonderland, 1903).”
1923
🎞️
2,000 films melted down
In 1923, Hepworth's film company went bankrupt. All his original film negatives were melted down to sell the silver in them, so his whole collection of 2,000 films was destroyed.
From the records: “In 1923 Cecil Hepworth's Hepworth Picture Plays company which operated at the studio declared bankruptcy, due in part to the increasing competition from rival film companies.”
1926
🎬
Nettlefold Studios
Archibald Nettlefold bought the studio in 1926 and renamed it Nettlefold Studios. It made silent comedies, then films with sound from the early 1930s.
From the records: “The studio was purchased by Archibald Nettlefold in 1926, and renamed Nettlefold Studios; it began producing comedy silent films, until it was upgraded to sound production with the advent of sound film in the early 1930s.”
1940
✈️
Aeroplanes at the studio
In the Second World War, the government took over the studio buildings for storage. After enemy bombs hit the Vickers-Armstrong factory at Brooklands on 4 September 1940, the company built two aircraft hangars on the studio site. Walton Bridge was also damaged in 1940.
From the records: “During the Second World War, the studio's buildings were requisitioned by the government and used as a storage facility for the war effort, and the Vickers-Armstrong Aircraft Company built two new aircraft construction hangars on the site in order to reinforce and disperse its production capacity, following damage by enemy bombing attacks at its factory site at Brooklands, Weybridge, on 4 September 1940.”
🏙️
Modern times
Since 1945
1961
Still here today
🎭
The studio closes
The studio couldn't compete with television studios, and closed for good in March 1961. Most of its buildings were knocked down for housing. Only Hepworth's power house is left; it was turned into a theatre in 1925.
From the records: “Unable to compete with other television studio production facilities, it ceased trading and was closed permanently in March 1961.”
2013
Still here today
🌉
The sixth bridge
A temporary fifth bridge opened in 1999. Building the sixth bridge started in 2011, and it opened to traffic on 22 July 2013. The old bridges were removed by November 2013.
From the records: “In 1999, while the fourth bridge remained standing for use by pedestrians and cyclists, another temporary structure, the fifth bridge, on the site of the original bridges, was opened for vehicular traffic.”
2024
♿
A station for everyone
A £6 million 'Access for All' improvement of Walton station began in October 2022 and was finished in August 2024.
From the records: “A £6M station improvement programme, funded by the Department for Transport under the "Access for All" scheme, began in October 2022.”