Kingston upon Thames is an historic market town with attractions old and new. Visitors have long favoured Kingston for its attractive riverside location, proximity to beautiful Royal parks and its excellent shopping.
The town was first recorded in an Anglo Saxon Charter in 838 and then in 946, when it became the venue of a number of councils and coronations, cited by King Egbert as ‘the royal town where kings were hallowed’.
Royal Kingston is one of only four Royal Boroughs and the town’s long and proud association with royalty dates back to Anglo-Saxon times when seven kings of Wessex were crowned here. King John is believed to have built a residence at Kingston and a 13th century column, outside Kingston Library, is reputed to have come from this building.
Kingston is also home to Chessington World of Adventures; the South’s number one theme park attracting visitors from far and wide (located just 2 miles from the A3 and junction 9 or 10 of the M25).
Kingston continues to be a thriving place in which to live, work and learn. A large student population brings a youthful vibrancy to the town centre.
Must see and do
- Chessington World of Adventures
- Kingston Museum
- Hampton Court
- Stanley Picker Gallery
- The Coronation Stone