This delightfully suburban village of East Molesey, situated just outside of Greater London in Surrey, offers a number of housing types, including neat terraced cottages, and several large, detached residential properties with spacious gardens and driveways. There are a number of pubs in this neighbourhood each with their own character and charm, but what they have in common is the offer of a wholesome Sunday Roast on a cold winter’s day, and beautifully quintessential beer gardens, to be enjoyed with a pint during the summer months! But what is most special about this neighbourhood is its particularly idyllic surroundings with the River Ember flowing through its centre, the promise of several well-kept green spaces, and the Island Barn Reservoir, which is well-loved by nature and sailing enthusiasts. And with all of the local amenities you could need to be situated in the town centre, as well as plenty of things to do at the weekend, such as a visit to nearby Hampton Court Palace, it is no wonder why this area is a particularly sought-after place to live!

East Molesey is a particularly old settlement and appears in the Domesday Book in 1086. Up until 1200, there was no division between East and West Molesey, they were instead one united village, centred around what is now known as East Molesey. The division of the two parishes was done using a roughly north-south compass axis; the boundary was marked by the Molesey Stone, found on the grass outside the Library on Walton Road. Since then, however, the stone has been moved, and as a result, there has been a lot of dispute about where the true boundary is located.

Molesey was once the centre of bare-knuckle boxing in the UK and it also has several other notable sporting associations, for example, during the 2012 Olympics, Bradley Wiggins won the Time Trial event, with much of the course passing through this neighbourhood and nearby West Molesey and Hurst Park. One last fun fact for you – the British pop musician, Rick Astley, lives in this neighbourhood area!

Whilst the situation of this neighbourhood in proximity to the River Thames and River Ember is an attractive prospect for many, it also contributes to one of the downsides of this neighbourhood. When there is heavy rain, some parts of the area are prone to flooding due to the low lying, flat land that they are located on. Despite this, incidents of heavy and damaging flooding are rare due to the investment into flood defences and mitigation that has taken place over the past few years.

In the long term the biggest change to East Mosely is likely to be the introduction of Crossrail 2 at nearby Thames Ditton station, which will reduce journey times into central London and alleviate congestion on the busy South Western Main Line. However, the project has been on hold since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and is not expected to be completed until well after 2030. Elsewhere, planning permission to build a hotel and apartments on the site of the old Jolly Boatman pub was approved in 2009. However, the scheme - which consists of a number of new four-storey buildings by the river as well as the renovation of the historic Hampton Court Station - has since been the subject of a lengthy opposition campaign, including two High Court cases and a Court of Appeal judgement. The latest legal judgement was won by developers meaning locals are fearful that the project will go ahead in the next couple of years.