Despite sitting just a short walk from the bustling centre of Kingston-upon- Thames, this almost entirely residential part of town remains quiet and quaint. The Hogsmill, a tributary of the Thames, trickles through the centre, providing an uncanny fishing spot and a rural getaway from the affluent suburban streets that surround it. These wide streets are lined predominantly with large Victorian and Georgian homes, as well as a number of post-war buildings, many of which provide accommodation for the students of Kingston University which is also situated in the neighbourhood. Surbiton High School, located to the south of the area, and the nearby Hollyfield School are both very well-respected senior and sixth-form schools that benefit from the area’s decent allocation of green space. The transport links to London are pretty good, with a regular train service to Waterloo and multiple buses that traverse much of south London, however these can cause issues during the night when they become very irregular or, in the case of the trains, stop altogether. With the Thames forming the western border of the neighbourhood it is no surprise that on a sunny day the promenade and its bars and restaurants are busy with locals keen to soak up the atmosphere, but despite its popularity with those who live nearby, Kingston remains a bit of a hidden gem of the south-western suburbs.

The notable historical town of Kingston is often forgotten despite its significant past. Once the seat of King Egbert’s great council, as well as the site of coronation for England’s Anglo-Saxon kings, it stands to reason that the name Kingston translates to ‘the king’s manor’. The town was an important royal manor during the medieval period, with a church, five mills, a popular market, and three salmon fisheries, all of which benefited from its location beside the fast-flowing Thames. In 1838 the townspeople rejected the building of a station in Kingston, meaning that nearby Surbiton became the local transport hub until 1863 when the town finally conceded and its residential and retail development truly began with the building of affluent homes and streets, as well as the beginnings of the high street which today sits north of the neighbourhood.

The controversial children’s author, Jacqueline Wilson, lives on Knight’s Park: a wide, leafy street to the north of the area. She is best known for her Tracy Beaker series, and is often noted for featuring themes of adoption, divorce, and mental illness in her children’s literature, which has been controversial.

To the north of the neighbourhood sits Fairfield Park, which is much-loved amongst locals. Opened in 1865 as a public recreation ground, it had long existed as a market and meeting place and continued to be used to trade livestock well into the 20th century. It held the Kingston Horse Fair in 1866 and was a cattle market from 1925, and has more recently been host to such events as the Chinese State Circus and many popular fun fairs.

Jerome K Jerome’s humorous account of a boating holiday, Three Men in a Boat (1889), begins its journey in Kingston. From the Thames in Kingston, the boaters travel through Weybridge, Windsor, Henley, and Reading before arriving at Oxford.

The Hollyfield School was founded in 1937 and includes the Yardbirds and Cream guitarist, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, and famous grump, Eric Clapton, amongst its alumni.

As with many of the suburbs that are not connected by tube lines, transport can be difficult, not only due to rush hour crowding on the relatively infrequent trains, but also because they don’t run into the night.

Kingston University’s campus has recently undergone a small transformation as a number of new buildings have been completed recently. A total of £80m had been spent on forward thinking new architecture such as the new TownHouse project. The works have not only provided improved teaching and learning experiences, but also pushed the school up the league tables, attracting more students. The local council has also committed to build new homes in the coming decades, with the borough’s population expected to rise by 20,000 people by 2030. Part of this new housing stock is expected to come from the demolition of parts of Kingston Hospital to pave way for a building containing 128 apartments just to the north of this neighbourhood.