Information about Surbiton

About Surbiton Back

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It is a commuter town next to the river Thames, populated with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, spacious and grand late-19th century town houses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates.

The town first started to prosper when a plan to build the main railway line down to the south coast through nearby Kingston was rejected by the residents there, resulting in the line being routed instead through Surbiton. Kingston, as a result, is now located on a branch line whereas passengers from Surbiton, a smaller town by comparison, can reach central London in one direction in around 15 minutes and stations as distant as Portsmouth or Southampton in the opposite. This makes Surbiton a good town from which to commute into central London, and the population reflects this.

Surbiton's main claim to popular fame is as an icon of suburbia in such British television programs as The Good Life (starring Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal), and John Sessions' comedy series Stella Street, which has on occasion led to the town being nicknamed "Suburbiton". Other related trivia: the character from the 1980s Sinclair Spectrum computer games Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy was described as a Surbiton resident, and Black Sabbath played at the Surbiton Assembly Rooms, on 19th May 1970.

With a quick link to the city and easy access to attractive green space, Surbiton is the classic London suburb. Properties, include Victorian conversions, purpose-built flats, Edwardian and 1930s semis and some larger detached houses

Ask people in other parts of the country what their image of Surbiton is and they may reply it is like "The Good Life", the BBC program made in the seventies.

Located on the River Thames, Surbiton is roughly a mile south of Kingston-upon-Thames on the northern fringe of the Surrey commuter belt. The town centre is a lively place both day and night. Daytime shoppers are replaced in the evening by people frequently the many pubs and restaurants in the centre and beyond. As well as Kingston, Hampton Court and Sandown Park Race Course are also close by. The Railway Station is on the main line from London Waterloo to Hampshire and Dorset, the capital is just minutes away.

For those interested in buildings they are many of interest. Part of the area between the main Victoria Street and River Thames is rich in Victorian architecture and all the churches in Surbiton are well worth seeing for different reasons

In 1837, when Queen Victoria was crowned, Surbiton had a population of 200. By 1852 it had risen to 2,800, and by 1887 the Queens Golden Jubilee, it had increased to 10,500.

Surbiton's steady transformation from village to fashionable suburb was due to the building of a railway link from London to Southampton (1830). Since then it has been the archetypal commuter town, and today the mainline to Waterloo dominates the area, providing fast non-stop trains (16 mins) to the City.

Victorian houses and conversions are the mainstay here, although there is also a good selection of modern purpose-built flats. The Southborough area has some large detached executive homes-mostly from from the 1930s- while the Berrylands area has a good collection of well-maintained inter-war built three and four bedroom semis.

There are a limited number of smaller Victorian houses between the town centre and the river, and some modern retirement flats have been built locally. Flats vary in price depending on proximity to the station. A number of new developments of top of the range flats have been built over the last two or three years.

The whole area is extremely sought-after and popular and caters for all types of buyers from first time and high-earning professionals to retired folk. In addition to the obvious benefit of the rail link to London, Surbiton has easy access to the Thames which provides delightful riverside walks to nearby Hampton Court and the major town centre of Kingston. The area also has many attractive buildings, and a good range of shops, restaurants, and pubs.

Surbiton has easy access to the A3 trunk road (London to Portsmouth) and the M25 motorway-junctions 9 or 10. The station gives a fast non-stop service to London Waterloo as well as serving Guildford, Woking, Basingstoke, Portsmouth and many other areas. There are also good bus links to all surrounding areas.

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