Borough of Elmbridge

Elmbridge is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Esher, and other notable towns and villages include Cobham, Walton-on-Thames, Weybridge and Molesey. The borough lies just outside the administrative boundary of Greater London, but is almost entirely within the M25 motorway which encircles London. Settlements within Elmbridge range from the contiguous suburbs of the Greater London Built-up Area in the borough's northeast (Molesey, Thames Ditton, Long Ditton, Weston Green, and Hinchley Wood) to the exurban towns and villages of the Metropolitan Green Belt beyond, including Walton on Thames, Hersham, Weybridge, Esher, Claygate, Cobham, and Oxshott.

The neighbouring districts are Mole Valley, Guildford, Woking, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Richmond upon Thames and Kingston upon Thames, the latter two being London boroughs.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering two former districts which were both abolished at the same time:

Esher Urban District

Walton and Weybridge Urban District

The new district was named after the medieval Elmbridge hundred which had covered a similar area. The hundred appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Amelebrige. The name thus derives from the River Amele or Emley, an old name for the River Mole, rather than elm trees. The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

In the early 1990s the neighbouring London Borough of Kingston upon Thames sought to have eastern parts of Elmbridge, including Long Ditton, Thames Ditton, Hinchley Wood, Weston Green and Molesey transferred to it, making the case that these areas had particularly strong social and economic ties to Kingston and Greater London.