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8.
PHYSICAL FEATURES AND GENERAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DISTRICT.
Area of District.—This is officially given as
4,709 acres, and consists of the Civil Parishes of
Surbiton, Tolworth, Hook and Chessington.
Boundaries.—On the North by the Borough of
Kingston-upon-Thames, on the North-West by the
River Thames, which has a length within the
district of 940 yards and includes within our area
the Island known as Ravens Eyot, on the West and
partly South-West by the Urban District of Esher,
on the East by the Hogsmill River, otherwise locally
known as the Maiden River, and by the Borough of
Maiden and Coombe, and on the South-East by the
Borough of Epsom and Ewell, and on the South by
the Leatherhead Urban District.
Physical Features.—The Southern Railway
runs in a deep cutting through the Northern portion
of the district from North-East to South-West.
The rising ground known as Surbiton Hill, towards
which on the Northern aspect the ground slopes
upward from the level of the Rivers Thames and
Hogsmill, forms a ridge which extends from
Minniedale and the parts known as Clay Hill (now
rechristened Villiers Avenue) overlooking Kingston
to just outside the boundary at Cock Crow Hill
within the Parish of Long Ditton. The highest part
of this ridge within our area is 1186 feet. In the
Southern portion of the district Winey Hill reaches
a height of 241 feet and Telegraph Hill 300 feet.
Geology.—The greater part of the distict is of
the Tertiary period embracing the Eocene strata of
London Clay. In the portion nearer the river there
are post-tertiary deposits of gravel and sand,
described in the geological survey as " Valley Brick