Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Surbiton]
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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
Epsom Urban District, 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 118.6 feet. In the
Southern portion of the district Winey Hill reaches
a height of 241 feet and Telegraph Hill 300 feet.