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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 re-christened 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.
Geology.—The greater part of the district 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
Earth." This extends from the line of the river
up to the railway and then stretches down the
Claremont Road to the Kingston Boundary.
Fossils have been discovered occasionally, but not
in any quantity. In the clay there have been found
round stones or boulders with iron stained crystals
and deposits of crystalline gypsum.
In the Chessington portion of the district the
soil is entirely London Clay, undulating considerably.
SOCIAL CONDITIONS.
The district is a fesidential one. On the
North-West it is bounded by the River Thames,
but a considerable portion of it is on hill ground
at a height of from 100 to 300 feet above ordnance
datum.
A very large proportion of the adult residents
here are engaged in business in London, for access
to which the facilities offered by the Southern Railway
by both steam and electric trains, and by the