In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described East Molesey like this:
MOLESEY, or MOULSEY (EAST), a village and a parish in Kingston district, Surrey. The village stands on the river Mole, at its influx to the Thames, and at Hampton-Court r. station, opposite Hampton-Court palace, 2½ miles WSW of Kingston; takes its name from a quondam "eye ''or island in the Mole,-Moles-Eye; is a scattered and rapidly increasing place; and has a post office under Kingston, London, SW. ...
The parish comprises 730 acres. Real property, £7,028. Pop. in 1851,765; in 1861,1,568. Houses, 287. The increase of pop. arose mainly from the purchase of an estate by a Freehold Land Society, and from the erection upon it of about 150 houses. The manor belongs to Lord Hotham and Lady Berkeley. Numerous villas and other genteel houses stud the outskirts of the village and the banks of the Thames. That river abounds here in the beautiful willow-shaded "aits; ''and a level meadow along its side, between East Molesey and West Molesey, bears the name of Molesey Hurst, is famous in the annals of the prizering, and contains the race-course of Hampton races. The press which printed the celebrated Mar-prelate tracts about 1588, called by Fuller the "vagabond press," was first set up at Molesey. A large corn and Saw mill is on the Mole. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Winchester. Value, £157.* Patron, King's College, Cambridge. The church is later English, with large wooden belfry; comprises nave and chancel; and contains a curious brass of Standen, cup-bearer of James I. A section of the parish, called St. Paul's or Kent-Town, was constituted a separate charge in 1856, and had a pop. of 887 in 1861; and the living of it is a p. curacy, of the value of £100, * in the patronage of F. J. Kent, Esq. There are a slightly endowed national school, alms houses, and charities £104.
East Molesey through time
East Molesey is now part of Elmbridge district. Click here for graphs and data of how Elmbridge has changed over two centuries. For statistics about East Molesey itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of East Molesey, in Elmbridge and Surrey | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/1189
Date accessed: 23rd April 2024
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