Elmbridge appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Amelebrige. The borough’s location by the River Thames would have made it popular for settlement during Prehistory, but also vulnerable to invasion in later times.

In Prehistoric times, the first evidence for human occupation is during the Palaeolithic (early Stone Age). Flint tools used by groups of hunter-gatherers have been found in Walton-on-Thames. During the Iron Age, St Georges Hill was used as a hillfort, possibly for defence and as a settlement.



One of the oldest churches in Surrey survives in Stoke D’Abernon. In medieval times, farming communities and the rivers Mole and Wey were important for trade and providing power for the mills at Esher, Cobham and Walton.

Oatlands Palace in Weybridge was built by Henry VIII in 1537, and was used as a base by Charles I during the Civil War. The palace was demolished in 1650 and bricks were taken to build the Wey Navigation. The Wey Navigation led to an increase in trade and Elmbridge’s nearness to London made it popular with the gentry.

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