Living in Surbiton: area guide to homes, schools and transport
Excellent schools and the quick commute to Waterloo are Surbiton’s big attractions for families and young professionals. The journey takes between 15 and 18 minutes — which is faster than some districts that are more central, such as Putney, Earlsfield and Southfields.
Often nicknamed “Suburb-iton”, this south-west London town, 11 miles from the centre, can’t seem to shake the image of archetypal suburbia — a legacy of being the fictional location for classic Seventies TV sitcom The Good Life.
However, the series — which starred Felicity Kendal and Richard Briers as self-sufficiency freaks Tom and Barbara Good, with Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington as their snobbish neighbours Margo and Jerry Leadbetter— was never actually filmed there.
Surbiton was born out of a tale of skulduggery in the 1830s when powerful interests defending nearby Kingston’s coaching and innkeeping trades successfully opposed the arrival of the railway.
As a result, a station was opened some distance to the south and businessman Thomas Pooley seized his chance to buy local land and build what would become the nucleus of an early commuter town. Originally from Cornwall, Pooley and his son Alexander were considered incomers and upstarts. They found their plans thwarted at every turn and ended up bankrupt. However, they left Surbiton a legacy of fine early Victorian villas in and around Claremont Road, most notably in The Crescent.
Estate agent Peter Knowles, from the Kingston branch of Hamptons, says: “Our buyers want property more affordable than in nearby Putney, Earlsfield and Southfields, and in the case of the Southborough estate, gardens which can be 150ft long.
“Surbiton is a bit of a hidden gem and I’ve seen big changes over the last five years. A short walk from the town centre is Maple Road, with cafés, the town’s best restaurants and a thriving monthly farmers’ market.”
Surbiton sits on the south side of the Thames with its much-larger neighbour Kingston upon Thames to the north, Old Malden and Tolworth to the east, Chessington to the south and Thames Ditton to the west.
Property
Home buyers can find a true mix of properties in Surbiton, with something to suit most tastes.
The centre has early Victorian villas and cottages, large mid-Victorian terrace houses and Art Deco and modern blocks of flats, some of which overlook the river.
In Southborough, south of the town centre, there are large detached houses in leafy suburban roads, while in the Berrylands neighbourhood, which has its own train station, there are streets of detached and semi-detached Thirties houses. The one category of homes that is largely absent is affordable property available on a shared-ownership basis.
Renting
Hamptons lettings manager Jessica Ayree says fast train services into London are Surbiton’s biggest attraction for renters.
“Six out of 10 of my lets last year were to young professional couples wanting the fast commute into London, and they want to be as near to the station as possible.”
What's new
Two large-scale planning applications are being considered for Tolworth. On the Toby Jug site — named after a pub that used to stand there — in Hook Rise South on the A3, European investment group Meyer Bergman plans 705 new homes, a GP surgery, a nursery and a convenience store.
Meanwhile, CNM Estates has plans for the Sixties landmark Tolworth Tower and the nearby parade of shops. The mixed-use regeneration would include offices, three floors of serviced apartments and 108 new conversion flats, while four new buildings would provide new shops and a further 203 flats. Among a handful of small new developments in Surbiton, two five-bedroom detached houses are for sale in Langley Avenue, priced £3.15 million and £3.25 million. Contact Hawes & Co on 020 8390 6565.
A terrace of new three- and four-bedroom houses in Burnley Avenue are priced from £749,950 through Dexters (020 8390 3939). The Sunley Group has converted Homewood House and Blackwood House, two elegant double-fronted Victorian properties in Avenue Elmers, into 18 flats with one to three bedrooms. Two-bedroom flats start at £505,000 through Greenfield (020 8399 7070).
Postcodes
Surbiton has two postcodes — KT6, which covers the town centre and the expensive Southborough area, and KT5, which covers Berrylands and most of Tolworth.
Best roads
The pretty roads known as the “river roads” between Portsmouth Road and Maple Road. Surbiton’s most expensive houses are in the Southborough area where the most sought-after roads are Corkran Road, Langley Avenue and Ashcombe Avenue.
In Berrylands there are large detached Thirties houses in Manor Crescent, Pine Gardens and Pine Walk and a group of Art Deco houses in Grand Avenue and Elmbridge Avenue. Crescent Court in the Crescent in the town centre is an attractive Art Deco block of flats.
Up and coming
Tolworth is worth looking at. South of Surbiton town centre, Ditton Road, Cotterill Road and Ellerton Road are leafy, with mainly Victorian semi-detached and terrace houses. Estate agent Peter Knowles from the Kingston branch of Hamptons tips the area where Surbiton merges with Kingston, with roads such as Avenue Elmers offering value for money.
Travel
Near the A3, Surbiton has fast trains to Waterloo in 15-18 minutes and half-hour trains that stop at Clapham Junction for the change to Victoria, and at Vauxhall for the Victoria line. Trains from Berrylands to Waterloo also take about half an hour. Surbiton is in Zone 6 and an annual travelcard to Zone 1 costs £2,364.
Berrylands is in Zone 5 — annual travelcard £2,208.
Council
Kingston upon Thames is Conservative-controlled and Band D council tax for the 2015/2016 year is £1,673.97.
Lifestyle
Shops and restaurants
Surbiton has a busy town centre with branches of Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. It doesn’t seem to have suffered too badly from its proximity to Kingston, one of the busiest shopping centres in the south of England. Shops spread out from the fine Art Deco station along St Mark’s Hill, Claremont Road, Victoria Road and Brighton Road. There are independent coffee shops — Pickled Pantry, The Press Room and Clocktower Café. Wine lovers have Ex Cellar — a wine merchant and wine bar — and a branch of Laithwaites.
Chain restaurants include PizzaExpress and Zizzi in the old Post Office building. The River Hut overlooking the Thames takes its inspiration from beachside cafés in Devon and Cornwall. The Lamb is a Camra-award winning pub which hosts music events and guest chefs.
Maple Road has The French Table, Surbiton’s top restaurant, and its sister café, and a monthly farmers’ market.
Open space
Victoria Park in Balaclava Road has a popular children’s playground. The Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir John Everett Millais sat in Six-Acre Meadow beside the Hogsmill river in Tolworth in 1851 to paint the bucolic setting for his portrait of Ophelia. The Hogsmill Walk from Berrylands to Kingston takes in part of the riverbank as it goes through Hogsmill Valley.
Leisure and the arts
Kingston has the Rose Theatre and cinemas and there is a community arts centre, The cornerHOUSE, in a converted chapel in Tolworth. The State of Seething – named after Seething Wells the former waterworks – is a local arts organisation which puts on many events. The Surbiton Food Festival runs this year from April 30 to May 15.
The Thames Sailing Club, the oldest river sailing club in the world, is famous for racing vintage Thames A Raters with their distinctive 45ft masts.
Nuffield Health has a swimming pool in a converted waterworks building in Simpson Way, and the nearest council-owned swimming pool is at the Kingfisher Leisure Centre in Fairfield Road, Kingston. Surbiton Golf Club is in Woodstock Lane, Chessington.
Schools
Primary
Surbiton has good state schools both primary and comprehensive. The following state primary schools get an “outstanding” Ofsted rating: St Andrew’s and St Mark’s Juniors CofE (Maple Infants is rated “good”); and Tolworth Infants (the junior school is rated “good”) in School Lane.
Comprehensive and grammar
Kingston council has two “outstanding” grammar schools — Tiffin School (boys, ages 11 to 18) in Queen Elizabeth Road and The Tiffin Girls’ School (ages 11 to 18) in Richmond Road. There are two “outstanding” Catholic comprehensive schools in nearby New Malden: Richard Challoner (boys 11 to 18) in Manor Drive North and The Holy Cross (girls, ages 11 to 18) in Sandal Road. Also in New Malden, Coombe Girls’ (ages 11 to 18) in Clarence Avenue is judged “outstanding”.
In Surbiton itself Southborough High (boys, ages 11 to 18) in Hook Road and Tolworth Girls (ages 11 to 18) in Fullers Way North are both “good”. The Kingston Academy (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Richmond Road is a Free School that opened in September.
Higher education
The Further Education college, Kingston College in Kingston Hall Road, is judged to be “good”.
Private
The local private prep school is Shrewsbury House (boys, ages seven to 13) in Ditton Road, while in Kingston there is Holy Cross Preparatory (girls ages four to 11), a Catholic school in George Road, and Rokeby (boys, ages four to 13) also in George Road.
There are two other private schools: Surbiton High (boys ages four to 11 and girls, ages four to 18) in Surbiton Crescent and Kingston Grammar (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in London Road.