Esher

History

Esher lay within the Saxon feudal division of Elmbridge hundred. In the 16th century King Henry VIII annexed several of the manors to the Honour of Hampton Court, including Esher, to form a royal hunting ground. The town slowly grew as a stagecoach stop on the London–Portsmouth road that was later numbered the A3, although it was bypassed in the mid-1970s when it became the A307. Clive of India built the Claremont mansion and this later became a royal residence used by Queen Victoria. In 1841 Esher had 1261 inhabitants across . Queen Victoria lent Claremont to the exiled French King Louis-Philippe and his consort Queen Marie-Amelie after the revolution of 1848. Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg lived there until he became King of the Belgians. By 1908, Esher contained the fashionable residences of several important figures including Lady Emma Talbot; Sir Robert Hawthorn Collins, the Duchess of Albany and Sir Edgar Vincent, K.C.M.G. who was later created 1st Viscount D'Abernon. George Harrison of The Beatles owned a house named Kinfauns in Esher, in the 1960s. The other Beatles were regular visitors to the house, and Harrison's primitive home recording studio. Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees owned a home called The Firs in Esher, from the 1970s until 2004, which was sold after his death. The hit single "Juliet" was written and recorded by Maurice and Robin Gibb in the Studio at The Firs for Robin's solo album project in the 1980s. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle placed the murder of fictional character, Mr. Garcia, in and around Esher in his Sherlock Holmes mystery, "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge". In the mystery, Dr. Watson described his and Holmes' arrival in Esher by stating, "It was nearly six o'clock before we found ourselves in the pretty Surrey village of Esher, with…

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  52,417
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  49,195
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  47,425
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  45,848
• Rose-ringed Parakeet

  Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) · Aves
  42,069
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  38,877
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  38,752
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  37,170

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2020-09-22
  5 km N of Aylesbury, United Kingdom
• M 3.9 — 2020-09-08
  2 km WSW of Pitstone, United Kingdom
• M 3.3 — 2019-02-27
  3 km SE of Dorking, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2018-07-05
  1 km S of Ewhurst, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2018-06-27
  5 km W of Capel, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2018-04-01
  4 km E of Holmwood, United Kingdom