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Chertsey

A new look for the island of Cerotus
Chertsey has a long and substantial history, having been the home of a 7th Century Benedictine Abbey. The Abbey was founded by Erkenwald on the ‘Insula Ceroti’, the Island of Cerotus, a name which reminds us that in those days much of England was marshy and undrained. The Abbey’s development was hindered by the marauding Norsemen who raided the area in the 9th Century, murdering 90 monks. The well preserved Viking sword in Chertsey Museum will give a real glimpse of history to those with good imaginations.

The Abbey had recovered by the time of the Domesday Book (1086) and the records also show that by the Middle Ages the Abbey held over 50,000 acres of land in Thorpe, Egham, Weybridge and elsewhere. It was frequently visited by the Plantaganet Kings, and in 1471 Henry VI was buried there after his murder during the Wars of the Roses (his funeral cortege is interrupted on its way to Chertsey by Richard III in Shakespeare’s play). The Abbey, in common with so many others, was dissolved by Henry VIII and the buildings and lands were gradually whittled away, but its memory remains in the Armorial Bearings of Runnymede Borough Council.

The poet Abraham Cowley spent the last two years of his life in Chertsey (1665-67) after an adventurous period serving the exiled Royalists during Cromwell’s rule. However, he failed to gain Royal preferment at the Restoration and had to rely on the largesse of the Earl of St Albans and the Duke of Buckingham, who found him £300 a year and a place to live at Chertsey. He is buried at Westminster Abbey but his name is remembered locally at Cowley Avenue and the Abraham Cowley Unit, St Peter’s Hospital. Chertsey was possibly still a damp place in his time because he caught a terrible cold the first night he arrived, and it is alleged that he literally caught his death of cold after locking himself out of his house following a night of revelry. Cowley’s fame as a poet diminished rapidly in the 18th Century but he is still celebrated for his Essays which were written during his retirement at Chertsey.

A former Chertsey resident even more notable than Cowley is Charles James Fox, perhaps the most colourful figure in 18th century public life. A radical Whig, Fox’s dissolute lifestyle (in 1774 his gambling debts amounted to £140,000 or £12.5m at 2006 values) did not prevent him from becoming Britain’s first Foreign Secretary. Fox is buried at Westminster Abbey rather than in Chertsey as he wished, but is now commemorated in the town by a bust near the railway station.

A further link with the past is provided by the ringing of the Curfew Bell at St Peter’s Church at 8 pm on weekdays between Michelemas (29 September) and Lady Day (25 March), a tradition which may date as far back as the 13th Century. The Normans had brought the idea of a curfew to England as a means of discouraging dissent and reducing the risk of fire at night. It is thought that the Chertsey curfew might be connected to a fire in 1235 which damaged part of the Abbey. The curfew gave rise to the legend of Blanche Heriot who, it is said, saved her lover from execution by delaying the ringing of the bell until a pardon arrived.

The town itself is situated midway between Weybridge and Egham, and the town centre lies close to the site of the old Abbey. There are a number of interesting buildings in Chertsey, particularly in Windsor Street and London Street which run, respectively, west and east from the town centre. The focal point is the junction of Guildford Street and London Street, a location which gives you an excellent view of some of the more historic buildings in the town. The highly regarded Chertsey Museum is situated in The Cedars, Windsor Street.

Modern day Chertsey is still rich in open spaces; Chertsey Meads, owned by the Borough Council, encompasses 170 acres of riverside land which is a habitat for a variety of birds and wildlife. On the town’s northern edge, overlooking Thorpe Park, is St. Ann’s Hill. This is a delightfully wooded viewpoint which rises to almost 250 feet and gives excellent views of the locality. Gogmore Farm acts as the green heart of Chertsey and provides a riverside park of high quality running through the centre of the town.

The built environment of the town has also been significantly improved in recent years following a multi-million pound scheme to revitalise the previously run down area of Chertsey between Stevens Bridge and the Railway Station. Working in partnership with private sector developers, the Council has transformed the area with imaginatively designed office and retail premises and attractive residential accommodation, some of which is affordable housing. Although a thoroughly modern development, the sympathetic design perfectly complements Chertsey’s historic town centre.