Facts about Leatherhead
General Info
Leatherhead is a town in Surrey, England, on the right bank of the River Mole, and at the edge of the contiguous built-up area of London. Its local district is Mole Valley. Records exist of the place from Anglo Saxon England. It has a combined theatre and cinema, which is at the centre of the re-modelling following late 20th century pedestrianisation. The town is situated 21 mi (34 km) south of central London and 13 mi (21 km) northeast of the Surrey county town of Guildford.
History
The earliest evidence of human activity in Leatherhead comes from the Iron Age. Flints, a probable well and two pits were discovered in 2012 during building work on Garlands Road and the finds suggested that the site was also used in the early Roman period. Traces of Iron Age field systems and settlement activity have been observed at Hawks Hill, Fetcham (about 1 km (0.62 mi) southwest of the town centre) and on Mickleham Downs (about 3 km (2 mi) to the south). Also to the south, the Druid’s Grove at Norbury Park may have been used for pre-Christian pagan gatherings.
The route of Stane Street, the Roman road from London to Chichester, passes about 2.5 km (1.6 mi) southeast of the town. Barrows beside the A246 provide evidence for a second late Romano-British road that ran from a junction with Stane Street close to Ashtead Church, crossing the Mole at Leatherhead Bridge and continuing towards Effingham.
