Editing Leatherhead (section)

==Culture==
===Art===
[[J. M. W. Turner]] (1775{{en dash}}1851) is among the artists who have been inspired to paint scenes of the town and local area. His pencil and watercolour composition ''Leatherhead, Surrey, from across the River Mole, with cattle watering in the foreground'' was probably created in the summer of 1797, when he staying at [[Norbury Park]]. The painting was sold at [[Christie's]] in 2014 for £35,000.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5812644 |title= Joseph Mallord William Turner, R.A. (London 1775-1851): Leatherhead, Surrey, from across the River Mole, with cattle watering in the foreground |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2021 |publisher= Christie's |access-date=  |archive-date= 8 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211108212610/https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5812644 |url-status= live }}</ref> Other artists who have worked in the town include [[John Hassell]] ({{circa|1767}}{{en dash}}1825) and [[John Varley (painter)|John Varley]] (1778{{en dash}}1842).<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/people/artists/john_hassell/leatherhead/ |title= Leatherhead: Hassell images |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 27 January 2020 |orig-date= 9 August 2013 |publisher= Exploring Surrey's Past |access-date= 8 November 2021 |archive-date= 26 October 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201026130406/https://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/people/artists/john_hassell/leatherhead/ |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheadlocalhistory.org.uk/miscellany/potted-history-45.pdf |title= Leatherhead Bridge |last= Powell |first= Goff |publisher= Leatherhead & District Local History Society |access-date= 8 November 2021 |archive-date= 8 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211108212606/https://www.leatherheadlocalhistory.org.uk/miscellany/potted-history-45.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Heath|2012|p=3}}</ref>

The [[List of public art in Surrey#Leatherhead|works of public art in the town]] include ornamental ironwork at the King George V Memorial Park<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.forgingmatters.co.uk/portfolio/sculptural-handrails-entrances/ |title= Park improvements |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 30 October 2018 |publisher= Forging Matters |access-date= 11 November 2021 |archive-date= 11 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211111185413/https://www.forgingmatters.co.uk/portfolio/sculptural-handrails-entrances/ |url-status= live }}</ref> and at the junction between the High Street, North Street and Bridge Street.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://news.molevalley.gov.uk/2019/03/20/repair-and-fresh-new-look-for-leatherheads-high-street-feature/ |title= Repair and fresh new look for Leatherhead's High Street feature |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= 20 March 2019 |publisher= Mole Valley District Council |access-date= 11 November 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6322210 |title= Bridges ironwork |last= Capper |first= Ian |date= 17 November 2019 |publisher= UK Geograph |access-date= 11 November 2021 |archive-date= 11 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211111185412/https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6322210 |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Theatres and cinemas===
The first presentation of a [[cinematograph]] film in the town took place at the Leatherhead Institute in October 1898. The following year, a second screening took place at the Victoria Hall in the High Street, which had been built in 1890.<ref>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=194}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Vardey|2001|p=89}}</ref> By 1914, the Victoria Hall was renamed to become the Grand Theatre and was operating as a cinema with a capacity of 550. Further name changes took place before 1946, around which time the venue became known as the Ace Cinema.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/30782 |title= Ace Cinema, Leatherhead |last= Roe |first= Ken |year= 2021 |publisher= Cinema Treasures |access-date= 16 November 2021 |archive-date= 16 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211116131555/http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/30782 |url-status= live }}</ref>

In 1949, the Ace Cinema was converted to a 300-seat theatre and a year later, the Leatherhead Theatre was established at the venue.<ref name=Turnbull_2008_pp129-131>{{harvnb|Turnbull|2008|pp=129–131}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The Leatherhead Theatre was founded by Hazel Vincent Wallace and Michael Marriott as a permanent home for the Under Thirty Theatre Club, which had been established in London in 1948 by the actor, [[Oscar Quitak]].<ref name=Turnbull_2008_pp129-131/><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/culture-and-leisure/history-centre/researchers/guides/archives-of-20th-century-repertory-theatre |title= Archives of 20th century repertory theatre |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 24 March 2015 |publisher= Surrey Heritage |access-date= 16 November 2021 |archive-date= 16 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211116131556/https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/culture-and-leisure/history-centre/researchers/guides/archives-of-20th-century-repertory-theatre |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wallace-hazel-vincent/ |title= Wallace, Hazel Vincent |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= 23 April 2019 |publisher= Leatherhead & District Local History Archive |access-date= 16 November 2021 }}</ref>|group=n}} The theatre operated until 1969, but as its popularity increased, its size became restrictive and there was a need for a new and better-equipped performing arts venue in the town.<ref name=Turnbull_2008_pp129-131/>

The [[Thorndike Theatre]], in Church Street, was designed by [[Roderick Ham]] in the [[modern architecture|modernist style]]<ref name=C20_Thorndike>{{cite web |url= https://c20society.org.uk/building-of-the-month/thorndike-theatre-leatherhead |title= Thorndike Theatre, Leatherhead: Building of the Month |last= Calder |first= Barnabas |date= June 2004 |publisher= 20th Century Society |access-date= 27 August 2021 |archive-date= 27 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210827153416/https://c20society.org.uk/building-of-the-month/thorndike-theatre-leatherhead |url-status= live }}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The Thorndike Theatre was rebuilt from the former Crescent Cinema, which was originally constructed in 1939 and which was run by a local family until the 1960s.<ref name=Vardey_2001_pp123-124>{{harvnb|Vardey|2001|pp=123–124}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheadlocalhistory.org.uk/miscellany/potted-history-30.pdf |title= The Crescent Cinema, Church Street, Leatherhead |last= Powell |first= Goff |publisher= Leatherhead & District Local History Society |access-date= 3 November 2021 |archive-date= 3 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211103125437/https://www.leatherheadlocalhistory.org.uk/miscellany/potted-history-30.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> Although the exterior walls of the Crescent were retained, the interior, including the 526-seat auditorium and lobby, was built anew for the Thorndike Theatre.<ref name=Turnbull_2008_pp129-131/>|group=n}} and was opened in 1969 by [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon|Princess Margaret]].<ref name=Vardey_2001_pp123-124/> Named for the actor [[Sybil Thorndike]], its construction was primarily paid for by private donations, with some additional funding from the Leatherhead UDC and the [[Arts Council England|Arts Council]].<ref name=Turnbull_2008_pp129-131/> Although it was initially popular, the theatre regularly ran operating deficits and, following several years of cuts in public subsidy, it closed in 1997 with a total debt of almost £1.2 million.<ref name=Turnbull_2008_pp129-131/><ref name=Lhead_Theatre>{{cite web |url=http://www.the-theatre.org/history.php |title= History |publisher= Leatherhead Theatre |access-date= 16 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090911144255/http://www.the-theatre.org/history.php |archive-date=11 September 2009 }}</ref> It reopened in 2001 as a part-time theatre,<ref name=Lhead_Theatre/> cinema, community space and meeting place for the [[Evangelicalism|evangelical group]], Pioneer People.<ref name=Vardey_2001_pp123-124/><ref name=C20_Thorndike/> The annual Leatherhead Drama Festival, for amateur theatre groups, was launched at the theatre in 2004 and ran for 16 years.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheaddramafestival.co.uk |title= Leatherhead Drama Festival |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= October 2021 |publisher= Leatherhead Drama Festival |access-date= 16 November 2021 |archive-date= 16 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211116110523/https://www.leatherheaddramafestival.co.uk/ |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Literature===
Leatherhead features in the novel ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' by  [[H. G. Wells]], first published in 1897. On about the tenth day following the [[Martian]] invasion of Earth, the entire town (where the narrator has sent his wife for safety) is obliterated:  "it had been destroyed, with every soul in it, by a Martian. He had swept it out of existence, as it seemed, without any provocation, as a boy might crush an ant-hill, in the mere wantonness of power."<ref>{{harvnb|Wells|1898|p=285}}</ref>

The [[Sherlock Holmes]] short story "[[The Adventure of the Speckled Band]]" is partly set near the town. During the story, Holmes and Watson travel to Leatherhead from Waterloo station by train. It was first published in 1892 and is one of 12 featured in ''[[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]'' by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]].<ref>{{harvnb|Cawthorne|2011|p=66}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2014|p=54}}</ref> The 1984 [[interactive fiction]] video game ''[[Sherlock (video game)|Sherlock]]'', developed by [[Beam Software]], is partly set in Leatherhead.<ref>{{cite news |last= Gerrard |first= Mike|date= 30 August 1984 |title= Adventuring into an unknown world |work= The Guardian |page= 13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.giantbomb.com/sherlock/3030-18050/ |title= Sherlock |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 29 October 2021 |publisher= Giant Bomb |access-date= 1 November 2021 |archive-date= 2 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211102104132/https://www.giantbomb.com/sherlock/3030-18050/ |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Music===
The Leatherhead Operatic Society was founded as the Leatherhead Pierrots in 1904. Two years later, the group was reformed as the Leatherhead & District Amateur Dramatics & Operatic Society and gave its first performance, ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' by [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]. The group performed at the Victoria Hall until 1922, when the venue was turned into a cinema. For the next seventeen years, the society used a number of venues in the local area, until the Crescent Cinema opened in 1939. Since 1970, the group has staged its summer performances at the Thorndike Theatre and the Leatherhead Theatre, with a brief hiatus between 1996 and 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.los.org.uk/history/ |title= History |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2019 |publisher= Leatherhead Operatic Society |access-date= 13 November 2021 |archive-date= 20 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211120170300/https://www.los.org.uk/history/ |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Heath|Tarplee|2005|p=88}}</ref>

The Leatherhead Choral Society (LCS) was formed in 1907, but its early history is unclear. It was refounded in 1928 to take part in the [[Leith Hill Musical Festival]]. [[Kathleen Riddick]] conducted the group in 1939 and LCS continued to perform during the Second World War. A musical work was composed by [[William Blezard]] to celebrate the society's 50th anniversary in 1978.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherhead-choral.net/history |title= History |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2021 |publisher= Leatherhead Choral Society |access-date= 1 November 2021 |archive-date= 12 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210212232121/https://www.leatherhead-choral.net/history |url-status= live }}</ref> In recent years, the LCS has typically given concerts in the summer and in early December, as well as participating in the Leith Hill Musical Festival around Easter.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherhead-choral.net/what-we-do |title= What we do |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2021 |publisher= Leatherhead Choral Society |access-date= 1 November 2021 |archive-date= 14 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210214152149/https://www.leatherhead-choral.net/what-we-do |url-status= live }}</ref>

The Leatherhead Orchestra traces its origins to an [[adult education]] class established {{circa|1954}}, but was formally founded in around 1958 by Kathleen Riddick.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheadorchestra.co.uk/pages/history.php |title= A short history of Leatherhead Orchestra |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2021 |publisher= Leatherhead Orchestra |access-date= 1 November 2021 |archive-date= 1 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211101215142/https://www.leatherheadorchestra.co.uk/pages/history.php |url-status= live }}</ref> Since 2015, the group has given three concerts each year.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheadorchestra.co.uk/pages/past_programmes.php |title= Past programmes 2015-2019 |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2021 |publisher= Leatherhead Orchestra |access-date= 1 November 2021 |archive-date= 27 November 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201127223759/https://leatherheadorchestra.co.uk/pages/past_programmes.php |url-status= live }}</ref>

The Leatherhead Town Band was founded in 1887. Its activities ceased during the First and Second World Wars and, on its reformation in 1947, it was known as the Bookham and District Silver Band. In 1974, it changed its name again to the Mole Valley Silver Band, to reflect the formation of the new local authority area.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.molevalleysilverband.org.uk/history.html |title= History |author= <!--Not stated--> |publisher= Mole Valley Silver Band |access-date= 13 November 2021 |archive-date= 8 February 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200208092118/http://molevalleysilverband.org.uk/history.html |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Heath|Tarplee|2005|p=91}}</ref> The band performs regularly in and around the towns of Leatherhead and Dorking.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.molevalleysilverband.org.uk/home.html |title= Home |author= <!--Not stated--> |publisher= Mole Valley Silver Band |access-date= 13 November 2021 |archive-date= 8 February 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200208174444/http://molevalleysilverband.org.uk/home.html |url-status= live }}</ref>

The band [[John's Children]], which included sometime frontman [[Marc Bolan]], was formed in the town in 1963 by [[Andy Ellison]] and [[Chris Townson]], former pupils of nearby [[Box Hill School]]. They occasionally appeared at the Chuck Wagon Club on Bridge Street.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.johnschildren.co.uk/ |title=John's Children official site |access-date=16 August 2009 |archive-date=30 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130182936/http://www.johnschildren.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= George |first= Sarah |date= 22 January 2018 |title= The Bluesette Club: The fascinating history of Leatherhead's much-loved former live music venue as plaque is unveiled to commemorate its influence |work= Surrey Live |url= https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/bluesette-club-fascinating-history-leatherheads-14186353 |access-date= 24 July 2022 }}</ref>

[[Nigel Gray#Surrey Sound Studios|Surrey Sound recording studio]] was established in 1974 by producer [[Nigel Gray]] in a former village hall in the north of the town. Early demo pieces for, among others, [[the Wombles]] and [[Joan Armatrading]] were followed, by the recording of much of the early repertoire of [[the Police]].<ref name=NigelGray>{{cite web |first=Craig |last=Richard |url=http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/14657438.Doctor_who_recorded_The_Police_albums_in_Leatherhead_dies/ |title=Doctor who Recorded The Police albums in Leatherhead died |publisher=yourlocalguardian.co.uk |date=2 August 2016 |access-date=4 August 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817115903/http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/14657438.Doctor_who_recorded_The_Police_albums_in_Leatherhead_dies/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Police songs recorded at Surrey Sound Studio included "[[Roxanne (The Police song)|Roxanne]]" and the band's debut album, ''[[Outlandos d'Amour]]''; ''[[Reggatta de Blanc]]'' and its singles "[[Message in a Bottle (The Police song)|Message in a Bottle]]" and "[[Walking on the Moon]]"; and the [[Grammy Award]]-winning ''[[Zenyatta Mondatta]]'' and its hit single "[[Don't Stand So Close to Me]]".<ref name=NigelGray/>|group= n}} Other groups recording there included [[Godley & Creme]], [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]], [[Rick Astley]], the [[The Lotus Eaters (band)|Lotus Eaters]], [[Alternative TV]] and [[Bros (British band)|Bros]]. The studio was sold by Gray in 1987.<ref name=NigelGray/>

[[Robyn Hitchcock]] refers to Leatherhead in the song "Clean Steve".<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/26866015/Robyn+Hitchcock |title= Clean Steve lyrics |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2021 |publisher= Lyrics.com |access-date= 1 November 2021 |archive-date= 2 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211102104149/https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/26866015/Robyn+Hitchcock |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Television and film===
Leatherhead has been mentioned in a number of films and television programmes. The film ''[[I Want Candy (film)|I Want Candy]]'', released in March 2007, is partly set in the town. [[Brooklands College]], [[Weybridge]] was used as the filming location for the fictional "Leatherhead University".<ref>{{cite news |last= Macnab |first= Geoffrey |date= May 2007 |title= I want Candy |volume= 17 |issue= 5 |page= 66 |work= Sight and Sound |location= London}}</ref>

[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]] refers to Leatherhead in the "Red Indian in Theatre" sketch. [[Eric Idle]], in Native American costume says, "When moon high over prairie, when wolf howl over mountain, when mighty wind roar through Yellow Valley, we go Leatherhead Rep - block booking, upper circle - whole tribe get it on three and six each."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://montypython.50webs.com/scripts/Series_1/41.htm |title= Monty Python Scripts: Red Indian in Theatre |author= <!--Not stated--> |publisher= Another bleedin' Monty Python website |access-date= 31 October 2021 |archive-date= 25 September 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180925094954/http://montypython.50webs.com/scripts/Series_1/41.htm |url-status= live }}</ref> The television sketch show ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]'' took a jab at Leatherhead in series two, episode four. In one sketch, a librarian comments to a customer that she is "possibly one of the stupidest people I've ever met. And I lived in Leatherhead for six miserable years."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=that-mitchell-and-webb-look-2006&episode=s02e04|title=That Mitchell and Webb Look (2006) s02e04 Episode Script {{!}} SS|website=Springfield! Springfield!|access-date=29 February 2020|archive-date=22 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122214211/https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref> The house that was used as the filming location for [[Arthur Dent]]'s residence for the TV series ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (TV series)|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', is in Leatherhead.<ref>{{harvnb|Gaiman|2018|p=93}}</ref>