Editing Leatherhead (section)

==History==
===Early history===
The earliest evidence of human activity in Leatherhead comes from the [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]]. [[Flint]]s, a probable [[well]] and two pits were discovered in 2012 during building work on Garlands Road and the finds suggest that the site was also used in the early [[Roman Britain|Roman period]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Randall |first1= Nigel |last2= Ayton |first2= Gemma |last3= Jones |first3= Phil |last4= Marples |first4= Nick |year= 2017 |title= Iron Age and Roman occupation at St John's School, Garlands Road, Leatherhead |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_100/surreyac100_055-070_randall.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 100 |pages= 55–70 |doi= 10.5284/1069426 |access-date= 30 January 2021 |archive-date= 30 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210130182910/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_100%2Fsurreyac100_055-070_randall.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The route of [[Stane Street (Chichester)|Stane Street]], the [[Roman roads in Britannia|Roman road]] from London to [[Chichester]], passes about {{convert|2.5|km|mi|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} southeast of the town.<ref name=Hall_2008>{{cite journal|author= Hall A |year= 2008 |title= The archaeological evidence for the route of Stane Street from Mickleham Downs to London Road, Ewell |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |publisher= Surrey Archaeological Society |volume= 94 |pages= 225–250 |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_94/surreyac094_225-249_hall.pdf |access-date= 2 January 2021 |archive-date= 2 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210102102535/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_94%2Fsurreyac094_225-249_hall.pdf |url-status= live}}</ref>|group=n}} Traces of Iron Age field systems and settlement activity have been observed at Hawks Hill, [[Fetcham]] (about {{convert|1|km|mi|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} southwest of the town centre)<ref name=Hastings_1965>{{cite journal|last= Hastings |year= 1965 |title= Excavation of an Iron Age Farmstead at Hawk's Hill, Leatherhead |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |publisher= Surrey Archaeological Society |volume= 62 |pages= 1–43 |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_62/surreyac062_001-043_hastings.pdf |access-date= 30 January 2021 |archive-date= 31 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210131221238/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_62%2Fsurreyac062_001-043_hastings.pdf |url-status= live}}</ref> and on [[Mickleham, Surrey#Mickleham Downs|Mickleham Downs]] (about {{convert|3|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} to the south).<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/having-a-field-day-with-lidar-in-the-surrey-her/ |title= Having a field day with Lidar in the Surrey HER |last= Salkeld |first= E |date= 28 February 2020 |publisher= Exploring Surrey's Past |access-date= 25 September 2020 |archive-date= 24 October 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201024120937/https://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/having-a-field-day-with-lidar-in-the-surrey-her/ |url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last= Hogg |first= I |year= 2019 |title= Activity within the prehistoric landscape of the Surrey chalk downland, Cherkley Court, Leatherhead |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 102 |pages= 103–129 }}</ref> Also to the south, [[Norbury Park|the Druid's Grove at Norbury Park]] may have been used for pre-Christian [[paganism|pagan]] gatherings.<ref name=Times1>{{cite news |date= 13 April 1934 |title= Norbury Park: Summer all the winter |newspaper= The Times|location=London|page=17 }}</ref>

An Anglo-Saxon settlement at Leatherhead was most likely founded on the east side of the River Mole in the second half of the 6th century. A burial ground, dating to the same period, has been identified on the west side at Hawks Hill.<ref name=Ruby_Saxons>{{cite journal |last= Ruby|first= A. T. |year= 1968 |title= The coming of the Saxons |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_3_NO_2_1968.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 3 |issue= 2 |pages= 45–49 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Smith |first1= R. A. |year= 1907 |title= Recent and former discoveries at Hawks Hill |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 20 |pages= 119–128 }}</ref> A second [[cemetery]] was discovered in 1984 on the site of the former [[Goblin Vacuum Cleaners|Goblin]] factory in Ermyn Way (now the location of the offices of [[Esso]]). Excavations uncovered the remains of at least 40 individuals and the artefacts found, including knives, buckles and necklaces, suggest that they were pagan burials.<ref>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=20–22}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Poulton |first1= Rob |year= 1987 |title= The former Goblin Works Leatherhead: Saxons and Sinners |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-457-1/dissemination/pdf/vol05/vol05_12/05_12_311_317.pdf |journal= London Archaeologist |volume= 5 |issue= 12 |pages= 311–317 |doi= 10.5284/1070745 |access-date= 22 February 2021 |archive-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210228122230/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-457-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol05%2Fvol05_12%2F05_12_311_317.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>

From the mid-9th century, Leatherhead was the centre of a [[royal vill]], which encompassed [[Ashtead]], [[Fetcham]] and [[Great Bookham|Bookham]].<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp28-30>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|pp=28–30}}</ref> The first known reference to the settlement is in the [[will and testament|will]] of [[Alfred the Great]] in 880, in which land at ''Leodridan'' was bequeathed to his son, [[Edward the Elder]].<ref name=O_Connell/> By the 10th century, there was a [[minster (church)|minster church]] in Leatherhead, and the town was administered as part of the [[Copthorne Hundred]].<ref name=Ruby_Saxons/><ref name=Vardey_1988_pp28-30/>

===Governance===
The medieval history of Leatherhead is complex, since the parish was divided into a number of manors.<ref name=O_Connell/> The town appears in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as ''Leret'' and was held by Osbern de Ow as a [[mesne lord]] to [[William the Conqueror|William I]]. Its Domesday assets were one church, belonging to [[Ewell]], and {{convert|40|acre|m2|abbr=on}} of land. It was valued at an annual income of £1.<ref name=Surrey_Domesday/><ref name=Leatherhead_Domesday>{{cite web|url= https://opendomesday.org/place/TQ1656/leatherhead/ |title= Leatherhead |author= Powell-Smith A |year= 2011 |publisher= Open Domesday |access-date= 20 November 2020 |archive-date= 15 January 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190115191008/https://opendomesday.org/place/TQ1656/leatherhead/ |url-status= live}}</ref> To the south was the manor of Thorncroft, which was held by [[Richard fitz Gilbert|Richard]] son of [[Gilbert, Count of Brionne|Gilbert]] as [[tenant-in-chief]].<ref name=Thorncroft_Domesday>{{cite web |url= https://opendomesday.org/place/TQ1655/thorncroft/ |title= Thorncroft |author= Powell-Smith A |year= 2011 |publisher= Open Domesday |access-date= 31 January 2021 |archive-date= 16 January 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190116072014/https://opendomesday.org/place/TQ1655/thorncroft/ |url-status= live }}</ref> To the north was the manor of Pachesham, subdivided into two parts, each of which was held by a mesne lord to the tenant-in-chief, [[Odo of Bayeux|Bishop Odo of Bayeux]].<ref name=Surrey_Domesday/><ref name=Pachesham_Domesday>{{cite web |url= https://opendomesday.org/place/TQ1558/pachesham/ |title= Pachesham |author= Powell-Smith A |year= 2011 |publisher= Open Domesday |access-date= 31 January 2021 |archive-date= 16 January 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190116025429/https://opendomesday.org/place/TQ1558/pachesham/ |url-status= live }}</ref> Finally there are sporadic mentions in surviving documents of a manor called "Minchin", which may have belonged to [[Kilburn Priory]] in [[Middlesex]].<ref name=Benger_1953_Mansion>{{cite journal |last1= Benger |first1= FB |year= 1953 |title= Pen sketches of old houses in this district: The Mansion, Leatherhead |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_1_NO_7_1953.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 1 |issue= 7 |pages=7–12 |access-date= 7 February 2021 }}</ref><ref name=|Harvey_1962_Cartographical_Survey>{{cite journal |last1= Harvey |first1= John |year= 1962 |title= A cartographical survey of the area: VIII Leatherhead in 1782 |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_2_NO_6_1962.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 2 |issue= 6 |pages=169–170 |access-date= 8 February 2021 }}</ref>

For the majority of its history, Thorncroft Manor appears to have remained as a single, intact entity, with the exception of the [[subinfeudation]] of [[Bocketts Farm]], which took place before 1300.<ref name=Blair_Bocketts>{{cite journal |last1= Blair |first1= WJ |year= 1977 |title= A military holding in twelfth-century Leatherhead: Bockett Farm and the origins of Pachensham Parva |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_4_NO_1_1977.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 4 |issue= 1 |pages= 3–12 |access-date= 31 January 2021 }}</ref><ref name=Lowther_>{{cite journal |last1= Lowther |first1= Anthony |last2= Ruby |first2= AT |last3= Renn |first3= Renn |year= 1984 |title= Pachensham, Leatherhead: The excavation of the medieval moated site known as 'The Mounts' |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_74/surreyac074_001-045_lowther.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 74 |pages= 1–45 |access-date= 31 January 2021 |archive-date= 31 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210131221238/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_74%2Fsurreyac074_001-045_lowther.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> In 1086, the manor was held by Richard fitz Gilbert and it passed through his family (the [[de Clare|Clares]]) to his granddaughter, Margaret de Clare, who married into the [[de Montfitchet]] family of Essex. Her great-grandson, [[Richard de Montfichet]], sold the manor to John de Cheresbure in around 1190 and it was next purchased by [[Philip Basset]] and his second wife, [[Ela Longespée|Ela, Countess of Warwick]] in around 1255.<ref name=Blair_Bocketts/> In 1266, they granted Thorncroft (which provided an income of £20 per year) to [[Walter de Merton]], who used it to endow [[Merton College, Oxford|the college in Oxford]] that he had founded in 1264.<ref name=Amt_2009>{{cite journal |last1= Amt |first1= Emilie |year= 2009 |title= Ela Longespee's roll of benefits: Piety and reciprocity in the thirteenth century |jstor=27832088 |journal= Traditio |volume= 64 |pages= 1–56 |doi= 10.1017/S0362152900002245 }}</ref> Merton College remained the lords of the manor until 1904<ref name=Garnier_2008>{{cite journal |last1= Garnier |first1= Richard |year= 2008 |title= Thorncroft Manor, Leatherhead |url= https://georgiangroup.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/GGJ_2008_06_GARNIER.pdf |journal= The Georgian Group Journal |volume= XVI |pages= 59–88 |access-date= 31 January 2021 |archive-date= 31 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210131221239/https://georgiangroup.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/GGJ_2008_06_GARNIER.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> and the continuity of ownership ensured that an almost complete set of [[manorial roll]]s from 1278 onwards has been preserved.<ref name=Harvey_Court_Roll>{{cite journal |last= Harvey |first= John |year= 1962|title= The Court Rolls of Leatherhead: The earliest surviving Court Roll of the Manor of Pachenesham |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead and District Local History Society |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_2_NO_6_1962.pdf |volume= 2 |issue= 6 |pages= 170–173 |access-date= 30 January 2021}}</ref> In 1497, [[Richard FitzJames]], the [[List of wardens of Merton College, Oxford|Warden of the College]], authorised the expenditure of £37 for a new [[manor house]], which was used until the [[Georgian era]].<ref name=Garnier_2008/>

In contrast, the manor of Pachesham became fragmented as the Middle Ages progressed. By the time of the Domesday Book, it was already divided into two parts, the smaller of which was later referred to as "Pachenesham Parva". No written record of either part of the manor survives from the subsequent 200 years, but in 1286 land belongong to Pachesham was recorded as passing to Eustace de Hacche. De Haache rebuilt the manor house in around 1293, which he enclosed with a [[moat]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Ruby |first1= A.T. |year= 1957 |title= The Manor of Pachenesham, Leatherhead |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_55/surreyac055_007-017_ruby.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 55 |pages= 7–17 |doi= 10.5284/1068894 |access-date= 17 February 2021 |archive-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210228115332/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_55%2Fsurreyac055_007-017_ruby.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> Excavations of the manor house site (now known as The Mounts) in the mid-20th century provided evidence of several medieval buildings, including a hall, a chapel and a probable stable block.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Renn |first1= D. F. |last2= Lowther |first2= A. |last3= Ruby |first3= A. T. |year= 1984 |title= Pachenesham, Leatherhead: The excavation of the medieval moated site known as 'The Mounts' |url= https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-379-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_74/surreyac074_001-045_lowther.pdf |journal= Surrey Archaeological Collections |volume= 74 |pages= 1–45 |access-date= 17 February 2021 |archive-date= 31 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210131221238/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-379-1%2Fdissemination%2Fpdf%2Fvol_74%2Fsurreyac074_001-045_lowther.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> The value of the manor appears to have declined in the mid-14th century and, in 1386, it was let to William Wimbledon for an annual sum of £20. In 1393, one year after a serious fire had destroyed much of Leatherhead, Wimbledon defaulted on the rent and was accused of dismantling several of the manor buildings. From the start of the 15th century, the land was divided between twelve lessees and the manor then disappears from the historical record.<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp52-55>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|pp=52–55}}</ref>

Surviving records of Pachenesham Parva from around 1330 suggest that it covered an area of {{convert|46|ha|acre|abbr=on|sigfig=3}} on the east bank of the River Mole, to the north west of the town centre.<ref name=Vardey_1988_p46>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=46}}</ref> The manor appears to have remained intact through the Middle Ages and land was added to the estate as the remainder of Pachesham was broken up. By the early 17th century, the area was known as Randalls Farm and, in 1805, the associated land totalled {{convert|182|ha|acre|abbr=on|sigfig=2}}.<ref name=Vardey_1988_p128>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=128}}</ref>

[[Tudor period#Local government|Reforms during the Tudor period]] replaced the day-to-day administration of towns such as Leatherhead in the hands of the [[vestry]] of the parish church.<ref name=Kümin_1996_pp250-255>{{harvnb|Kümin|1996|pp=250–255}}</ref><ref name=Heath_Parish>{{cite journal |last1= Heath |first1= Linda |year= 2000 |title= Leatherhead: Church and Parish, from the 17th to the 19th century |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_6_NO_4_2000.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 6 |issue= 4 |pages= 81–87 |access-date= 7 February 2021 }}</ref> The vestry was charged with appointing a parish [[constable]], maintaining a [[village lock-up|lock-up]] and organising a basic fire service. Until 1834, it also administered [[poor relief]] and was responsible for building a [[workhouse]] on Kingston Road in 1808.<ref name=Heath_Parish/><ref name=Vardey_1988_pp113-116>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|pp=113–116}}</ref>

[[File:Wesley House, Leatherhead - Surrey.jpg|thumb|right|[[Wesley House, Leatherhead|Wesley House]], Bull Hill, the former headquarters of the Leatherhead UDC]]
During the 19th century, local government reforms gradually removed the duties of running of the town's infrastructure and services from the vestry. The [[Poor Law Amendment Act 1834]] placed the workhouse in the care of a [[board of guardians]] at [[Epsom]]<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp178-179>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|pp=178–179}}</ref> and the [[Local Government Act 1888]] transferred many administrative responsibilities to the newly formed [[Surrey County Council]]. The Leatherhead [[Urban district (England and Wales)|Urban District Council]] (UDC) was formed six years later<ref name=Vardey_1988_p148>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=148}}</ref> and in 1903 the county council was placed in charge of the town's [[National school (England and Wales)|National schools]].<ref name=Vardey_1988_p182>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=182}}</ref> The [[Local Government Act 1972]] created [[Mole Valley|Mole Valley District Council]], by combining the UDCs of Leatherhead and [[Dorking]] with the majority of the Dorking and [[Horley]] Rural District.<ref name=Jackson_1991_p103>{{harvnb|Ettinger|Jackson|Overell|1991|p=103}}</ref>

===Transport and communications===
Leatherhead developed at a crossing point of the River Mole at the intersection between the north–south [[Kingston upon Thames|Kingston]]–Dorking and east–west Epsom–Guildford roads. The original position of the ford is unclear, but it may have been around {{convert|90|m|yd|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} upstream of the present Leatherhead Bridge at a point where a continuation of Elm Road would meet the river.<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp28-30/>

The first indication of a bridge at Leatherhead is a local [[deed]] dated to 1250, which was witnessed by a "Simon of the Bridge". Later that century, in around 1286, a Peter Dryaw of Fetcham is recorded as mortgaging the annual rent of a house "at the bridge in the town of Ledderede" to [[Merton College, Oxford]].<ref name=Ruby_Mole_1964>{{cite journal |last1= Ruby |first1= A.T. |year= 1964 |title= The Leatherhead River |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_2_NO_8_1964.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 2 |issue= 8 |pages= 228–247 |access-date= 18 February 2021}}</ref> It is possible that the construction of the first bridge coincided with an expansion of the town and the enlargement of the parish church, which took place around 1200.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Renn |first1= D.F. |year= 1971 |title= The date of the first Leatherhead Bridge |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_3_NO_5_1971.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 3 |issue= 5 |pages= 153–154 |access-date= 18 February 2021 }}</ref>

It is not clear to what extent the Mole was used for navigation in the past, but in the early Middle Ages, it is likely that [[draft (hull)|shallow-bottomed]] craft were able to reach Leatherhead from the [[River Thames|Thames]] for much of the year. In the late 13th century, Thorncroft Manor purchased a ''shout'', a type of boat up to {{convert|16|m|ft}} in length, used to transport produce to market.<ref>{{harvnb|Campbell|1993|p=59}}</ref> Several schemes were proposed to make the Mole navigable in the 17th and 18th centuries, but none were enacted.<ref name=Vine_1986>{{harvnb|Vine|1986|pp=6–7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.iisg.nl/hpw/papers/law-bogart.pdf |title= Political Institutions and the Emergence of Regulatory Commitment in England: Evidence from Road and River Improvement Authorities, 1600–1750 |author= Bogart D |date= August 2007 |publisher= International Institute of Social History |access-date= 7 February 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110608072734/http://www.iisg.nl/hpw/papers/law-bogart.pdf |archive-date= 8 June 2011 |url-status= live}}</ref>

{{Annotated image
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| caption = Extract from ''Twenty Four Miles Round London'' (1820) by William Mogg showing the turnpike roads to Guildford, Epsom and Dorking
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The [[turnpike trust|turnpike road]] between Epsom and [[Horsham]], which ran through Leatherhead, was authorised by [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] in 1755.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://dorkingmuseum.org.uk/the-turnpike-road/ |title= The Turnpike Road |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 4 June 2020 |publisher= Dorking Museum |access-date= 17 December 2020 |archive-date= 2 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210102101951/https://dorkingmuseum.org.uk/the-turnpike-road/ |url-status= live }}</ref> Turnpikes to Guildford and Kingston were opened in 1758 and 1811 respectively<ref name=Crocker_1999_p73>{{harvnb|Crocker|1999|p=73}}</ref> and one of the [[tollhouse]]s was sited near to the present Leatherhead Institute.<ref name=Vardey_1988_p129>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=129}}</ref> [[Stagecoach]]es, which had begun to run through Leatherhead to London in the 1680s,<ref name=Vardey_1988_p70>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=70}}</ref> increased in frequency after the building of the turnpikes. By 1838 there were daily coaches to [[Arundel]], [[Bognor Regis|Bognor]] and [[Worthing]],<ref name=Vardey_1988_p133>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=133}}</ref> which typically stopped at the Swan Inn in the High Street.<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp165-168>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|pp=165–168}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The Swan Hotel, first recorded in 1637, stood at the junction of the High Street and Church Street.<ref name=Vardey_1988_p62/> Most stagecoaches stopped at the inn, which was described in a Directory in 1791 as "a very genteel house, with good accommodation, most excellent stabling and good post chaises with able horses for hire."<ref name=Vardey_1988_p133/> The Swan closed in 1936, was sold for development and was subsequently demolished.<ref name=Heath_2012_p11>{{harvnb|Heath|2012|p=11}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=243}}</ref>|group=n}} With the arrival of {{stnlnk|Epsom Town||the railway at Epsom}} in 1847, the long-distance coaches were discontinued and [[horsebus|horse-drawn omnibuses]] took over local journeys.<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp165-168/>

The first railway to arrive in Leatherhead was built by the Epsom and Leatherhead Railway Company. The line, which terminated at a station in Kingston Road, opened on 1 February 1859. Initially all trains were operated by the [[London and South Western Railway]] (LSWR) and, for the first two months, only ran as far as {{stnlnk|Epsom}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Davies |first1= H.J. |year= 1993 |title= The Epsom and Leatherhead Railway 1856-59 |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_5_NO_6_1993.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead& District Local History Society |volume= 5 |issue= 6 |pages= 170–172 |access-date= 19 February 2021 }}</ref> The completion of the line through {{stnlnk|Worcester Park}} enabled these services to be extended to {{station|London Waterloo}} from April of the same year and, in August 1859, the [[London, Brighton and South Coast Railway]] (LBSCR) began to run trains from Leatherhead to {{station|London Bridge}}.<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp168-169>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|pp=168–169}}</ref>

The Mole Gap through the North Downs had been identified as a potential railway corridor as early as the 1830s, but the line south from Leatherhead to {{stnlnk|Dorking}} was not opened until 1867.<ref>{{harvnb|Jackson|1988|pp=26–27}}</ref> The Kingston Road station, which had been laid out as a terminus, was closed and two new adjacent stations (either side of the present Station Approach) were opened. The LBSCR station, which was closer to the town centre, was initially the only one connected to the line to Dorking. It was designed by [[Charles Driver|C. H. Driver]] in a fine [[Gothic Revival]] style and is the station that survives today.<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp168-169/><ref>{{NHLE|num=1191033|desc=Leatherhead Station|grade=II|access-date=19 February 2021|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> The LSWR built its station as a terminus, but its line was extended westwards to {{stnlnk|Bookham}} in 1885. The two railway companies were [[Railways Act 1921|amalgamated]] in 1923, when the [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]] was formed.<ref name=Knowles_1998>{{cite journal |last1= Knowles |first1= H.G.|year= 1998 |title= Leatherhead's railway stations |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_6_NO_2_1998.pdf  |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead& District Local History Society |volume= 6 |issue= 2 |pages= 46–52 |access-date= 19 February 2021 }}</ref> All railway lines through Leatherhead were [[railway electrification|electrified]] in 1925 and the LSWR station was closed in 1927. In the late 1930s, a southward extension of the [[Chessington branch line]] was proposed, but the creation of the [[Metropolitan Green Belt]] prevented the scheme from being enacted.<ref name=Knowles_1998/>

[[File:England. The M25 motorway at Leatherhead. (32993952868).jpg|thumb|The [[M25 motorway]] at Leatherhead]]
The construction of the [[A24 road (England)|A24 bypass]] (between Givons Grove and Leatherhead Common) started in 1931<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Leatherhead by-pass road |date= 2 April 1934 |page= 7 |issue= 46717 }}</ref> and the final section opened in May 1934.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= The Whitsun Holiday |date= 21 May 1934 |page= 7 |issue= 46759 }}</ref> Young Street (the A246 between Bocketts Farm and Givons Grove) was built by the [[Canadian Military Engineers|Corps of Royal Canadian Military Engineers]] between June 1940 and May 1941.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Crossland |first1= EA |year= 1993 |title= The building of Young Street |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_5_NO_6_1993.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History |volume= 5 |issue= 6 |page= 160 |access-date= 8 February 2021 }}</ref> In October 1985, the town was joined to the UK motorway system when the [[M25 motorway|M25]] was opened between Wisley and Reigate.<ref>{{cite news |last= Petty |first= John |date= 5 October 1985 |title= Cracked M25 link to open |issue= 40526 |page=36 |location= London |work= Daily Telegraph }}</ref>

===Commerce===
The right to hold a weekly market and an annual fair was granted to Leatherhead in 1248 by [[Henry III of England|Henry III]].<ref name=O_Connell/> The market place is thought to have been at the junction of Bridge Street, North Street and High Street and the town stocks were probably in the same area.<ref name=Vardey_1988_p62>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=62}}</ref> The market appears to have ended in the mid-[[Elizabethan era]], however the annual fair continued and in the late 17th century was held on 8 September, the feast of the [[Nativity of Mary]].<ref name=Vardey_1988_p98>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=98}}</ref>

The construction of the turnpikes, and later the railways, attracted wealthier residents to Leatherhead. Many of these incomers had accumulated their wealth as entrepreneurs in London and had no previous connection to the area. By the start of the [[Victorian era]], they were beginning to influence the local economy. Small, family-based manufacturing firms began to grow, engaged in industries such as [[brick|brick-making]], [[sawmill|milling of logs]], [[tanning (leather)|tanning]], [[shoemaking]], [[malting]] and [[brewing]]. In the [[1841 United Kingdom census|1841 census]], 18.5% of the town's inhabitants were employed in agriculture-related trades, but [[1881 United Kingdom census|forty years later]], the proportion had fallen to 5.4%.<ref>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|pp=149–152}}</ref>

Larger-scale industries arrived in Leatherhead in the first half of the 20th century. In 1928, the [[Rayon|Rayon manufacturing company]] opened a factory in Ermyn Way, close to the border with Ashtead parish<ref name=Stuttard_1995_p124>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=124}}</ref> and was replaced ten years later by the manufacturing plant for [[Goblin Vacuum Cleaners]].<ref name=Stuttard_1995_p134>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=134}}</ref> Also in the 1930s, a [[sericulture|silk-making]] farm and [[electrical cable]] factory were established in the town.<ref name=Stuttard_1995_p134/><ref name=Vardey_1988_pp232-234>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|pp=232–234}}</ref> Following the end of the Second World War, [[Ronson (company)|Ronson]], the US-based manufacturer of [[lighter|cigarette lighters]], opened a manufacturing plant at Dorincourt, to the north of the town.<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp257-258>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|pp=257–258}}</ref><ref name=Potted_Hist_Ronson>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheadlocalhistory.org.uk/miscellany/potted-history-42.pdf |title= Ronson UK, Randalls Road, Leatherhead |last= Powell |first= Goff |publisher= Leatherhead & District Local History Society |access-date= 8 November 2021 }}</ref> The factory moved to Randalls Road in 1953, but it closed in 1981 when the company went into liquidation. A business park opened in its place.<ref name=Potted_Hist_Ronson/><ref name=Heath_Tarplee_2005_pp58-59>{{harvnb|Heath|Tarplee|2005|pp=58–59}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Dorincourt was acquired by the [[Queen Elizabeth's Foundation for Disabled People]] in 1953.<ref name=Heath_Tarplee_2005_pp58-59/>  The charity's Independent Living Service is based at the site and provides residential care for up to 43 people with complex physical disabilities and learning disabilities.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://qef.org.uk/our-services/qef-independent-living-services |title= Independent Living Services |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 14 July 2021 |orig-date= 14 November 2015 |publisher= QEF |access-date= 8 November 2021 |archive-date= 25 October 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211025074056/https://qef.org.uk/our-services/qef-independent-living-services |url-status= live }}</ref>|group=n}}

The Ex-services Welfare Society purchased Long House on Ermin Way following the end of the First World War. The charity constructed a factory in the grounds to provide employment for disabled veterans, producing electrical items, such as [[electric blanket]]s. In 1933, the organisation opened a treatment centre at Tyrwhitt House in Oaklawn Road, named after [[Reginald Tyrwhitt]], its president at the time. In 1981, the factory was purchased by [[Remploy]]. It continued to manufacture electrical goods, but under the new ownership, its operations expanded to include the assembly and packaging of mechanical equipment.<ref name=Tarplee_2010_pp48-43>{{harvnb|Tarplee|2010|pp=43–48}}</ref> The Remploy factory closed in 2007, with the loss of 43 jobs.<ref>{{cite news |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 22 May 2007 |title= Disability firm to close 43 sites |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6679619.stm |work= BBC News |access-date= 11 November 2021 |archive-date= 7 September 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070907124303/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6679619.stm |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 30 November 2007 |title= Despair as Remploy factory gets closure notice |url= https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/despair-remploy-factory-gets-closure-4832168 |work= Surrey Live |access-date= 11 November 2021 |archive-date= 11 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211111120101/https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/despair-remploy-factory-gets-closure-4832168 |url-status= live }}</ref> The Ex-services Welfare Society, now known as [[Combat Stress (charitable organisation)|Combat Stress]],<ref name=Tarplee_2010_pp48-43/> continues to operate its treatment centre at Tyrwhitt House in north Leatherhead.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://combatstress.org.uk/get-help/how-we-help/treatment-centres |title= Our treatment centres |author= <!--Not stated--> |year= 2021 |publisher= Combat Stress |access-date= 11 November 2021 |archive-date= 11 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211111120100/https://combatstress.org.uk/get-help/how-we-help/treatment-centres |url-status= live }}</ref>

Large-scale manufacturing in Leatherhead was short lived and, as the 20th century progressed, the town started to attract [[tertiary sector of the economy|service sector industries]]. Among the research institutes formerly based in the town, Leatherhead Food Research was founded in 1919<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2015/09/16/Food-research-organisation-saved-from-administration |title= Leatherhead acquired by Science Group for £1.6M |last= Gibbons |first= Laurence |date= 15 September 2015 |publisher= Food Manufacture |access-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210228115332/https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2015/09/16/Food-research-organisation-saved-from-administration |url-status= live }}</ref> and the Central Electricity Research Laboratories (CERL) opened in 1950.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Forrest |first1= JS |year= 1955 |title= British Electricity Research Laboratories |journal= Physics Bulletin |volume= 6 |issue= 3 |pages= 42–52 |doi= 10.1088/0031-9112/6/3/003 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Forrest |first1= JS |year= 1965 |title= Central Electricity Research Laboratories |journal= Physics Bulletin |volume= 16 |issue= 9 |pages= 337–346 |doi= 10.1088/0031-9112/16/9/001 }}</ref> Both organisations left the town in the early 2000s.<ref>{{cite news |title= Leatherhead Food Research to leave town after 96 years |last= Weich |first= Ben |date= 24 November 2015 |work= Surrey Comet |url= https://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/epsom/14099068.leatherhead-food-research-to-leave-town-after-96-years/ |access-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-date= 28 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210228115334/https://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/epsom/14099068.leatherhead-food-research-to-leave-town-after-96-years/ |url-status= live }}</ref> The Ronson and Goblin factories closed in the early 1980s and their sites were redeveloped, in the latter case for the UK headquarters of [[Esso]].<ref name=Vardey_1988_pp257-258/> The UK head offices of [[Unilever]] (on the site of the former CERL) and [[Hyundai Motor Company|Hyundai]] were opened in Leatherhead in 2008 and 2020 respectively.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/business/unilever-staff-move-good-news-4720156 |title= Unilever staff move 'good news' for Leatherhead |last= Martin |first= Guy |date= 2 July 2013 |orig-date= 11 January 2013 |work= Get Surrey |access-date= 21 February 2021 |archive-date= 26 October 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201026221132/https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/business/unilever-staff-move-good-news-4720156 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= Shakesby |first= Chloe |date= 30 June 2020 |title= Hyundai relocates UK headquarters to Leatherhead |url= https://bdaily.co.uk/articles/2020/06/30/hyundai-relocates-uk-headquarters-to-leatherhead |work= Bdaily News |access-date= 28 February 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Swan Centre, High Street entrance, Leatherhead, Surrey.jpg|thumb|right|Swan shopping centre{{#tag:ref|The Swan shopping centre is named after the former Swan Hotel.<ref name=Heath_2012_p11/>|group=n}}]]
[[File:Looking down High Street, Leatherhead, 2024.jpg|thumb|The High Street, here in 2024.]]
A controversial redevelopment of the road network in the town centre took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The project began with the demolition of the Prince of Wales pub in 1979 and the Swan Centre, a covered shopping centre with a [[multistorey car park]], was constructed in its place. At the same time a one-way system was created and the High Street was pedestrianised.<ref>{{harvnb|Vardey|2001|p=124}}</ref> By September 1981, the scheme was already attracting criticism from local traders and residents, who blamed the traffic alterations for a steep decline in [[People counter#Business metrics|footfall]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.leatherheadahead.org.uk/militant_300981.htm |title= Militant Town - Shopkeepers up in arms |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 30 September 1981 |publisher= Leatherhead Ahead |access-date= 20 November 2021 |archive-date= 19 January 2005 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050119173146/http://www.leatherheadahead.org.uk/militant_300981.htm |url-status= live }}</ref> In January 1983, the County Planning Officer admitted that the "complexity of present routes undoubtedly detracts from the appeal of the town to car-borne shoppers."<ref>{{cite news |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 7 January 1983 |title= The county council knows best |url= http://www.leatherheadahead.org.uk/surreyad_070183.htm |work= Surrey Advertiser |access-date= 20 November 2021 |archive-date= 20 January 2005 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050120020340/http://www.leatherheadahead.org.uk/surreyad_070183.htm |url-status= live }}</ref> In 2002, [[BBC News]] named Leatherhead as having one of the worst High Streets in the country.<ref>{{cite news |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 20 September 2002 |title= Britons name "best and worst streets" |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2270840.stm |work= BBC News |access-date= 20 November 2021 |archive-date= 19 May 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060519202756/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2270840.stm |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 27 March 2003 |title= Street loses "worst" title |url= https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/6257226.street-loses-worst-title/ |work= News Shopper |access-date= 20 November 2021 |archive-date= 20 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211120165544/https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/6257226.street-loses-worst-title/ |url-status= live }}</ref> Five years later, in 2007, the local press reported that the town was "bustling with people, and packed full with an abundance of shops, entertainment facilities and job opportunities." The revival in fortunes was attributed to a variety of community initiatives, including a new drama festival.<ref>{{cite news |author= <!--Not stated--> |title= Leatherhead High Street fights back |date= 23 February 2021 |orig-date= 16 October 2007 |url= https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/homes-and-gardens/places-to-live/leatherhead-high-street-fights-back-7786518 |work= Surrey Life |access-date= 20 November 2021 |archive-date= 20 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211120165543/https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/homes-and-gardens/places-to-live/leatherhead-high-street-fights-back-7786518 |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Residential development===
Leatherhead began to expand at the start of the 20th century and the population grew from in 4,694 in 1901 to 5,491 in 1911.<ref>{{harvnb|Spindler|2016|p=5}}</ref> New housing developments were built between 1900 and 1905 in Fairfield, Highlands and Kingston Roads, and Queen Anne's Garden. Later in the decade, houses were constructed in Copthorne, Clinton, Reigate and Woodville Roads, Kingston Avenue and St Nicholas Hill.<ref>{{harvnb|Spindler|2016|p=8}}</ref>

The first [[council house|council housing]] in the town, a development of 59 houses in Poplar Road, was built by Leatherhead UDC in 1921. Preference for rehousing was given to [[veteran|ex-servicemen]] and their families. In 1925, 90 council houses were constructed in Kingston Road.<ref name=Vardey_1988_p231>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=231}}</ref> Private residential developments also occurred around the same time, including the construction of the St Mary's Road estate, on the site of the former Elm Bank mansion, south of the town centre.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheadlocalhistory.org.uk/miscellany/potted-history-33.pdf |title= Elm Bank House (St Mary's Road Estate) Leatherhead |last= Powell |first= Goff |publisher= Leatherhead & District Local History Society |access-date= 3 November 2021 }}</ref>

The Givons Grove estate, to the south of the town, was developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Originally a constituent of Thorncroft Manor, it was an area of arable land, known as "Gibbons Farm", named after a prominent local family.<ref name=Givons_Grove>{{cite journal |last1= Fortescue |first1= SED |year= 1983 |title= Givons Grove |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_4_NO_7_1983.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 4 |issue= 7 |pages= 188–190 |access-date= 4 February 2021 }}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Givons Grove House was built in the late 1780s for Henry Boulton, the then leaseholder of Thorncroft Manor and the owner of the Pachesham estate. The house was later occupied for a short time by Sir William Altum, but remained in the ownership of the Boulton family until 1859. In 1865, it was sold to [[Thomas Grissell]], the owner of [[Norbury Park]].<ref name=Givons_Grove/>|group=n}} In 1919, the estate was bought by the aircraft manufacturer, [[Humphrey Verdon Roe]], whose wife, [[Marie Stopes]], would live at Norbury Park for 20 years from 1938.<ref name=Givons_Grove/> It was sold to a consortium of developers in 1927, who divided the land into plots for housing.<ref name=Vardey_1988_p234>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=234}}</ref> Similarly in 1935, Yarm Court was sold and the estate developed for housing.<ref name=Vardey_1988_p317>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=317}}</ref>

Following the end of the Second World War, new housing was constructed to the north of the town centre, along Cleeve, Kingston and Copthorne Roads, to replace properties damaged by bombing.<ref name=Vardey_1988_p250>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=250}}</ref>

===Leatherhead in the world wars===
At the start of the First World War, members of the 20th Battalion of the University and Public Schools Brigade of the [[Royal Fusiliers]] were billeted with local residents. The recruits were primarily drawn from the [[Manchester]] area and underwent training at Randalls Farm.<ref>{{harvnb|Spindler|2016|p=88}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Spindler|2016|p=93}}</ref> The Kensington Rifles of the [[London Regiment (1908–1938)|London Regiment]] were also garrisoned in the town in the month before their deployment to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] in April 1915.<ref>{{harvnb|Spindler|2016|p=100}}</ref> Later that year, the first of 63 Belgian refugees arrived in Leatherhead, remaining in the town until the end of the war.<ref name=Spinder_2016_pp55-56>{{harvnb|Spindler|2016|pp=55–56}}</ref><ref name=Spindler_2016_pp59-60>{{harvnb|Spindler|2016|pp=59–60}}</ref>

Concerns that the town's water supply might be poisoned by enemy spies, prompted the authorities to arrange a guard on the waterworks on Guildford Road. Many of the duties were undertaken by the local [[The Scout Association|Scout troop]] and members of the [[Boys' Brigade]], which was affiliated with St Mary's Church.<ref name=Spinder_2016_pp55-56/> Many local men joined the Dorking and Leatherhead Battalion of the [[Volunteer Training Corps]], which was formed with the intention to defend the local area in the event of invasion.<ref>{{harvnb|Spindler|2016|pp=76–77}}</ref> In October 1914, a [[British Red Cross|Red Cross]] Hospital opened on Bull Hill. By March 1915 it had 33 beds and was fully occupied. It closed in February 1919.<ref name=Spindler_2016_pp59-60/> Elsewhere in the town, the Forty Foot recreation ground was used to grow wheat<ref>{{harvnb|Spindler|2016|p=117}}</ref> and Venthams, a local firm of [[coachbuilder]]s, began to manufacture [[ammunition|munitions]].<ref name=Spindler_2016_pp132-134>{{harvnb|Spindler|2016|pp=132–134}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The precise nature of the contribution of the Venthams factory to the war effort is unclear and, owing to secrecy rules, there are only sporadic mentions of munitions manufacture in the local press.<ref name=Spindler_2016_pp132-134/>|group=n}}

[[File:The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H20595.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Valentine tank]] at the Goblin plant, Leatherhead, 10 June 1942]]
Leatherhead was again a garrison town in the Second World War. Troops from the [[Royal Corps of Signals]] were billeted in late 1939<ref name=Vardey_2005_pp1-3>{{harvnb|Vardey|2005|pp=1–3}}</ref> and a year later, the first Canadian soldiers began to arrive in the local area.<ref>{{harvnb|Vardey|2005|p=7}}</ref> From September 1939, children from [[Streatham]] and [[Dulwich]] were [[Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II|evacuated]] to Leatherhead and the Royal School for the Blind was taken over by [[King's College Hospital]]. The cottage hospital on Poplar Road opened in May 1940 and by June of that year was treating 78 members of the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]], who had been [[Dunkirk evacuation|evacuated from Dunkirk]].<ref name=Vardey_2005_pp1-3/> The Goblin factory in Ermyn Way was used to make munitions, including [[naval mine|mine]] sinkers, shell [[fuse (explosives)|fuses]] and camouflage netting.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheadlocalhistory.org.uk/miscellany/potted-history-42.pdf |title= Goblin BVC, Ermin Way, Leatherhead |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/20211108212605/https://www.leatherheadlocalhistory.org.uk/miscellany/potted-history-42.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>

From the outbreak of war, the defence of Leatherhead was coordinated by the XII Corps of [[Eastern Command (United Kingdom)|Eastern Command]], reinforced from July 1940 by VII Corps GHQ Mobile Reserve. The 3rd Infantry Brigade of the [[1st Canadian Division]] was posted to Dorking and Leatherhead, and was responsible for completing the construction of Young Street between Givons Grove and Fetcham. The local unit of the [[Home Guard (United Kingdom)|Home Guard]], Company F of the 6th Battalion of South Eastern Command, was formed with 200 recruits in May 1940. The training centres for the company included the Drill Hall on Kingston Road and an anti-tank obstacle was installed at the east end of the High Street, close to the Leatherhead Institute. The Home Guard company was disbanded four years later, once the threat of invasion had passed.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Marchington |first= T. |year= 2002 |title= The defence of Leatherhead in the Second World War |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/VOL_6_NO_6_2002.pdf |journal= Proceedings of the Leatherhead & District Local History Society |volume= 6 |issue= 6 |pages= 138–140 |access-date= 11 November 2021}}</ref>

Leatherhead experienced two main periods of [[strategic bombing|bombing]] during the war. The first wave of attacks took place from late 1940 until early 1941. During the first raid, early in the morning on 27 August 1940, 20 high-explosive bombs were dropped along the border with Ashtead. The clubhouse of the golf club suffered a direct hit, but the civilians taking cover in the [[air raid shelter|shelter]] beneath it were fully protected and survived without injury. In October of the same year, the oil storage tanks next to the waterworks were set alight by an [[incendiary device|incendiary bomb]]. The resulting fires could not be extinguished until more than 24 hours later.<ref>{{harvnb|Vardey|2005|pp=4–6}}</ref> In March 1941, [[St Andrew's Catholic School]] was almost completely destroyed by a bomb.<ref>{{harvnb|Stuttard|1995|pp=136–141}}</ref> During the second period of bombing, in the summer of 1944, 16 [[V-1 flying bomb]]s landed in the Leatherhead area, including one at Thorncroft Manor.<ref>{{harvnb|Vardey|2005|p=9}}</ref>