IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Merritt Gardens, CHESSINGTON, KT9 2GJ

This area was built in 1998/99 on an area that was mostly open green fields but as it was the grounds of a public building it was not strictly greenbelt, rather 'brownfield' and therefore planning permission was available to build on it.

This footpath comes from Claygate and passes through The Grapsome, then under the Esher By-pass (A3) before reaching the outskirts of Chessington ahead.

This bridleway leaves the path between Chessington and Claygate and runs northwards along the edge of this field, parallel to the Esher By-pass. The bridleway ahead tends to get churned up by horses and as there is no way to avoid the resultant mud in places, an unofficial footpath has been created in the field on the left, next to the bridleway. In this view the Esher By-pass is beyond the trees to the left.

The main distributor road through a relatively recent housing development west of Leatherhead Road.

A bridleway leaves Mansfield Road to run southwards along the edge of this field, parallel to the Esher By-pass. The bridleway tends to get churned up by horses and as there is no way to avoid the resultant mud in places, an unofficial footpath has been created in the field next to the bridleway. This view looks back along the unofficial path with the bridleway in the trees to the right. The Esher By-pass is beyond the trees to the left.

This area was built in 1998/99 on an area that was mostly open green fields but as it was the grounds of a public building it was not strictly greenbelt, rather 'brownfield' and therefore planning permission was available to build on it. Merritt gardens was extended into the new development but the OS map at 1:50K hasn't caught up with the change yet.

The main distributor road through a relatively recent housing development west of Leatherhead Road.

The Grapsome is a small copse immediately to the west of the Esher By-pass (A3). The Grapsome is believed to be the site of a medieval manor, probably dating from before the Norman Conquest. The name may be of Old English origin, signifying the nick-name of the owner. In medieval times it was called 'Graplingeham', then over the centuries this altered to 'Grapham', then 'Grapson' and finally to 'The Grapsome'. On the First Edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1865, The Grapsome is clearly marked as deciduous woodland, but the present woods are a small fraction of their former size, the most recent reduction being in 1974/5 by the construction of the Esher By-pass through the eastern half. A bridleway from Chessington passes under the A3 and then through the middle of The Grapsome on its way to Claygate. This view looks away from the bridleway with the woodland of The Grapsome on the left and the embankment of the Esher By-pass to the right.