Egham

Egham is a small town in the Runnymede borough of Surrey, in the south-east of England. It is part of the London commuter belt and Greater London Urban Area, and about 20 mi south-west of central London on the River Thames and near junction 13 of the M25 motorway.

Demographics
Egham town has a population of 5,724 and contiguous Egham Hythe has a population of 6,345.

History
Egham predates 666AD when Chertsey Abbey was founded with lands which included that of Ecga's Ham, from which the name Egham derives.

Egham appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Egeham. It was held by Chertsey Abbey. Its domesday assets were: 15 hides; 12 ploughs, 120 acre of meadow, woodland, herbage and pannage worth 75 hogs. It rendered £30 10s 0d.

The village of Egham was previously an ancient parish covering land totalling 7435 acre in the counties of Berkshire and Surrey; incorporating Egham, Egham Hill, Coopers Hill, Englefield Green, Virginia Water, Shrubs Hill, Runnymede, Egham Hythe, and a considerable portion of Windsor Great Park.

The manor of Egham, which includes Runnymede belonged formerly, and in 1215, to Chertsey Abbey, and after the dissolution (around 1540) became the property of the Crown, though granted to various tenants (holders) at different times.

The Magna Carta was sealed at nearby Runnymede in 1215, and is commemorated by a memorial, built in 1957 by the American Bar Association, at the foot of Cooper's Hill (a small rise adjacent to the Thames floodplain, immortalised in verse by such luminaries as John Denham ('Cooper's Hill') and Alexander Pope ('Windsor Forest')). A Sculpture portraying King John and Baron Fitzwalter in the act of sealing the Magna Carta is also located in Church Road in the centre of town.

Another memorial at the top of the hill in nearby Englefield Green commemorates all Commonwealth air force personnel killed in World War II. It was the first new-built British building to be listed in the post-war era. The memorial isadministered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and freely open to the public year-round. It has excellent views towards London, Windsor and the Surrey Hills, as well as being a place of quiet contemplation and reflection.

Egham at one time held horse races which took place at the Runnymede meadow, which interfered with the Inclosure Act of 1814 (54 G. III, c. 153), and the consequent award made in 1817, which divided up the meadow, as the Act stipulated that any enclosures which should interfere with the holding of Egham races at the end of August upon on its usual course must be removed every year. In 1836 the races was presided over by William IV, who gave a plate to be run for at the meeting, which coincided with festivities at Windsor for his daughter's marriage. The races ceased in 1884.

The principal properties were 'Egham Park', and 'Egham Wick'.

More recently Egham was centre to two national issues. On 12 September 2007 a case of foot-and-mouth disease was found in Egham, 12 mi from the previous outbreak found in early August 2007. As of December, 2008, Egham is at the centre of a controversy due to possible traffic impact on the 3 level crossings in the town which will be affected by Heathrow Airtrack.

Governance
Egham once lay within the Godley hundred, which for a time may have been external to the historic county boundaries of Surrey.

Egham Rural District was a Local Government District within the administrative county of Surrey. It was created in 1894 and replaced in 1906 with Egham Urban District, which was later abolished in 1974. Since 1974, Egham has been part of the Runnymede borough of Surrey.

Geography
Nearby are Staines, Sunningdale, Englefield Green and Virginia Water, Windsor Great Park, Old Windsor and Windsor itself. The area between Egham and Staines town centres is known as Egham Hythe.

North of Egham is Wraysbury, home of the British Disabled Waterski Association. South is Thorpe Park, a large theme park of rides and attractions.

Economy
Egham is home to a large research centre for Procter & Gamble, the London Innovation Centre, on Rusham Park, formally owned by Shell oils. P&G has over 550 employees in Egham, working on Fine Fragrance, Beauty Care and Health Care brands, such as Hugo Boss, Olay, and Vicks. Other notable employers include Research in Motion, makers of BlackBerry, HCL AXON, an information technology consultancy), and the national headquarters of Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Egham is also home to CAB International Europe UK, which holds one of the world's largest collections of microorganisms.

The area around Egham has many connections with prestige sports cars. Egham has been Ferrari's spiritual home in the United Kingdom located in the listed Tower Garage. Lagonda Cars were based at Egham Hythe where Sainsbury's is now located. Egham today contains both a Maserati and a Porsche dealership.

Egham has many pubs including The Foresters, The Crown, The Red Lion, The Monkeys Forehead and The White Lion.

Transport
Egham railway station is on the railway lines from London Waterloo station to Reading and Weybridge. Passenger services are operated by South West Trains. Egham has three level crossings, which could become problematic if the proposed Heathrow Airtrack scheme comes to fruition. Several bus routes connect the town and Royal Holloway to Staines, Windsor and London Heathrow Airport.

Education
Strode's College is an institution in Egham dating back to 1704 and was a grammar school before being designated a sixth form college in 1975.

Royal Holloway College, a part of the University of London is south of Egham along the A30 road at Englefield Green. It will provide accommodation for London 2012 competitors who are competing at Eton Dorney

The Magna Carta School, formerly Hythe County Secondary, is in Egham Hythe.

Churches
St John's Church Egham is located on Church Road and is an evangelical Anglican church in the Diocese of Guildford. There are approximately 350 members and a usual Sunday attendance is around 450. The incumbent Vicar is the Revd Jeff Wattley.

Notable people

 * Hilda Braid, actor, lived in Egham
 * Edward Budgen, provisions merchant, resided in Egham
 * John Denham (poet), wrote poetry about Egham in the 17th century
 * Frederick James Furnivall, co-creator of the Oxford English Dictionary
 * Hugh Reginald Haweis, cleric and writer
 * William Chaloner, counterfeiter, ran a coining operation in Egham.
 * Frank Muir, Comedy writer & Broadcast Personality lived in Egham towards the end of his life.