Home to Sandown Park
Sandown Park Racecourse opened here in 1875 as one of the first purpose-built enclosed racecourses in the country, complete with its own members' enclosure, a format that shaped how racecourses elsewhere were later designed.
A palace, then a village around it
A grand house once stood at Esher Place, built for a Bishop of Winchester in the fifteenth century, and a chapel from that era still stands nearby, now used for other purposes. The village that grew up around these estates gradually expanded into the town centre known today.
A well-known Beatles connection
George Harrison owned a house in Esher through the 1960s, and the other Beatles were regular visitors there during that period, adding an unexpected chapter to the town's more recent history.
Council
Esher sits within Elmbridge Borough Council's area, the same authority covering Cobham a short distance to the south, and a different council from the one responsible for Dorking.
Frequently asked questions
Which council covers Esher?+
Elmbridge Borough Council, the same authority covering Cobham and Weybridge nearby, not the council responsible for Dorking.
What is Esher best known for locally?+
Sandown Park Racecourse, on the town's southern edge, along with its connection to Esher Place, an earlier grand house on the same site.
Nearby areas
Services
Useful local links
- Reigate and Banstead Borough Council – Planning — The planning authority covering Reigate and Redhill, a separate borough from Mole Valley.
- Epsom and Ewell Borough Council – Planning permission — The planning authority covering Epsom, a separate borough from Mole Valley.
- Elmbridge Borough Council – Planning permission and applications — The planning authority covering Cobham, a separate borough from Mole Valley.
- GOV.UK – Planning permission: when you need it — Government guidance on when planning permission is required in England and Wales.
- GOV.UK – Party Wall etc. Act 1996 guidance — Government guidance on notifying neighbours and resolving disputes over shared or boundary walls, relevant to attached garage conversions.
- Planning Portal – Garage conversion — National guidance on when planning permission is needed for a garage conversion in England.
- Planning Portal – Outbuildings — National guidance on permitted development rules for garden buildings and outbuildings, including height and coverage limits.