Kingston Vale is a district in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in the south west of London. It is a leafy residential area nestling between Richmond Park, Wimbledon Common and Coombe Hill. The main road is the A308 which is a common through route for traffic passing to and from Kingston Hill to the A3 trunk road (formerly known as the Kingston By-pass). Many of the branch roads are cul-de-sacs.
Although not as prestigious as neighbouring areas Coombe, and Old Malden, nevertheless recent years have seen soaring property prices in this area and Kingston as a whole with annual rises over 30% being commonplace. This has led to amenities such as the two pubs and the one petrol station being closed down for redevelopment. Paradoxically, the attractiveness of the area has led to its amenities being depleted.
It has an active local amenity group - the Kingston Vale Residents Association (KVRA). This is a democratic body which deals with matters such as planning, conservation, transport, environment and social. There is a popular newsletter known as the "Bottom Line". This took its name from the original Middle Ages name of the area: Kingston Bottom. The name was changed to Kingston Vale in Victorian times apparently to save some blushes.
Read more about Kingston Vale: Education, Famous Residents
Famous quotes containing the word vale:
“Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife,
Their sober wishes never learned to stray;
Along the cool sequestered vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.”
—Thomas Gray (1716–1771)