Claygate (England)

Claygate is an affluent suburban village in Surrey, England, 14 miles (23 kilometres) southwest of central London. It is the only civil parish in the borough of Elmbridge. Adjoining Esher and Hinchley Wood to the west and north respectively, and bordered by green belt land to the south and east, Claygate lies within the Greater London Built-up Area. Claygate was once in the main manor of Thames Ditton, but is now administered from Esher. It is primarily residential and has a small number of offices, outlying farms and two small shopping areas, the Old Village and the Parade, with hair and beauty shops, a supermarket, five pubs and a number of restaurants. Claygate lies on the Claygate Beds, a clay formation up to 15 metres (50 feet) thick, which extends well beyond the village. These beds are the youngest part of the London Clay geological formation, forming a transition between the clay and the sandier Bagshot Beds above.