Kingston upon Thames

Kingston upon Thames
Clockwise from top: Kingston Market Square; Church Street; Kingston Bridge at night; Shrubsole Memorial water fountain
Kingston upon Thames Location within Greater London
Population	54,925 (Post town) 168,063 (Borough)[1]
OS grid reference	TQ182693
• Charing Cross	10.0 mi (16.1 km) NE
London borough	Kingston
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	KINGSTON UPON THAMES
Postcode district	KT1, KT2
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Kingston and Surbiton Richmond Park
London Assembly	South West
List of places UK England London 51°24′37″N 0°17′58″W / 51.4103°N 0.2995°W / 51.4103; -0.2995

Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as the place where some Saxon kings were crowned.

Historically in the county of Surrey, the ancient parish of Kingston covered both the town itself and a large surrounding area. The town was an ancient borough, having been formally incorporated in 1441, with a long history prior to that as a royal manor. From 1836 until 1965 the town formed the Municipal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames. From 1893 to 2020 Kingston was the seat of Surrey County Council. The town became part of Greater London in 1965, when the modern borough was also created as one of the 32 London boroughs.

Kingston is identified as a metropolitan centre in the London Plan and is one of the biggest retail centres in the UK,^[2] receiving 18 million visitors a year.^[3] It is also home to Kingston University.

The Kingston upon Thames post town corresponds to the KT1 and KT2 postcodes. The wider borough also includes the post towns of New Malden and Surbiton, parts of Worcester Park and peripheral parts of several other post towns based outside the borough. The Kingston upon Thames post town roughly corresponds to the six wards of Canbury Gardens, Coombe Hill, Kingston Gate, Kingston Town, Norbiton and Tudor, which had a combined population of 54,925 at the 2021 census, while the borough overall counted 168,063.^[1]