Walton-on-Thames, known locally as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in northwest Surrey, England.

Walton forms part of the Greater London Built-up Area, sits within the KT postcode, and is served by a wide range of transport links.

The name "Walton" is Anglo-Saxon in origin and is cognate with the common phonetic combination meaning "Briton settlement" (literally, "Welsh Town" – weal(as) tun).

[2] William Camden identified Cowey Stakes or Sale, Walton as the place where Julius Caesar forded the River Thames on his second invasion of Britain.

A fisherman removed several wooden stakes about thigh-width and 6 feet (1.8 m) high that were very black and hard enough to turn an axe, and shod with iron.

He sold these to John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich, who used to come to the neighbouring Shepperton bank to fish, for half a guinea apiece.

[2] The nucleus of the village is in the north, while later development took place in the southern manors on all sides of the railway station.

The square flint tower, supported by a 19th-century brick buttress, has a working ring of eight bells, the oldest bearing the date 1606.

In the north aisle is a large monument (1755) by the French rococo sculptor and bust maker Roubiliac to Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, commander-in-chief in Ireland, who lived at the former manor and house of Ashley Park in the parish; this was demolished and its many acres subdivided in 1920.

[8] Also in the north aisle is a brass to John Selwyn (1587), keeper of Oatlands Park, with figures of himself, his wife and eleven children.

The world's first documented game of baseball was played in 1749 in Ashley Park, on the estate belonging to the wife of Charles Sackville, Earl of Middlesex.

[11][12][13] They are remembered by a memorial in the cemetery, where those who died at Mount Felix are buried, and one in St Mary's Church where an annual service of remembrance is held.

They are also remembered in the street name New Zealand Avenue, the Wellington Pub (formerly The Kiwi), and a small memorial in the Homebase car park.

[14] In World War II, owing largely to the proximity of important aircraft factories at nearby Brooklands, the town was bombed on various occasions by the Luftwaffe.

Charles Sydney, who was based with 92 Squadron at RAF Biggin Hill, died when his Spitfire (R6767) crashed in Station Avenue.

Walton Town Hall, which was commissioned to serve as the offices of Weybridge Urban District Council, was designed by Sir John Brown Henson and Partners in the modernist style, featured a curved structure built from concrete with stone cladding and was completed in 1966.

The redevelopment includes a shopping mall and 279 one- and two-bedroom apartments, many with views over the private gardens, avenues and public section of Ashley Park.

The main part of the centre, a covered walkway, has several brand retailers including Next, Waterstone's, River Island and Desire by Debenhams.

Further redevelopment has upgraded or built new shops, widening the scope high-end fashion, jewellery, bakery and supermarkets.

Restaurants along the New Zealand Avenue side of The Heart include three independents, Nando's, Pizza Express, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Wagamama.

Around the periphery automotive, construction and landscaping businesses have a large presence and the Walton station area has a number of headquarters sized office buildings, including Kia Motors.

[23] Walton has regular bus services supported by Surrey County Council to nearby towns Weybridge, Shepperton, Hersham, Molesey and Kingston-upon-Thames.

A pleasure boat service runs regularly on a stretch of the river that includes a loop around Desborough Island.

The River Thames offers extensive opportunities for water-based sports, including rowing, canoeing, kayaking, skiffing, punting and sailing.

Nicknamed the Stags, they play at Church Road in a ground share with Whyteleafe while developments take place at the Waterside Drive Sports Hub.

In 1973, they won the FA Amateur Cup in its penultimate year, beating Slough Town 1–0 in front of 41,000 spectators (the third largest crowd of the day) at Wembley.

Later that year, they achieved a shock 4–0 win over Brian Clough's Brighton & Hove Albion (then a Football League Third Division side) in the FA Cup.

Walton-on-Thames is part of the parliamentary constituency of Esher and Walton, which after the 2019 General Election became a marginal Conservative seat, with the Liberal Democrats taking second place.

The Walton Society was founded in 1975 by the writer and intellectual Ronald Segal, and entered local politics in 1980 with Gordon Chubb who served until his death in 2006.

During the 1970s and 1980s, it was frequented by now-convicted child sex offenders such as former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning, Tam Paton (manager of the Bay City Rollers) and Jonathan King.