Weybridge takes its name from the bridge over the River Wey near its confluence with the Thames. The area has been settled since at least the Bronze Age, with artefacts found along the riverbanks. In Tudor times, Weybridge gained royal significance when Henry VIII built Oatlands Palace in 1538 on the site of a dissolved priory. The palace became a favoured royal residence, and Henry married his fifth wife Catherine Howard there in 1540. Elizabeth I, James I, and Charles I all used Oatlands. The palace was largely demolished during the Civil War, though fragments of the grotto survive in the grounds of the Oatlands Park Hotel.
The town remained a modest riverside settlement until the railway arrived in 1838, connecting it to London and triggering suburban growth. But the most significant moment in Weybridge's modern history came in 1907 when Hugh Locke King opened the Brooklands motor racing circuit on his estate. It was the world's first purpose-built banked motor racing track, a vast concrete oval designed to allow cars to reach speeds never before attempted. The circuit also became a major aviation site: A.V. Roe made some of the earliest powered flights in Britain here in 1908, and Vickers established an aircraft factory during the First World War. The Wellington bomber, the Spitfire's fuselage, and later the Concorde were all partly built at Brooklands. The banked sections of the original track are still visible at the Brooklands Museum.
During both world wars, Brooklands was critical for aircraft production, and the factory workers transformed the town's population. After the wars, Weybridge attracted notable residents drawn by its riverside setting and fast rail connection to London. John Lennon and Ringo Starr both lived in the St George's Hill area during the 1960s. The town retains a mix of grand riverside properties, Victorian terraces, and newer developments, with the waterways still defining its character.
