The historic Brooklands clubhouse, now part of Brooklands Museum, Weybridge. Photo: MartynDavies, CC BY-SA 3.0Why is Weybridge housing so mixed?
Weybridge had a railway earlier than most of Surrey: the station opened in 1838. Building had started even before that. The Oatlands estate, once the grounds of a royal palace, was sold in stages between 1828 and 1846, and houses went up almost as soon as the land was released; most of Oatlands village was complete by 1859. Portmore Park, between the High Street and the River Wey, was broken up for housing in the 1880s. Brooklands motor circuit opened in 1907, and in 1911 W. G. Tarrant bought the land that became the St George's Hill estate. Then in 1963 the architect Eric Lyons and the developer Span built Templemere: 65 modernist houses set in 12 acres of historic grounds.
So a Weybridge project could be a Victorian villa with high ceilings and original cornicing, an interwar family house, a 1960s terrace with walls of glass or a large new build. Each asks something different of the technology, and we design around the house rather than a standard package. If you live on the estate, our St George's Hill page covers the Residents' Association rules.
From our Weybridge projectOur basement cinema in Weybridge
Our best-known local project is a basement cinema and sports bar for a family who had just moved into an eight-bedroom Weybridge home. The basement already felt separate from the rest of the house and was big enough for everyone, so it became the cinema. A Projecta HD Progressive 126 inch acoustically transparent screen hides the KEF front speakers, an Epson TW-9400 4K projector provides the picture, and KEF Dolby Atmos speakers in the ceiling add height to the sound, all run by a Denon AVC-X4800. Control4 ties it together with lighting scenes: one for a tense match, another for a film, from a phone or a single handheld remote. The full story is on our Weybridge basement cinema page.
A basement gives total light control, which a projector needs, but no natural atmosphere. That is why the home cinema lighting design mattered as much as the screen, and why the cinema rooms we build are planned as a whole room rather than a list of equipment.
From our Weybridge projectCan a 1960s modernist house take a cinema?
Yes, though usually as a media room rather than a dark, dedicated cinema. Span houses were designed around open-plan living and large areas of glass, and Templemere has been a conservation area since 2017, so changes to the outside need care. Inside, the sensible answer is often a large TV, or a projector and screen that appear only when you want a film, with motorised blinds to control daylight and speakers built into the ceiling so nothing stands on the floor. Our media room service is built for exactly this: a room that stays a living room until you press play.
From our Walton-on-Thames projectConservation areas, two rivers and what to check first
Elmbridge Borough Council looks after several conservation areas in and around Weybridge. The town centre conservation area, first designated in 1977 and extended in 2006, includes the Grade II* listed Church of St James. Monument Green, designated in 1990, surrounds the York Monument at the north end of the High Street. Templemere, Brooklands and the Wey Navigation each have their own. Most of what we install goes inside the house, but aerials, dishes, cameras or garden speakers on a street-facing wall are worth checking with the council's heritage team first.
Weybridge also sits where the Wey meets the Thames. If you are planning a basement cinema in a low-lying road, check the long-term flood risk for your postcode on the government's flood risk service and ask your architect or engineer before the design goes too far. In any basement, we keep the equipment rack and power off the floor.
Our demonstration cinema in Walton-on-ThamesSee it working before you decide
Weybridge is one of the nearest towns to our Walton-on-Thames showroom, where you can sit in a demonstration cinema and try Control4 and Lutron lighting scenes for yourself. We are a Platinum Control4 dealer, winner of the Control4 Circle of Excellence award in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and our own maintenance team supports what we install. Book a showroom visit, or book a free design consultation at home.
