River Mole in 1613. In John Speed's 1611 map of Surrey this stretch of the river is denoted by a series of hills accompanied by the legend "The river runneth under". However the river's name is unlikely to have derived from this behaviour: The "Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names" suggests that "Mole" either comes from the Latin "mola" (a mill) or is a back-formation from "Molesey" (Mul's island). In John Rocque's 1768 map of Surrey, the name "Moulsey River" is used. In common with much of the rest of the Weald, the earliest evidence of human settlement along the Upper Mole
Mole Valley long periods been under no overall control. Between May 2015 and May 2018, Mole Valley Liberal Democrats gained two council seats in by-elections (Holmwoods June 2015 gain from UKIP, Leatherhead North June 2016 gain from Conservatives), and one Conservative councillor defected to Beare Green Independent (May 2017). The Liberal Democrats then made a net gain of one in May 2018, pushing the Council back into no overall control. However, Conservatives continued to control the administration with the support of the Independents, with three Ashtead Independents becoming members of the Cabinet. The overall composition established in May 2018 is 20 Conservatives,