Sunbury-on-Thames
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sunbury-on-Thames | |
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| Population | 27,415 (2001) |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | Spelthorne |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SUNBURY-ON-THAMES |
| Postcode district | TW16 |
| Dial code | 01932 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | Spelthorne |
| European Parliament | South East England |
| List of places: UK • England • Surrey | |
  Map sources for Sunbury-on-Thames at grid reference TQ105695
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Sunbury-on-Thames is a leafy suburb in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne in England. It is located 16 miles (25 km) south west of Central London and bordered by Twickenham and Hampton, flanked on the south by the River Thames.
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[edit] History
The earliest evidence of occupation in Sunbury is provided by the discovery of Bronze Age funerary urns dating from the 10th century BC. It is mentioned in the Sunbury Charter in AD 962. Many years later the arrival of huguenot refugees gave the name to French Street.
Sunbury Church and the Ferry house nearby are mentioned in the book Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Other literary references include the difficulty of rowing up Sunbury backwater in "Three men in a boat" by Jerome K. Jerome, and Sunbury Cross under a pall of smoke during "The War of the Worlds" by H.G.Wells.
Sunbury was once the residence of Admiral Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke who blockaded Rochefort in 1757 and in 1758 he directed the blockade of Brest for six months.
In 1889 a group of music hall stars met in the Magpie hotel in Sunbury to form the Grand Order of Water Rats. The pub itself was named after the horse that one of the entertainers owned, whilst the Grand order was named because the Magpie (a trotting pony) had been described as a drowned water rat.
Once a part of Middlesex but since 1965 a part of Surrey; the former postal county remained unchanged.
[edit] The town today
Geographically, Sunbury comprises two areas. The area adjacent to the river is commonly known as Lower Sunbury and has a more conservative village atmosphere, while the area to the north of the M3 is known as Sunbury Common and is more urban and is home to a number of large companies including Chubb, BP and Cadbury's. Marking the western border of Sunbury is Queen Mary Reservoir which was constructed in 1925. Lower Sunbury has become increasingly popular with young first time buyers looking to start families. The mixture of Victorian terraces and 1930s semi detached houses in the leafy village offers a favourable and more affordable alternative to London. Lower Sunbury is usually defined as the area south of the Sunbury Cross (Junction 1 on the M3), the most favourable area of which is marked French Street, Manor Lane and Green Street, which encompasses the Avenue and the river bank.
It is a largely suburban town with a number of office buildings and industrial estates clustered around Junction 1 of the M3. Sunbury was previously the home of BPs Engineering and Research Centre, located to the north of Sunbury on the site of Meadhurst House, formerly owned by the Cadbury family. The site is now Sunbury Business Park and is home to a large number of BP's business units. A number of other companies, including Chubb, also have a presence.
The Avenue, Sunbury, has been the home of the London Irish Rugby Club since 1932 although since 2001 its premiership team has played at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, Berkshire. However hundreds of minis, youngsters and adults turn out for the club each weekend in Sunbury during the rugby season. To the east of Sunbury is Kempton Park Racecourse.
Sunbury Court, in Lower Sunbury, is the home of the High Council of the Salvation Army.
Lower Sunbury is the home of the Sunbury Millennium Embroidery. [1] The embroidery was conceived and designed in the 1990s and completed in 2000. Since July 2006 its permanent home is the purpose built Sunbury Millennium Embroidery Gallery.
[edit] Local leisure, and entertainment
- London Irish Rugby Club
- Kempton Park Racecourse
- River Thames Boat Trips
- The Riverside Arts Centre.
[edit] Famous people
Joe Gormley, Tom Jones, Dickie Valentine, Admiral Edward 1st Baron Hawke, Ben Homewood (of The Bill fame), Kerry Norton (Bad Girls, actress and singer).
[edit] Nearest places
[edit] Transport
[edit] Road
- A316, becomes the start of the M3 motorway.
[edit] Rail
[edit] Air
- London Heathrow Airport is 5 miles away.
[edit] Emergency services
Sunbury is served by these emergency sevices:
- Surrey Police.
- South East Coast Ambulance Service as of 1 July 2006. The Surrey Ambulance Service, Sussex, and Kent Ambulance services have all merged, and have now ceased to exist.
- Surrey Fire & Rescue Service..
