Sunbury-on-Thames, United Kingdom
Sunbury-on-Thames is a town of 27,784 people in England, United Kingdom.
Why visit Sunbury-on-Thames
Townapedia lists 18 museums and landmarks, 39 parks and trails, 125 places to eat, 6 places to stay and 9 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Chertsey Bridge, Hampton Court Bridge, Kempton Steam Museum and Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare.
Weather in Sunbury-on-Thames
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About Sunbury-on-Thames
Sunbury-on-Thames, known locally as Sunbury, is a town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England, 13 mi (21 km) southwest of central London. Sunbury and other surrounding towns, historically part of the county of Middlesex, were in 1965 intended to form part of the newly created county of Greater London, but were instead transferred to Surrey. Sunbury adjoins Feltham to the north, Hampton to the east, Ashford to the northwest and Shepperton to the southwest. Walton-on-Thames is to the south, on the opposite bank of the Thames.
From the Wikipedia article Sunbury-on-Thames (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do9
Chertsey Bridge
Bridge · 3.1 mi
Classical bridge over the Thames in England that has stood since 1785
Hampton Court Bridge
Bridge · 3.3 mi
Bridge in London and Surrey, England
Hampton Court Palace
Cinema and theater · 3.5 mi
Historic royal palace in Richmond, Greater London
Old Walton Bridge
Bridge · 1.3 mi
First Walton Bridge built across the River Thames (1750-1783)
The Karsino
Cinema and theater · 2.9 mi
Hotel and entertainment centre on Tagg's Island, Richmond, London
Walton Bridge
Bridge · 1.3 mi
This bridge in England, across the Thames, is in its sixth incarnation, built in 2013, one which is single-span and tied-arch above in design.
Esher Theatre
Cinema and theater · 3.3 mi
Theatre in Esher, Elmbridge, Surrey, England
Everyman Cinema
Cinema and theater · 1.4 mi
85-89 High Street, Walton-on-Thames
Mo-Su 10:00+ "half an hour before the first film of the day, if earlier"
Museums and landmarks18
Kempton Steam Museum
Museum · 1.6 mi
History museum in London
Snakey Lane, Hanworth
Mar 18-Nov 19: Su 10:30-16:00
Open in Google Maps · Wikipedia · +44 1932 765328;+44 7511 730782
Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare
Monument and historic site · 2.6 mi
Folly in Hampton, London
York Column
Monument and historic site · 2.6 mi
Building in Elmbridge, Surrey, England, UK
Riverside Arts Centre
Museum · 0.6 mi
Two large halls, one with a gently tiered audience space for live performances, several plays per month by different groups including...
59 Thames Street, Sunbury-on-Thames
Mo-Su
Hampton & Kempton Waterworks Railway
Monument and historic site · 1.6 mi
Mar 18-Nov 19: Su 10:30-16:00
Sunbury Millennium Embroidery Centre and Café
Museum · 0.4 mi
Thames Street, Sunbury-on-Thames
6 more on the map.
Parks, trails and playgrounds39
Crane Park Island
Park · 3.2 mi
Island in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, UK
Kempton Park Reservoirs
Park · 1.8 mi
Former reservoirs in London and Surrey, England
Sunbury Park & Orchard Meadow
Park · 0.4 mi
Dogs may not enter Orchard Meadow which is used for children to play around in, picnics and informal cricket.
Thames Street, Sunbury-on-Thames
24/7
Carlisle Park
Park · 2.6 mi
Park in London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, United Kingdom
Cigarette Island Park
Park · 3.3 mi
Park in Surrey opposite Hampton Court
Cranford Park
Park · 3.3 mi
Park in London Borough of Hillingdon, United Kingdom
Molesey Heath
Park · 2.1 mi
Local Nature Reserve in Molesey, Surrey, England, UK
27 more on the map.
Restaurants and cafes125
Buenasado Argentine Steakhouse
Restaurant · Steak House, Argentinian · 1.4 mi
New Zealand Avenue, Walton-on-Thames
Mo-Th 17:00-22:00; Fr-Sa 12:00-23:00; Su 12:00-22:00
Kinnaree Thai Restaurant
Restaurant · Thai · 1.5 mi
23 High Street, Shepperton
Mo-Th 12:00-14:30,18:00-21:00; Fr-Sa 12:00-14:30,18:00-22:30
The Goat
Restaurant · Pizza · 0.7 mi
47 Upper Halliford Road, Shepperton
Mo-Th 11:30-21:00; Fr-Sa 09:00-23:00; Su 09:00-21:00
Caffè Nero
Cafe · Coffee Shop · 1.3 mi
18 High Street, Walton-on-Thames
Mo-Fr 07:30-17:30; Sa 07:30-18:00; Su 08:00-17:00
Shepperton Café Bar
Cafe · 0.6 mi
Halliford Road, Upper Halliford/Shepperton
Mo-Sa 09:00-17:00; Su 10:00-16:30
The Anglers
Bar and pub · 1.0 mi
Manor Road, Walton-on-Thames
Mo-Th 11:00-23:00; Fr-Sa 11:00-00:00; Su 11:00-22:00
The Red Lion
Bar and pub · 1.5 mi
Russell Road, Shepperton
Mo-Tu 11:00-22:00; We-Sa 11:00-23:00; Su 12:00-21:30
113 more on the map.
History
The earliest evidence of human settlement in Sunbury has been the discovery of Bronze Age funerary urns dating from the 10th century BCE in Green Lane, Sunbury Common. There is an important scheduled monument by Rooksmead Road, a prehistoric bowl barrow, known as Cloven Barrow, on low-lying ground that was part of the flood plain of the Thames, now around 1 km to the south. It has a circular mound approximately 14 m in diameter and 2.5 m high, surrounded by a ditch from which material used to build it was excavated. The ditch has become infilled over the years and survives as a buried feature up to 2 m wide. The monument has been partly disturbed by modern gardening activities, and by the construction of a greenhouse on its western side. Cloven Barrow (Old English Clofenan Beorh, or the 'barrow with a cleft') was mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon document, known as the "Sunbury Charter", which has been dated to around AD 962.
The place-name 'Sunbury' is first attested in one of the many Anglo-Saxon charters, one of c. 960 to 962, where it appears as Sunnanbyrg. Another charter of 962 lists it as Sunnanbyrig. Sunbury appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Sunneberie. The name means 'Sunna's burgh or fortification'. The same first name is found in Sonning in Berkshire.
Read more of the history
Sunbury's Domesday assets were: seven hides. It had five ploughs, meadow for six ploughs, and cattle pasture. It had about 22 households, including one priest and included the manor of Kempton, Kynaston, Chennes[-ton]/[-tone], Kenton or Kenyngton, listed separately. The manor rendered £6 per year to its feudal system overlords. That of Kempton rendered £4.
Lower Sunbury presented for two centuries a mainly rural and quite gentrified village as still visible in many conserved buildings and structures, see Landmarks. Of particular note are the wealth and community tie of its parish church as well as many ornate and unusual houses and mansions (or mansion remains). The oldest and most extravagant homes are those from the Georgian era: throughout and for three decades after the 18th century, the time when the body of Sunbury's oldest church dates to – many of those on large plots of land have been demolished and subdivided.
Rev. Gilbert White described Sunbury, in The Natural History of Selborne, letter xii, 4 November 1767, as "one of those pleasant villages lying on the Thames, near Hampton Court".
In 1889, a group of music-hall stars met in the Magpie Hotel in Lower Sunbury to form the Grand Order of Water Rats. The pub-restaurant it has become was named after the horse that one of the entertainers owned, whilst the Grand Order was named because Magpie – a trotting pony owned by Richard Thornton, music hall owner – had been described as a drowned water rat. The Three Fishes in Green Street is one of the oldest pubs in Surrey, an officially protected building of the late 16th century.
In the twentieth century, kennels near Sunbury Cross in the town were used for keeping greyhounds for racing at the former stadia at Wandsworth, Charlton and Park Royal.
Sunbury-on-Thames is historically in Middlesex. Under the Local Government Act 1888, county councils were established in the following year, Sunbury being governed by the new Middlesex County Council. This was further refined by the creation of Sunbury-on-Thames Urban District in 1894. In 1965, all but three districts of Middlesex were absorbed into Greater London; Sunbury was one of these exceptions. For the area of Sunbury's Urban District, the upper tier of local government has been the county of Surrey. Royal Mail ignored the change in 1965; the former postal county is Middlesex. Mention of any county in postal addresses is considered dated but widely practised in some areas. In 1974 the Urban District was abolished; since that time it has been part of the Borough of Spelthorne.
From the History section of Sunbury-on-Thames on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
More about Sunbury-on-Thames
Education
Sunbury Manor School, Foundation school, a specialist humanities school
Selective secondary independent schools (of approximately equal distance of less than three miles from the centre) are Hampton School (for boys) and Lady Eleanor Holles School (for girls) in Hampton, Sir William Perkins's School (for girls) in Chertsey, Halliford School (for boys) in Shepperton and St James Senior Boys School in Ashford.
Local preparatory schools include Hampton Preparatory School, formerly Denmead School in Hampton (part of the Hampton School Trust), Newland House School in Twickenham, Twickenham Preparatory School in Hampton, and Staines Preparatory School in Staines-upon-Thames. An alternative, progressive form of independent education for boys and girls aged 3 to 18, is provided by St Michael Steiner School in Hanworth Park.
From the Wikipedia article Sunbury-on-Thames, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Sunbury-on-Thames
May ClarkBritish actress (1885-1971)Photo: Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow (1903), Public domain
Gordon HillEnglish footballer and manager (born 1954)Photo: SoapsRus, CC BY-SA 4.0
Barry SheermanBritish politician (born 1940)Photo: Richard Townshend, CC BY 3.0
James Hurtle FisherAustralian politician (1790-1875)Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Ernest FiskEnglish Australian radio pioneer (1886-1965)Photo: Sam Hood, Public domain
Leila von MeisterAnglo-American authorPhoto: P & A Photos., Public domain- John GlenEnglish film director and editor
- Dominic ChappellBritish businessman and former racing driver
- Kerry NortonEnglish actress (1973-)
- Gordon CollinsEnglish cricketer (1914-1986)
- Arthur Juddcricketer (1904-1988)
- Charlie IdeEnglish footballer (born 1988)
Born in Sunbury-on-Thames, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay6
Churches and places of worship29
Shopping27
Gas and EV charging8
Schools, colleges and libraries26
St Nicholas Church of England Primary School
School · Anglican · 1.6 mi
Manor Farm Avenue, Shepperton
Healthcare8
Map of Sunbury-on-Thames
250 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Heathrow Airport (LHR) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 5 miles away.
- Walton-on-Thames 1 mi south, about 2 min by car
- Weybridge 3 mi southwest, about 5 min by car
- West Drayton 7 mi north, about 11 min by car
- Woking 8 mi southwest, about 14 min by car
- Worcester Park 8 mi east, about 12 min by car
- Sutton 10 mi east, about 16 min by car
- Windsor 10 mi northwest, about 15 min by car
- Slough 11 mi northwest, about 17 min by car
- Harrow 13 mi north, about 20 min by car
- London 15 mi northeast, about 23 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Sunbury-on-Thames
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- Mapillary (see each image): photos
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Chertsey Bridge, Alistair young, CC BY 2.0
- Hampton Court Bridge 1, Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5
- Hampton Court Palace (3), Ricardalovesmonuments, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Old Walton Bridge title QS:P1476,en:"Old Walton Bridge" label QS:Len,"Old Walton Bridge", Giovanni Antonio Canal, Public domain
- The Karsino, Adam37, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Walton Bridge - Aug 2013, Adam37, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Sir William Prescott Engine, Kempton Steam Museum, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Garrick's Temple south view, Maxwell Hamilton, CC BY 2.0
- York Column, Weybridge - cropped, Mertbiol, CC0
- BushyParkAutumn, Ojw at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- River Crane in Crane Park 2, Dudley Miles, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Crane Park Island Nature Reserve, Twickenham, London. (3350016620), Jim Linwood from London, CC BY 2.0
- Kempton Nature Reserve, Dudley Miles, CC BY-SA 3.0
- The Church of St Augustine of Canterbury, Whitton, Anonymous, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Esher02, Motmit at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St James, Hampton Hill, Jonathan Cardy, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St Paul's Catholic College, Sunbury-on-Thames, Adam37, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Church of St John Fisher, Roman Catholic church, Shepperton, Surrey - April 2025 - 02, Mertbiol, CC0
- Hampton Methodist Church, Cameron Bools, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Oak Avenue Local Nature Reserve 9, Dudley Miles, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Pylons at Chertsey Meads - panoramio, Maxwell Hamilton, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, RyanBush, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ilmarinen946, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, jpennycook, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Street-level photo, ilmarinen946, CC BY-SA 4.0
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