Sunbury Geography and History

The Village of Lower Sunbury On Thames

Green Street

The Cain family lived
in the area of the
Three Fishes P.H as
shown in the 1841,
1851, 1861 census.

The Flowerpot
Public House
where my
daughter met her
future husband

A private club where my
mother got a part time job
when my father lost his

Rivermead Island for my

trysts with teenage boys

Where I married

following on from

Ancestor brides and
grooms and infant baptisms

Old Rope Walk wound around
the back of our flat and a thief
nipped over the fence and stole
items from my washing line

A Clarke lived at Rope Walk

When the Romans departed these shores they left behind a mess of
people squabbling over the land. The original inhabitants, the Britons,
had to fight off the attentions of the Picts, Scots and Irish, and enlisted
the aid of various European tribes to help them: predictably enough, the
Angles, Jutes and Saxons all found the fertile land attractive and settled
here themselves. The Saxon chief Sunna chose to establish himself in
this place beside the Thames known afterwards as Sunnanbyrig (Sunna's
Stronghold), with Scepertune (Shepperton), the Farmstead of the
Shepherds, upriver and Hamntone (Hampton), the Farm in the Bend of
the River, downstream.

Years later in 962 AD, King Eadgar gifted Sunnanbyrig to his kinsman
Aelfheh in gratitude for his loyalty, as recorded in the Sunbury Charter, a
Latin document using Anglo-Saxon placenames which is preserved in
Westminster Abbey.

The name Sunbury is now used to refer to an area which covers three
ancient manors: Charlton, Sunbury and Kempton. At the time of the
conquest, Sunbury had 21 inhabitants, Kempton 19 and Charlton 8. The
oldest surviving building whose hall dates back to Medieval times is the
timber-framed, thatched-roofed Harrow Inn, which can be found in
Charlton. In the Domesday Book, the Manor of Suneberie was valued at
Ł6; this is probably the first official case of undervaluation to avoid
Capital Gains Tax as before 1066 the manor had been valued at Ł7

Rope-making was a thriving industry in the 1700's and Rope Walk still survives between
French Street and the Avenue - French Street so named because of the Huguenot
refugees who settled there after fleeing religious persecution on the continent. Other
refugees include a large number of Irish who fled the Potato Famine and settled in
Multiplied Place to find work in the numerous market gardens which flourished in the area.

In the late 18th century the roads were pretty appalling in Middlesex as a whole, with dust
and mud alternating with the seasons. Crossing Sunbury Common presented extra
hazards, as John Bunce of Teddington found in 1789 when two footpads accosted him with
the traditional cry of "Your money or your life" and made off with his silver watch and gold
sovereigns.

The famous naturalist Gilbert White of Selborne used to sit on the riverbank watching the
swallows swoop and soar over the stream: and Sunbury is not without its Royal admirers.
George III and the Prince Regent both liked the tranquil setting of Sunbury House (now
demolished) and were frequent visitors there, whilst Edward VIII was often to be seen at
Monksbridge when he was the Prince of Wales