Sunbury on Thames

Known locally as Lower Sunbury, this is a small historic village, mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1086. Today, the village has much to offer local residents and visitors. The Parish Church of St Mary, overlooking Kings Lawn and the River Thames, has a tower and nave dating from 1752, built on the site of a 14th Century building. A yew tree within the churchyard was mentioned in the Dickens’ classic ‘Oliver Twist’ and the village was further mentioned in Jerome K. Jerome's 'Three Men in a Boat'.

Sunbury was once the residence of Admiral 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 pub in the village 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. The Three Fishes in Green Street is one of the oldest pubs in Surrey, thought to date back to the 16th Century.

Riverside Sunbury is also the home of the Sunbury Millennium Embroidery, crafted by locals, the embroidery reflects the history of the town. The Embroidery Gallery, soon to be developed as a national embroidery centre, is located in the Sunbury Walled Garden which is set out on classical formal lines with a Victorian rose garden.

Alongside the Walled Garden and its popular cafe, is the village green - Orchard Meadow, and Sunbury Park, a large informal open space park with free-roaming cattle during the summer months. The village also has the Riverside Arts Centre, the Flower Pot Hotel and a range of pubs, some with riverside gardens, restaurants, cafes and shops to attract locals and visitors.

In July of each year, Lower Sunbury is the start of the colourful traditional ceremony of Swan Upping, where two livery companies carry out marking of the swans on the upper reaches of the River Thames. In August, the traditional Sunbury Amateur Regatta takes place on the stretch of the river around Rivermead Island, just downstream from the ferry.