Fascinating Historial Sunbury Facts:

 

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• 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.

 

• The Saxon Chief Sunna settled here and it became known as Sunnanbyrig, with nearby Scepertune (Shepperton) and Hamptone (Hampton).  The name Sunbury now refers to an area covering three ancient manors - Charlton, Sunbury and Kempton.

 

• Rope Walk was named because of the once thriving rope-making industry in the 1700s.

 

• French Street was named after the Huguenot refugees who settled there after fleeing religious persecution on the Continent.

 

• Admiral Lord Hawke retired here after his victory over the French Navy at Quiberon Bay in 1759.

 

• Sunbury Court House is a restored 18th Century Mansion bought by the Salvation Army in 1921.

 

• George III and the Prince Regent enjoyed the tranquil settings of Sunbury. Edward VII often visited Sunbury when he was the Prince of Wales.

 

• Sunbury House was demolished after World War II and its grounds are now Sunbury Park, incorporating a walled garden.

 

• A purpose-built gallery was opened in Lower Sunbury in 2005 to hold the Sunbury Millennium Embroidery. Designed in 1990, and completed 10 years later, the 9 panels of embroidery celebrate the riverside town of Sunbury in the year 2000. Read more ...

 

• The Walled Garden has a flower bed dedicated to the Princess of Wales. 

 

• Sunbury has been the home of the London Irish Amateur Rugby Club since 1932.

 

• Sunbury is also the home of Kempton Park - 'London's Racecourse'. 

 

• The annual Swan Upping commences on the river at Lower Sunbury.

 

• A suburb of Melbourne, Australia and a city in Pennsylvania, USA have been named after  Sunbury.