On the face of it this 1950s postcard of Sunbury riverside doesn’t look a lot different to the present day, but closer inspection reveals quite a few changes. The most obvious is the large white house by the river.
Called Weir View, this 19th century house stood here until the early 1960s when Sunbury Council purchased the site to extend public access to the riverside. The house was demolished, but one reminder of it is a lovely standard wisteria which grew in the garden, and which still stands on the riverside today. The house was traditionally the finish line of Sunbury Regatta for many years (the start line was at Monksbridge), but when the regatta resumed after World War Two, many house boats clogged the bank here (some can be seen), one of the factors why the regatta was moved further downstream to its current location at Rivermead Island.
To the left of the house, besides a public telephone box, one of the ‘Tardis’ type police call boxes can be seen. Just behind this is the former Victorian porch to St Mary’s church. This was added to the original Georgian church in 1856 during a major restoration, but removed in about 1968 when again the church needed repair.
‘Old Photos of Sunbury and Shepperton’ will be the subject of a short talk by Nick Pollard, following the Annual General Meeting of the Sunbury and Shepperton Local History Society, at 8pm on Tues 17th February at Halliford School, Russell Road Shepperton. All welcome.