Shepperton is a village in the Spelthorne district, in north

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England, around south west of central London. The settlement is on the north bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, between the towns of

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It grew up around Chertsey Abbey, founded in AD 666 by Earconwald, St Erkenwald, and gained a municipal charter, market charter from Henry I of Engla ...

and

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, southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other su ...

. The village is mentioned in a document of 959 AD and in

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

. In the 19th century, resident writers and poets included

Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction Romance (literary fiction), romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the Lost World (genre), lost world litera ...

Thomas Love Peacock Thomas Love Peacock (18 October 1785 – 23 January 1866) was an English novelist, poet, and official of the East India Company. He was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley, and they influenced each other's work. Peacock wrote satirical novels ...

George Meredith George Meredith (12 February 1828 – 18 May 1909) was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first, his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but Meredith gradually established a reputation as a novelist. '' ...

, and

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

, who were attracted by the proximity of the

. The river was painted at

Walton Bridge Walton Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in England, carrying the A244 between Walton-on-Thames and Shepperton, crossing the Thames on the reach between Sunbury Lock and Shepperton Lock. The bridge is the first Thames road bri ...

in 1754 by

Canaletto Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Painter of cityscapes or ...

and in 1805 by

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters * Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for tur ...

Shepperton Lock Shepperton Lock is a lock on the River Thames, in England by the left bank at Shepperton, Surrey. It is across the river from Weybridge which is nearby linked by a passenger ferry. In 1813, the City of London Corporation built the pound lock ...

and nearby

Sunbury Lock Sunbury Lock is a lock complex of the River Thames in England near Walton-on-Thames in north-west Surrey, the third lowest of forty four on the non-tidal reaches. The complex adjoins the right, southern bank about downstream of the Weir Ho ...

were built in the 1810s, to facilitate river navigation. Urbanisation began in the latter part of the 19th century, with the construction in 1864 of the

Shepperton Branch Line The Shepperton branch line is a railway branch line in Surrey and Greater London, England. It runs from its western terminus at to a wye (rail), triangular junction with the Kingston loop line east of . There are intermediate stations at , Sunb ...

, which was sponsored by William Schaw Lindsay, the owner of Shepperton Manor. Its population rose from 1,810 residents in the early 20th century to a little short of 10,000 in 2011. Lindsay had hoped to extend the railway via Chertsey to connect to the South Western Main Line, however the village station remains a terminus. The rise in population and passing trade led to small businesses lining most of its high street by the end of the 20th century.

Shepperton Film Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused ...

is in the neighbouring village of Littleton, approximately to the north. The Swan Sanctuary and two SSSIs, one of which is managed by

Surrey Wildlife Trust Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) was founded in 1959 as Surrey Naturalists' Trust and it is one of forty-six The Wildlife Trusts, wildlife trusts covering Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Alderney. ...

, are nearby.

Toponymy

The first written record of Shepperton is from a charter of 959, in which it appears as ''Scepertune''. The name is thought to derive from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

scēp (sheep), hirde (herdsman) and tūn (enclosure, farm or settlement). The name is generally agreed to mean "shepherd's farm" or "shepherd's settlement".

History

Early history

Reconstructed Face of the Shepperton Woman in the Museum of London

The earliest evidence of human activity in the local area is from the middle

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

. A

henge A henge can be one of three related types of Neolithic Earthworks (archaeology), earthwork. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ditches ...

, taking the form of a penannular

ring ditch In archaeology, a ring ditch is a trench of circular or penannular plan, cut into bedrock. They are usually identified through aerial photography either as soil marks or cropmarks. When excavated, ring ditches are usually found to be the ploughed� ...

, was discovered in the late 1980s, close to the River Ash, to the north of Shepperton Green. The structure was around in diameter and is thought to have been constructed

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the o ...

. The main entrance to the henge was aligned with the position of the sun at sunrise on the

summer solstice The summer solstice or estival solstice occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). The summer solstice is the day with the longest peri ...

and lumps of red

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colou ...

had been placed inside the ditch to mark the position of the most southerly

moonrise Moonrise and moonset are times when the upper limb of the Moon appears above the horizon and disappears below it, respectively. The exact times depend on the lunar phase and declination, as well as the observer's location. As viewed from outside ...

. The ditch appeared to have been refilled and re-excavated in the late Neolithic. Two burials were discovered at the site - a torso, probably male, and an almost complete skeleton of a female.

Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...

showed that the woman had lived in the late 3rd millennium BCE and analysis of the isotope composition of her teeth suggested that she had grown up in an area where lead-zinc

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

was found, possibly

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, the

Mendips The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills o ...

or the

North Pennines The North Pennines are the northernmost section of the Pennines, a range of hills which run north–south through northern England. They run along the border between County Durham and Northumberland in the east and Cumbria in the west, and are ...

. A reconstruction of the face of the woman from the skull was created at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in 2004. Finds from the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

include an inhumation of a woman in her 40s, found on Chertsey Road, and iron swords, discovered at Shepperton Ranges.

Pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. In the past, it was an alloy of tin and lead, but most modern pewter, in order to prevent lead poi ...

plates, from the latter site, are thought to date from the late

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

period. Evidence of late-Iron Age and

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

settlements was found at Shepperton Green in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Later history

Shepperton is recorded in

of 1086 as ''Scepertone''. It had a population of 25 households and was held by

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

; (excluding any woodland, marsh and heath) it had eight hides,

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

for seven

carucate The carucate or carrucate ( or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms of tax assessment. ...

s and one

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

(worth 6 s 8d per year). In total, the annual amount rendered was £6.Domesday Map
Shepperton. Retrieved 8 July 2013 The Church Lane and Church Square area, leading to and next to the river predates by several centuries the High Street as the village nucleus. When the Thames Valley Railway built in 1864 the terminus of Shepperton railway station, north, for the 12 initial years a single train and track running to and from Strawberry Hill, the village slowly expanded into its northern fields. Its coming which was largely due to contributions and permission of W. S. Lindsay the owner of Shepperton's manor. The

was important for transport from the late 13th century and carried barley, wheat, peas and

root vegetable Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans or animals as food. In agricultural and culinary terminology, the term applies to true roots, such as taproots and root tubers, as well as non-roots such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and ...

s to London's markets; later timber, building materials such as bricks, sand and lime, and

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

, see the

Wey Navigation The River Wey Navigation and Godalming Navigation together provide a continuous navigable route from the River Thames near Weybridge via Guildford to Godalming (commonly called the Wey Navigation). Both waterways are in Surrey and are owned b ...

.Spelthorne Borough Council
Lower Halliford Spelthorne BC Conservation Area Appraisal 1994, Richard Fairgrieve Manygate Lane Conservation Area appraisal: in supporting the "successful implementation of modernism" this source cites: "The Visual Dictionary of Buildings" – Dorling Kindersley "A History of English Architecture" – Pelican
"The Buildings of Wales Glamorgan" – John Newman
"The Elements of Style" – Mitchell Besley
"Dictionary of Architecture" – Penguin
"Dictionary of Building" – Penguin
"A Vision of Britain" – HRH Prince of Wales – Doubleday While the village was wholly agricultural until the 19th century, there are originally expensive gravestones of the local minor gentry in the churchyard, two of which are dedicated to their naturalised black servants, Benjamin and Cotto Blake who both died in 1781. These bear the inscription "Davo aptio, Argo fidelior, ipso Sanchone facetior". During this long period since the

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

the wealth of the local rector and his

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

was great:

William Grocyn William Grocyn ( 14461519) was a humanist English scholar and friend of Erasmus. Grocyn was a prominent educator born in Colerne, Wiltshire. Intended for the church, he attended Winchester College and later New College, Oxford. He held various po ...

was rector 1504–1513 and was an Oxford classical academic who corresponded regularly with

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

and

Lewis Atterbury Lewis Atterbury may refer to: * Lewis Atterbury the elder (died 1693), English clergyman * Lewis Atterbury (chaplain) (1656–1731), English churchman and chaplain, son of the above See also *Lewis Atterbury Stimson Lewis Atterbury Stimson (Au ...

(1707–31) expended much of the large parish revenues on having the large tower rebuilt. A large net income of rents and

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

s of £499 per year was paid to the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

belonging to S. H. Russell in 1848; this compares to £600 of poor relief, including for supporting its workhouse, paid out in 1829. A change to secular council-administered rather than church-administered public services followed the establishment of

poor law union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...

s and

Sanitary District Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

s and was completed with the founding, in 1889, of the

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the cou ...

and

Staines Rural District Staines Rural District was a rural district of Middlesex in England from 1894 to 1930. It was created in 1894 replacing the 1875-created Staines rural sanitary district. It co-governed with varying degrees of input from the civil parish counci ...

from 1896. In 1930 on the rural district's abolition, Shepperton became part of the

Sunbury-on-Thames Urban District Sunbury on Thames Urban District, also known as Sunbury Urban District, was a local government district from 1894 to 1974 comprising the town and parish of Sunbury-on-Thames and from 1930 also the parishes of Littleton and Shepperton. Backgroun ...

until its dissolution into a reduced and reconfigured county of

in 1965. Three districts of the historic county thus did not become part of

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

Staines Urban District Staines was a local government district from 1894 to 1974 named after the English town of Staines. Background, functions and boundaries Apart from the town of Staines itself which included a few rural pockets aside from its large moor until th ...

also joined

and

Potters Bar Urban District Potters Bar Urban District was a local government district in England from 1894 to 1974, covering the town of Potters Bar and the village of South Mimms. The district was initially called the South Mimms Rural District, being renamed in 1934. ...

joined

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. In 1951 the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

had a population of 6060. On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished. In 2025, a new sand and gravel quarry, operated by

Cemex CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V., known as Cemex, is a Mexican multinational building materials company headquartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. It manufactures and distributes cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates in more than ...

, was opened in Shepperton. ;Use in semi-fiction and alleged hauntings In semi-fiction,

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

's ''Scenes of Clerical Life telling the Sad Fortunes of The Rev. Amos Barton'', gives a thinly veiled picture of

Chilvers Coton Chilvers Coton is an area of the town of Nuneaton in Warwickshire, England, around one mile south of the town centre. Chilvers Coton was historically a village and civil parish in its own right and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ...

's church and village in the early 19th century in which she uses the name Shepperton. If anything real is to be gleaned for its use, it is perhaps a passing similarity. ''Shepperton Manor'' by

John Mason Neale John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar, and hymnwriter. He worked on and wrote a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his mo ...

was contemporaneously written in 1844 fifteen years after he had spent six years living in the village. Old parts of Shepperton are said to be haunted by the ghost of a headless monk. Battlecrease Hall (formerly home to

Walter Hayes Walter Leopold Arthur Hayes (12 April 1924 – 26 December 2000) was an English journalist, and later public relations executive for Ford Motor Company, Ford. Hayes was key in developing Ford's Formula One program, by signing Jackie Stewart a ...

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

executive and a founder of the company's

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

programme) is alleged by its owners and certain visitors to have

poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...

Conservation areas

Church Square in Old Shepperton

Leading to this is a short, since 1989 bypassed, winding lane from the High Street to Church Square, flanked by Shepperton Manor and the cricket ground, with some listed walls. Sir

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

described the view looking towards the south-east of the square with its now listed buildings and river opening as "one of the most perfect village pictures that the area has to offer". It offers two pub/restaurants two hotels, the Anchor Hotel and the Warren Lodge Hotel. In this little square there is also the King's Head public house. The riverside manor, late 18th century, (its predecessor, as with the church here, predates the 12th century), features a room painted and rendered to look like a tent or draped

damask Damask (; ) is a woven, Reversible garment, reversible patterned Textile, fabric. Damasks are woven by periodically reversing the action of the warp and weft threads. The pattern is most commonly created with a warp-faced satin weave and the gro ...

. Also Grade II* listed is the c. 1500

timber framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the struc ...

Old Rectory refronted in the early 18th century, and including a reception hall built in 1498. Its front cladding has mathematical tiles. Listed in the same high category of

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

is the parish church, St Nicholas' – its dedication is as with the ancient riverside churches of

Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred south-west of Charing Cross in central London. Thame ...

and

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

. Also architecturally Grade II* is restored

half timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the struc ...

Winches Cottage on the west side of the lane which is 17th century.

Lower Halliford

The village includes the neighbourhood of Lower Halliford, formerly a near but separate hamlet, which historian Susan Reynolds places at the eastern end of a reduced, river bend-consumed half of the early medieval village, east of the Old Shepperton Conservation Area due to

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

. This area is typified by a small number of

detached A single-family detached home, also called a single-detached dwelling, single-family residence (SFR) or separate house is a free-standing residential building. It is defined in opposition to a multi-family residential dwelling. Definitions ...

classical three-storey 18th century riverside houses high on the riverside road on the outside of the river bend; the bend being flanked by riverside meadows with small boat

mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a seaborne vessel (such as a boat, ship, or amphibious aircraft) may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to ...

s, low rise chalet-style houses to the south west, the ''Las Palmas Estate'', named after the land once being that of the Spanish Ambassador; further west by the wooded Shepperton Cricket Club and by the village Green, Bishop Duppas Park to the east, formerly Lower Halliford Common and in a small part owned by the Old Manor House (Halliford). From the 1760s—1860s a

rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...

ry was an industry here then from the 1860s—1870s brick clay was extracted. Halliford Manor, confusingly also called The Old Manor, dates to at least the 13th century and ownership became royal, being held by

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

and the wives of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

and Charles II. The

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

Brian Duppa Brian Duppa (also spelled Bryan; 10 March 1589 – 26 March 1662) was an English bishop, chaplain to the royal family, Royalist and adviser to Charles I of England. Life He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, graduati ...

(1588–1662) owned the waterside meadows adjoining to the south and was also an important landowner in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

's history, ''see

Duppas Hill Duppas Hill (or Duppa's Hill) is a park, road and surrounding residential area in Waddon, near Croydon in Greater London (and historically in Surrey). Duppas Hill has a long history of sport and recreation. It is said that jousting took place ...

''. Wealthy writers built or expanded homes here in the 19th century, primarily as summer residences, such as

and

. The Old Manor became yet another rebuilt Georgian house. The house which features a

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a Cornice (architecture), cornice which helps to support them. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally transl ...

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

and glazing-bar

sash windows A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned window (architecture), paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double gla ...

to the first floor.

Halliford School Halliford School is a selective boys private day school, which also admits girls into its sixth form, in Lower Halliford, Shepperton, Surrey, England. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC). The curren ...

in the centre of this area was the 18th–19th century home of

Emma Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), known upon moving to London as Emma Hart, and upon marriage as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becom ...

, mistress of

Admiral Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

. The 21st century fully renovated hotel and restaurant (formerly ''the Ship''), ''Harrison's'' with river views is here beside the shorter Red Lion

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

which in turn has a narrow, secluded south-facing public house picnic area overlooking the relatively narrow, non-tidal river Thames. It is for this reason a bridge and ferry was recorded here from 1274 to 1410. The tern is applicable also to the mostly riverside homes and public park almost surrounded by the

, south of the road from

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

including next to

Walton on Thames Walton-on-Thames, known locally as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in northwest Surrey, England. It is in the Borough of Elmbridge, about southwest of central London. Walton forms part of the Greater London Built-up ...

. The main park is Bishop Duppas Park and almost surrounds completely the Old Manor. There is mention of Halliford in 962 and there was a settlement there by 1194. However the division into Upper and Lower Halliford does not appear until the late 13th century.

Upper Halliford Upper Halliford is a small village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England approximately west of central London. It is part of the Shepperton post town and is in the Metropolitan Green Belt. The closest settlements are Shepperton, Shepp ...

is a large hamlet in the parish of Sunbury, but Lower Halliford was almost certainly the main settlement of the manor. The creation of

Desborough Cut The Desborough Cut is an artificial channel in the River Thames above Sunbury Lock near Walton on Thames in England. It was completed in 1935, to improve flow and ease navigation on the river. The cut was dug between 1930 and 1935, taking the ...

diverted the main navigation of the Thames away from the Lower Halliford and Shepperton loop, rendering flooding far less common. The poet

lived at Elm Bank House here from 1822 until his death in 1866.Thomas Love Peacock and Nicholas A. Joukovsky ''The Letters of Thomas Love Peacock: 1792–1827''
Retrieved 8 July 2013

Manygate Lane

The field land and large houses on this estate were bought by Lyon Homes from landowner and developer Edward Scott in the 1950s. This estate of buildings on this street are in a conservation area for proving a successful modular development in

geometric Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

, white-painted

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

from in the 1960s, one of very few private sector ''estate housing'' experiments of the 1960s with terraced, white panelled communal landscaped front gardens by Swiss architect Edward Schoolheifer; this American Radburn style was also used by

Eric Lyons Eric Alfred Lyons CBE (1912–1980) was a British designer and architect. He achieved critical recognition in his development of family and technology-embracing housing communities in England in the latter part of the 20th century. His partners ...

Span Developments Span Developments Limited was a British property development company formed in the late 1950s by Geoffrey Townsend working in long and close partnership with Eric Lyons as consultant architect. During its most successful period in the 1960s, Spa ...

'' in Ham Common,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, London, Blackheath, London and

New Ash Green New Ash Green is a village in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 8 miles south west of Gravesend. History Building of the village began in 1967, with Span as the developer and Eric Lyons as the designer. The architectural ...

, Kent.

Localities

The conservation areas of Old Shepperton and Lower Halliford are localities, as is Littleton.

Charlton

Charlton is a suburban

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

and narrow area to the north, bounded to the west by the

Queen Mary Reservoir The Queen Mary Reservoir is one of the largest of London's reservoirs supplying fresh water to London and parts of surrounding counties, and is located in the Borough of Spelthorne in Surrey. The reservoir covers and is above the surrounding are ...

in Littleton, bounded to the east and south by Thames water treatment works from that reservoir and by the

M3 motorway M3 motorway may refer to: * M3 motorway or Riverside Expressway, part of the Pacific Motorway in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia * M3 motorway (Great Britain), a motorway in England * M3 motorway (Hungary), a motorway in Hungary * M3 motorway in ...

. As a well-developed hamlet, bounded by farms, it also referred to as a village or neighbourhood. Its post town is Shepperton. Its

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

. In the south of the neighbourhood, on the Shepperton side of the motorway are a general waste transfer station, further fields and Sunbury Golf Course, which has 18 holes and is bisected by the Shepperton railway line. Charlton appears in

as ''Cerdentone''. It was held by Roger de Rames. Its domesday assets were: 5

hide Hide or hides may refer to: Common uses * Hide (skin), the cured skin of an animal * Bird hide, a structure for observing birds and other wildlife without causing disturbance * Gamekeeper's hide or hunting hide or hunting blind, a structure to hi ...

s; 1½

plough A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...

s (with potential for 3½),

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

for 4

s, cattle pasture. It rendered £1 10s 0d. However this manor was in the

of Sunbury and unlike the three adjoining manors, Shepperton, Halliford and Sunbury did not reach down to the river public meadowlands, used for grazing of animals.

Shepperton Green

Shepperton Green is that part of the village which continues immediately west of the M3 motorway, north-west of the village centre. Across the

River Ash, Surrey The River Ash is a small, shallow river in Surrey, England. Its course of is just outside Greater London. Work has been carried out to re-align, clear and build up a small, Littleton head of water and create two backwaters. One backwater ...

, which is no more than a stream most of the year, adjoining, to its north is Littleton. Taken together with Littleton, three farms operate on the edges of this conjoined residential area, providing a

buffer Buffer may refer to: Science * Buffer gas, an inert or nonflammable gas * Buffer solution, a solution used to prevent changes in pH * Lysis buffer, in cell biology * Metal ion buffer * Mineral redox buffer, in geology Technology and engineeri ...

to the north and west. Shepperton's central SSSI is on the south side of the motorway ''Sheep Lake Walk and meadows'', managed by

. To the west are large lakes (one sifted and worked for gravel). This means that Shepperton Green with Littleton is buffered to all sides, except for its eastern side with its road bridge to Shepperton proper, classified as Shepperton Town ward and county council electoral division. This area is currently grouped with

Laleham Laleham is a village on the River Thames, in the borough of Spelthorne, about west of central London, England. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, it was transferred to Surrey in 1965. Laleham is downriver from Staines-upon-Thames a ...

for all local elections.

High Street and economy

Shepperton has a traditional high street, shorter than that at nearby Ashford with two medium-size supermarkets, village hall, library, shops, optician, hairdressers, a wide range of restaurants, several cafés, with the railway

terminus Terminus may refer to: Ancient Rome *Terminus (god), a Roman deity who protected boundary markers Transport *Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination *Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end des ...

at the northern end. Shepperton railway station saw high ticketed entries and exits for a settlement of its size to 422,000 (6 April 2010 – 5 April 2011), being a terminus with main commercial destinations being in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

. commercial hubs of

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

and

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

accessed along the route; this is supplemented by secondary school usage, with a substantial state school and private school.

History board

The Village Hall in the High Street has a large depiction of the economic life and of the history of the village. In October 2011, a group of children from St Nicholas C of E Primary School won a competition to create the history board, which was then edited by a graphic designer and officially opened by the mayor with a large ceremony and some press, after Sunbury had held a similar competition. The board itself includes a grassland to represent the pastures and provides local information.

Public services

Four infant/junior/primary schools, a senior comprehensive school and senior private school are in the village. ''See

List of schools in Surrey This is a list of schools in Surrey, England. State-funded schools Source: Primary schools * All Saints CE Infant School, Tilford * Ash Grange Primary School, Ash * Ashford CE Primary School, Ashford * Ashford Park Primary School, Ashford ...

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

policing in Shepperton is provided by

Surrey Police Surrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Counties of England, county of Surrey in South East England. The force is currently led by Chief Constable Tim De Meyer. The force has its headquarters at Mount Brown ...

. Public transport is co-ordinated by

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Surrey, England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1974 the Conservative Party has held the majority. The leader ...

who also provide the statutory emergency fire and rescue service who have a station in Sunbury.'' St Peter's Hospital on the far side of Chertsey is a large

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

hospital administrated by Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust. It was opened under its existing name in 1947. The

South East Coast Ambulance Service The South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is the NHS ambulance services trust for south-eastern England, covering Kent (including Medway), Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex (including Brighton and Hove). It also cov ...

Foundation Trust provides emergency patient transport to and from this facility. Other forms of health care are provided for locally by several small clinics and surgeries.

Waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

is co-ordinated by the local authority via the Surrey Waste Disposal Authority and domestic waste collected by

Spelthorne Borough Council Spelthorne may refer to: * Borough of Spelthorne, a local government district in the county of Surrey, England * Spelthorne (UK Parliament constituency), Surrey constituency in the British House of Commons * Spelthorne College, was a single-camp ...

. Locally produced

inert waste Inert waste is waste which is neither chemically nor biologically reactive and will not decompose or only very slowly. Examples of this are sand, concrete, and demolition waste. This has particular relevance to landfills as inert waste typically re ...

for disposal is sent to

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

Alfold Alfold is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England on the West Sussex border. Alfold is a dispersed or polyfocal village in the Green Belt, which is buffered from all other settlements. The Greensand Way runs north of the village along ...

and Shefford, and a proportion to energy from waste plants in Slough and Kent to lower landfill tax. Plans have been approved to permit gasification in Charlton in the north of the Shepperton post town as part of the county's Eco Park to take up to half of the county's residual waste. Shepperton's

distribution network operator A distribution network operator (DNO), also known as a distribution system operator (DSO), is the operator of the electric power distribution system which delivers electricity to most end users. Each country may have many local distribution netwo ...

for electricity is

UK Power Networks UK Power Networks (UKPN) is a distribution network operator for electricity covering South East England, the East of England and London. It manages three licensed distribution networks (Eastern Power Networks, South Eastern Power Networks and Lo ...

; aside from renewables there are no

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

s in the area.

Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Limited, trading as Thames Water, is a British private utility company responsible for the water supply and waste water Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking w ...

manages Shepperton's

drinking Drinking is the act of ingesting water or other liquids into the body through the mouth, proboscis, or elsewhere. Humans drink by swallowing, completed by peristalsis in the esophagus. The physiological processes of drinking vary widely among ...

and

waste water Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of do ...

; water supplies being sourced from the London sources including several reservoirs fed by the

locally. There are

water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, ...

works at Ashford,

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbour ...

and

sewage treatment Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...

works at

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...

Topography

Shepperton has a long boundary with the

in its southernmost salient, which almost surrounds Spelthorne. Old Shepperton is almost surrounded by the extreme southern

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...

within this. Prehistoric

glacial retreat The retreat of glaciers since 1850 is a well-documented effect of climate change. The retreat of mountain glaciers provides evidence for the rise in global temperatures since the late 19th century. Examples include mountain glaciers in western ...

north of this has made the north bank almost flat for a considerable distance and as such, elevation never exceeds 14 m

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

(on the border of

). The river never exceeds 11.5 m, (beside Dumsey Meadow and under

Chertsey Bridge Chertsey Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in Surrey, England. It carries the B375 road, connecting Chertsey in the borough of Runnymede to Laleham in the borough of Spelthorne. It is downstream from the M3 motorway (Great Britai ...

). The lowest elevation is 9 m in flood meadows at the confluence of the Ash with the Thames. The Ash is the border with Littleton and

(mostly, to the northeast, with its technical

Dumsey Meadow Dumsey Meadow is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Chertsey and Shepperton in Surrey. It is the only piece of undeveloped water meadow unfenced by the river remaining on the River Thames below Caversham. This unimproved ...

SSSI is the only piece of undeveloped, unfenced water meadow by the river remaining on the

below Caversham, and is home to a variety of rare plants and insects. The Swan Sanctuary moved to an old gravel extraction site by Fordbridge Road in 2005 from its former base in

Egham Egham ( ) is a town in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. First settled in the Bronze Age, the town was under the control of Chertsey Abbey for much of the Middle Ages. In 1215, Magna Carta was ...

. On the opposite bank are in downstream order are

and Chertsey Meads, the Hamm Court area of

Addlestone Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Runnymede (borough), Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement. Geography Addlesto ...

, three islands, (the first two of which have multiple properties) (

Lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

, Hamhaugh and D'Oyly Carte, one large man-made island, ( Desborough), and the riverside parts of

, the upstream part of which is also open land, Cowey Sale Park. The towpath is the official route of three passing through the Shepperton reaches (of the

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from one of its sources near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 ...

) as heading upstream from

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

another marked version takes

, the official version takes the Shepperton-Weybridge Ferry and another marked version crosses to the north bank at

. ;Upper Halliford Upper Halliford has since the early 20th century been in Shepperton

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in t ...

, and almost

contiguous Contiguity or contiguous may refer to: *Contiguous data storage, in computer science *Contiguity (probability theory) *Contiguity (psychology) *Contiguous distribution of species, in biogeography *Geographic contiguity Geographic contiguity is t ...

, but with its own station, residential roads, fair and shopping parade, even an Upper Halliford Village sign. Arguably in modern analysis it is a village, with the second highest concentration of development in the post town.Grid square map

Ordnance survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

website ;Shepperton Green This neighbourhood is smaller than the adjoining village, separated by the M3 motorway and some adjoining meadows and fields. The second of the borough's

Green Belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

SSSIs, Sheep Walk Meadows, is a key feature of Shepperton Green, bounding it, to its south. A Saxon and medieval burial ground gives its name to the Saxon Junior School who use it for playing fields and has Scheduled status. A farm combined with a significant amount of fishing and gravel lakes form the outskirts and within the clustered settlement an estate of the homes was built as non-serving personally

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

for the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Demography and housing

Historic figures

The population of Shepperton, according to the census of 1801, was 731. This number increased gradually to 858 forty years later, increasing further to the end of the 19th century. Between 1891 and 1901 its population rose by 511 to 1,810. The population also rose substantially between 1931 and 1951, to 6,060 people. Data for 1801–1951 is available at Britain Through Time. The

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

and 2011 Censuses give detailed information about the Town ward and Shepperton Green.

Other

The settlement had 9,753 residents, living in 4,301 households. Of those, 83.6% of residents described their health as 'good', for this overall figure, above the regional average. Of these people 47.3% described their health as very good, below the regional average. 20.4% of 16- to 74-year-olds had no work qualifications, below the English average of 22.5%. In 2011 the area had only 114 people who were in the category "never worked/long-term unemployed".

Housing, area and population

The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%. The proportion of households in the settlement who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free).

Culture

Film

Shepperton Studios

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of Pinewood Group, the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not ...

is home to a multi-disciplinary film production facility from on-set, through to television and various forms of animation. This also acts as a base for on-location film work for television dramas in the South East and in films, for instance for productions partly shot in the

Burnham Beeches Burnham Beeches is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest situated west of Farnham Common in the village of Burnham, Buckinghamshire, Burnham, Buckinghamshire. The southern half is owned by the Corporation of London and is open to th ...

woods less than away. These adjoin Shepperton Green, in the now negligible village of Littleton. In the 1930s its Littleton manor's core, which covered was converted into film production lots. This was reduced to in 1973. Works produced or shot wholly or in part on its 15 stages, other lots or in its extensive animation facilities since the new millennium include: *''

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age Comedy film, comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall (playwright), Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the fi ...

'', '' Chocolat'', ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

'' (2000) *''

Bridget Jones's Diary ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire from a screenplay by Helen Fielding, Andrew Davies and Richard Curtis. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Fielding, which was itself a loose ...

'', ''

Gosford Park ''Gosford Park'' is a 2001 satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. The film, which is influenced by Jean Renoir's French classic '' The Rules of the Game'', follows a party of wealthy Brito ...

'' (2001), ''

Spy Game ''Spy Game'' is a 2001 action thriller film directed by Tony Scott and written by Michael Frost Beckner and David Arata. The film stars Robert Redford and Brad Pitt as CIA operatives entangled in a covert rescue mission during the final day ...

'' (2001) *'' About a Boy'', ''

Bend It Like Beckham ''Bend It Like Beckham'' is a 2002 Sports film, sports comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anu ...

'' (2002) *''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas film, Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The film features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous pro ...

'' (2003) *''

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

'', ''

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' ( ; also ) is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the third installment in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The novel follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third yea ...

'', ''

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

'', ''

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

'' (2004) *''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy), Bruce Wayne / B ...

'', ''

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwar ...

'', ''

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

'', '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) *''

The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is “the best-selling American novel of all time.” Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon—the first was his 2000 novel '' Angels & Demons''� ...

'' (2006) *''

Atonement Atonement, atoning, or making amends is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some othe ...

'', '' Elizabeth: The Golden Age'', '' The Golden Compass'' (2007) *''

Inkheart ''Inkheart'' () is a 2003 young adult fantasy novel by Cornelia Funke, and is the first book of the ''Inkheart'' series, with '' Inkspell'' (2005) and '' Inkdeath'' (2007) succeeding it. The novel became one of the finalists of 2004 BookSense ...

'', ''

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

'', ''

Nine 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

'', ''

The Young Victoria ''The Young Victoria'' is a 2009 British period drama, period drama film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and written by Julian Fellowes, based on the early life and reign of Queen Victoria, and her marriage to Albert, Prince Consort, Prince Albert ...

'' (2009) *'' Clash of the Titans'', ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

'' (2010) *'' Captain America: The First Avenger'', '' Hugo'' (2011) *''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

'', '' John Carter'' (2012) *''

Fast & Furious 6 ''Fast & Furious 6'' (titled onscreen as ''Furious 6'') is a 2013 action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast Five'' (2011) and the sixth installment in the '' Fast & Furious'' franchise. The fil ...

'', ''

Gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

'', '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013)

Halliford Studios

Lower Halliford, a completely

so also integral part of Shepperton, used to be home to Halliford Film Studios, opposite the Manygate Lane conservation area, built in 1955 and one of the first film studios devoted to TV commercial production. It was an independent film studio used for commercials, small television productions and other short "promos". The studio was recently closed and demolished.

Literature

depicted Shepperton as set out

above Above may refer to: *Above (artist) Tavar Zawacki (b. 1981, California) is a Polish, Portuguese - American abstract artist and internationally recognized visual artist based in Berlin, Germany. From 1996 to 2016, he created work under the ...

. Shepperton was the home of author

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist and short-story writer, satirist and essayist known for psychologically provocative works of fiction that explore the relations between human psychology, technology, s ...

, the so-called "Seer of Shepperton", and provides the setting for his novels '' Crash'' (in which a couple become sexually aroused through car crashes and was written as the

was being built past the end of his street) and ''

The Unlimited Dream Company ''The Unlimited Dream Company'' is a novel by British writer J. G. Ballard, first published in 1979. It was nominated for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1980. It won the British Science Fiction Association Award in the same year. Plo ...

''. Shepperton is mentioned in the novel ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...

'' by

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

, in which its destruction is described along with nearby settlements. It is also mentioned in the novel ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

, where Bill Sikes tempts Oliver into visiting a house there, but instead, when they get there, Oliver is dragged on to a lonely house nearby by Sikes.

Fine art

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

painted in 1805 two scenes of the shimmering river and fishermen on the far banks of the Lower Halliford part of Shepperton including the wide landscape work ''Walton Bridges'' widely exhibited in 1807 following a previous similar work by

of the scene in 1754.

Sport and recreation

There are recreation grounds for football on both sides of the M3: one in Shepperton Green and two in Shepperton/Lower Halliford; one has adjoining tennis courts. Through the town there is the

and there are popular adjacent flat cycling routes to

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

and

. There is a golf course north of the station in the historic parish of Sunbury so anachronistically named ''Sunbury Golf Club'' and for a time ''American Golf at Sunbury'' with two courses, a driving range and Crown Golf Academy as Sunbury is a larger settlement. Desborough Sailing Club is based here with its own dinghy basin, private inlet and secluded reach of the river Thames and international medal-winner training club

Sailing Club lies between Shepperton and Ashford.

Angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...

is substantial at Halliford Mere fisheries and on the River Thames itself. Shepperton has a thriving cricket club, which has teams in the Fullers Surrey County League.

Places of worship

There are several churches in the village covering three denominations of Christianity. The architecturally listed stone-clad church to St Nicholas on the preserved village square (

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

) is led by the rector of Shepperton, Rev Chris Swift and is committed to helping the largest Shepperton primary school and contributes to a wide range of local good causes. Founded in 1936, St John Fisher Roman Catholic church led by Fr Shaun Richards adopts a vibrant approach to parish life involving "Prayer, Partnership, Pilgrimage, and Panto" the last two of which are annual and the first two of which are intended to be daily or regular activities of its believers. The parish places emphasis on helping the housebound and sick,

CAFOD The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, commonly known as CAFOD, is an international development and relief charity. It is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. CAFOD is part of the global Caritas Internat ...

and takes part in the Westminster Diocese pilgrimage to

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

. Jubilee Church, Shepperton was formed as a new church in 1982 to celebrate in modern "mainstream Christianity" being less focussed on ceremony than the two oldest UK churches. Its twin values are: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart ... and your neighbour as your self." and Make disciples. Littleton has a co-led Church of England;

has a

Baptist church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

for further details of which see those articles.

Notable people

Notable residents, past and present including less historic literary figures than mentioned above, include: * Ian Allan, publisher of railway books *

Olivia Anderson Olivia Victoria Anderson (born 18 November 1987) is a South African former cricketer who played as a right-handed batter and wicket-keeper. She appeared in five One Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals for South Africa in 2008. ...

, South African international cricketer *

Celestine Babayaro Celestine Hycieth Babayaro (born 29 August 1978) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a left-back or a midfielder. Babayaro spent the majority of his career playing in the Premier League, mainly for Chelsea from 1997 to 2 ...

, Nigerian footballer *

, English novelist, short story writer and essayist *

Lynne Reid Banks Lynne Reid Banks (; 31 July 1929 – 4 April 2024) was a British author of books for children and adults, including ''The Indian in the Cupboard'', which has sold over 15 million copies and has been successfully adapted to film. Her first novel ...

, late 20th century author with children's best-seller ''

The Indian in the Cupboard ''The Indian in the Cupboard'' is a low fantasy children's novel by the British writer Lynne Reid Banks. It was published in 1980 with illustrations by Robin Jacques (UK) and Brock Cole (US). It was later adapted as a 1995 children's film ...

'' (1980) with four sequels and adult novels such as ''

The L-Shaped Room ''The L-Shaped Room'' is a 1962 British drama romance film written and directed by Bryan Forbes, based on the 1960 novel by Lynne Reid Banks. It tells the story of Jane Fosset, a young French woman, unmarried and pregnant, who moves into a che ...

'' (1960) *

John Boorman Sir John Boorman (; born 18 January 1933) is a British film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for directing feature films such as '' Point Blank'' (1967), '' Hell in the Pacific'' (1968), ''Deliverance'' (1972), '' Zardoz'' ...

, film director *

Bernard Braden Bernard Chastey Braden (16 May 1916 – 2 February 1993) was a Canadian-born British actor and comedian, who is best known for his appearances in UK television and radio shows. Life Braden was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and educated ...

and

Barbara Kelly Barbara Kelly (5 October 1923 – 15 January 2007) was a Canadian-British actress, best known for her television roles in the United Kingdom opposite her husband Bernard Braden in the 1950s and 1960s, and for many appearances as a panelist ...

, television presenters and producers. *

Ray Dorset Raymond Edward Dorset (born 21 March 1946) is a British guitarist, singer, songwriter, and founder of Mungo Jerry. He composed most of the songs for the band, including the hit record, hit single (music), singles "In the Summertime", "Baby Ju ...

, lead singer of

Mungo Jerry Mungo Jerry (formerly known as Mungo Jerry Blues Band) are a British rock band formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex, in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing line-up always fronted by Dorset, the ...

and songwriter of chart-topper '' Feels Like I'm in Love'' *

Robert Faurisson Robert Faurisson (; born Robert Faurisson Aitken; 25 January 1929 – 21 October 2018) was a British-born French academic who became best known for Holocaust denial. Faurisson generated much controversy with several articles published in the '' ...

, French academic (1929-2018) *

Frank Finlay Francis Finlay, (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English actor. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Iago in ''Othello'' (1965). His first leading television role came in 1971 in '' Casanova''.

, actor *

John Gregson Harold Thomas Gregson (15 March 1919 – 8 January 1975), known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles. Gregson w ...

, actor and his wife Thea Gregory, actress''Shepperton Matters: Famous People of Shepperton'' Issue 17 February 2013 page 4
Nick Pollard of Sunbury and Shepperton Local History Society. Retrieved 8 July 2013 *

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

public relations executive instrumental in developing the company's

programme *

Steve Holley Stephen Jeffrey Holley (born 24 August 1953) is an English rock drummer. He was a member of Wings from August 1978 to April 1981. In 1984 he played drums and percussion in Julian Lennon's debut album '' Valotte''. He has also toured with Ian ...

, Paul McCartney's drummer in '

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

' *

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

, singer *

Janet Munro Janet Munro (born Janet Neilson Horsburgh; 28 September 1934 – 6 December 1972) was a British actress. She won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' (1959) and received a BAFTA Film Awa ...

, actress, and

Ian Hendry Ian Mackendrick Hendry (13 January 1931 – 24 December 1984) was an English actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of '' The Avengers'' and '' The Lotus Eaters.'' He was no ...

, actor, lived on

Pharaoh's Island Pharaoh's Island ( ''Jazīratu Firawn''), whose current popular name is Coral Island, is a small island in the northern Gulf of Aqaba some east off the shore of Egypt's eastern Sinai Peninsula. Some scholars identify this island port with bib ...

in Shepperton *

Janek Schaefer Janek Schaefer (born 1970) is a British avant-garde artist, musician, composer, inventor, and entertainer, known for performing and exhibiting his work around the world with sound art, sound and installation art. Schaefer has released 40 albums, r ...

, British Composer of the Year in Sonic Art has a studio in Shepperton, 'innerspaces' inspired by J.G.Ballard *

Ruth Wilson Ruth Wilson (born 13 January 1982) is an English actress. She has played the eponymous protagonist in ''Jane Eyre'' (2006), Alice Morgan in the BBC psychological crime drama '' Luther'' (2010–2013, 2019), Alison Lockhart in the Showtime dram ...

, actress

Notes and references

Notes References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Surrey Populated places on the River Thames Places formerly in Middlesex Churches on the Thames Former civil parishes in Surrey Borough of Spelthorne