Gorgeous village with 'UK's best pub' is one of UK's happiest places to live
A stunning little village in the south east with a big name has been hailed as one of Britain's most joyful places to live – and it has the country's best pub to boot.
Just 15 miles from central London, Shepperton, home to the world-famous film studios, is a close-knit community that boasts a traditional independent shop-lined high street, extensive frontage onto the Thames and according to SurreyLive the politest people in the UK.
Add to that The Red Lion, recently crowned “Pub of the Year”, picturesque weeping willows, some great bream fishing and, of course, internationally renowned film studios where some of the past century’s most influential films were created, from 1947’s The Third man, to Star Wars in 1977, Gladiator in 2000, and George Clooney's The Midnight Sky in 2020 then Shepperton really does seem to have it all.
The Red Lion was recently voted Pub of the Year (publicity)The Red Lion was given the lofty accolade by Star Pubs & Bars in its 2022 competition, where it was described as a “modern, well-presented pub” that “caters for the entire community”, with its covered courtyard being given an honourable mention, along with the private huts. The hostelry has also reclaimed some of the riverbank for a beer garden and quay from which to hire out its own boats.
While the stars of films such as Dr. Strangelove, Love Actually and Rocketman are often spotted unwinding at The Harrow Inn, the public seem to prefer The Red Lion and sitting in such close proximity to so many stars doesn't seem to phase the locals either as the village was also voted the happiest in the South East.
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The opening of Shepperton Film Studios in 1931, one mile to the north of the village centre, gave the area’s standing in the arts a huge boost. Built around an “exquisite” manor house, it boasts 14 stages, 10 acres of backlot and thousands of square feet of workshop space.
But prior to that the stretch of the River Thames that runs through Shepperton proved a huge draw to writers and poets in the 19th century, with the likes of Thomas Love Peacock and Percy Bysshe Shelley taking up residence, later joined by novelist J. G. Ballard.
George Clooney on the set of The Midnight Sky at Shepperton Studios with David Oyelowo and Tiffany Boone (Philippe Antonello/NETFLIX)Despite the global reputation of the village's biggest employer, a population of just under 6,000 and London’s Waterloo within 50 minutes by train, Shepperton manages to maintain a charming country village feel.
According to the Daily Express, James Lally, 46, has been in the village since he was a three-year-old, and for the past 20-odd years has been the man behind James of Shepperton butchers on the high street. He considers the place blessed with a “rural feeling without being far out in the middle of nowhere".
While old-fashioned brick cottages line the streets, there are the more fortunate who are able to moor their pleasure boats at the end of their gorgeous gardens and suggests the reason behind the average house price being £557,000.
But, as they say, you get what you pay for and in online real estate platform Rightmove’s 2017 Happy at Home Index, Shepperton came top in the south east and ranked 6th nationally in a survey of 24,000 people.
On this, Mr Lally said: “We serve a lot of people, and 99 percent of them are smiling and happy… although that could just be my shop.” The same year, the National Campaign for Courtesy decreed the Spelthorne town to be the politest in the UK.
Speaking to Surrey Live at the time, local councillor Robin Sider said the award reflected “everything that is good about our shops, its residents, its history, our village fair and Big Tree Night".
Then there is the village's Big Tree Night a famous Christmas Fair, now in its 12th year that regularly draws in more than 5,000 people to see, among other attractions, the stalls that most of the local businesses lay out.
There is, of course a dark side to all ancient villages, and Shepperton is no different, with the ghost of a headless monk said to roam the streets. According to local folklore, the monk from Chertsey Abbey broke his vows to marry his lover. Angered by this sin, his fellow monks then chased and beheaded him. His ghost is now said to roam the streets of the old village centre where he once lived.
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