June Sampson's shopwatch: mystery shopper's perfect score
No wonder Britt Sutton feels “on cloud nine”. For hers is the only one of the 80 shops in Kingston’s Bentall Centre to score full marks after a recent survey by a team of professional “mystery...
View ArticleJune Sampson: Pioneers who saved Kingston from planning doom
The title convinced me it would be dry reading, but I was wrong.
View ArticleJune Sampson: The forgotten film factory home to African Queen
One of the things that intrigued me most when first I came to Kingston was the sight of parakeets, green-feathered and glamorous, swooping down on our garden.
View ArticleJune Sampson shopwatch: Bentall Centre looks to the future
Good news and bad on Kingston’s shopping front: The good news is a Bentall Centre extension that will not only enhance Clarence Street, but provide an interesting new restaurant.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Penny Gallery not spent
There are plans to demolish the Penny Gallery in Richmond Road to make way for a new extension to Kingston College’s School of Art and Design.
View ArticleJune Sampson: 'Worst journey in the world' - hero of arctic convoy remembers...
Nothing in military history was more dangerous, courageous and excruciating than the Arctic convoys of World War II.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Are we being ripped off by a recycling 'con-trick'?
It may seem odd, but of the host of things I love most about Kingston, its handling of rubbish ranks highly.
View ArticleJune Sampson: New Thai cafe signals start of Kingston's riverside revamp
Is Kingston en route to being the alfresco eating out capital of Greater London? Thanks to the Thames, the answer could be yes.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Bentall Centre revamp will enhance Clarence Street
A Bentall Centre extension will not only enhance Clarence Street but provide an interesting new restaurant.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Bringing a panoramic treasure of River Thames back to life
It was years since I had heard from former Surbiton journalist Jill Sanders when she emailed me out of the blue about a project she was working on with her partner, John Inglis.
View ArticleShopwatch with June Sampson
No wonder Britt Sutton feels "on cloud nine." For hers is the only one of the 80 shops in Kingston's Bentall Centre to score full marks after a recent survey by a team of professional "mystery shoppers."
View ArticleJune Sampson: The tale of the tragic drowning at sea behind historic wall
Every time I go by bus along Queen Elizabeth Road – something I have done several times a month for the past 40 years – my gaze is glued to the brick wall that stretches some 75ft along the east side...
View ArticleJune Sampson: How to do justice to Hampton Court Flower Show
The 14th annual Hampton Court Palace Flower Show opened to the public yesterday – and looks certain to have drawn a record total of visitors by the time it closes at 5.30pm on Sunday.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Kingston station's 150th anniversary - and the myths around it...
It was an event of crucial importance to Kingston's economic and social progress.
View ArticleJune Sampson's Shopwatch: Bold and the beautiful
Kingston is well on the way to becoming the provincial beauty retailing capital of the south east.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Sad life of a women whose sweetness touched a town
Do any of the thousands of people who daily throng Clarence Street give a thought to – or have they even heard of – Princess Adelaide Amelia Laura Theresa Caroline of Saxe-Meiningen?
View ArticleJune Sampson: As the guns fell silent, the battle over Kingston's memorial...
The bloody slaughter of World War I ended on November 11, 1918, and the ink was barely dry on the armistice paper when Kingstonians began considering a fitting memorial to the hundreds of local men...
View ArticleJune Sampson: Townscape awards show the best buildings and the ones that...
June Sampson reveals the strong nominations for the Kingston upon Thames Society’s biennial townscape awards – and those buildings that narrowly failed to make the cut
View ArticleJune Sampson: By royal appointment
Thousands of people know the statue of Queen Anne, which has gazed unblinkingly over Kingston Market Place for the past 307 years.
View Article'Honoured' June Sampson given freedom of Kingston
As she was handed the scroll by outgoing mayor Penny Shelton, Mrs Sampson joked: “I hope this goes in the Surrey Comet!”
View ArticleThe true magic of Hampton Court Flower Show revealed
June Sampson: I have not missed a single show since it started in 1990. I've seen it grow from a modest event over 10 acres to the largest show of its kind in the world.
View ArticleJune Sampson: From leg irons to medical marvels
Now the nurses home at Kingston Hospital is showing its age, and there are plans to replace it with a six-storey, state-of-the-art building.
View ArticleJune Sampson: New infirmary as Luck would have it
Continuing last week's look at the history of Kingston Hospital, which began as an infirmary set up by the Guardians of the Poor as an adjunct to Kingston Union Workhouse.
View ArticleJune Sampson: New terrace is a call to alms
In 1665 William Cleave left all his Kingston assets "for the erecting and building of a convenient house for six poor men and six poor women, of honest life and reputation." The result was Cleave's...
View ArticleJune Sampson: Two of our best old houses set for heritage list
In the 1970s, Kingston had only 11 listed buildings fewer than any other London borough.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Anniversary is sweet success for candyman
A popular sweet shop is due to celebrate an amazing 45 years in business.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Friends in need of new £2m centre
It's a remarkable story of stewardship. A trust set up with £118 more than three centuries ago is now funding a unique £2million development planned by Kingston Quakers in the town centre.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Morale-boosting muses of war
The 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the 50th of Winston Churchill's death, the forthcoming 60th the VE and VJ Days all these are focusing attention on the Second World War.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Art for our sake: Paintings are saved
Two local groups have joined forces to secure an important pair of paintings for Kingston Museum.
View ArticleJune Sampson: How a nut helped shape Kingston
Did you know The Cocoanut in Mill Street is the only pub in Britain with that name? Or that coconut shies originated in Kingston?
View ArticleJune Sampson: Last in a long and holy line
When the Rev Jim Bates left Kingston's All Saints Church last April, few knew he would be the last in a line of vicars stretching back more than 800 years.
View ArticleJune Sampson: First Royal visit to revamped Kew
Kew Palace closed nearly a decade ago for a multi-million pound refurbishment which has held the interest of thousands of history enthusiasts throughout the UK.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Heartened by flats proposal
It's not protected by listing, nor is it part of a conservation area.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Parish takes on new priest
Wanted: An inspirational priest who can take charge of two churches serving very different areas, who is equally at ease with the highest and the humblest, who values fine church music and who is...
View ArticleJune Sampson: From Kingston to San Diego, Shirley is reigning queen
Doris Healey was a flower seller in Kingston Market and her husband, Charles Jordan, a champion boxer.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Every little helps as group takes on Tesco
Tolworth residents turned out in force for a public meeting called by the Kingston Society last week to discuss Tesco's controversial plans for a new superstore on an eight-acre site adjacent to the...
View ArticleJune Sampson: Tower could be yours for just £60m
Its current sale has been described as the Royal borough's "biggest commercial property investment opportunity ever". But at a guide price of more than £60million, clearly Tolworth Tower is no...
View ArticleJune Sampson: Long queues to say so long to candy man
If there was a contest to find Kingston's best-loved shopkeeper, the winner would probably be Reg Harrington who has been running his sweet and tobacco shop at 141 Richmond Road for 46 years.
View ArticleJune Sampson: A trough job but someone’s got to do it
A horse trough dating from 1892 has been saved from the grounds of the old New Malden police station thanks to some heritage-minded locals.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Parish Revs up for a new era
The licensing of the Rev Jonathan Wilkes on June 13 was both an end and a beginning for All Saints Church, Kingston. For it marked the end of a long line of vicars stretching back more than 1,000...
View ArticleJune Sampson: Will Christians take a pilgrimage to Ham?
Ham could soon take on a new identity as a place of Christian pilgrimage.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Kings of the Castle Street
Castle Street was hailed as the London area's largest and most imaginative new retail development when it was completed in 1939.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Arpad Buzasi the founder of the Hotel Antoinette
The death of Arpad Buzasi has robbed Kingston of an inspirational figure who plumbed the depths of human tragedy and the heights of endeavour and achievement.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Local troops show the way
JUNE SAMPSON charts some of the early achievements and events that swiftly won national acclaim for our local troops, as they helped to lay the foundations of what became the worlds largest voluntary...
View ArticleJune Sampson: Just the job in World War I
JUNE SAMPSON discloses the contribution local scouts made during World War One.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Time for a spot of repair work on historic clock
The Houses of Parliament clock was not the only world-renowned timepiece to be stopped last week.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Philip Meninsky 1919-2007
Philip Meninsky was an outstanding personality, captivating a vast circle of friends with his warmth, his wisdom and his rare talent as a raconteur.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Students get master class from top author
Wendy Perriam, often hailed as one of the UK’s finest living writers, will be inspiring would-be authors when she gives a seminar to MA students at Kingston University.
View ArticleJune Sampson: Former chief sub-editor was a “living legend to everyone who...
Late in the 1960s John Vivian limped into the Surrey Comet and asked the then editor, Brian West, for a job.
View ArticleJune Sampson: 'Villified' Field Marshal Haig's forgotten role in poppy appeal
This article was originally published on October 19 2012.
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