Stoney Deep

Our History

June 1973 

The Society was formed in 1973 when some local residents were concerned about the proposed development of a property called Stoney Deep, a large house on the riverside in Twickenham Road. It had been a nurses’ home but was to be pulled down and the site developed.  

At a Public Enquiry it was asked if there was an amenity group to speak for Teddington. Although neighbouring Strawberry Hill was represented, there was no-one to speak for Teddington. However, this galvanized John Parton, an interested party from the River Thames Society, to invite local residents to rectify this anomaly and he organized a meeting on 7th June 1973 at the home of Adam and Ruth Joseph in Broom Lock. This culminated in a public meeting in Craig Hall on 17th July. Much to their surprise, the hall was packed to overflowing with people sitting on tables, in the aisles, on any piece of empty floor space and out into the porch (no Health and Safety worries then!) Over 250 people turned up and many more couldn’t get in and had to go home. All 150 membership cards that had been prepared soon ran out. A flurry of activity followed to draft a constitution, set up working groups and organize the 2nd public meeting. Because of the huge demand, the inaugural meeting was held at Broom Road School on 17th September, when the first Constitution was adopted.  

The heavily attended meeting, chaired by John Parton, elected Adam as the first Chairman of the Teddington Society, an office he held until 1976, when he became president until 1989 – and the rest is history! 

With over 50 years of history, it will take a significant effort to summarise this into an acceptable form. So, this is still Work-In-Progress and we will be updating this page on a regular basis. Meanwhile the few snippets below should whet the appetite.