This view shows an early eighteenth-century shop building at 20 Thames Street, a neighbouring confectionary shop at number 18, The Bell public house, and the tower of St Mary's Church, all on Bell Hill in the Hampton Village conservation area of Richmond-upon-Thames. Number 20, on the corner of the junction with the High Street, was Grade II listed in 1983, listing number 1262011 and was once a hairdresser and tobacconist shop, though it appears to have been in residential use for some years now. It carries the name Ferry House today, although not be confused with the Ferry House that stood across the road until it was demolished in 1912 to allow road widening. Betty's confectionary shop at 18 Thames Street appears to be part of a later building although it has a traditional bowed shop window and the rest of the building has Georgian styling. The overalled woman shown attending to the free-standing Wall's ice cream sign could be Betty Kenton, formerly Betty Ambler the British sculling champion of 1935 and 1938, her local councillor husband running Kenton's boatyard and ferry across the road. The rest of the dwellings in this block have entrances to the rear. The Bell shown at 8 Thames was rebuilt in 1893 after a fire destroyed the previous building and is listed locally as a Building of Townscape Merit. Its balconies once provided guests with pastoral views across to the fields of Molesey, with pleasure craft cruising the Thames and the bend in the river presenting views towards Garrick's Ait and Tagg's Island beyond. A large 1960s Double Diamond sign is fixed to its flanking wall, The Bell pub sign with Ind Coope brewery heading is overhanging the entrance, and a sign directs drivers down the passage between the two buildings to the pub's car park. Overlooking numbers 10-18, St Mary's Church replaced the previous church building in 1831 and was designed by Edward Lapidge, also responsible for Kingston Bridge. Records for St Mary's Church date back to 1342. The current St Mary's Church was Grade II listed in 1952, listing number 1252976.
