Staines is an urban area in the Borough (Hundreds) of Spelthorne (Spelethorne). The main towns in Spelthorne are Staines (Stanes), Ashford (Exeford), Stanwell (Stanwelle), Shepperton (Scepertone), Sunbury (Sunbarie). Staines is the administrative centre of the Borough and has the largest shopping area. Spelthorne is a district of London, that has a population of approximately 90,000, and covers 21 square miles.

(words in brackets are from the Doomsday Book. c.1086.)

This statue has quite the story.

It is about three feet high and it's real name is 'The Daughter of the Goddess of Fame', although everyone called it the 'Golden Boy'.

It first came to light on the top of a beautiful bow fronted building at 63, High Street, four buildings away from the old Barclay's Bank. This was in about 1880 or so. Back then a lot of the buildings in the High Street were residences, not shops or businesses. I expect people who lived close by enjoyed seeing this small golden wonder in their midst, on top of such an elegant building.

On top of the original building.

This building belonged to a Mr Rogers, who had listed as his shop in early 1900's one that did 'Sanitary Plumber, Pumps & operators'. He also sold paint and did building work... Not as elegant as we thought! I don't know any more about this man and his business, so will jump to the next part of Golden Boys life.

The building was taken over by Lewis Dexter the bakers in 1905, it included the statue. This is where it became more famous. If you ask anyone who remembers Dexters, what it is they remember, they will say, 'Cakes and the Golden Boy'. Dexter's changed the frontage of the building later so that he was not on top but in front of it, as we see in the first photo above. By 1927 some of the buildings next to Dexter's had changed.

The photo below gives a peek of our Golden Boy during a Burma Star parade in 1973, you can just see him. This is outside Dexter's after it moved in 1958, to 17, High Street, near to Market Square and the Blue Anchor.

Eventually the Golden Boy was moved to a new home for a short while, to the Age Concern Day Centre behind the Town Hall in Staines.

In 1996 the Council moved him to the Walled Garden in Sunbury! Why? I wonder...

From there he was stolen and sadly disappeared completely...

Our Golden Boy had gone!

If I find anymore information, this page will be continued

Various Staines information, historic or otherwise, are listed on the page Links below. Art Works in Staines Ashby's Banks Books Church Street Churches Cinema's Clarence Street Common Land Companies Destruction Digs Dragonfly Dezignz Extras 1 Floods Golden Boy High Street Iron Bridge Links The Lino Maps Museum Talks 2023 Oast House Photos plus Premier Inn Pubs Research info Restaurants Roman Medical Instruments Shops Alphabetically Part 1 A - K Shops Alphabetically Part 2 L - Z Shops - Now Shops thru the years - High Street Shops thru the years - Other Streets Smiths to Banks Stations Thames Street Town Hall White Lion Extras (not mine)