Hanworth
Encyclopedia
Hanworth lies to the south east of Feltham
in the London Borough of Hounslow
. The name is thought to come from the Anglo Saxon
words “haen” and “worth”, meaning “small homestead”.
The nearest places are Hampton
, Hampton Hill
, Feltham
, Sunbury-on-Thames
, Twickenham
, Teddington
and Heathrow Airport.
’s time, Hanworth was held by Ulf, a “huscarl” of the King. Huscarls were the bodyguards of Scandinavian Kings and were often the only professional soldiers in the Kingdom. The majority of huscarls in the kingdom were killed at Hastings
in 1066, and William the Conqueror granted Hanworth to Robert under Roger de Montgomery
, the Earl of Arundel. After his death, his second son held the land until his death in the Mowbray conspiracy of 1098, after which it passed to his eldest son, Robert de Bellesme
, who also rebelled against the Crown in 1102 with the result that the lands were confiscated.
Towards the end of the 14th century, the manor was occupied by Sir Nicholas Brembre
, who was Mayor of London
in 1377 and 1378. Sir Nicholas was hanged at Tyburn in 1387, having been accused of treason.
In 1512 Hanworth came to the Crown, and Henry VIII
, who enjoyed hunting on the heath surrounding the village, gave the manor to Anne Boleyn
for life. After her execution, the manor returned to the King who held it until his death in 1547, when it passed to his final wife Katherine Parr, who lived in the house with her stepdaughter Princess Elizabeth
. When the princess became Queen, she stayed at Hanworth Manor several times, often hunting on the heath.
In 1784 General Sir William Roy
, the military draughtsman, supervised the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain
project. That measured a base line from King's Arbour, across Hounslow Heath
passing through Hanworth Park, to Hampton
Poor House. This measurement, which earned the General the Copley medal of the Royal Society
, was the origin of all subsequent surveys of the United Kingdom
, and still forms the basis of the Ordnance Survey
maps today.
In 1797 the manor house was destroyed by fire, leaving only the stable block, which survives today as flats, and the coach house, which was converted into homes. Tudor House was built in 1875 as a replacement for the house that was built in the manor ruins, and is today used as flats.
By the end of the 19th century, William Whiteley
, of Whiteleys
in Bayswater
, had bought 200 acre (0.809372 km²) of farmland that had previously been Butts and Glebe farms. Renamed Hanworth Farms, these supplied all the produce for the store’s food hall having been transported daily by horse and cart. Following Whiteley's murder by his illegitimate son in 1907, his legitimate sons sold the farm to a jam manufacturer who operated there until selling the land for new homes in 1933.
was a grass airfield, operational 1917-1919 and 1929-1947. It was situated in Hanworth Park, that includes the grounds of Hanworth Park House, an 1802 rebuild of Hanworth Palace. In the 1930s, named London Air Park, it was best known as a centre for private flying, society events, the aircraft manufacture by General Aircraft Limited
(GAL) 1934-1949, and the visit by the Graf Zeppelin
airship in 1932. Feltham District Council purchased the park in 1956. Feltham Swimming Baths was built on parkland beside the Uxbridge Road in 1965, later refurbished and renamed Feltham Airparcs Leisure Centre.. That public sports facility was renamed in 2010 as Hanworth Air Park Leisure Centre & Library
feeder road in the 1970s cut Hanworth in two; in preparation for this, the library was relocated to Mount Corner, opposite the Hanworth Park House icehouse mound, Forge Lane Infants and Junior School was built on the south side of the new road, and the war memorial was relocated.
, Feltham railway station
, Sunbury railway station
and Hampton railway station
.
Feltham
Feltham is a town in the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. It is located about west south west of central London at Charing Cross and from Heathrow Airport Central...
in the London Borough of Hounslow
London Borough of Hounslow
-Political composition:Since the borough was formed it has been controlled by the Labour Party on all but two occasions. In 1968 the Conservatives formed a majority for the first and last time to date until they lost control to Labour in 1971. Labour subsequently lost control of the council in the...
. The name is thought to come from the Anglo Saxon
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
words “haen” and “worth”, meaning “small homestead”.
The nearest places are Hampton
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...
, Hampton Hill
Hampton Hill
Hampton Hill is a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, bounded approximately by Fulwell Golf Course to the north, Bushy Park to the east and the Longford River to the south and west...
, Feltham
Feltham
Feltham is a town in the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. It is located about west south west of central London at Charing Cross and from Heathrow Airport Central...
, Sunbury-on-Thames
Sunbury-on-Thames
Sunbury-on-Thames, also known as Sunbury, is a town in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne, England, and part of the London commuter belt. It is located 16 miles southwest of central London and bordered by Feltham and Hampton, flanked on the south by the River Thames.-History:The earliest evidence of...
, Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
, Teddington
Teddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
and Heathrow Airport.
History
During Edward the ConfessorEdward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
’s time, Hanworth was held by Ulf, a “huscarl” of the King. Huscarls were the bodyguards of Scandinavian Kings and were often the only professional soldiers in the Kingdom. The majority of huscarls in the kingdom were killed at Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
in 1066, and William the Conqueror granted Hanworth to Robert under Roger de Montgomery
Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
Roger de Montgomerie , also known as Roger the Great de Montgomery, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury. His father was also Roger de Montgomerie, and was a relative, probably a grandnephew, of the Duchess Gunnor, wife of Duke Richard I of Normandy...
, the Earl of Arundel. After his death, his second son held the land until his death in the Mowbray conspiracy of 1098, after which it passed to his eldest son, Robert de Bellesme
Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury
Robert de Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury , also spelled Belleme or Belesme, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, and one of the most prominent figures in the competition for the succession to England and Normandy between the sons of William the Conqueror...
, who also rebelled against the Crown in 1102 with the result that the lands were confiscated.
Towards the end of the 14th century, the manor was occupied by Sir Nicholas Brembre
Nicholas Brembre
Sir Nicholas Brembre was a wealthy magnate and a chief ally of King Richard II in 14th c-entury England. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1377, and again from 1383-5. Named a "worthie and puissant man of the city" by Richard Grafton he was a son of Sir John Brembre, and, becoming a citizen and...
, who was Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
in 1377 and 1378. Sir Nicholas was hanged at Tyburn in 1387, having been accused of treason.
In 1512 Hanworth came to the Crown, and Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, who enjoyed hunting on the heath surrounding the village, gave the manor to Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
for life. After her execution, the manor returned to the King who held it until his death in 1547, when it passed to his final wife Katherine Parr, who lived in the house with her stepdaughter Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. When the princess became Queen, she stayed at Hanworth Manor several times, often hunting on the heath.
In 1784 General Sir William Roy
William Roy
Major-General William Roy FRS was a Scottish military engineer, surveyor, and antiquarian. He was an innovator who applied new scientific discoveries and newly emerging technologies to the accurate geodetic mapping of Great Britain....
, the military draughtsman, supervised the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain
Principal Triangulation of Great Britain
The Principal Triangulation of Britain was a triangulation project carried out between 1783 and about 1853 at the instigation of the Director of the Ordnance Survey General William Roy ....
project. That measured a base line from King's Arbour, across Hounslow Heath
Hounslow Heath
Hounslow Heath is a public open space and local nature reserve to the west of Hounslow, a London borough. It now covers about , the residue of the historic Hounslow Heath that covered over .-History:...
passing through Hanworth Park, to Hampton
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...
Poor House. This measurement, which earned the General the Copley medal of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, was the origin of all subsequent surveys of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and still forms the basis of the Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
maps today.
In 1797 the manor house was destroyed by fire, leaving only the stable block, which survives today as flats, and the coach house, which was converted into homes. Tudor House was built in 1875 as a replacement for the house that was built in the manor ruins, and is today used as flats.
By the end of the 19th century, William Whiteley
William Whiteley
William Whiteley was a British entrepreneur of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the founder of Whiteleys department store.-Early life:...
, of Whiteleys
Whiteleys
Whiteleys is a shopping centre in London, England. It was London's first department store, located in the Bayswater area. The store's main entrance was located on Queensway.-History:...
in Bayswater
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area of west London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the west . It is a built-up district located 3 miles west-north-west of Charing Cross, bordering the north of Hyde Park over Kensington Gardens and having a population density of...
, had bought 200 acre (0.809372 km²) of farmland that had previously been Butts and Glebe farms. Renamed Hanworth Farms, these supplied all the produce for the store’s food hall having been transported daily by horse and cart. Following Whiteley's murder by his illegitimate son in 1907, his legitimate sons sold the farm to a jam manufacturer who operated there until selling the land for new homes in 1933.
Hanworth Aerodrome
Hanworth AerodromeLondon Air Park
London Air Park, also known as Hanworth Air Park, was a grass airfield, operational 1917-1919 and 1929-1947. It was situated on the southeastern edge of Feltham, now part of the London Borough of Hounslow...
was a grass airfield, operational 1917-1919 and 1929-1947. It was situated in Hanworth Park, that includes the grounds of Hanworth Park House, an 1802 rebuild of Hanworth Palace. In the 1930s, named London Air Park, it was best known as a centre for private flying, society events, the aircraft manufacture by General Aircraft Limited
General Aircraft Limited
General Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1931 to amalgamation with Blackburn Aircraft in 1949 to become Blackburn and General...
(GAL) 1934-1949, and the visit by the Graf Zeppelin
Graf Zeppelin
Graf Zeppelin may refer to:*Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin , German officer and engineer, founder of the Zeppelin airship company *LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, the first airship named after Count Zeppelin...
airship in 1932. Feltham District Council purchased the park in 1956. Feltham Swimming Baths was built on parkland beside the Uxbridge Road in 1965, later refurbished and renamed Feltham Airparcs Leisure Centre.. That public sports facility was renamed in 2010 as Hanworth Air Park Leisure Centre & Library
1970s
The construction of the M3M3 motorway
The M3 motorway runs in England for approximately from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, to Southampton, Hampshire and forms an unsigned section European route E05. It is dual three lanes as far as Junction 8 near Basingstoke and then dual two lane until Junction 9 near Winchester and then dual three...
feeder road in the 1970s cut Hanworth in two; in preparation for this, the library was relocated to Mount Corner, opposite the Hanworth Park House icehouse mound, Forge Lane Infants and Junior School was built on the south side of the new road, and the war memorial was relocated.
Transport
The nearest railway stations serving the area are Kempton Park railway stationKempton Park railway station
Kempton Park railway station, in the Spelthorne district of Surrey, is on the Shepperton branch line. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains....
, Feltham railway station
Feltham railway station
Feltham railway station is in Feltham, in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was opened in 1848 by the Windsor Staines and South Western Railway . It is in Travelcard Zone 6. A regular bus service runs from Feltham to Heathrow Airport.-Facilities:A footbridge in the station with lifts connects the...
, Sunbury railway station
Sunbury railway station
Sunbury railway station is in the Spelthorne district of Surrey, England. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains.There is a manned ticket office on the London-bound platform and there ticket vending machines...
and Hampton railway station
Hampton railway station
Hampton railway station, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is on the Shepperton branch line. It is in Travelcard Zone 6. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains.- Services:...
.
Notable Residents
Former British Gymnastics Champion and Barcelona 1992 Olympian Rowena Roberts.External links
- Kenny Farmer's new Hanworth History website Hanworth Now And Then