Did you know Stanwell’s history stretches back to the Domesday Book of 1086? It was then known as Stanwelle. Walter son of Othere held it. Its assets included mills and weirs producing hundreds of eels.
Stanwell has two possible origin stories. Some say it’s named after St Ann’s well. But records always show the church dedicated to St Mary. Others believe it means stone well referencing stony soil.
Now I want to tell you about Stanwell and how it changed. Three times in the 20th century its size was reduced. Land was taken for reservoirs around 1900. Then, Heathrow Airport expanded. Finally in 1995 Poyle was reassigned after the M25 completion.
Let’s talk about Thomas Knyvet. In 1603 he was granted the manor of Stanwell. Knyvet famously arrested Guy Fawkes. He established a free school in Stanwell in 1624. The old school building still stands today. It is now residential flats.
Interestingly James I’s daughter Mary died here in Stanwell. She was under the care of the Knyvet household. The Cox’s Orange Pippin apple originated here. Richard Cox first grew it around 1830. His garden was on the Bath Road.
An unknown rose species was discovered in Stanwell in 1838. It was named Stanwell Perpetual.
Hounslow Heath once stretched over the area. It was north of Bedfont Road. But that changed in 1792.
The Staines and West Drayton Railway opened in 1884. Colnbrook railway station was in Stanwell parish. It served Poyle. Small houses sprang up behind the Crooked Billet roundabout in the 1880s.
The Staines Union Workhouse was built on London Road in the mid-19th century. Later it became Ashford Hospital. The Staines Reservoirs were completed in 1902. They began supplying water to London in 1904.
Stanwell grew with council housing estates in 1919. Stanwell Moor followed in 1930.
A private motor-bus served Stanwell by 1926. London Transport buses arrived in 1932.
After World War II housing societies and councils built homes. This included 300 pre-fabricated houses.
Stanwell’s civil parish was active. It helped negotiate reservoir construction. It provided allotments in 1918. It created a recreation ground in 1927. The council protested its inclusion in Staines Urban District. But it happened anyway.
Today Stanwell is near Heathrow Airport. Industry and distribution are major parts of the local economy.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Norman building. It features a Gothic chancel. It also has a Perpendicular Gothic tower. Inside are monuments to the Knyvet family. They foiled the Gunpowder Plot.
Stanwell Place was a grand manor house. It stood west of the church. King Faisal II of Iraq once owned it. Sadly it was demolished in the 1960s.
Stanwell has seen many changes. From its rural roots to its modern connections. It is a village with a rich and interesting past.