145-534: The Hampton Court branch line is a 1-mile-52-ch (2.7 km) railway branch line in north Surrey , England. It runs from its terminus, Hampton Court station in East Molesey , via an intermediate station at Thames Ditton to a junction on the South Western Main Line , near Surbiton . The line is double tracked and is electrified using the 750 V DC third-rail system. The line was constructed by
290-464: A V-2 flying bomb on 2 November 1944, closed the branch for two days. By the end of the 19th century, the line was controlled from a 20-lever signal box adjacent to the level crossing at the southern end of Hampton Court station and a six-lever signal box in the main station building at Thames Ditton. A new signal box was constructed at Hampton Court in 1957 and became fully operational on 15 September 1958. Colour light signalling controlled from Surbiton
435-683: A cremation burial at the centre, were found at Knowle Green in 2021. A further ring ditch, around 21 m (69 ft) in diameter, was found during excavations of the Majestic House site, close to the eastern end of the High Street. A Bronze Age field system at Hengrove Farm was also cultivated during the Iron Age , but fell out of use around the start of the Roman period . There is also evidence of an early Iron Age enclosure on Staines Moor and finds from
580-399: A grade-separated junction with the South Western Main Line ,13 miles 27 ch (21.5 km) down the line from London Waterloo . The maximum speed on the branch is 45 mph (72 km/h) in the down direction (away from London) and 40 mph (64 km/h) in the up direction. There is one level crossing on the line, immediately to the south of the terminus, and the majority of
725-658: A Roman milestone on the London to Silchester road that survived into the early Anglo-Saxon period . In order to promote the town's "riverside image" and to distance it from its association with the fictional character, Ali G , Spelthorne Borough Council voted in December 2011 to change its name from "Staines" to "Staines-upon-Thames". The formal renaming ceremony, conducted by the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey , Dame Sarah Goad , took place on 20 May 2012. The Royal Mail adopted
870-421: A causeway was constructed at Egham Hythe to improve the southern approach to the crossing. Also during the 13th century, there were renewals of the grant of pontage and, in 1376, tolls were levied on boat traffic to provide additional funds for maintenance. Local people left bequests for not only the repair of the bridge, but also the upkeep of the roads leading to it on each side of the river. The bridge
1015-478: A dense pine and birch forest. A Neolithic causewayed enclosure , about 800 metres ( 1 ⁄ 2 mile) west of St Mary's Church, was identified by aerial photography in 1959. The site, on a gravel island in the Colne river delta, 16 m (52 ft) AOD, consisted of two concentric , subcircular ditches, with a probable main entrance at the southeastern side. Pottery sherds and worked flints were found on
1160-437: A factory on the site of the 13th-century Hale Mill. At the end of the 20th century, Staines became infamous as the home town of the fictional film and television character, Ali G . Although many local residents felt that the town's reputation was suffering through its association with the character, Sacha Baron Cohen , the creator of Ali G, praised Staines for being a "lovely, leafy, middle-class suburb... where swans swim under
1305-412: A few years later at least part of it was subject to Mercia, since in 673–675 further lands were given to Chertsey Abbey by Frithuwald , a local sub-king ( subregulus ) ruling under the sovereignty of Wulfhere of Mercia . A decade later Surrey passed into the hands of King Caedwalla of Wessex, who also conquered Kent and Sussex, and founded a monastery at Farnham in 686. The region remained under
1450-448: A fortified burh and the location of a minster church . A late-Saxon execution cemetery on London Road, containing the incomplete remains of up to thirty skeletons, suggests that the town was also an important local centre for the administration of justice. For much of the early Saxon period, the Thames through Staines marked the border between Middlesex (to the north) and Surrey (to
1595-629: A local school board was established and three years later, the Local Government Act 1888 created the Middlesex County Council . An Urban District Council (UDC) and a Rural District Council (RDC) for the area were established in 1895 under the Local Government Act 1894 , but the RDC was merged into the UDC in 1930. Further reorganisation of the local authorities took place in the second half of
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#17328519175551740-518: A major employer in the town. Brewing ceased in Staines in the 1950s, but bottling continued at the plant until the 1970s. Staines became a centre for linoleum manufacture in 1864, when Frederick Walton , the inventor, opened the first factory to produce the floor covering on the Hale Mill site, to the north of the town centre. At its height in the 1920s, the Staines plant covered 20 ha (49 acres) and
1885-616: A national average of 11.8% and as such is one of the few counties not to recommend new woodlands in the subordinate planning authorities' plans.In 2020 the Surrey Heath district had the highest proportion of tree cover in England at 41%. Surrey also contains England's principal concentration of lowland heath , on sandy soils in the west of the county. Agriculture not being intensive, there are many commons and access lands, together with an extensive network of footpaths and bridleways including
2030-615: A possession of the Crown, allowing Henry VIII to extend his Windsor hunting grounds further to the east. In 1613, James I granted the manor to Thomas Knyvet , who had arrested Guy Fawkes at the Palace of Westminster eight years earlier. Following Knyvet's death, Staines passed to Sir Francis Leigh and, following the Restoration of the Monarchy , it was held briefly by Sir William Drake. The manor
2175-550: A raiding force at Thanet , but suffered heavy losses including their ealdorman , Huda. In 892 Surrey was the scene of another major battle when a large Danish army, variously reported at 200, 250 and 350 ship-loads, moved west from its encampment in Kent and raided in Hampshire and Berkshire. Withdrawing with their loot, the Danes were intercepted and defeated at Farnham by an army led by Alfred
2320-566: A residence for the Bishop of Winchester , while other stone castles were constructed in the same period at Bletchingley by the de Clares and at Reigate by the Warennes. During King John 's struggle with the barons , Magna Carta was issued in June 1215 at Runnymede near Egham . John's efforts to reverse this concession reignited the war, and in 1216 the barons invited Prince Louis of France to take
2465-565: A royal burial church and endowed it with around 60 estates in the south east of England. Staines was one of the properties granted to the Abbey and remained in its possession until the Reformation . In 1086, the manor appears in the Middlesex section of Domesday Book as Stanes . In 1086, the manor had land for 24 ploughs , six mills and woodland for 30 pigs. It provided an annual income of £35 for
2610-429: A steam-hauled service from Dorchester . It is unclear whether this method of operation was a regular occurrence in the first few years after opening. The railway historian, Alan A. Jackson, suggests that horse-power may have been used to mitigate an unstable embankment or because of an initial lack of locomotives. On opening, Hampton Court railway station had two platforms – one for arrivals and one for departures. It
2755-467: A typical journey time between Waterloo and Hampton Court of around 50 minutes. The return fare was 5 s . A letter published in The Times on 13 February 1849 by a correspondent writing under the pseudonym , Medicus, reported that, a few days earlier, the 12:45 departure from Hampton Court had been hauled by a horse. Once the carriage had reached the junction with the main line, it had then been attached to
2900-562: Is a ceremonial county in South East England . It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the west. The largest settlement is Woking . The county has an area of 1,663 km (642 square miles) and a population of 1,214,540. Much of the north of the county forms part of the Greater London Built-up Area , which includes
3045-473: Is a non-metropolitan county with eleven districts. The county historically included much of south-west Greater London but excluded what is now the borough of Spelthorne , which was part of Middlesex . It is one of the home counties . The defining geographical feature of the county is the North Downs , a chalk escarpment which runs from the south-west to north-east and divides the densely populated north from
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#17328519175553190-401: Is based in the town. The modern settlement of Staines appears to have originated in the late 12th century, when the area around the High Street was developed as a planned town, possibly in response to rebuilding the bridge over the Thames. The medieval street plan was not altered until the re-siting of the bridge in the 1830s, at which point the urban area began to spread beyond the confines of
3335-474: Is divided in two by the chalk ridge of the North Downs , running east–west. The ridge is pierced by the rivers Wey and Mole , tributaries of the Thames, which formed the northern border of the county before modern redrawing of county boundaries, which has left part of its north bank within the county. To the north of the Downs the land is mostly flat, forming part of the basin of the Thames. The geology of this area
3480-659: Is dominated by London Clay in the east, Bagshot Sands in the west and alluvial deposits along the rivers. To the south of the Downs in the western part of the county are the sandstone Surrey Hills , while further east is the plain of the Low Weald , rising in the extreme southeast to the edge of the hills of the High Weald. The Downs and the area to the south form part of a concentric pattern of geological deposits which also extends across southern Kent and most of Sussex, predominantly composed of Wealden Clay , Lower Greensand and
3625-613: Is the Thames , which historically formed the boundary between the county and Middlesex . As a result of the 1965 boundary changes , many of the Surrey boroughs on the south bank of the river were transferred to Greater London , shortening the length associated with the county. The Thames now forms the Surrey– Berkshire border between Runnymede and Staines-upon-Thames , before flowing wholly within Surrey to Sunbury , from which point it marks
3770-637: The Nox gaga and Oht gaga peoples in the Tribal Hidage may refer to two groups living in the vicinity of Surrey. Together their lands were assessed at a total of 7,000 hides , equal to the assessment for Sussex or Essex . Surrey may have formed part of a larger Middle Saxon kingdom or confederacy, also including areas north of the Thames. The name Surrey is derived from Sūþrīge (or Suthrige ), meaning "southern region" (while Bede refers to it as Sudergeona ) and this may originate in its status as
3915-597: The Battle of Hastings , the Norman army advanced through Kent into Surrey, where they defeated an English force which attacked them at Southwark and then burned that suburb. Rather than try to attack London across the river, the Normans continued west through Surrey, crossed the Thames at Wallingford in Berkshire and descended on London from the north-west. As was the case across England,
4060-577: The Battle of Lewes in Sussex. Although the rebels were victorious, soon after the battle royal forces captured and destroyed Bletchingley Castle, whose owner Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester , was de Montfort's most powerful ally. By the 14th century, castles were of dwindling military importance, but remained a mark of social prestige, leading to the construction of castles at Starborough near Lingfield by Lord Cobham , and at Betchworth by John Fitzalan , whose father had recently inherited
4205-559: The College of God's Gift in Dulwich with an endowment including an art collection, which was later expanded and opened to the public in 1817, becoming Britain's first public art gallery . Staines-upon-Thames Staines-upon-Thames is a market town in northwest Surrey , England, around 17 miles (28 kilometres) west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne , at the confluence of
4350-483: The London and South Western Railway primarily to cater for tourists visiting Hampton Court Palace and opened in 1849. All trains are operated by South Western Railway (SWR) and run to and from London Waterloo via Surbiton and Clapham Junction . SWR manages both stations on the branch. The Hampton Court branch line is a double track railway line in north Surrey , England. It runs for 1 mile 52 ch (2.7 km) from its terminus at Hampton Court station to
4495-571: The North Downs Way , a scenic long-distance path . Accordingly, Surrey provides many rural and semi-rural leisure activities, with a large horse population in modern terms. The highest elevation in Surrey is Leith Hill near Dorking . It is 295 m (968 ft) above sea level and is the second highest point in southeastern England after Walbury Hill in West Berkshire which is 297 m (974 ft). The longest river to enter Surrey
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4640-695: The River Eden , a tributary of the Medway , are in Tandridge District , in east Surrey. The River Colne and its anabranch , the Wraysbury River , make a brief appearance in the north of the county to join the Thames at Staines. Like the rest of the British Isles , Surrey has a maritime climate with warm summers and cool winters. The Met Office weather station at Wisley , about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to
4785-666: The River Thames and Colne . Historically part of Middlesex , the town was transferred to Surrey in 1965. Staines is close to Heathrow Airport and is linked to the national motorway network by the M25 and M3 . The town is part of the Greater London Built-up Area . The earliest evidence of human activity in the area is from the Paleolithic and, during the Neolithic , there was a causewayed enclosure on Staines Moor . The first bridge across
4930-523: The Wraysbury River , an anabranch of the River Colne, is thought to have been the location of a late-medieval dye works and part of the mill was used for fulling in the 14th century. First recorded in 1682, Pound Mill was also on the Wraysbury River. It was bought by John Finch in 1747 and was a flour mill until the early 19th century, when it was used to grind mustard . The mill is immortalised in
5075-491: The de Clare family. In 1088, King William II granted William de Warenne the title of Earl of Surrey as a reward for Warenne's loyalty during the rebellion that followed the death of William I . When the male line of the Warennes became extinct in the 14th century, the earldom was inherited by the Fitzalan Earls of Arundel . The Fitzalan line of Earls of Surrey died out in 1415, but after other short-lived revivals in
5220-415: The medieval bridge and was the nucleus of the Roman town. St Mary's Church , on "Binbury island" to the northwest of the centre, is thought to have been the focus of settlement activity in the late-Saxon period. Elevations below 13.5 m (44 ft) AOD were liable to flooding until the early 19th century and many areas of gravel are covered by muddy silts and sands. There are brickearth deposits to
5365-424: The suburbs within the M25 motorway as well as Woking (103,900), Guildford (77,057), and Leatherhead (32,522). The west of the county contains part of built-up area which includes Camberley , Farnham , and Frimley and which extends into Hampshire and Berkshire. The south of the county is rural, and its largest settlements are Horley (22,693) and Godalming (22,689). For local government purposes Surrey
5510-459: The 15th century the title was conferred in 1483 on the Howard family , who still hold it. However, Surrey was not a major focus of any of these families' interests. Guildford Castle , one of many fortresses originally established by the Normans to help them subdue the country, was rebuilt in stone and developed as a royal palace in the 12th century. Farnham Castle was built during the 12th century as
5655-460: The 16th century and collapsed in the 17th, harmed by falling standards and competition from more effective producers in other parts of England. The iron industry in the Weald, whose rich deposits had been exploited since prehistoric times, expanded and spread from its base in Sussex into Kent and Surrey after 1550. New furnace technology stimulated further growth in the early 17th century, but this hastened
5800-661: The 16th-century Dissolution of the Monasteries . Now fallen into disuse, some English counties had nicknames for those raised there such as a 'tyke' from Yorkshire , or a 'yellowbelly' from Lincolnshire . In the case of Surrey, the term was a 'Surrey capon', from Surrey's role in the later Middle Ages as the county where chickens were fattened up for the London meat markets. Under the early Tudor kings, magnificent royal palaces were constructed in northeastern Surrey, conveniently close to London. At Richmond an existing royal residence
5945-521: The 17th century, the roles of Justices of the Peace were expanded to take greater responsibility for law and order in Staines. The modern system of local government began to emerge during the 19th century. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 transferred responsibility for poor relief to the Poor Law Commission , whose local powers were delegated to the newly formed poor law union in 1836. In 1885
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6090-477: The 20th century, there were large-scale improvements to the road network around Staines. The A30 bypass was constructed in the early 1960s and included the building of Runnymede Bridge over the Thames. A second bridge, alongside the first, was required for the construction of the M25 . The route of the motorway north of Staines was constrained by the Wraysbury Reservoir to the west and Staines Moor to
6235-589: The 20th century. Under the London Government Act 1963 , Middlesex County Council was disbanded and the Staines UDC area was moved into Surrey. The Local Government Act 1972 , which came into force on 1 April 1974, merged the Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames UDCs to form the Borough of Spelthorne . The first surviving mention of a bridge from the medieval period is a document from 1222, that authorises repairs using wood cut from Windsor Forest. In around 1250,
6380-409: The Abbey. Since it was relatively close to Westminster, Staines acted as a home farm , providing for the abbot's personal household. 13th-century abbey records indicate that a market was taking place by 1218 and, in 1225, there were 46 burgesses living in the settlement, suggesting that Staines had become an important local centre. Westminster Abbey was dissolved in 1540 and Staines then became
6525-558: The Catuvellauni died and war broke out between his sons and King Verica of the Atrebates. The Atrebates were defeated, their capital captured and their lands made subject to Togodumnus , king of the Catuvellauni, ruling from Camulodunum ( Colchester ). Verica fled to Gaul and appealed for Roman aid. The Atrebates were allied with Rome during the invasion of Britain in AD ;43. During
6670-650: The Earldom of Surrey. Though Reigate and Bletchingley remained modest settlements, the role of their castles as local centres for the two leading aristocratic interests in Surrey had enabled them to gain borough status by the early 13th century. As a result, they gained representation in Parliament when it became established towards the end of that century, alongside the more substantial urban settlements of Guildford and Southwark. Surrey's third sizeable town, Kingston, despite its size, borough status and historical association with
6815-593: The East Saxon diocese of London , indicating that it was under East Saxon rule at that time, but was later transferred to the West Saxon diocese of Winchester . Its most important religious institution throughout the Anglo-Saxon period and beyond was Chertsey Abbey , founded in 666. At this point Surrey was evidently under Kentish domination, as the abbey was founded under the patronage of King Ecgberht of Kent. However,
6960-624: The Great 's son Edward, the future King Edward the Elder , and fled across the Thames towards Essex. Surrey remained safe from attack for over a century thereafter, due to its location and to the growing power of the West Saxon, later English, kingdom. Kingston was the scene for the coronations of Æthelstan in 924 and of Æthelred the Unready in 978, and, according to later tradition, also of other 10th-century Kings of England. The renewed Danish attacks during
7105-497: The Kentish rebel army. In 1082 a Cluniac abbey was founded at Bermondsey by Alwine, a wealthy English citizen of London. Waverley Abbey near Farnham, founded in 1128, was the first Cistercian monastery in England. Over the next quarter-century monks spread out from here to found new houses, creating a network of twelve monasteries descended from Waverley across southern and central England. The 12th and early 13th centuries also saw
7250-557: The LSWR reported that the branch had cost £36,189 8s 4d to build and that revenue for the first six months had totalled £564. In August 1851, the company stated that it had been disappointed with the financial performance of the line in its first two years of operation, but expressed the expectation that passenger numbers would rise. The station at Thames Ditton opened in November 1851. The station building and station master’s house were built into
7395-527: The Midlands in the mid-17th century, but the manufacture of paper and gunpowder proved more enduring. For a time in the mid-17th century the Surrey mills were the main producers of gunpowder in England. A glass industry also developed in the mid-16th century on the southwestern borders of Surrey, but had collapsed by 1630, as the wood-fired Surrey glassworks were surpassed by emerging coal-fired works elsewhere in England. The Wey Navigation , opened in 1653,
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#17328519175557540-458: The Molesey area, published in 1870, shows that the terminus had a single arrivals line with platforms on both sides. There was a turntable at the northernmost point of the line and an engine shed on the eastern side of the line. An 1897 map shows a short extension to a wharf beside the Thames, although this appears to have been removed by 1914. The turntable is absent from the 1897 map. A new engine shed
7685-669: The River Thames. Construction of the sewerage system began in 1899. The works closed in 1936, when the town sewers were connected to Mogden Sewage Works in Isleworth . The Staines and Egham Gas Light and Coke Company was formed in 1834. It began to supply gas from its works in Bedfont Lane in Egham Hythe to the streetlamps on Staines Bridge in February of that year and the gas main to Staines
7830-484: The Roman era, the only important settlement within the historic area of Surrey was the London suburb of Southwark (now part of Greater London ), but there were small towns at Staines , Ewell , Dorking , Croydon and Kingston upon Thames . Remains of Roman rural temples have been excavated on Farley Heath and near Wanborough and Titsey , and possible temple sites at Chiddingfold , Betchworth and Godstone . The area
7975-553: The Roman period. Following the end of Roman rule in Britain , the main settlement at Staines appears to have shifted from the High Street area to the Binbury area surrounding St Mary's Church. Archaeological evidence, including pits, ditches and pottery sherds suggests that there was a permanent settlement in this area by the mid-Saxon period and there may have been a marketplace at the northern end of Church Street. Staines may have been
8120-553: The Sherriff of Middlesex was ordered to change the day on which it was held from Sunday to Friday. It had been discontinued by 1862, but re-established ten years later when the Town Hall was built. In 2022, the market is held in the High Street on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. An annual fair to be held in the settlement was granted to Westminster Abbey by Henry III in 1228. Initially it took place over four days at Ascensiontide , but
8265-501: The Staines South and Ashford West electoral division. Staines is divided between three wards, each of which elects three councillors to Spelthorne Borough Council . The wards are Staines, Staines South, and Riverside and Laleham. The Borough of Spelthorne has been twinned with Melun , France since 1990 and with Grand Port , Mauritius since 2009. Across the South East Region , 28% of homes were detached houses and 22.6% were apartments. The first drinking water supply to Staines
8410-416: The Surrey–Greater London border as far as Surbiton . The River Wey is the longest tributary of the Thames above London. Other tributaries of the Thames with their courses partially in Surrey include the Mole , the Addlestone branch and Chertsey branch of the River Bourne (which merge shortly before joining the Thames), and the Hogsmill River , which drains Epsom and Ewell . The upper reaches of
8555-417: The Thames and Colne are thought to have had multiple channels during this period, which may have necessitated the building of more than one bridge. There was a settlement in the area surrounding the modern High Street and, although the date of its foundation is uncertain, the earliest archaeological evidence is from 54–96 AD, corresponding to the reign of Nero and the period of the Flavian Dynasty . By
8700-465: The Thames at Staines is thought to have been built by the Romans and there was a settlement in the area around the modern High Street by the end of the 1st century CE . Throughout the Middle Ages, Staines was primarily an agricultural settlement and was held by Westminster Abbey . The first surviving record of a market is from 1218, but one may have taken place near St Mary's Church in the Anglo-Saxon period . The industrialisation of Staines began in
8845-475: The Two Rivers Shopping Centre, on the site of the old linoleum works, was opened in 2002. In the 21st century, proximity to London, Heathrow Airport and the M25 motorway has attracted large company branch offices, including: Bupa (healthcare) and Wood plc (oil & gas). Siemens Building Automation Division and British Gas (part of Centrica ) have their national headquarters here. Samsung R&D Institute UK (SRUK), Samsung's UK R&D division,
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#17328519175558990-417: The aircraft, including the six crew members, were killed. Two memorials to all the victims were dedicated on 18 June 2004 in Staines. The first is a stained-glass window in St Mary's Church where an annual memorial service is held on 18 June. The second is a garden near the end of Waters Drive in the Moormede Estate, close to the accident site. The first record of a market at Staines is from 1218, when
9135-411: The beautiful bridge". Partly in response to the reaction to the character, Spelthorne Borough Council voted in 2011 to add the suffix "upon-Thames" to the name. The earliest document to refer to Staines is the Antonine Itinerary , thought to have been written in the early 3rd century AD, in which the location appears as Pontibus , meaning "at the bridges". The first surviving records of Staines from
9280-408: The capital boosted the wealth and population of the surrounding area, but urban development elsewhere was sapped by the overshadowing predominance of London and by the lack of direct access to the sea. Population pressure in the 12th and 13th centuries initiated the gradual clearing of the Weald , the forest spanning the borders of Surrey, Sussex and Kent, which had hitherto been left undeveloped due to
9425-445: The chalk of the Downs. Much of Surrey is in the Metropolitan Green Belt . It contains valued reserves of mature woodland (reflected in the official logo of Surrey County Council, a pair of interlocking oak leaves). Among its many notable beauty spots are Box Hill , Leith Hill , Frensham Ponds , Newlands Corner and Puttenham & Crooksbury Commons . Surrey is the most wooded county in England, with 22.4% coverage compared to
9570-434: The closest railway station to the palace was Esher , initially called Ditton Marsh and recorded as "Esher for Hampton Court" in Bradshaw's Guide of 1839. In the mid-1840s, the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) proposed the construction of a branch from the main line with a terminus on the south side of the River Thames at East Molesey to better serve the palace. The company chairman, William Chaplin , noted that
9715-405: The conquest of England by Cnut. Cnut's death in 1035 was followed by a period of political uncertainty, as the succession was disputed between his sons. In 1036 Alfred , son of King Æthelred, returned from Normandy , where he had been taken for safety as a child at the time of Cnut's conquest of England. It is uncertain what his intentions were, but after landing with a small retinue in Sussex he
9860-463: The control of Caedwalla's successor Ine in the early 8th century. Its political history for most of the 8th century is unclear, although West Saxon control may have broken down around 722, but by 784–785 it had passed into the hands of King Offa of Mercia. Mercian rule continued until 825, when following his victory over the Mercians at the Battle of Ellandun , King Egbert of Wessex seized control of Surrey, along with Sussex, Kent and Essex. It
10005-411: The county administration was moved to Newington in 1791 and to Kingston upon Thames in 1893. The county council's headquarters were outside the county's boundaries from 1 April 1965, when Kingston and other areas were included within Greater London by the London Government Act 1963 , until the administration moved to Reigate at the start of 2021. Before Roman times the area today known as Surrey
10150-462: The dates were changed to 7–10 September in 1241. By 1792, there were two one-day fairs each year, the first on 11 May for horses and cattle and the second on 19 September, known as the Onion Fair, for produce and trinkets . The fairs were abolished in 1896 by the Home Secretary at the request of the Staines UDC. Domesday Book records six mills in Staines in 1086, one of which is thought to have been at Yeoveney on Staines Moor. The site, close to
10295-484: The difficulty of farming on its heavy clay soil. Surrey's most significant source of prosperity in the later Middle Ages was the production of woollen cloth, which emerged during that period as England's main export industry. The county was an early centre of English textile manufacturing, benefiting from the presence of deposits of fuller's earth , the rare mineral composite important in the process of finishing cloth, around Reigate and Nutfield . The industry in Surrey
10440-498: The disastrous reign of Æthelred led to the devastation of Surrey by the army of Thorkell the Tall , which ravaged all of southeastern England in 1009–1011. The climax of this wave of attacks came in 1016, which saw prolonged fighting between the forces of King Edmund Ironside and the Danish king Cnut , including an English victory over the Danes somewhere in northeastern Surrey, but ended with
10585-506: The east of the town, along the A30, and outcrops of alluvium to the north and south. The earliest evidence of human activity in Staines is from the Paleolithic . Flint blades , along with reindeer and horse bone fragments, have been found during excavations at Church Lammas, to the west of the town centre. During the Mesolithic , the area around Staines is thought to have been covered with
10730-632: The east side of the embankment adjacent to the London-bound platform. The opening of the Hampton Court branch line was slow to promote residential development in the area. Housebuilding began in the Kent Town neighbourhood of East Molesey in the 1860s and in the Thames Ditton area in the final decade of the 19th century. Further substantial suburban growth occurred during the interwar period . A map of
10875-438: The establishment of Augustinian priories at Merton , Newark , Tandridge , Southwark and Reigate. A Dominican friary was established at Guildford by Henry III's widow Eleanor of Provence , in memory of her grandson who had died at Guildford in 1274. In the 15th century a Carthusian priory was founded by King Henry V at Sheen . These would all perish, along with the still important Benedictine abbey of Chertsey , in
11020-586: The event. Six trains ran each hour from Waterloo off peak to bring visitors to the show from central London and a spokesperson for Network SouthEast later confirmed that the operator had recouped the cost of the sponsorship from fares. The Network Southeast subsidy for the flower show ended after the July 1992 event. The Hampton Court branch line is proposed to be incorporated into Crossrail 2 . [REDACTED] Media related to Hampton Court Branch Line at Wikimedia Commons Surrey Surrey ( / ˈ s ʌr i / )
11165-458: The extinction of the business as the mines were worked out. However, this period also saw the emergence of important new industries, centred on the valley of the Tillingbourne , south-east of Guildford, which often adapted watermills originally built for the now moribund cloth industry. The production of brass goods and wire in this area was relatively short-lived, falling victim to competitors in
11310-460: The fire authority for the local area in 1965. The first surviving record of a town gaol in Staines is from 1274 and the erection of a new pillory and ducking stool is described in 1335. There were stocks in the Market Square through the 16th century until at least 1790. The vestry appointed the town Constable from the early 15th century until 1840, when responsibility for law enforcement
11455-418: The flow of the river and increased its depth to facilitate navigation, whilst maintaining an adequate head of water to power mills . With the exception of the construction of the causeway at Egham Hythe in the mid-13th century, there were few improvements in the local road network in the millennium following the end of the Roman period . In 1727, the turnpike road from Hounslow to Bagshot , which crossed
11600-410: The gravel islands. The population of Staines grew from 1,750 in 1801 to 2,487 in 1841 and 4,638 in 1881. The increase in the second half of the 19th century was stimulated in part by the arrival of the railway in 1848. Cottages for artisans and semi-skilled workers began to spread along the London and Kingston Roads from the mid-19th century onwards. The residential roads to the south and southeast of
11745-449: The intention had been to create a junction with the line from Datchet and for trains to serve the main Staines station, but inter-company rivalry meant that a separate facility was built instead. The freight yard closed in the 1950s and passenger services ceased in March 1965. Trains continued to run to the Staines fuel yard , at Staines West, until the early 1990s. During the second half of
11890-440: The largest landowners in Surrey (then Sudrie ) at the end of Edward's reign were Chertsey Abbey and Harold Godwinson , Earl of Wessex and later king, followed by the estates of King Edward himself. Apart from the abbey, most of whose lands were within the shire, Surrey was not the principal focus of any major landowner's holdings, a tendency which was to persist in later periods. Given the vast and widespread landed interests and
12035-405: The line is built on an embankment , which reaches a maximum height of 18 ft (5.5 m) above the surrounding ground level. The line is electrified using the 750 V DC third-rail system. Signalling is controlled by Woking signal box and Track Circuit Block is in operation. There are two stations on the branch, both of which have two operational platforms. Hampton Court railway station,
12180-462: The line is typically Class 455 electrical multiple units . Trains typically travel the length of the branch in seven minutes and reach London Waterloo from Hampton Court in around 35-40 minutes. Hampton Court Palace was opened to the public by Queen Victoria in 1838. On 21 May of that year, the first part of the South West Main Line opened between Nine Elms and Woking Common. At first,
12325-440: The local authority and, in 1800, a new manual fire engine was purchased by the Staines force. The Staines UDC purchased the first diesel engine for the brigade in 1926, which was replaced by a Leyland terrier pump escape engine in 1935. Middlesex County Council took over responsibility for local fire services on 1 April 1948, building a new fire station at Stanwell and closing the Staines station in 1962. Surrey County Council became
12470-422: The manufacture of munitions and the linoleum factory was dedicated to making military supplies. Much of the civil defence effort was focused on the defence of Staines Bridge and tank traps were installed at each end. At the start of the war, a Bailey bridge was constructed across the Thames, in case the main bridge was damaged by bombing. The Bailey bridge remained in use for pedestrians until 1959, when it
12615-449: The mid-17th century when Thomas Ashby established a brewery in the town. Improvements to the local transport network in the mid-19th century also stimulated an expansion of the local population. The current Staines Bridge , designed by George Rennie , was opened in 1832 by William IV and the first railway line through Staines opened in 1848. The town became a centre for linoleum manufacture in 1864, when Frederick Walton established
12760-444: The mid-1910s, trains accessing the branch had to cross the lines heading towards London on the flat. In July 1915, a flyover was opened, carrying the down branch line over the main lines on a 160 ft (49 m) steel truss girder bridge . The Hampton Court branch was included in the first phase of the LSWR suburban electrification programme and electric services began on 18 June 1916. Bomb damage to Hampton Court junction, caused by
12905-456: The mid-2nd century, Staines had increased in size and prosperity and the early Romano-British roundhouses had been replaced by stone buildings with flint and rag-stone foundations. Fragments of painted, plastered wall and floors of opus signinum have been uncovered, and the presence of tesserae indicates that at least one building had a mosaic floor. A collyrium stamp , found during an excavation of 73–75 High Street, suggests that there
13050-458: The monarchy, did not gain parliamentary representation until 1832. Surrey had little political or economic significance in the Middle Ages. Its agricultural wealth was limited by the infertility of most of its soils, and it was not the main power-base of any important aristocratic family, nor the seat of a bishopric. The London suburb of Southwark was a major urban settlement, and the proximity of
13195-509: The more rural south; it is pierced by the rivers Wey and Mole , both tributaries of the Thames . The north of the county is a lowland, part of the Thames basin. The south-east is part of the Weald , and the south-west contains the Surrey Hills and Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons , an extensive area of heath . The county has the densest woodland cover in England, at 22.4 per cent. Surrey
13340-447: The mouth of the Thames in a fleet of about 350 ships, which would have carried over 15,000 men. Having sacked Canterbury and London and defeated King Beorhtwulf of Mercia in battle, the Danes crossed the Thames into Surrey, but were slaughtered by a West Saxon army led by King Æthelwulf in the Battle of Aclea , bringing the invasion to an end. Two years later the men of Surrey marched into Kent to help their Kentish neighbours fight
13485-583: The national and international preoccupations of the monarchy and the earldom of Wessex, the Abbot of Chertsey was therefore probably the most important figure in the local elite. The Anglo-Saxon period saw the emergence of the shire's internal division into 14 hundreds , which continued until Victorian times. These were the hundreds of Blackheath , Brixton , Copthorne , Effingham Half-Hundred , Elmbridge , Farnham , Godalming , Godley , Kingston , Reigate , Tandridge , Wallington , Woking and Wotton . After
13630-488: The native ruling class of Surrey was virtually eliminated by Norman seizure of land. Only one significant English landowner, the brother of the last English Abbot of Chertsey, remained by the time the Domesday survey was conducted in 1086. At that time the largest landholding in Surrey, as in many other parts of the country, was the expanded royal estate, while the next largest holding belonged to Richard fitz Gilbert , founder of
13775-573: The necessary land was subject to compulsory purchase. The foundation stones were laid on each side of the river in September 1829 and William IV opened the bridge in April 1832. Tolls for crossing the bridge were abolished in 1871. The earliest locks on the upper Thames were built in the 17th century, following the establishment of the Oxford-Burcot Commission . However, efforts to improve
13920-468: The new line would "afford a fresh means of cheap and legitimate recreation to the poorer classes". The act of parliament authorising the construction of Hampton Court branch line was granted royal assent in July 1846 and the land required was purchased by the LSWR by August the following year. There was a delay before construction started, while the company debated whether to continue the branch towards Staines and Windsor . The engineer, Joseph Locke ,
14065-537: The new name in mid-2013. Staines-upon-Thames is in northwest Surrey , around 17 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (28 kilometres) from central London. It is close to the borders of Berkshire and Greater London . The town is linked to junction 13 of the M25 by the A30 and to the M3 by the A308 . The area surrounding the borough council offices and the magistrates' courts, to the southeast of
14210-488: The north of the county, extending to Guildford, is within the Greater London Built-up Area . This is an area of continuous urban sprawl linked without significant interruption of rural area to Greater London. In the west, there is a developing conurbation straddling the Hampshire/Surrey border, including the Surrey towns of Camberley and Farnham . Guildford is often regarded as the historic county town , although
14355-658: The north-east of Guildford, has recorded temperatures between 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) (August 2003) and −15.1 °C (4.8 °F) (January 1982). From 2006 until 2015, the Wisley weather station held the UK July record high of 36.5 °C (97.7 °F). Surrey has a population of approximately 1.1 million people. Its largest town is Woking with a population of 105,367, followed by Guildford with 77,057, and Walton-on-Thames with 66,566. Towns of between 30,000 and 50,000 inhabitants include Ewell , and Camberley . Much of
14500-579: The period, armies from Kent heading for London via Southwark passed through what were then the extreme north-eastern fringes of Surrey during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 and Cade's Rebellion in 1450, and at various stages of the Wars of the Roses in 1460, 1469 and 1471. The upheaval of 1381 also involved widespread local unrest in Surrey, as was the case all across south-eastern England, and some recruits from Surrey joined
14645-475: The post-Roman period are from 1066, when the settlement appears in two separate charters as Stana and Stane . In Domesday Book of 1086, the settlement is referred to as Stanes . It later appears as Stanis (1167), Stanys (1428), Steynys and Staynys (1535), before the modern spelling "Staines" is first used in 1578. The name derives from the Old English stān , meaning "stone", and may refer to
14790-535: The problems of the previous two bridges, it was costly to maintain (£11,000 in 1827) and restricted the width of boats passing beneath it. A further Act of Parliament in 1828, authorised the borrowing of up to £60,000 for the construction of a fourth bridge. The granite structure was designed by George Rennie and was based on Waterloo Bridge . Rennie insisted that the site of the crossing be moved upstream, where deeper foundations could be constructed. The repositioning required new approach roads to be constructed and
14935-462: The rebels heading for London briefly occupied Guildford and fought a skirmish with a government detachment on Guildown outside the town, before marching on to defeat at Blackheath in Kent. The forces of Wyatt's Rebellion in 1554 passed through what was then northeastern Surrey on their way from Kent to London, briefly occupying Southwark and then crossing the Thames at Kingston after failing to storm London Bridge. Surrey's cloth industry declined in
15080-509: The river via Staines Bridge, was opened. A second turnpike, from Staines to Kingston opened in 1773. The re-siting of the bridge by George Rennie in the early 1830s necessitated changes in the road network at the western end of the High Street: The Market Square became a no through road and Clarence Street was constructed to direct traffic to the new crossing. The railway line through Staines between Richmond and Datchet
15225-434: The road name, "Mustard Mill Road". Hale Mill, on the main channel of the Colne, is thought to have its origins in the 13th century, but it was rebuilt in 1388 and became a fulling mill in the 15th century. Many of the mills in the local area were purchased in the second half of the 18th century by Thomas Ashby, a miller originally from Maidenhead . Ashby founded a brewery , subsequently taken over by his sons, which became
15370-412: The site include pottery sherds , flints and animal bones, with evidence of burning having taken place there. Since Staines is located on the low-lying floodplain of the Thames, it is likely that historical flooding events have destroyed much of the archaeological evidence of pre-Roman human activity in the town centre. The Roman road from London to Silchester crossed the Thames in the Staines area. Both
15515-607: The site, as well as fragments of human bone. Other Neolithic artefacts from the local area include fragments of a jadeite axe, discovered on Staines Moor in the early 1980s, tentatively dated to c. 3500 – c. 1700 BCE. Deverel–Rimbury pottery from the Church Lammas lands indicates that the Staines area was settled in the Bronze Age and a roundhouse from the same period has been identified at Laleham . Two round barrow ring ditches , one of which had
15660-471: The social control exercised there by the local authorities of Surrey was less effective and restrictive than that of the City authorities. Bankside was the scene of the golden age of Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre , with the work of playwrights including William Shakespeare , Christopher Marlowe , Ben Jonson and John Webster performed in its playhouses. The leading actor and impresario Edward Alleyn founded
15805-541: The south). In the 9th century, the river was used by Danish Viking raiders to travel into the heart of England. In 993, the Norwegian King, Olaf Tryggvason , sailed up the Thames to Staines with a fleet of 93 ships. In 1009, a large army of Vikings attacked Oxford and retreated back along the banks of the Thames, crossing the river at Staines. Between 1042 and 1052, Edward the Confessor rebuilt Westminster Abbey as
15950-520: The southern portion of the Middle Saxon territory. If it ever existed, the Middle Saxon kingdom had disappeared by the 7th century, and Surrey became a frontier area disputed between the kingdoms of Kent , Essex, Sussex, Wessex and Mercia , until its permanent absorption by Wessex in 825. Despite this fluctuating situation it retained its identity as an enduring territorial unit. During the 7th century Surrey became Christian and initially formed part of
16095-559: The station was improved with the provision of an additional footbridge over the River Mole in 1905. Hampton Court Bridge , across the Thames, was constructed in mid-1930s, requiring the platforms at the river end of Hampton Court station to be cut back. The goods yard was reduced in size at around the same time and finally closed on 3 May 1965. The South West Main Line was quadrupled between Surbiton and Hampton Court Junction on 29 July 1883. Until
16240-404: The stretch of the river through Staines did not start until the 19th century. The pound lock at Penton Hook , a tight meander downstream of Staines, was constructed in 1815, but the weirs were not added until 1846. Bell Weir Lock , upstream of the town, opened in 1818, but was rebuilt in 1867-8 after the chamber walls had collapsed the previous year. The construction of the locks regulated
16385-403: The terminus, is 14 miles 76 ch (24.1 km) down the line from London Waterloo and Thames Ditton railway station is 14 miles 1 ch (22.6 km) from Waterloo. All platforms are at least 205 m (673 ft) long and are capable of accommodating 10-carriage trains. Both stations are managed by South Western Railway , which operates all services. The rolling stock used on
16530-513: The throne in 1042. This hostility peaked in 1051, when Godwin and his sons were driven into exile; returning the following year, the men of Surrey rose to support them, along with those of Sussex, Kent, Essex and elsewhere, helping them secure their reinstatement and the banishment of the king's Norman entourage. The repercussions of this antagonism helped bring about the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The Domesday Book records that
16675-449: The throne. Having landed in Kent and been welcomed in London, he advanced across Surrey to attack John, then at Winchester , occupying Reigate and Guildford castles along the way. Guildford Castle later became one of the favourite residences of King Henry III , who considerably expanded the palace there. During the baronial revolt against Henry, in 1264 the rebel army of Simon de Montfort passed southwards through Surrey on their way to
16820-458: The town centre were created in the early 1930s. Following the Second World War, there were new housing developments on Commercial Road and between Kingston Road and Elizabeth Avenue, primarily to provide accommodation for workers at the rapidly expanding Heathrow Airport. Despite its proximity to London and the fact that Staines Bridge and the local factories presented obvious enemy targets,
16965-486: The town centre, is known as Knowle Green. Egham Hythe , also in Surrey, is on the south side of the Thames and is linked to Staines by Staines Bridge . Staines town centre is close to the confluence of the rivers Colne and Thames . A former millstream , known as Sweeps Ditch, ran to the east of the High Street, but much of its course was diverted underground in the 20th century. Severe flooding events have taken place in Staines in 1894, 1947, and 2014. Much of
17110-402: The town is built on gravel "islands" that rise above the low-lying floodplains of the Thames and Colne. These gravel deposits have a typical maximum elevation of 14 m (46 ft) above ordnance datum (AOD) and are as little as 0.5 m (1.6 ft) above the surrounding floodplain. Staines High Street, oriented northeast to southwest, runs across one of these islands to the site of
17255-511: The town sustained relatively little bomb damage during the Second World War. There was a severe bombing raid on Staines on the night of 24–25 August 1940 and a V-1 flying bomb landed at the junction of Stanish Crescent and Kingston Road on 19 June 1944, killing four people and injuring a further 17. Within the Staines Urban District, a total 71 civilians died as result of enemy action. The Lagonda works at Egham Hythe were converted to
17400-587: The west. The Chertsey to Staines stretch of the M25 was opened in November 1981 with three lanes in each direction, but with a wide central reservation , allowing the road to be widened easily later. Four lanes in each direction were provided from outset between the A30 and the M4 . The Staines air disaster occurred on 18 June 1972, when a Hawker Siddeley Trident , operated by British European Airways , crashed shortly after takeoff from Heathrow Airport . All 118 people aboard
17545-578: Was a founding shareholder of the East India Company who became the company's Governor and later Lord Mayor of London . Southwark expanded rapidly in this period, and by 1600, if considered as a separate entity, it was the second-largest urban area in England, behind only London itself. Parts of it were outside the jurisdiction of the government of the City of London , and as a result the area of Bankside became London's principal entertainment district, since
17690-405: Was a healer living in the town, who could have administered to the wider local population. Staines declined towards the end of the 2nd century, possibly as a result of an increased incidence of winter flooding. Nevertheless, Romano-British settlement activity continued until the early 4th century, although the town appears to have been smaller and less important than it had been in the first half of
17835-539: Was a strong proponent of extending the line towards Berkshire , but after the rival Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway scheme was approved by parliament in 1847, the LSWR decided to build the Hampton Court branch to its original design. Construction started in January 1848 and the first proving run with a locomotive took place on 1 January 1849. The branch opened a month later on 1 February. Initially six trains per day ran in each direction, four each way on Sundays, with
17980-513: Was around 1 mi (1.6 km) to the west of Hampton Court station between the village of West Molesey and the River Thames. The busiest day of the year on the line was Whit Monday (in late May or early June), when the most popular meeting took place. Two additional sidings for race-day traffic were added at Hampton Court station in 1908 and racehorses were transported via the line until the course closed in October 1962. A few months later, Hurst Park
18125-457: Was destroyed in the Civil War and was not rebuilt until the 1680s. In 1734, an Act of Parliament noted that the structure was "in a ruinous and dangerous condition" and that the money raised from tolls and local taxes was insufficient to fund adequate maintenance. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there were four attempts to construct a new bridge. The first, designed by Thomas Sandby ,
18270-403: Was dismantled. The town is in the parliamentary constituency of Spelthorne . Until the 2024 general election , it was represented at Westminster by Conservative Kwasi Kwarteng , who was first elected in 2010. Councillors are elected to Surrey County Council every four years. The majority of the town is in the Staines electoral division, but areas to the southeast of the centre are in
18415-415: Was erected at Hampton Court c. 1895 and the original shed, designed by Tite, became the goods shed. Between 1897 and 1899, the existing platforms at Hampton Court were extended and a new platform was built. The signalling for the new layout allowed arriving and departing trains to use all platforms without shunting. A new 43-lever signal box was constructed at the same time. Pedestrian access to
18560-555: Was focused on Guildford, which gave its name to a variety of cloth, gilforte , which was exported widely across Europe and the Middle East and imitated by manufacturers elsewhere in Europe. However, as the English cloth industry expanded, Surrey was outstripped by other growing regions of production. Though Surrey was not the scene of serious fighting in the various rebellions and civil wars of
18705-410: Was implemented on 22 March 1970, although the signal box at Hampton Court was retained to control the level crossing. The box was closed completed on 23 September 1979 when CCTV was implemented, allowing signallers to monitor the crossing remotely. Demand for travel on the Hampton Court branch was stimulated at the end of the 19th century with the creation of Hurst Park Racecourse in 1889. The course
18850-512: Was incorporated into Wessex as a shire and continued thereafter under the rule of the West Saxon kings, who eventually became kings of all of England. In the 9th century England was afflicted, along with the rest of northwestern Europe, by the attacks of Scandinavian Vikings . Surrey's inland position shielded it from coastal raiding, so that it was not normally troubled except by the largest and most ambitious Scandinavian armies. In 851 an exceptionally large invasion force of Danes arrived at
18995-708: Was laid in 1835. At the start of the First World War, the Staines and Egham company was acquired by the Brentford Gas Company, which in 1949, following further mergers and acquisitions, became the North Thames Gas Company. A 177 ft high (54 m) gasometer was constructed in Staines in 1927 and was demolished in 1986. The first electricity generating station serving Staines opened in Egham High Street in 1905. It operated until 1912, when it
19140-422: Was met by Godwin, Earl of Wessex , who escorted him in apparently friendly fashion to Guildford . Having taken lodgings there, Alfred's men were attacked as they slept and killed, mutilated or enslaved by Godwin's followers, while the prince himself was blinded and imprisoned, dying shortly afterwards. This must have contributed to the antipathy between Godwin and Alfred's brother Edward the Confessor , who came to
19285-455: Was one of England's first canal systems. George Abbot , the son of a Guildford clothworker, served as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1611–1633. In 1619 he founded Abbot's Hospital , an almshouse in Guildford, which is still operating. He also made unsuccessful efforts to revitalise the local cloth industry. One of his brothers, Robert , became Bishop of Salisbury , while another, Maurice ,
19430-479: Was one of twenty producers in Great Britain. Following the end of the Second World War, there was a decline in lino sales as vinyl floor coverings became more popular. The Staines lino factory closed in 1973. The Elmsleigh Shopping Centre was opened by Elizabeth II on 22 February 1980, providing 250,000 sq ft (23,000 m ) of retail space. Much of the High Street was pedestrianised in 2002 and
19575-532: Was open between 1884 and 1916. The railway line through Staines to Windsor was electrified in June 1930 and to Virginia Water in 1937. Staines signal box closed in September 1974. A third station in the town was opened on 2 November 1885. Staines West was the terminus of a single-track branch from the Great Western Main Line , constructed by the Staines and West Drayton Railway Company . Originally
19720-563: Was opened by the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway on 22 August 1848. In 1856, Staines became a junction when the line across the Thames to Ascot was opened. A curve linking the Ascot and Datchet lines was opened in April 1877 and remained in use until March 1965. A second station in the town, Staines High Street station , to the northwest of the junction of this curve and the Datchet line,
19865-422: Was opened in 1796, but was closed two years later after cracks started to form in the stonework. A cast-iron replacement, designed by James Wilson in consultation with George Rennie was opened in 1803, but cracked within two months. A third bridge was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1804. It was designed by Rennie and was constructed of timber, strengthened with cast iron plates. Although it did not suffer from
20010-523: Was positioned on an island between the River Mole and River Ember , with access to East Molesey via a drawbridge over the Mole. It is unclear whether the current station building, believed to have been designed by the architect, William Tite , was complete by the time the line opened. The railway historian, Gordon Biddle, suggests that the goods shed may have been used initially by passengers. In November 1849,
20155-687: Was probably largely occupied by the Atrebates tribe, centred at Calleva Atrebatum ( Silchester ), in the modern county of Hampshire , but eastern parts of it may have been held by the Cantiaci , based largely in Kent . The Atrebates are known to have controlled the southern bank of the Thames from Roman texts describing the tribal relations between them and the powerful Catuvellauni on the north bank. In about AD 42 King Cunobelinus (in Welsh legend Cynfelin ap Tegfan ) of
20300-546: Was provided by the West Surrey Water Company, whose works at Egham were built in 1889. Between 1960 and 1973, the company merged with its neighbours serving Woking and south west London, to form the North Surrey Water Company. Today, Affinity Water is responsible for supplying the town with drinking water. Until the start of the 20th century, wastewater from Staines was discharged directly into
20445-459: Was rebuilt on a grand scale under King Henry VII , who also founded a Franciscan friary nearby in 1499. The still more spectacular palace of Nonsuch was later built for Henry VIII near Ewell. The palace at Guildford Castle had fallen out of use long before, but a royal hunting lodge existed outside the town. All these have since been demolished. During the Cornish Rebellion of 1497 ,
20590-423: Was replaced by at new facility on The Causeway in Egham Hythe. The new works opened with an installed capacity of 188 kW and, by the time of its closure in 1924, it was capable of generating 688 kW. The earliest record of a permanent fire-fighting force in Staines is from 1738, when a hand-operated fire pump was purchased for the brigade. Reforms in 1774 transferred responsibility for fire services to
20735-472: Was sold to the construction firm, Wates , for £905,000. Housebuilding on the racecourse site began in the late 1960s. The first annual Hampton Court Flower Show, now known as the Hampton Court Garden Festival , was opened by Anne, Princess Royal in July 1990. It was sponsored by Network SouthEast , the then operators of the branch line, which paid the organisers around £700,000 to subsidise
20880-470: Was then purchased by Richard Taylor, whose descendants lived at Knowle Green until the 19th century. Reforms during the Tudor period reduced the importance of manorial courts and the day-to-day administration of towns such as Staines became the responsibility of the vestry of the parish church. The vestry appointed a constable, distributed funds to the poor and took charge of the repair of local roads. From
21025-514: Was traversed by Stane Street and other Roman roads. During the 5th and 6th centuries Surrey was conquered and settled by Saxons . The names of possible tribes inhabiting the area have been conjectured on the basis of place names. These include the Godhelmingas (around Godalming ) and Woccingas (between Woking and Wokingham in Berkshire). It has also been speculated that the entries for
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