Heston

For other uses, see Heston (disambiguation).

Heston
Heston  Heston shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ125775
London borough	Hounslow
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HOUNSLOW
Postcode district	TW5
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Feltham and Heston
London Assembly	South West
List of places: UK • England • London

Heston is a place in the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. It is a suburban development area, based on a former farming village 10.8 miles (17.4 km) west south-west of Charing Cross.

History

The village of Heston lies towards the north of Hounslow, and has been settled since Saxon times. A charter of Henry II gives the name as Hestune, meaning "enclosed settlement", which is justified by its location in what was the Warren of Staines, between the ancient Roman road to Bath, and the Uxbridge Road to Oxford.

Prior to 1229, Heston was part of the parish of Gistleworth (Isleworth) before being taken by Henry III, who subsequently granted it to the Earl of Cornwall. Following Henry's death in 1316, Heston was owned by the Crown, and later to the wardens of St Giles Hospital, prior to being surrendered to Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Elizabeth I granted Heston to Sir Thomas Gresham, and, after eating some bread made from locally grown wheat, insisted on a supply for her own personal use.

Heston Village Hall

The separation from Isleworth in the 14th century gave the locals a sense of independence from their southern neighbours, with whom they frequently quarrelled. The practice of “beating the bounds” was practised annually when the inhabitants went in procession around the parish boundaries, to show locals the extent of their lands. A contemporary account of such a procession describes an occasion when the parishioners of Heston came across some from Isleworth, and the ensuing "quarrel" saw men from Heston throwing the others across a ditch.

St. Leonard's Church, Heston

Churches

St Leonard's Church (Church of England) dates from the 14th century, though there are records of a priest in Heston in the 7th century. The church tower survived the necessary rebuilding works in the 19th century, as did the lychgate. The grave of Private Frederick John White, who was flogged to death at Hounslow Barracks in 1846, can be found in the graveyard. The outcry at the manner of his death brought about a reduction in the maximum number of lashings that could be given as punishment, and eventually the banning of the practice altogether.

Naturalist Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) was laid to rest at St Leonard's Church.

Our Lady Queen of Apostles is the Catholic Church in the area. Built in the 20th century, it is smaller than St Leonard's, though has a larger congregation, and is popular among families who send their children to the local Rosary RC Junior School. Notably, all the altar-servers from Our Lady Queen of Apostles are specially chosen by the parish priest from the Rosary RC Junior School. As of 2006, with the replacement of the parish priest Father Michael Tuck, for the first time in the parish's history, females may be chosen to be altar-servers.

Schools

There are five primary schools in Heston: Berkley, the Rosary Catholic school, Westbrook Primary, Springwell Junior School and Heston Community School. Heston Community school is also a secondary and sixth form school.

Transport and locale

Heston Aerodrome

Main article: Heston Aerodrome

Heston Aerodrome was operational between 1929 and 1947. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, flew from Heston to Germany three times in two weeks for talks with Adolf Hitler, and he returned to Heston from the Munich Conference with the paper referred to in his later "Peace for our time" speech from 10 Downing Street.

Housing and industrial estates have been built on some of the area that was Heston Aerodrome, and the M4 motorway with its large service area (Heston services) cuts across the former aerodrome site east-west, but a substantial area to the north of the M4 is host to the Airlinks 18-hole golf course. Many of the roads in the area have aviation-related names: Alcock Road (Alcock and Brown), Brabazon Road (Brabazon), Bleriot Road (Louis Blériot), Cobham Road (Sir Alan Cobham), De Havilland Road (de Havilland), Norman Crescent (Nigel Norman), Phoenix Way (Heston Phoenix), Sopwith Road (Thomas Sopwith), Spitfire Way (Supermarine Spitfire), Whittle Road (Frank Whittle), and Wright Road (the Wright brothers).

Road network

The Great West Road was completed in 1925, and the farming and market garden land around the village was snapped up for housing developments.

Nearest places

• Hounslow
• North Hyde
• Norwood Green
• OsterleyEd

Nearest tube station

• Hounslow West tube station
• Osterley tube station

Notable people

• Oarsman Don Allum (1937-1992), first man to row the Atlantic Ocean in both directions, lived in Heston
• Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, of rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow, grew up in Heston
• Anthony Collins (1676-1729), philosopher friend of John Locke, was born in Heston
• Composer Ernest John Moeran (1894-1950) was born in Heston
• Guitarist Jimmy Page, of rock band Led Zeppelin, was born in Heston
• Horticulturist Ellen Willmott (1858-1934) was born in Heston.

References

• Sherwood, Tim. 1999. Coming in to Land: A Short History of Hounslow, Hanworth and Heston Aerodromes 1911-1946. Heritage Publications (Hounslow Library) ISBN 1899144307