Staines-upon-Thames

Staines-upon-Thames
Clarence Street and The Town Hall
Staines-upon-Thames  Staines-upon-Thames shown within Surrey
Population	24,097
OS grid reference	TQ045715
District	Spelthorne
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	STAINES-UPON-THAMES
Postcode district	TW18 and TW17
Dialling code	01784
Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Spelthorne
List of places UK England Surrey

Staines-upon-Thames, generally referred to by its traditional name Staines (/steɪnz/), is a town on the River Thames in the borough of Spelthorne in Surrey, England. The town changed its official name from Staines to Staines-upon-Thames on 20 May 2012.

The town is within the western bounds of the M25 motorway, 17 miles (27 km) west south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is within the London Commuter Belt of South East England, Greater London Urban Area, surrounded in part by the Green Belt. Passing through the town and crossing Staines Bridge is the Thames Path National Trail.

History

Main article: History of Staines-upon-Thames

Early history

Evidence of neolithic settlement has been found at Yeoveney, on Staines Moor. There has been a crossing of the River Thames at Staines since Roman times. The emperor Claudius sent the Romans into Britain in AD 43, and they settled in Staines the same year. Soon afterwards the first Staines Bridge was constructed to provide an important Thames crossing point on the road from Londinium (London) to Calleva Atrebatum, near the present-day village of Silchester. The name Staines comes from the Old English, and means "[the place at the] stone[s]". The equivalent Roman name was "ad Pontes" ("at the bridges") implying that there was more than one bridge and it is believed that these bridges traversed Church Island.

Staines, albeit spelt Stanes, appears in the Middlesex section of the Domesday Book of 1086, as a property held by Westminster Abbey. It was stated to occupy 19 hides of land, and had 6 mills worth £3 4s 0d, 2 weirs worth 6s 8d, 24 ploughs, meadows for 24 ploughs, and some cattle. It rendered £35.

A border stana, or stone, on the bank of the River Thames, dated 1280, still remains, indicating the western limit of the City of London's jurisdiction over the Thames. (Although familiarly known as the 'London Stone', it is not to be confused with the more famous (and probably more ancient) London Stone in Cannon Street in the City of London).

The barons assembled at Staines before they met King John at Runnymede in 1215, and Stephen Langton held a consecration there shortly after the sealing of Magna Carta. Sir Thomas More was tried in 1535 in a Staines public house, to avoid the outbreak of plague in London at that time. Kings and other important people must have passed through the town on many occasions: the church bells were rung several times in 1670, for instance, when the king and queen went through Staines.

Between 1642 and 1648 during the Civil War, there were skirmishes on Staines Moor and numerous troop movements over Staines Bridge.

Modern history

Samuel Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England entry: STAINES (St. Mary), a market-town and parish...in the county of Middlesex, 10 miles (W. S. W.) from Brentford and 17 (W. S. W.) from London; containing 2487 inhabitants. This place has by some been thought to derive its name from a Roman Milliarium...the more general opinion is, that its [name] is derived from a stone which, standing on the bank of the Thames near it, marks the extent of the jurisdiction of the lord mayor of London, as conservator of the river; the stone bears date 1285, and was raised upon a pedestal, erected on the spot where it originally stood, in 1781. In 1009, an army of Danes, after having burned the city of Oxford, learning that troops were on the march from London in pursuit of them, retreated to their ships, and crossed the river at this place. Duncroft House, in which King John is said to have slept the night after he had signed Magna Charta on the neighbouring plain of Runymede [sic], is in the parish. A forest anciently extended from Staines to Hounslow, but part of it has been inclosed.

The town, which has been much improved of late, consists principally of one wide street, containing several good houses, terminating at the river. Here was formerly an iron bridge of one arch; but this being considered unsafe, a handsome stone bridge was opened in 1832, and a new street in a line with it. The town is lighted with gas from works situated on the opposite bank of the river, on the road to Egham. A building was erected near the bridge in 1835, for a literary and scientific institution. The market is on Friday; the market-house is a small edifice surmounted by a spire. There are fairs on...Impropriators, the family of Coussmaker. Attached to the vicarage are 59 acres of glebe in this parish, 16 in Laleham, and 26 in Ashford. The church is a neat structure, consisting of a nave, chancel, and north and south aisles, rebuilt in 1828, and a square embattled tower of brick, erected by Inigo Jones in 1631, and in 1829 raised twelve feet and surmounted with a battlement of stone crowned by pinnacles. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, and Independents

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Staines was a regular staging post with coaching inns. It was used for an overnight horse change on The Trafalgar Way in 1805, announcing the victory over the combined French and Spanish fleet and the death of Nelson.

The town was a major producer of linoleum after the formation of the Linoleum Manufacturing Company in 1864 by its inventor, Frederick Walton. Linoleum became the main industry of the town and was a major employer in the area until the 1960s. In 1876 about 220 and in 1911 about 350 people worked in the plant. By 1957 it employed some 300 people and in 1956 the factory produced about 2675 m² of linoleum each week. The term 'Staines Lino' became a worldwide name but the factory was closed around 1970 and is the site is now occupied by the Two Rivers shopping centre, completed about 2000. A bronze statue of two lino workers in Staines High Street commemorates the Staines Lino Factory. The Spelthorne Museum has a display dedicated to the Linoleum Manufacturing Company.

The Lagonda car factory was on the site where Sainsburys is today. The town was the site of the Staines air disaster in 1972, at the time the worst air crash in Britain until the Lockerbie disaster of 1988. (Since the Lockerbie crash was a terrorist act in Scotland, the Staines crash remains England's worst air disaster, and Britain's worst air accident). The crash was commemorated in June 2004 by the opening of a dedicated garden near the crash site, created at the request of relatives, and the unveiling of a stained glass window at St. Mary's Church, where a memorial service was held.

Staines Urban District

In 1894, the Local Government Act 1894 created the Staines Urban District: this status conferred additional powers and responsibilities as compared to the few Rural Districts in Middlesex County Council. In 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, Middlesex, apart from the Staines, Sunbury-on-Thames and Potters Bar Urban Districts, became part of Greater London. Staines and Sunbury were transferred to Surrey and Potters Bar to Hertfordshire. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the Staines Urban District was combined with Sunbury-on-Thames Urban District to form the present-day borough of Spelthorne. Staines remains associated with the historical county of Middlesex through certain cultural and sporting affiliations, and until 1996 for postal purposes.

Staines-upon-Thames

On 15 December 2011 the Spelthorne Borough Council voted 25 - 4, with 6 abstentions (including all the councillors for Staines ward itself) to change the name of the town to Staines-upon-Thames to try to boost the local economy by promoting its riverside location, and reportedly to discourage association with the fictional character Ali G.

The name change proposal originated with the Spelthorne Business Forum. A public consultation resulted in two to one approval, but there were some public objections, including one from the Staines Town Football Club which attempted to present 134 signatures to the council, but they were not received. Adopting the name change, the council resolved to call on residents, businesses and public organisations to use the name Staines-upon-Thames, and to call on the Surrey County Council and Runnymede Borough Council to use Staines-upon-Thames for all official business. Following a day of celebrations in the town including a regatta on the river, the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, Dame Sarah Goad DCVO, formally changed the name on 20 May 2012 at 2pm. Royal Mail adopted the new name in mid-2012, having previously stated that the name would remain as Staines on the Postcode Address File.

Economy

The town's proximity to London and Heathrow has attracted a number of companies: Bupa (healthcare), J P Kenny (Oil&Gas), Logica (telecommunications and IT consultants) have major offices, NDS (conditional access DRM provider), Siemens Building Automation Division and British Gas (part of Centrica) have their national headquarters here. Samsung Electronics Research Institute (SERI), Samsung's U.K R&D Division, is based in the town.^{[citation needed]}

The town centre is fairly compact and mainly focused on a wide pedestrianised High Street, housing many familiar names such as Waterstones, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, T.K. Maxx, JD Sports, Sony, McDonald's x2, Argos, Currys, PC World, Tesco, Waitrose, Monsoon, HMV and H&M. Smaller independent units can be found in Church Street, Clarence Street and the eastern end of the High Street. A market is held every Wednesday and Saturday in the pedestrianised High Street. It is one of the largest and busiest street markets in Surrey. A moderately-sized shopping centre (Elmsleigh) is directly behind the High Street. The Two Rivers retail park was opened in 2002 and is bisected by the confluence of the rivers Wraysbury and Colne. Retailers include Waitrose as well as a Vue cinema, gym and cafes. Outside the High Street there are other parades of shops like Stainash and Edinburgh Drive.

Culture, Community and Housing

The Old Town Hall

The administrative offices of Spelthorne Borough Council are located at Knowle Green. The town has in the 2000s built a public landscape by the riverside conservation area with seating and sculptures to enhance the waterfront as a place to walk. The Town Hall is a Victorian blend of Italian and Flemish influences set in a small market square; (it was converted into an Arts Centre in the 1990s, and later turned into a pub). Georgian townhouses line Clarence Street (named after a younger King's son, a Duke of Clarence). Church Street and Lammas Lane house the oldest properties clustered around the parish church of St Mary. Most housing in the town is in garden plots and most neighbourhoods have green spaces such as (Staines Moor, Shortwood Common, Knowle Green, Leacroft, The Lammas and the sports fields and farms on the borders of Laleham which has, as with the Lammas, a riverside green park by the former Laleham (RC) Abbey, formerly Lord Lucan's Laleham House, and since the late-20th century notable listed luxury apartments in the post town, as is the case with Duncroft Manor. Staines Bridge spans the Thames with a three arch structure completed in 1832. Until the 14th century Staines was the tidal limit, now downstream at Teddington. The town is the home of the fictional character Ali G and indie rock band Hard-Fi and several public houses have live music evenings.

Education

The town has the following schools:

• Our Lady Of the Rosary, a Catholic school, opened in 1893
• Staines Preparatory School, an independent, ages 3–11 school, opened in 1935
• Matthew Arnold School, properly opened in 1954, though partially completed premises were also in emergency use during World War II
• Riverbridge Primary School, formed in September 2011 from the merger of three local schools: Kingscroft, Knowle Park and Shortwood, each of which retains its original site
• The Magna Carta School, a technology college with over 1500 students. It opened in 1957, and is located in Egham Hythe, thus it has a Staines postcode.

A number of other schools have previously existed in the town, including:

• British School (Staines' first school opened in 1808; date of closure unknown)
• National Girls' School (1818-c.1825, 1844–1874, 1885-?)
• National Boys' School (c.1823-c.1830 and 1848–1874)
• British School of Industry for Girls (pre-1831-?)
• British Infant School (1833–1874 and 1885-?)
• Margaret Pope School, a merger and relocation of three previous schools (1874-?)
• Church of England Infants' School, Stanwell New Road (from 1890, renamed Shortwood in 1900)
• Shortwood County Infant School (renamed from C. of E. Infants' in 1900, merged into Riverbridge 2011)
• Wyatt Road Infants' School (1896–1974)
• Kingston Road School[s] (1903-1992 when replaced by Kingscroft; the original plural title denoted that there were separate schools for boys and girls; its site is now occupied by the town's new Police Station)
• Knowle Park County First School (1974-2011 when merged into Riverbridge)
• Kingscroft School (replaced and absorbed Kingston Road in 1992, merged into Riverbridge in 2011)

The closest further education institution to Staines is Brooklands College (formerly Spelthorne College) in neighbouring Ashford, approximately 3 miles to the east. Royal Holloway, University of London is situated 3 miles west of the town centre, off the A30 between Egham and Englefield Green.

Sport

Two affiliated senior association football clubs bear the name of Staines, namely Staines Town F.C. (senior status), and Staines Lammas F.C. (intermediate status). Staines Town play at the newly rebuilt Wheatsheaf Park ground and have recently been promoted to the Conference South. Staines Town enjoy a strong rivalry with Hampton & Richmond Borough. Staines Lammas were champions of the Combined Counties League Division One in the 2007-08 season and additionally run various age group teams. Staines is also home to a number of successful junior football clubs: Staines Town, Staines Lammas and Staines Albion, as well as girls clubs Kempton Girls FC — Colne Valley and the U11, one of the best girls junior clubs in Surrey.

Staines Rugby Football Club which used to play at the Lammas (a recreation ground on Wraysbury Road, which was also known as the Ashby Recreation Ground) relocated to The Reeves (on Snakey Lane, near Hanworth) in the 1960s but still proudly bears the name of the town with teams named Swans, Cobs and Mucky Ducks. The Club is in National League 3 London & South East and offers a Mini and Youth section.

Staines Boat Club is situated on the river and competes at a national level.

Staines Swimming Club founded in the early 1900s and affiliated to the Amateur Swimming Association is based at Spelthorne Leisure Centre and provides competitive swimming from inter-club level up to national level.

There are also many local gyms in the area including the recently revamped Matthew Arnold Sports Centre which is home to a Lifestyle fitness suite. Based at the school of the same name on the Kingston Road, the centre's revamp has included a cv suite, spinning studio and dedicated free weights room.

There are also Staines clubs catering for rowing, sailing, cricket, hockey, running, rambling, martial arts (jujitsu), rifle & pistol shooting, bowls, chess, contract bridge, snooker / darts / pool / poker, as well as a district table tennis league.

The town is also home to T.S Thamesis, Staines and Egham Sea Cadet Corps. This is a uniformed youth organisation for young people aged between 10 and 18 years old. They meet at The Lammas.

Motorcycle speedway racing was staged at a stadium in Wraysbury Road. Events in 1938 and 1939 are well known but it is possible that a venue was active from at least 1931 as a team named Staines raced at Caxton Speedway (near Cambridge 1931 - 1933 inclusive). The stadium was also utilised for greyhound racing, as well as 'novelty' events such as cheetah racing.

Other sports which were once held in Staines but are no longer to be found there include: boxing (there were weekly programmes off the High Street in the 1930s, and local hearsay suggests bare-knuckle events were held at the Crooked Billet earlier in the 20th century); wrestling (bouts were included in boxing programmes of the 1930s); motorcycle football (a club existed in the 1960s; and American football (a short-lived team called Staines Removers entered the Budweiser League in 1988, but failed to start the season, although they did play some friendly matches at their base on The Lammas).

Transport

The nearest station is Staines railway station, with trains to London Waterloo, Weybridge, Windsor and Eton Riverside and Reading. Taxis are available from the station. The bus station is a five-minute walk from the railway station. Staines-upon-Thames is also a short ride south of Heathrow Airport. Buses also connect Staines-upon-Thames to Thorpe Park.

Proposals existed to build a new line, Heathrow Airtrack, connecting the south to Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 station. As part of these proposals, the former Staines High Street railway station was to be rebuilt by Two Rivers Shopping Centre and the High Street in the direction of Wraysbury railway station, as a result of using the generally unused arc from north to south in the town centre, towards Weybridge on the South West Main Line although in 2011 the Department for Transport announced it had decided that this will not go ahead unless and until designs for viaducts in Egham have been reviewed and the existing station would have an additional platform built instead on the relevant arc itself.

Nearest places

Neighbouring towns and villages are Egham, Wraysbury, Ashford, Stanwell, Laleham and Chertsey. About 3 miles north east of Staines-upon-Thames is the large Heathrow airport. The area between Egham and Staines-upon-Thames town centres is known as Egham Hythe.

Notable people

• Ali G (fictional character created by Sacha Baron Cohen)
• The Lucan family, at Laleham Abbey until the 1930s
• Norman Hunter, author
• Matthew Arnold
• Denny Laine
• Steve Holley
• Terence Dackombe, writer Spitting Image; actor The Krays, Cockneys vs. Zombies
• Christine Keeler, actor
• Bobby Davro, comedian
• Bill Nankeville
• Richard Murdoch, Murdoch Close, off Cherry Orchard was named after him
• Hard-Fi, indie rock band
• Richard Archer
• Jon Tickle
• Nina Wadia, actor
• Matt Lapinskas, actor
• Danny Blanchflower, former captain of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., was living at Woodlands Nursing Home, Rookery Road, at the time of his death in 1993, having lived at a private address in Staines in the immediately preceding years

Local media

A number of local newspapers are available in Staines-upon-Thames; these include:

• Staines Informer
• Staines and Ashford News
• Staines and Egham News
• Surrey Herald

Notes and References

Notes

References

External links

• Online Guide to Staines
• Staines - 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article
• Staines-upon-Thames at the Open Directory Project