Hounslow: Guide

Hounslow is the principal town of the London Borough of Hounslow in West London. It is a suburban development situated 10.6 miles (17 km) west south-west of Charing Cross.

The centre of Hounslow is focussed around the pedestrianised high street and a shopping centre known as the Treaty Centre, which includes multiple stores with a mix of shops, cafes and the Hounslow local library. It is one of ten major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It also has a multi-storey car park which provides valuable parking spaces for the town centre.

The town centre is currently undergoing major re-development with the first stage currently being built. This includes apartments, an ASDA supermarket and cinema being built in the vicinity of the post office. Plans for the second stage have yet to be submitted.

The area is served by the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground at Hounslow Central tube station, Hounslow West tube station and Hounslow East tube station. South West Trains also provide National Rail services from Hounslow railway station.

Hounslow Harriers were the main football team in the film Bend It Like Beckham.

The council offices of the London Borough of Hounslow are located here. Hounslow abuts the perimeter of London Heathrow Airport, itself located in the London Borough of Hillingdon. To the north of Hounslow is the A4 road|Great West Road.

The local newspaper, the Hounslow Borough Chronicle, was established in 1858 as the Middlesex Chronicle.

There are several secondary schools in and around the town with The Heathland School,Chiswick Community School, Lampton School and St Marks Catholic School being the closest.

History

From the early 13th century, when Hounslow began to develop, to the present day, one of the main sources of its economic survival has been transport. In the Middle Ages foot and horse traffic travelling between London and the West Country brought weary travellers to rest in the village. Between the 17th and 19th centuries it was the stagecoach services that brought prosperity to the growing town. Today, Heathrow provides jobs, both on airport and in related industries to many local people.

The origin of the name Hounslow is disputed, with some claiming it derives from the Anglo-Saxon language |Anglo-Saxon “Honeslaw” meaning an area of land suitable for hunting, whilst others claim it comes from an a mound or hill associated with Hundi, a pagan Anglo-Saxons |Anglo-Saxon. Legend has it that the ghost of John Hounslow still haunts the heath, mowing the lawn...

The town grew up along both sides of the Great Western Road from London to the West Country and in 1211 the Order of the Holy Trinity built a priory at the western end of the High Street, on the site of the present church. These friars used one third of their tithes to pay for the release of hostages captured during the crusades. Edward I of England|Edward I granted the Holy Trinity a charter allowing them to hold a weekly market and an annual fair where they levied duties on good sold. The priory was dissolved during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, despite Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII having entered the order of the priory when he was the Prince of Wales.

Materials from the priory were used to build Hounslow Manor house with the chapel, which survived the demolition of the other buildings, being used as a private chapel for the occupiers of the Manor house.

When the Barons and John of England|King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215 at Runnymede, the Barons held a tournament at Hounslow. 1227 saw the disafforesting of the Warren of Staines, a great wood, which allowed the Hounslow Heath to expand.

The heath was a popular hunting ground for Kings and Queens through the ages, including Henry VIII, Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I and William III of England|William III.

Armies also made use of the heath due to its proximity to London, Windsor Castle|Windsor and Hampton Court. Oliver Cromwell placed an army on the heath at the end of the English Civil War|Civil War in 1647, and James II of England|James II camped his army and held military exercises and mock battles to, unsuccessfully, intimidate the population in London.

A permanent barracks for armies that camped on the heath was built in 1793 as part of the preparations to meet possible invasion by the French, and by 1884 had its own station. This was demolished and rebuilt a short distance away, and renamed Hounslow West Station in 1925, and the suburb that sprung up in the surrounding area adopted the station’s name.

Hounslow Heath is most notorious for the highwaymen and footpads (who did not have horses) that troubled the travellers on the road to and from London during the 17th and 18th centuries. The heath was so notorious that gibbets, or gallows, were set up along the roadside as a warning. Famous victims of the highwaymen included Lord North in 1774, William Pitt the Younger’s Secretary, and Lord Berkeley, who shot and killed his assailant. The highwayman Claude Duval famously danced with one of his lady victims but his ten-year criminal career ended at when he was hanged at Tyburn in 1670. Akit Patel, the "Gentleman Highwayman" worked in partnership with Plunkett. He robbed Lord Eglington in 1750 but was caught selling stolen goods before being hanged in front of a large crowd. The trade was not exclusive to men as the example of Mary Frith, who dared rob the Parliamentary General, Sir Thomas Fairfax, shows.

The prosperity of the town declined sharply when the Great Western Railway was built between London and Bristol, offering a much more comfortable and safe journey. The town began to flourish once more when the Great West Road was built to bypass the town in the 1920’s and the factories that lined the road brought jobs and prosperity. As the old industries along the “Golden Mile (Brentford)|Golden Mile” began to decline in the 1970’s, they were replaced by offices, with many international companies setting up there, attracted by the proximity of London and the areas transport links.

For more information on the history of Hounslow, the library located in the Treaty Centre may be a useful place to go.

Nearest places