Stanmore
Coordinates: 51°37′01″N 0°19′30″W / 51.6170°N 0.3250°W
Stanmore is a suburban residential district of northwest London in the London Borough of Harrow. It is centred 11 miles (18 km) northwest of Charing Cross. The area, based on the ancient parish of Great Stanmore includes southern slopes of the unnamed ridge of hills rising to Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, 152 metres (499 ft) high.
Toponymy
The area was recorded in the Domesday Book as Stanmere, the name deriving from the Old English stan, 'stony' and mere, 'a pool'. There are outcrops of gravel on the clay soil here and the mere may have been one of the ponds which still exist. By 1574 the area had become known as Great Stanmore to distinguish it from Little Stanmore.
History
Stanmore Village railway station was open for train services between 1890 and 1952. Stanmore tube station opened in 1932.
Stanmore had an outstation from the Bletchley Park codebreaking establishment, where some of the Bombes used to decode German Enigma messages in World War Two were housed.
Andrew Drummond, the founder of the Drummond bank in Charing Cross purchased the Stanmore estate in 1729 .[1]
Stanmore was also home to RAF Bentley Priory from where the Battle of Britain was controlled, also formerly to RAF Stanmore Park, HQ of Balloon Command. RAF Stanmore Park closed in 1997 and is now a housing estate and RAF Bentley Priory closed in 2009.
Parish Church
The first Parish Church was the 14th century St Mary's, built on the site of a wooden Saxon church which was itself probably built on the site of a Roman compitum shrine.[2][3]
This building was replaced by a new one built on the current site consecrated in 1632 and dedicated to St John the Evangelist.[2][3] Its ruin still stands near the present church which was consecrated in 1850. Queen Adelaide's last public appearance was to lay the foundation stone of the new church. She gave the font and when the church was completed after her death, the east window was dedicated to her memory. [4]
Modern Stanmore
The suburb is characterised by numerous small restaurants and cafés, several public houses, many unique shops like a natural health store and boutique-style clothing stores. The centre of Stanmore is dominated by the presence of a large Sainsbury's supermarket and also a large Lidl supermarket. There are also popular eateries such as Prezzo and Costa Coffee in the centre of the town. Stanmore's extensive residential areas are leafy and predominantly affluent, with many residents commuting daily to jobs in central London including the City.
The public amenity of Stanmore Park is at the foot of Stanmore Hill and right next to the local library. This is just one of the two outdoor leisure fields, the other being Whitchurch Playing Fields adjacent to Whitchurch First and Middle School and opposite to Stanburn First and Middle School. The playing field hosts many Sunday league football matches on the vast acres of turf which are marked into individual football pitches with respective goal frames.
On the border with Bushey is Stanmore Cricket Club, one of the oldest in the Middlesex county championship league celebrating 150 years in 2003 and is still successful at the present. The club has nurtured two famous cricketers who have played Tests for England in the last two decades; Angus Fraser and Mark Ramprakash.
Stanmore is home to Park High School, Stanmore College (a government further education establishment) and a local library run by the London Borough of Harrow. North London Collegiate School, one of the UK's top public schools for girls is in Stanmore. The suburb also hosts the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital - known as RNOH - which is famed for its spinal unit.
Ethnicity and religion
Stanmore has Christian, Shia Muslim, Hindu, Jain, Jewish and Catholic communities, including its local Synagogue, Stanmore and Canons Park Synagogue on London Road (which has one of the largest memberships of any single synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the UK behind Borehamwood),[5] an Islamic Centre, KSIMC Of London (Hujjat)[6] and new Hindu Temple[7] on Wood Lane.
Notable natives and residents
- Queen Adelaide (1792–1849), queen consort of William IV, lived at Bentley Priory, Stanmore from 1848 until death
- George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen — Peelite Prime Minister (in office December 1852 – February 1855); was raised and is buried in Stanmore
- W.S. Gilbert — English dramatist, librettist and illustrator; lived at Grims Dyke, died in the lake there. Ashes buried in Stanmore.
- Robert and Ellen Hollond lived here. He was a balloonist and MP, she founded London's first créche.[8]
- Clement Attlee — Labour Prime Minister in the first post-war government; lived in a large villa "Heywood", later replaced by mid rise apartments
- Billy Idol, rock musician, was born in Stanmore
- Dave Bassett, football coach, was born in Stanmore
- Peter Van Hooke, drummer, was raised in Stanmore
- Linda Hayden, actress, was born in Stanmore
- Anthony Horowitz, screenwriter and author, was born in Stanmore
- Cyril Shaps, actor, lived in Stanmore
- Roger Moore, actor, famous for his role as James Bond and in The Saint, lived in Stanmore.
- Patricia Medina, second wife of Joseph Cotten, actor, lived in Stanmore.[9]
- Theo Walcott, footballer, Arsenal FC and England, was born and raised in Stanmore.[10] [11]
- Keith Vaz, MP, (Lab) lives in Stanmore
- Olly Mann, co-host of cult podcast, Answer Me This!.[12]
- James Bord, professional poker player
- Bacary Sagna a professional footballer lived in Stanmore until 2014 while at Arsenal FC
- Jay Foreman, musical comedian, was raised in Stanmore
- Beardyman (Darren Foreman), performer and musician, was raised in Stanmore
- Matt Lucas, Performer and comedian, was born in Stanmore.
- Alexis Sanchez a professional footballer playing for Arsenal FC currently lives in Stanmore
Transport
Nearby places
Tube/Trains
- Stanmore is well known for being at the northern end of the Jubilee line.
Main bus routes
| Route | Start | End | Operator |
| 142 | Brent Cross | Watford Junction | Arriva Shires & Essex |
| 324 | Stanmore | Brent Cross | London Sovereign |
| 340 | Edgware | Harrow | Arriva Shires & Essex |
| H12 | Stanmore | South Harrow | Metroline |
| N98 | Stanmore | Holborn | Metroline |
| 615 not a London bus route |
Hatfield | Stanmore | Uno |
External links
References
- ↑ H Bolitho and D Peel, The Drummonds of Charing Cross (London: George, Allen & Unwin, 1967)
- 1 2 Ellis, Mike (1996-12-26). "Notes about the Churches of Great Stanmore". Short History of Stanmore. Mike Ellis. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
- 1 2 Archived 9 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ T F T Baker, R B Pugh (Editors), A P Baggs, Diane K Bolton, Eileen P Scarff, G C Tyack (1976). "Great Stanmore: Church". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
- ↑ "Stanmore Synagogue Home Page". Sacps.org.uk. 1999-01-12. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
- ↑ "Hujjat.org". Hujjat.org. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
- ↑ "Portal of Swaminarayan". Swaminarayan Satsang. 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
- ↑ Great Stanmore: Introduction', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 88-96. URL: Date accessed: 12 May 2009.
- ↑ Medina Cotten, Patricia (1998). Laid back in Hollywood: Remembering. Los Angeles: Belle Publishing. pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-9649635-2-3.
- ↑ "Theo Walcott". TheFA.com. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
- ↑ Archived 5 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Archived 21 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine
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