Stanmore
| Stanmore | |
| Middlesex | |
|---|---|
 The Broadway, Stanmore | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ1691 |
| Location: | 51°37’1"N, 0°19’30"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Stanmore |
| Postcode: | HA7 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Harrow |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Harrow East |
Stanmore is a town in north-west Middlesex. it is the location of the northern terminus of the Jubilee line of the London Underground. Though distinct, Stanmore has become part of the metropolitan conurbation. It is in the north of the county, at the edge of the conurbation.
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 Middlesex, reaching 500 feet in height.
Name
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.
During the Second World War Stanmore had an outstation from the Bletchley Park codebreaking establishment, where some of the 'Bombes' used to decode German Enigma messages during the war 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.[2]
This building was replaced by a new one built on the current site consecrated in 1632 and dedicated to St John the Evangelist.[2] 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. [3]
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 two large supermarket. There are also popular eateries 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 recent times; Angus Fraser and Mark Ramprakash.
The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital is in Stanmore, a hospital famed for its spinal unit.
Outside links
References
- ↑ H Bolitho and D Peel, The Drummonds of Charing Cross (London: George, Allen & Unwin, 1967)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ellis, Mike (1996-12-26). "Notes about the Churches of Great Stanmore". Short History of Stanmore. Mike Ellis. http://www.mellis.me.uk/stjohn.htm. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
- ↑ 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