West London is the western part of London , England, north of the River Thames , west of the City of London , and extending to the Greater London boundary.
58-526: Feltham ( / ˈ f ɛ l t əm / ) is a town in West London , England, 13 miles (21 km) from Charing Cross . Historically part of Middlesex , it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party MPs since 1992. In 2011, the population of the combined census area of Feltham, Bedfont and Hanworth
116-519: A public house and cafés. Near to the retail park mentioned is a Tesco superstore and numerous grocery outlets are dotted along the area's High Street. Added to this are regular local trades/services in small clusters in the main named neighbourhoods of North Feltham and Lower Feltham. Prior to this large-scale redevelopment, the rock band Oasis filmed the video for their song Stand by Me in The Centre in 1997. Rap group So Solid Crew also filmed
174-645: A dedicated community centre and after protests from the community a new one I now being built on Feltham Green with a planned opening date of spring 2025 Springwest Academy (formerly Feltham Comprehensive School) and Rivers Academy West London (known as Longford School until 2011) both have excellent sports facilities. These supplement the Hanworth Air Park Leisure Centre and Library, operated by Fusion Leisure on behalf of Hounslow Council. Leisure West (a privately developed and managed complex of entertainment and dining facilities including
232-476: A more ornate style in a cluster , incorporating designer balconies and architectural demonstrations of free-form structure such as propped overhangs and an unobtrusive at street-level, multi-faceted floor plan . The current shopping hub, The centre, Feltham (also known as the Longford Centre, if only by the original developers and some retail tenants), opened in 2006. It retained and refurbished many of
290-584: A multiplex cinema, tenpin bowling alley, bingo club and restaurants) opened on the former industrial sites around Browell's Lane in the mid-1990s. Feltham has a Non-League football club Bedfont & Feltham F.C. who play at the Orchard in East Bedfont. Bedfont Recreation Ground hosts Brentford Women . The 2011 ethnic groups in Feltham with a total population of 63,368 were: This is combined data for
348-613: A population of 924. The Waterloo to Reading Line established a station here from its construction in 1848. From 1894 to 1904 the Felham parish was included in the Staines Rural District . In 1901 the parish had a population of 4,534 and accordingly in 1904 it was split from the rural district to form the Feltham Urban District . In 1932 the parishes of Hanworth and East Bedfont were also transferred from
406-543: A proper noun, rather than just a geographical description in the 19th century. Like other areas of the capital, West London grew rapidly in the Victorian era as a result of railway-based commuting; with the building of the termini at Paddington and Marylebone , and the lines radiating from them, having a particularly profound effect. This trend continued in the twentieth century and was subsequently reinforced by motorcar-based commuting. The size of London stabilised after
464-459: A site then called Thorney Island , the choice of site may in part relate to the natural ford which is thought to have carried Watling Street over the Thames in the vicinity. Tradition dates the foundation to the 7th Century AD with written records dating back to the 960s or early 970s. The Island and surrounding area became known as Westminster in reference to the church. The legendary origin
522-548: A very high title and degree of wealth: her son, Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans inherited the manor and a dukedom with considerable land from a cousin. The Duke was a British landowner and a collector of antiquities and works of art, seated occasionally at Hanworth, who funded an excavation in Italy which produced many sculpture artifacts . Parting with much of the Duke's surfeit of large country houses, minor plot sales dividing
580-685: Is a major such institution providing a range of employments and rehabilitation schemes for young people. It has a border with Ashford and the neighbouring village of East Bedfont . Famous former resident Freddie Mercury (born Farokh Bulsara in Zanzibar, 1946–1991) of rock band Queen was commemorated by a permanent, Hollywood-style granite star in Feltham's town-centre piazza, unveiled on 24 November 2009 (the eighteenth anniversary of Mercury's death) by Queen guitarist Brian May , alongside Freddie's mother, Jer Bulsara, and his sister. In 2011, owing to neglect and weather damage, Hounslow Council removed
638-483: Is no specific town council for Feltham; instead a Bedfont, Feltham, Hanworth area forum of councillors considers issues specific to the area on the London Borough of Hounslow 's council. The town forms part of Feltham and Heston parliamentary constituency (and the South West London Assembly constituency which elects the geographic element of members who advise, steer, assist and scrutinise
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#1732787685098696-565: Is on the Waterloo to Reading line , between Twickenham and Staines-upon-Thames . Feltham formed an ancient parish in the Spelthorne hundred of Middlesex . The Domesday Book records 21 households and an annual value of six pounds sterling; it was held as lord and tenant-in-chief by Robert, Count of Mortain . A large area of ten cultivated ploughlands is recorded. Following Mortain's son's forfeit of lands (William's rebellion triggering
754-616: Is surrounded by trees and is a large and sports-oriented public open space. Public venues include Feltham Assembly Hall, opened in 1965 in Feltham Park, community rooms in the new library, as well as several residents association halls and clubs. Since the controversial removal in 2008 of the Feltham Community Association from the Feltham People's Centre (the former Feltham Hotel), the town has lacked
812-464: Is that in the early 7th century, a local fisherman named Edric ferried a stranger in tattered foreign clothing over the Thames to Thorney Island . It was a miraculous appearance of St Peter , a fisherman himself, coming to the island to consecrate the newly built church, which would subsequently develop into Westminster Abbey. He rewarded Edric with a bountiful catch when he next dropped his nets. Edric
870-624: Is used to differentiate the area from other informal radial divisions of London, the Metropolitan Compass ; North London , East London and South London . The term "West London" has been used for a variety of formal purposes with the boundaries defined according to the purposes of the designation. The 2011 iteration of the London Plan included an altered "West" sub-region, to be used for planning, engagement, resource allocation and progress reporting purposes. It consists of
928-736: The County of Middlesex , is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom . The title was created on 17 January 1936 for the judge turned Conservative Member of Parliament who achieved the judicial position of Master of the Rolls , Ernest Pollock, 1st Baron Hanworth . He had already been created a Baronet , of Hanworth in the County of Middlesex, on 27 November 1922, in the Baronetage of
986-555: The Duke of St Albans . What remained of it was later bought with a few acres of attached lawns and fields by the first Viscount however quickly converted into the London Air Park . The Viscount also transferred his Hanworth Park estate to public benefit in the suburb of Hanworth , London . Its later shape is now a mixture of public grassland and recreational amenities such as sports pitches funded by two local charitable clubs and
1044-631: The Father of the West End . In 1720, John Strype 's "Survey of London" described Westminster as one of the then four distinct areas of London; in it he describes the City of London , Westminster (West London) , Southwark (South London) , and 'That Part beyond the Tower' (East London) . The area now usually referred to as North London developed later. As well as the proximity of the centre of government,
1102-531: The London Boroughs of Brent , Harrow , Ealing , Hammersmith and Fulham , Hillingdon , Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames . As well as including outer areas of West London, the sub-region also includes areas south of the river, not usually counted as part of West London; areas of the cross-river London Borough of Richmond upon Thames . The 2004-2008 and 2008-2011 versions of the sub-region varied in their composition. The W (Western) postcode area
1160-610: The Mayor of London in 2011 referred to the London boroughs of Brent , Harrow , Ealing , Hammersmith and Fulham , Hounslow , Richmond , and Hillingdon as West London. Some parts of West London, such as Westminster and the West End are also a part of Central London , an area which also lacks precise definition. The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames spans the River Thames so its status can be ambiguous. The term West London
1218-592: The Mayor of London who is directly responsible for only certain designated policy areas such as Transport for London). There are two local government wards falling entirely within Feltham – Feltham North and Feltham West – though locals often consider sections of the Hanworth Park and Bedfont wards as forming part of Feltham. This area was represented in Parliament from 1992 to 2011 by Alan Keen ( Labour ). After his death, Labour candidate Seema Malhotra won
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#17327876850981276-564: The Palace of Westminster , and ribbon development heading west - towards Westminster - from gates in the walls of the City of London . In the 17th century these areas of growth would be linked by high status new developments, which formed a focal point in their own right, later becoming known as the West End of London . The development of the area began with the establishment of the Abbey on
1334-703: The attainder ), the land was granted to the Redvers/de Ripariis/Rivers family. The heir in that family, Hubert de Burgh ('Chief Justiciar and Earl of Kent') swapped Feltham and Kempton with Henry III for his manors of Aylsham in Norfolk and Westhall in Suffolk. In 1440 Henry VI granted numerous privileges to his joint royal custodian of the two manors, including a daily income of up to 12 shillings and that "corn, hay, horse and carriages and other goods and chattels should not be seized for
1392-530: The Feltham First is so-named for being first grown in the town. The market gardens were largely replaced with light industry, gravel and aggregate extraction, and new housing from the 1930s onwards. Feltham has been associated with land and air transport for more than a century. In what is now the Leisure West entertainment complex of various buildings including cinema, bowling alley and restaurants,
1450-631: The Feltham North and West wards with Feltham North being slightly more ethnically diverse than Feltham West. The town remains among the largest ecclesiastical parishes of the Diocese of London within the Church of England . The parish church of St Dunstan and the Parish of Feltham have joined with two other churches to create a larger Ecumenical Parish of Feltham founded in the late 1970s. This joins
1508-604: The Feltham tramcar was once manufactured and ran along the tracks of many municipal operators, though never in Feltham itself. In the same area of the town, aircraft manufacture was an important industry, particularly in the war years. Feltham was in the early and mid 20th century home to Britain's second largest railway marshalling yard which was geared towards freight, and was a target for German air force bombs in World War II . The motor car manufacturer Aston Martin had its main factory in Feltham between 1926 (when it bought
1566-542: The Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line provides a Central London and Heathrow rail option to Feltham, and is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the town centre. Bus routes 90, 117, 235, 285, 490, H25 and H26 also run frequent services through the town, as well as bus route 116 through Feltham North. The town is served by Feltham railway station on the Waterloo to Reading Line , Two branch line services operate on
1624-659: The London Plan's thirty-eight Opportunity Areas are part of West London; Kensal Canalside , Paddington , Earl's Court and West Kensington , Harrow and Wealdstone , Park Royal , Old Oak Common , Southall , Tottenham Court Road , Victoria, Wembley and White City . London Heathrow Airport is a major employer in West London, and the University of West London has more than 47,000 students. Viscount Hanworth Viscount Hanworth , of Hanworth in
1682-559: The Staines district to Feltham Urban District. From the 1860s until late 1920s Feltham was also home to the "Cabbage King", A.W. Smith. Smith was considered one of the most successful market gardeners of the time, and his "Glass City" of greenhouses along Feltham's High street was unmatched. Smith also lived in the Feltham House (now in the middle of MOD site in the town) for a time. His greenhouses have since disappeared, but many of
1740-412: The United Kingdom , and Baron Hanworth , of the same territorial designation , on 28 January 1926. As of 2024 the titles are held by his great-grandson, the third Viscount, who succeeded his father in 1996. The heir presumptive is the present holder's nephew, Harold William Charles Pollock (born 1988). In a poor state of repair the large two-storey brick house was built following a fire in 1797 by
1798-481: The West End was long favoured by the rich elite as a place of residence because it was usually upwind of the smoke drifting from the crowded City. A further factor facilitating rapid growth in West London was the very large number of bridges linking the area to South London and the area beyond; by contrast, even today, there are no bridges east of Tower Bridge , partly as the river becomes wider as it heads east. The term "West End of London" gained widespread currency as
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1856-609: The Westminster urban area, linked up with that extending from the City in the time of Henry VIII . It was at around that time that Westminster first acquired City status. In the mid 17th century Henry Jermyn , was instrumental in developing the St James's and Mayfair districts of Westminster. These districts provided a fashionable new focus for western London, that came to be known as the West End . Jermyn would become known as
1914-422: The area include the boroughs of Brent and Harrow , taking ancient Watling Street as the boundary in those outer areas. The Grand Union Canal is West London's major internal waterway. West London is bordered by the administrative counties of Surrey to the south west and south; Berkshire to the west and north west; Buckinghamshire to the north west; and Hertfordshire to the north. A publication by
1972-484: The by-election. Feltham Magistrates' Court was built in 1902 as a town hall but converted to a magistrates' court in 1906. The court closed in 2016. Immediately adjacent to the town centre is MoD Feltham , a secure 30-acre (12 ha) site belonging to the Ministry of Defence . The main economic activity of the Feltham area was market gardening until well into the twentieth century. A popular variety of pea known as
2030-432: The centre of government as a distinct focus for growth, accompanied by the proximity of the City, ensured that western London was the fastest growing part of early London. The growth of the City of London beyond its city walls was much faster outside the western gates of Ludgate and Newgate than it was outside the gates to the north or to the east; this rapid growth was due to the roads from these western gates leading to
2088-703: The church together in activities and church services with Southville Methodist Church and the United Free Church of Feltham. On 24 June 1868, Father Ignatius founded an Anglican Benedictine convent in the parish. Feltham Priory, or Feltham Nunnery, was dedicated to Saints Mary and Scholastica (twin sister of St Benedict ). It lasted five years before the nuns initiated a series of moves which would see them relocate to Curzon Park Abbey in Chester in 1988. The tall spire fronting tower of an additional church first built 1880–1898, to St Catherine, opposite
2146-554: The demand for new homes with new intra-Borough transport links. In this period in 1784 General William Roy set out the baseline of what would become the Ordnance Survey across Hounslow Heath, passing through Feltham. General Roy is commemorated by a local pub. The MOD Defence Geographic Centre maintains a base in Feltham, announced for disposal in the 2015–2020 Parliament. In 1831, Feltham occupied an area of 2,620 acres (11 km), stretching into Hounslow Heath and had
2204-537: The east is a natural small river, the Crane separating off the once vast Hounslow Heath to the east, stretching from north by Harlington south to Hampton, London until the early 20th century. To other sides it includes a country park formed from converted gravel pits (Bedfont Lakes) with rolling adjacent meadows open to walkers by its railway and (within the post town ) one of Greater London's first airfields, London Air Park at Hanworth , which has well-trimmed grass,
2262-749: The establishment of the Metropolitan Green Belt shortly after the Second World War . West London is an informally and inexactly defined area lying north of the River Thames and extends west from the edge of the City of London , to West London's historic and commercial core of Westminster and the West End , on to the Greater London boundary, much of which is formed by the River Colne . Some interpretations of
2320-600: The fields still remain. Feltham Urban District was disbanded in 1965 along with the Middlesex County Council following the London Government Act 1963 , which transferred administrative control over parts of Middlesex to the new county of Greater London . Although opened in 1910, major expansion took place in a similar period, at the extreme south-west of the post town , at Feltham Young Offenders' Institution or HM Prison Feltham, which
2378-460: The former Whitehead Aircraft factory) and 1963. The site is now occupied by part of Leisure West. A former company based in Feltham from 1911 until the closure of its factory in the 1980s was Minimax Limited , manufacturers of fire extinguishers . The largest local employer is Heathrow Airport . Associated businesses conglomerate in the business parks of the TW14 (Bedfont and Feltham North) part of
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2436-654: The king's use". While under total royal control following Henry VIII 's full annexation of the manor into the Honour of Hampton Court , a lease of all of its manor court rights and "franchises, privileges, emoluments, and hereditaments" was granted under his daughter Elizabeth I to the Killigrew family of Kempton Park, for 80 years. However the large manor itself passed 40 years later in 1631 by grant to Francis (Lord) Cottington , established at his new Hanworth Park , who had become Lord Treasurer, ambassador and leader of
2494-474: The latter under the London Buses pricing and operational scheme. West London The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London , North London , East London and South London . West London was part of the historic county of Middlesex . Early West London had two main focuses of growth, the area around Thorney Island , site of Westminster Abbey and
2552-484: The line here, to Windsor and Weybridge . The town has London Buses services to Kingston upon Thames , Richmond , Brentford , Heathrow , Staines-upon-Thames , Northolt , Isleworth and Sunbury on Thames . Intervening places such as Hayes , Hounslow, Hampton Court/Hampton , Twickenham and Ashford are called at. Long-distance express services are offered predominantly from various sides of Heathrow to places such as Slough , Reading, Berkshire and Croydon ,
2610-424: The memorial, resolving to substitute a smaller one elsewhere. Feltham's town centre developed in the period 1860–2010 when the focus of the village moved north from by St Dunstan's Church after the coming of the railway in 1848. For most of the twentieth century, it had a traditional-looking High Street, including more mock tudor shop fronts, and a large medieval manor house which was controversially demolished in
2668-413: The mid-1960s to make way for a car dealership and petrol station. This has since been demolished but replaced with a hardware, carpets and supermarket site Manor Park . Most of the original High Street shops were also demolished in the mid-1960s through to the early 1970s. Victorian and Edwardian tall-storey terraced, semi-detached and detached homes are found on Hanworth Road and adjoining roads, and in
2726-430: The music video for their 2003 single, Broke Silence , on Highfield Estate (nearby The Centre), before its eventual regeneration. In retail, the closest destination with more than 100 outlets is Hounslow , centred less than 2 miles (3.2 km) to the north-east, followed by Kingston and Staines . Late 2017 saw the approval of the "Feltham Masterplan" by Hounslow council which will see the transformation of Feltham for
2784-591: The next 15 years. In June 2024 a Surrey Police officer, who repeatedly drove his police car into a 10-month-old breeding heifer , called Beau Lucy, in Raleigh Road, was removed from frontline duties. Feltham is centred 13.5 miles (21.7 km) west south west of central London at Charing Cross and centred 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from the centre of Heathrow Airport . The neighbouring settlements are Hounslow , Ashford , East Bedfont (including Hatton), Sunbury Common , Cranford and Hanworth . There
2842-493: The political centre of Westminster. The large and prosperous extra-mural ward of Farringdon Without , extensively urbanised during the 12th century, has been described as London's First West End . From the 15th to 17th centuries, growth along the roads from Ludgate ( Fleet Street and The Strand ) and Newgate ( Holborn and High Holborn ) accelerated, and came to extend far beyond Farringdon Without, into Holborn , Bloomsbury and Westminster . Urban growth extending from
2900-584: The post town particularly in logistics and couriers who store and carry the air freight of much of Britain. However, accessibility of parts of Central London and a good local road network have also made Feltham a base for a number of high-tech companies, including DHL and Arqiva . The latter is notable in having a telecommunications port (teleport) in Feltham which provides transmission and distribution facilities for TV companies including Sky and Channel 5 . Feltham has in its land use considerably more open spaces than average in (Greater) London; bounding it to
2958-588: The pro-Spanish, pro-Roman Catholic faction in the court of Charles I . His nephew sold it, after a major fire and a very temporary loss caused by John Bradshaw, who arranged the King's execution, under the Commonwealth of England , to Sir Thomas Chambers. His son inherited Feltham manor, whose daughter by an empowering marriage to Admiral Vere (created Lord Vere) of Hanworth in the same historic county of Middlesex (created for him 1750) led to its next owner having
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#17327876850983016-403: The railway station forms the façade of St Catherine's House, a London Borough of Hounslow Housing office and temporary housing accommodation. As of August 2014, St Catherine's House is now closed because the council have moved out and relocated elsewhere. The Roman Catholic church of Saint Lawrence , with its attendant primary school, faces onto Feltham Green. Nearby Hatton Cross , which is on
3074-461: The shop units built in the 1960s to replace the demolished buildings, along the High Street frontage, but replaced most of the others with new, larger units. Also added as part of the re-development was a Travelodge hotel, 800 homes, a new and larger library, and a medical centre. The anchor (and largest) store in the centre is an Asda hypermarket, coupled with fashion chains, small restaurants,
3132-433: The small conservation area at Feltham Pond on the High Street. Many old cottages and workman's terraces were demolished alongside the railway line to make way for brutalist high rise blocks of housing, of originally purely social housing to house the homeless and overcrowded people in the borough, such as Belvedere House, Hunter House and Home Court, demolished in the 2000s and replaced with mixed-ownership apartments in
3190-414: The two ancient manors took place in the 19th century. Finally in the early 20th century, until death, the land now considered Feltham was either already subdivided by developers and farmers or owned by senior judge Ernest Pollock turned politician, (1st) Viscount Hanworth . He saw the very large Hanworth manor, which covered most of Hanworth parish divided up due to taxation; it became well-placed to cater to
3248-468: Was 63,368. The economy of the town was largely agrarian until the early twentieth century, when it was transformed by the expansion of the London urban area. Most of the original High Street was demolished in the 1960s and 1970s. Further redevelopment in the early 2000s created the current shopping centre, which opened in 2006. Heathrow Airport is to the north west of the town and is a major centre of employment for local residents. Feltham railway station
3306-592: Was instructed to present the King and St. Mellitus, Bishop of London with a salmon and various proofs that the consecration had already occurred . Every year on 29 June, St Peters day, the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers presents the Abbey with a salmon in memory of this event. The Palace of Westminster subsequently developed, with Parliament being based there from its establishment in 1265. The presence of
3364-470: Was introduced in 1857 to facilitate the distribution of mail. The postcode area is a sub-set of West London. The London Plan defines two areas of London as International Centres, the West End and Knightsbridge , both in west London. Five of the thirteen Metropolitan Centres in the plan are also in West London: Ealing , Hounslow , Harrow , Uxbridge and Shepherd's Bush . Eleven of
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