126-571: Stanwell is a village in the Spelthorne district, in Surrey , England. It is 16 miles (26 km) west of central London. A small corner of its land is used as industrial land for nearby Heathrow Airport . The rest of the village is made up of residential and recreational land. Historically part of the county of Middlesex , it has, like the rest of Spelthorne, been in Surrey since 1965. The village
252-696: A Protestant convert, but he was distrusted by Scottish Calvinists who noticed the physical displays of affection between him and the king and alleged that Lennox "went about to draw the King to carnal lust". In August 1582, in what became known as the Ruthven Raid , the Protestant earls William Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie and Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus lured James into Ruthven Castle , imprisoned him, and forced Lennox to leave Scotland. On 19 September 1582, during James's imprisonment, John Craig , whom
378-684: A secret correspondence with James to prepare in advance for a smooth succession. With the queen clearly dying, Cecil sent James a draft proclamation of his accession to the English throne in March 1603. Elizabeth died in the early hours of 24 March, and James was proclaimed king in London later the same day. On 5 April, James left Edinburgh for London, promising to return every three years (a promise that he did not keep), and progressed slowly southwards. Local lords received him with lavish hospitality along
504-528: A Catholic ceremony held at Stirling Castle . His godparents were Charles IX of France (represented by John, Count of Brienne ), Elizabeth I of England (represented by the Francis Russell, Earl of Bedford ), and Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (represented by ambassador Philibert du Croc ). Mary refused to let the Archbishop of St Andrews , whom she referred to as "a pocky priest", spit in
630-578: A description of the poetic tradition in his mother tongue of Scots , applying Renaissance principles. He also made statutory provision to reform and promote the teaching of music, seeing the two in connection. One act of his reign urges the Scottish burghs to reform and support the teaching of music in Sang Sculis . In furtherance of these aims, James was both patron and head of a loose circle of Scottish Jacobean court poets and musicians known as
756-744: A few small factories (now motor manufacturer garages and offices) had been built by the 1950s and remain along the A30 London Road, including Del Monte , Ford and Suzuki . At one time British Mediterranean Airways was headquartered at the Cirrus House within the post town but in the London Borough of Hounslow , near Stanwell. The nearest railway stations are Ashford (Surrey) railway station , 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Stanwell High Street, and Heathrow Terminal 4 railway station , 2 miles (3.2 km) east. Heathrow Terminal 4
882-462: A great deal of money, his account of the circumstances was not universally believed. In 1586, James signed the Treaty of Berwick with England. That and his mother's execution in 1587, which he denounced as a "preposterous and strange procedure", helped clear the way for his succession south of the border. Queen Elizabeth was unmarried and childless, and James was her most likely successor . Securing
1008-435: A head when James finally called a Parliament in 1621 to fund a military expedition in support of his son-in-law. The Commons on the one hand granted subsidies inadequate to finance serious military operations in aid of Frederick, and on the other—remembering the profits gained under Elizabeth by naval attacks on Spanish gold shipments—called for a war directly against Spain. In November 1621, roused by Edward Coke , they framed
1134-484: A king may impose new laws by royal prerogative but must also pay heed to tradition and to God, who would "stirre up such scourges as pleaseth him, for punishment of wicked kings". Basilikon Doron was written as a book of instruction for the four-year-old Prince Henry and provides a more practical guide to kingship. The work is considered to be well written and perhaps the best example of James's prose. James's advice concerning parliaments, which he understood as merely
1260-433: A lump sum of £600,000 to pay off the king's debts plus an annual grant of £200,000. The ensuing prickly negotiations became so protracted that James eventually lost patience and dismissed Parliament on 31 December 1610. "Your greatest error", he told Salisbury, "hath been that ye ever expected to draw honey out of gall". The same pattern was repeated with the so-called " Addled Parliament " of 1614, which James dissolved after
1386-514: A meeting with Tycho Brahe , James and Anne returned to Scotland on 1 May 1590. By all accounts, James was at first infatuated with Anne and, in the early years of their marriage, seems always to have shown her patience and affection. The royal couple produced three children who survived to adulthood: Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales , who died of typhoid fever in 1612, aged 18; Elizabeth , later queen of Bohemia ; and Charles , James's successor. Anne suffered from recurrent bouts of sickness and
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#17327766485971512-454: A mere nine weeks when the Commons hesitated to grant him the money he required. James then ruled without parliament until 1621, employing officials such as the merchant Lionel Cranfield , who were astute at raising and saving money for the crown, and sold baronetcies and other dignities, many created for the purpose, as an alternative source of income. Another potential source of income was
1638-413: A minority of the social housing . The non-urban parts, inclusive of the embanked water retaining reservoirs, are today for the most part Spelthorne's parks and lakes . The bulk of the rest is mostly narrow buffering land being arable farming, horse-grazing meadows and sheep grazing on the reservoir embankments and fringes with Green Belt legal status. Shopping is available in each of the towns and in
1764-540: A new translation and compilation of approved books of the Bible to resolve discrepancies among different translations then being used. The King James Version , as it came to be known, was completed in 1611 and is considered a masterpiece of Jacobean prose. It is still in widespread use. In Scotland, James attempted to bring the Scottish Kirk "so neir as can be" to the English church and to reestablish episcopacy ,
1890-632: A peace policy, and tried to avoid involvement in religious wars , especially the Thirty Years' War that devastated much of Central Europe. He tried but failed to prevent the rise of hawkish elements in the English Parliament who wanted war with Spain. He was succeeded by his second son, Charles I. James was the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots , and her second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley . Mary and Darnley were great-grandchildren of Henry VII of England through Margaret Tudor ,
2016-573: A period of decline and disrepute. Salisbury's passing gave James the notion of governing in person as his own chief Minister of State, with his young Scottish favourite Robert Carr carrying out many of Salisbury's former duties, but James's inability to attend closely to official business exposed the government to factionalism. The Howard party (consisting of Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton; Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk; Suffolk's son-in-law William Knollys, Lord Knollys ; Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham ; and Thomas Lake ) soon took control of much of
2142-405: A petition asking not only for war with Spain but also for Prince Charles to marry a Protestant, and for enforcement of the anti-Catholic laws. James flatly told them not to interfere in matters of royal prerogative or they would risk punishment, which provoked them into issuing a statement protesting their rights, including freedom of speech. Urged on by George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham , and
2268-706: A policy that met with strong opposition from presbyterians . James returned to Scotland in 1617 for the only time after his accession in England, in the hope of implementing Anglican ritual. James's bishops forced his Five Articles of Perth through a General Assembly the following year, but the rulings were widely resisted. James left the church in Scotland divided at his death, a source of future problems for his son. Throughout his life James had close relationships with male courtiers, which has caused debate among historians about their exact nature. In Scotland Anne Murray
2394-581: A principal cause of the Highlanders' shortcomings and sought to abolish it. It was against this background that James VI authorised the " Gentleman Adventurers of Fife " to civilise the "most barbarous Isle of Lewis " in 1598. James wrote that the colonists were to act "not by agreement" with the local inhabitants, but "by extirpation of thame". Their landing at Stornoway began well, but the colonists were driven out by local forces commanded by Murdoch and Neil MacLeod. The colonists tried again in 1605 with
2520-722: A process "specifically aimed at the extirpation of the Gaelic language, the destruction of its traditional culture and the suppression of its bearers." In the Northern Isles , James's cousin Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney , resisted the Statutes of Iona and was consequently imprisoned. His natural son Robert led an unsuccessful rebellion against James, and the Earl and his son were hanged. Their estates were forfeited, and
2646-552: A recreation ground in 1927. Its first complaint about dangerous driving along the London Road was made in 1909. In addition to the overseer, who was unpaid, the council had two salaried assistant overseers, one of whom was also clerk to the council and the other of whom was the rate collector. The council protested against the inclusion of Stanwell in Staines Urban District, which nevertheless took place, so that
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#17327766485972772-567: A regatta to Penton Hook in July for racing shells . Sunbury Skiff and Punting Club is the newest of all six which are quite clustered on the Thames, several of which incorporate dongola racing , dragon boat racing and canoeing . It organises an August regatta with fireworks. In May the Staines 10k charity run takes place organised by two local running/'strolling' clubs and the council. One of
2898-657: A single parliament for England and Scotland. In his reign, the Plantation of Ulster and English colonisation of the Americas began. At 57 years and 246 days, James's reign in Scotland was the longest of any Scottish monarch . He achieved most of his aims in Scotland but faced great difficulties in England, including the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 and conflicts with the English Parliament . Under James,
3024-549: A stable and energy-efficient drinking water supply to London, are bird reserves and in the case of the Queen Mary Reservoir, a sailing training centre. A similar percentage of land is covered by other lakes, mostly former gravel pits no longer pumped out of water. The 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) River Ash, Surrey starts and ends in the borough. Of recognised high importance to nature is Staines Moor , which alongside Sheepwalk Lake and wetlands , Shepperton are
3150-550: A stock as to praise fools ... You see how many things you did not well ... I wish you would make use of your liberty with more modesty in time to come". As James's reign progressed, his government faced growing financial pressures, partly due to creeping inflation but also to the profligacy and financial incompetence of James's court. In February 1610, Salisbury proposed a scheme, known as the Great Contract , whereby Parliament, in return for ten royal concessions, would grant
3276-478: Is Grade I listed . Stanwell Place was a grand manor house from the 17th century 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of the village church, north of Park Road. The Gibbons family owned the manorial rights from 1754 to 1933, and slowly sold off the estate from the 1800s. Sold to John Watson Gibson in 1933, four years later 330 acres (1.3 km) were sold off to the Metropolitan Water Board for
3402-588: Is Grade II* listed . However Thomas Knyvett College , bears his name in the twenty-first century. James VI and I 's infant daughter Mary died at Stanwell while in the care of the Knyvet household. Several members of the aristocracy lived there in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Cox's Orange Pippin was first grown c. 1830 by Richard Cox in his garden on the Bath Road within the parish, see Colnbrook which now has this piece of land. An unknown species of rose
3528-557: Is also served by the Piccadilly line of London Underground . Stanwell High Street itself is served by minimal public transport provision, of bus routes that run only once or twice a day. However, Clare Road to the east of Stanwell is served regularly (three buses an hour) by London Buses route 203 between Hounslow and Staines, as well as by route 442 half-hourly between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Staines operated by local bus company Carlone Ltd. Stanwell has historically been one of
3654-557: Is due in 2027. Since the last boundary changes in 2003 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 13 wards , with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The council offices are at Knowle Green in Staines. The building was opened in 1972 for the former Staines Urban District Council, shortly before that council was abolished in 1974 to be replaced by Spelthorne Borough Council. The borough council estimates it has 3.0 square kilometres (750 acres) of parks, including, from Shepperton upstream,
3780-553: Is largely ceremonial in Spelthorne. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 1995 have been: Following the 2023 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was: Five of the independent councillors sit together as the 'Independent Spelthorne Group', the other sits with the Conservatives. The next election
3906-510: Is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free). Borough of Spelthorne Spelthorne is a local government district with borough status in Surrey , England. Its council is based in Staines-upon-Thames ; other settlements in the area include Ashford , Sunbury-on-Thames , Shepperton , Stanwell and Laleham . It is named after the medieval Spelthorne Hundred which had covered
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4032-490: Is to the south of the cargo-handling area of Heathrow Airport and to the east of the Staines Reservoirs . Stanwell is the northernmost settlement in Surrey, bordering Berkshire and Greater London . Its recognisable extent has been substantially cut three times – all in the 20th century. Land was taken for reservoirs in about 1900; a few decades later land was taken into Heathrow Airport; and in 1995, after
4158-482: Is well known that the king of England / fucks the Duke of Buckingham". Buckingham himself provides evidence that he slept in the same bed as the king, writing to James many years later that he had pondered "whether you loved me now ... better than at the time which I shall never forget at Farnham, where the bed's head could not be found between the master and his dog". Buckingham's words may be interpreted as non-sexual, in
4284-449: The 2023 election , independent councillor Joanne Sexton was appointed leader of the council, with Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Bateson serving as deputy leader. The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: The role of mayor
4410-606: The Authorized King James Version ), and the 1604 revision of the Book of Common Prayer . Anthony Weldon claimed that James had been termed "the wisest fool in Christendom ", an epithet associated with his character ever since. Since the latter half of the 20th century, historians have tended to revise James's reputation and treat him as a serious and thoughtful monarch. He was strongly committed to
4536-454: The Battle of Langside , forcing her to flee to England, where she was subsequently kept in confinement by Elizabeth. On 23 January 1570, Moray was assassinated by James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh . The next regent was James's paternal grandfather, Matthew Stewart, Earl of Lennox , who was carried fatally wounded into Stirling Castle a year later after a raid by Mary's supporters. His successor,
4662-564: The Castalian Band , which included William Fowler and Alexander Montgomerie among others, Montgomerie being a favourite of the king. James was himself a poet, and was happy to be seen as a practising member of the group. By the late 1590s, James's championing of native Scottish tradition was reduced to some extent by the increasing likelihood of his succession to the English throne. William Alexander and other courtier poets started to anglicise their written language, and followed
4788-433: The English Parliament , "compassed with one sea and of itself by nature indivisible?" In April 1604, however, the Commons refused his request to be titled "King of Great Britain" on legal grounds. In October 1604, he assumed the title "King of Great Britain" instead of "King of England" and "King of Scotland", though Francis Bacon told him that he could not use the style in "any legal proceeding, instrument or assurance" and
4914-569: The Lordship of the Isles by James IV of Scotland in 1493 had led to troubled times for the western seaboard. James IV had subdued the organised military might of the Hebrides , but he and his immediate successors lacked the will or ability to provide an alternative form of governance. As a result, the 16th century became known as linn nan creach , the time of raids. Furthermore, the effects of
5040-663: The Office for National Statistics managed to classify 50.8 square kilometres (19.6 sq mi), 99% of land in Spelthorne. The findings of this study showed that the land use in Spelthorne was as follows: Two Rivers Retail Park and Elmsleigh Shopping Centre in Staines-upon-Thames. In 2016 there were: The district has two publicly sponsored leisure centres and two private clubs with pools, and two without pools: It has two golf courses. School-taught English sports: cricket and football are played at many pitches;
5166-638: The Orkney and Shetland islands were annexed to the Crown. In 1597–98, James wrote The True Law of Free Monarchies and Basilikon Doron ( Royal Gift ), in which he argues a theological basis for monarchy. In the True Law , he sets out the divine right of kings , explaining that kings are higher beings than other men for Biblical reasons, though "the highest bench is the sliddriest to sit upon". The document proposes an absolutist theory of monarchy, by which
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5292-628: The Popish Recusants Act , which could require any subject to take an Oath of Allegiance denying the pope's authority over the king. James was conciliatory towards Catholics who took the Oath of Allegiance, and tolerated crypto-Catholicism even at court. Henry Howard, for example, was a crypto-Catholic, received back into the Catholic Church in his final months. On ascending the English throne, James suspected that he might need
5418-657: The River Colne West Bedfont may have been a hamlet of Stanwell in 1086; however, the dividing line between West Bedfont hamlet in Stanwell parish and East Bedfont in the parish of Bedfont (now in Greater London ) may not have been drawn before the 11th or 12th century. West Bedfont along with Rudsworth are no longer used by residents (as localities, hamlets, neighbourhoods). In the Middle Ages
5544-523: The Thames Path . Its sixteen main parks with recreational/sports facilities are supplemented by small greens and linear parks, such as those by the River Thames . The largest parks have woodland and flowering meadow. These support diverse and rare grasses, invertebrates and birds on a rich alluvial soil: Laleham Park and Sunbury Park . The final great reduction of private parks was that of
5670-487: The Witchcraft Act 1563 . Several people were convicted of using witchcraft to send storms against James's ship , most notably Agnes Sampson . James became concerned with the threat posed by witches and wrote Daemonologie in 1597, a tract inspired by his personal involvement that opposed the practice of witchcraft and that provided background material for Shakespeare's Macbeth . James personally supervised
5796-522: The coronation was preached by John Knox . In accordance with the religious beliefs of most of the Scottish ruling class, James was brought up as a member of the Protestant Church of Scotland , the Kirk. The Privy Council selected George Buchanan , Peter Young , Adam Erskine (lay abbot of Cambuskenneth ), and David Erskine (lay abbot of Dryburgh ) as James's preceptors or tutors. As
5922-442: The "Golden Age" of Elizabethan literature and drama continued, with writers such as William Shakespeare , John Donne , Ben Jonson , and Francis Bacon contributing to a flourishing literary culture. James was a prolific writer, authoring works such as Daemonologie (1597), The True Law of Free Monarchies (1598), and Basilikon Doron (1599). He sponsored the translation of the Bible into English (later named after him,
6048-423: The 18th century the remaining common land was generally known as Stanwell Field or Town Field until its enclosure. Orchards and market gardens began to spread over the parish in the second half of the 19th century. The Staines and West Drayton Railway (now closed) was opened in 1884, with Colnbrook railway station in Stanwell parish at Poyle, after the then neighbouring village. The streets of small houses behind
6174-532: The A30 between 1895 and 1910. The Staines Reservoirs were completed in 1902 and started supplying water to London in 1904. Between them they cover 440 acres (180 ha). The two old settlements grew slightly, notably by the building of council housing estates in Stanwell in 1919 and in Stanwell Moor in 1930. A private motor-bus served the village by 1926, and London Transport buses began in 1932. Poyle Halt on
6300-680: The Church of England Diocese of London and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster . The rest of Surrey falls into the Anglican dioceses of Guildford and Southwark , and the Roman Catholic diocese of Arundel and Brighton . Floods in 2014 caused internal damage to 891 (or 2.2%) of homes in Spelthorne due to record rainfall causing Thames flooding . This compared to internal damage to more than 30% of homes in
6426-645: The Duke of Buckingham" whom the king would, recalled Sir Edward Peyton , "tumble and kiss as a mistress". Restoration of Apethorpe Palace , Northamptonshire, undertaken in 2004–08 revealed a previously unknown passage linking the bedchambers of James and Villiers. Some biographers of James argue that the relationships were not sexual. James's Basilikon Doron lists sodomy among crimes "ye are bound in conscience never to forgive", and James's wife Anne gave birth to seven live children, as well as suffering two stillbirths and at least three other miscarriages. Contemporary Huguenot poet Théophile de Viau observed that "it
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#17327766485976552-541: The Earl of Mar, "took a vehement sickness" and died on 28 October 1572 at Stirling. Mar's illness, wrote James Melville , followed a banquet at Dalkeith Palace given by James Douglas, Earl of Morton . Morton was elected to Mar's office and proved in many ways the most effective of James's regents, but he made enemies by his rapacity. He fell from favour when Frenchman Esmé Stewart, Sieur d'Aubigny , first cousin of James's father Lord Darnley and future Earl of Lennox , arrived in Scotland and quickly established himself as
6678-472: The English succession became a cornerstone of his policy. During the Spanish Armada crisis of 1588, he assured Elizabeth of his support as "your natural son and compatriot of your country". Elizabeth sent James an annual subsidy from 1586 which gave her some leverage over affairs in Scotland. Throughout his youth, James was praised for his chastity, since he showed little interest in women. After
6804-544: The Gunpowder Plot was atypical. Instead, it was the previous session of 1604 that shaped the attitudes of both sides for the rest of the reign, though the initial difficulties owed more to mutual incomprehension than conscious enmity. On 7 July 1604, James had angrily prorogued Parliament after failing to win its support either for full union or financial subsidies. "I will not thank where I feel no thanks due", he had remarked in his closing speech. "... I am not of such
6930-480: The Privy Council, as well as five Scottish nobles. In the early years of James's reign, the day-to-day running of the government was tightly managed by the shrewd Cecil, later Earl of Salisbury , ably assisted by the experienced Thomas Egerton , whom James made Baron Ellesmere and Lord Chancellor , and by Thomas Sackville , soon Earl of Dorset , who continued as Lord Treasurer . As a consequence, James
7056-694: The Reformation were slow to affect the Gàidhealtachd , driving a religious wedge between this area and centres of political control in the Central Belt . In 1540, James V had toured the Hebrides, forcing the clan chiefs to accompany him. There followed a period of peace, but the clans were soon at loggerheads with one another again. During James VI's reign, the citizens of the Hebrides were portrayed as lawless barbarians rather than being
7182-557: The Spanish ambassador Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, Count of Gondomar , James ripped the protest out of the record book and dissolved Parliament. In early 1623, Prince Charles, now 22, and Buckingham decided to seize the initiative and travel to Spain incognito, to win Infanta Maria Anna directly, but the mission proved an ineffectual mistake. Maria Anna detested Charles, and the Spanish confronted them with terms that included
7308-642: The Tower of London, where he had been placed at the king's request. Among those convicted of the murder were the Earl and Countess of Somerset; the Earl had been replaced as the king's favourite in the meantime by Villiers. James pardoned the Countess and commuted the Earl's sentence of death, eventually pardoning him in 1624. The implication of the king in such a scandal provoked much public and literary conjecture and irreparably tarnished James's court with an image of corruption and depravity. The subsequent downfall of
7434-560: The Virgin is a Norman building with a 14th-century Gothic chancel and 15th-century Perpendicular Gothic west tower. The tower has a spire with wood shingles . Inside the church are monuments to members of the Knyvet(t) family who bought Staines manor after their foiling of the planting of the gunpowder and Fawkes. The church was restored in 1862 under the direction of Samuel Sanders Teulon , and restored again in 1903. The building
7560-515: The area plus adjoining parts of modern Greater London. The district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor . The borough ceded a small amount of land in 1995, when Poyle was transferred to Slough. The Spelthorne area was included in the Metropolitan Police District from 1840 until 2000, when it passed to Surrey Police . Spelthorne remains part of
7686-629: The area. The borough is largely urban; although outside the boundaries of Greater London , it is almost entirely inside the M25 motorway which encircles London . The borough contains several large reservoirs, including the Wraysbury Reservoir , Staines Reservoirs and Queen Mary Reservoir , which all supply fresh water to London and surrounding areas. The neighbouring districts are Elmbridge , Runnymede , Windsor and Maidenhead , Slough , Hillingdon , Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames ,
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#17327766485977812-400: The borough, which is an unparished area . On 27 February 2024, Spelthorne Borough Council unveiled their Corporate Plan for 2024-2028, highlighting their key priorities for the next few years. As of 2023, the council had £1.1 billion in borrowing, with the highest borrowing to income ratio of any council in England. The council has been under no overall control since 2020. Following
7938-546: The broad expression 'the M4 corridor '. There was little building in the parish before World War I . The first factory/warehouse at Poyle appeared before 1914 another at West Bedfont in the 1920s. By 1956 there were between 70 and 80 at Poyle, and several at West Bedfont. During the 1920s and 1930s ribbon development spread along the main roads: on the A4 Bath Road Colnbrook remains mainly residential. Garages and
8064-454: The child's mouth, as was then the custom. The subsequent entertainment , devised by Frenchman Bastian Pagez , featured men dressed as satyrs and sporting tails, to which the English guests took offence, thinking the satyrs "done against them". Lord Darnley was murdered on 10 February 1567 at Kirk o' Field, Edinburgh, perhaps in revenge for the killing of Rizzio. James inherited his father's titles of Duke of Albany and Earl of Ross . Mary
8190-478: The completion of the M25 motorway , the settlement of Poyle (beyond Stanwell Moor) was detached from the Borough and reassigned to Colnbrook in the Borough of Slough. Stanwell Moor is near the village and has multiple reservoirs around it. It was recognised as a manor in medieval times. It has a few pasture/horse-riding fields, horticultural businesses and flood meadows. It is centred 1 mile (1.6 km) from
8316-443: The context of 17th-century court life, and remain ambiguous despite their fondness. It is also possible that James was bisexual. When the Earl of Salisbury died in 1612, he was little mourned by those who jostled to fill the power vacuum. Until Salisbury's death, the Elizabethan administrative system over which he had presided continued to function with relative efficiency; from this time forward, however, James's government entered
8442-406: The council was dissolved. In 1951 the parish had a population of 8148. On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished. In the northwest of the parish, off Spout Lane, Middlesex County Council established 24 small holdings in the early 1930s: Burrows Hill Close estate and Bedfont Court. The part of Stanwell New Road north of Park Road opened as a main north–south route in 1948. The following year, most of
8568-423: The county's major archery clubs (Spelthorne Archers) and five lawn bowls clubs. Fishing is open to all, subject to rod licensing, from the Thames Path National Trail and adjoining islands in Laleham and Staines as well as at lakes in Shepperton and Ashford. One rowing club is in the borough, at Laleham, with others nearby including Staines Boat Club across Staines Bridge from the town centre which organises
8694-434: The cradle of Scottish Christianity and nationhood. Official documents describe the peoples of the Highlands as "void of the knawledge and feir of God" who were prone to "all kynd of barbarous and bestile cruelteis". The Gaelic language, spoken fluently by James IV and probably by James V, became known in the time of James VI as "Erse" or Irish, implying that it was foreign in nature. Parliament decided that Gaelic had become
8820-463: The crossing had been abandoned, James sailed from Leith with a 300-strong retinue to fetch Anne personally in what historian David Harris Willson called "the one romantic episode of his life". The couple were married formally at the Bishop's Palace in Oslo on 23 November. James received a dowry of 75,000 Danish dalers and a gift of 10,000 dalers from his mother-in-law, Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow . After stays at Elsinore and Copenhagen and
8946-466: The defunct railway opened in 1927 and Poyle Industrial Estate Halt in 1953. Housing society and council house building began after the Second World War , including 300 pre-fabricated homes. From 1930, having formed part of a 19th-century Sanitary District then Rural District, Stanwell was administered by Staines Urban District (of the county of Middlesex) until its 1974 dissolution. In 1965 were it not for special provision Stanwell would have seceded with
9072-546: The development of the King George VI Reservoir , now in Staines. After Gibson's death in 1947, Stanwell Place was sold to King Faisal II of Iraq who owned it until his assassination in 1958. The estate was then purchased for gravel extraction, and despite local attempts to prevent it, the house was allowed to become derelict, and demolished in the 1960s. What was the north of the parish is a major industrial, distribution and headquarters zone, bound up now in
9198-632: The early 20th century, a sale of Laleham manor demesne by the Earl of Lucan . The Jockey Club , as owner of Kempton Park Racecourse , is successor to the domain of the lords of the manor of Kempton – about 40% is a large nature reserve with its internal two large ponds abutting the Kempton Park Reservoirs Site of Special Scientific Interest , on Thames flood meadow . The borough has five reservoirs, covering more than 15% of land, which apart from their main use of ensuring
9324-440: The eldest son and heir apparent of the monarch automatically became Duke of Rothesay and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland . Five days later, the English diplomat Henry Killigrew saw the queen, who had not fully recovered and could only speak faintly. The baby was "sucking at his nurse" and was "well proportioned and like to prove a goodly prince". He was baptised "Charles James" or "James Charles" on 17 December 1566 in
9450-492: The few wards of Surrey County Council held by the Labour Party. The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%. The proportion of households in the settlement who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining %
9576-455: The first of James's powerful favourites. James was proclaimed an adult ruler in a ceremony of Entry to Edinburgh on 19 October 1579. Morton was executed on 2 June 1581, belatedly charged with complicity in Darnley's murder. On 8 August, James made Lennox the only duke in Scotland. The king, then fifteen years old, remained under the influence of Lennox for about one more year. Lennox was
9702-587: The first year of his reign, despite the smoothness of the succession and the warmth of his welcome: the Bye Plot and Main Plot , which led to the arrest of Henry Brooke, Lord Cobham and Walter Raleigh , among others. Those hoping for a change in government from James were disappointed at first when he kept Elizabeth's Privy Councillors in office, as secretly planned with Cecil, but James soon added long-time supporter Henry Howard and his nephew Thomas Howard to
9828-583: The former Hounslow Heath land to the north-east, predominantly in Harmondsworth , became London Airport. The east end of the local road to Bedfont was diverted, and the roads running north were turned over, together with the eastern half of Spout Lane, where houses were demolished. In 2004, the village of Stanwell won a bronze medal in the national Britain in Bloom competition, in the urban community category. The Church of England parish church of St Mary
9954-623: The government and its patronage. Even the powerful Carr fell into the Howard camp, hardly experienced for the responsibilities thrust upon him and often dependent on his intimate friend Thomas Overbury for assistance with government papers. Carr had an adulterous affair with Frances Howard, Countess of Essex , daughter of the Earl of Suffolk. James assisted Frances by securing an annulment of her marriage to free her to marry Carr, now Earl of Somerset. In summer 1615, however, it emerged that Overbury had been poisoned. He had died on 15 September 1613 in
10080-414: The historical nucleus of Stanwell and is part of the same ward and ecclesiastical parish. There are two theories regarding the origin of the name Stanwell . One is that it was named after St Ann(e)'s well in the village, but according to all known records the parish church has always been dedicated to St Mary. The second is that it means 'stone well', referring to stony soil or the adjoining street to
10206-561: The king had personally appointed royal chaplain in 1579, rebuked him so sharply from the pulpit for having issued a proclamation so offensive to the clergy "that the king wept". After James escaped from Falkland on 27 June 1583, he assumed increasing control of his kingdom. He pushed through the Black Acts to assert royal authority over the Kirk, and denounced the writings of his former tutor Buchanan. Between 1584 and 1603, he established effective royal government and relative peace among
10332-504: The king to London after 1603. James's role as active literary participant and patron made him a defining figure in many respects for English Renaissance poetry and drama, which reached a pinnacle of achievement in his reign, but his patronage of the high style in the Scottish tradition, which included his ancestor James I of Scotland , became largely sidelined. From 1601, in the last years of Elizabeth's life, certain English politicians—notably her chief minister Robert Cecil —maintained
10458-473: The king's "head court", foreshadows his difficulties with the English House of Commons : "Hold no Parliaments," he tells Henry, "but for the necesitie of new Lawes, which would be but seldome". In the True Law , James maintains that the king owns his realm as a feudal lord owns his fief, because kings arose "before any estates or ranks of men, before any parliaments were holden, or laws made, and by them
10584-530: The king's person occurred in August 1600, when James was apparently assaulted by Alexander Ruthven , the younger brother of John Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie at Gowrie House , the seat of the Ruthvens. Ruthven was run through by James's page John Ramsay , and the Earl of Gowrie was killed in the ensuing fracas; there were few surviving witnesses. Given James's history with the Ruthvens and the fact that he owed them
10710-399: The large minority of head manors retained by men with Anglo-Saxon names. Its Domesday assets were: 15 hide , 4 mills worth £3 10s 0d and 375 eels , 3 weirs worth 1000 eels , 10 ploughs , meadow for 12 ploughs and woodland worth 12 hogs . It rendered £14 per year to its feudal system overlords. The fruitful watercourse was the western border of the village and of Middlesex ,
10836-577: The last Tudor monarch of England and Ireland, who died childless. He continued to reign in all three kingdoms for 22 years, a period known as the Jacobean era , until his death in 1625. After the Union of the Crowns, he based himself in England (the largest of the three realms) from 1603, returning to Scotland only once, in 1617, and styled himself " King of Great Britain and Ireland ". He was an advocate of
10962-509: The latter three being London boroughs . The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering two former districts which were both abolished at the same time: These two urban districts had been part of Middlesex prior to 1965, when they had been transferred to Surrey on the creation of Greater London. The new district was named after the medieval hundred of Spelthorne, which had covered
11088-565: The lords, ably assisted by John Maitland of Thirlestane , who led the government until 1592. An eight-man commission known as the Octavians brought some control over the ruinous state of James's finances in 1596, but it drew opposition from vested interests. It was disbanded within a year after a riot in Edinburgh, which was stoked by anti-Catholicism and led the court to withdraw to Linlithgow temporarily. One last Scottish attempt against
11214-528: The loss of Lennox, he continued to prefer male company. A suitable marriage, however, was necessary to reinforce his rule, and the choice fell on fourteen-year-old Anne of Denmark , younger daughter of the Protestant Danish king Frederick II . Shortly after a proxy marriage in Copenhagen in August 1589, Anne sailed for Scotland but was forced by storms to the coast of Norway. On hearing that
11340-734: The more than 720 nationwide 5,000-metre running competitions of the major organiser is around the rugby union club in its borders, which has a small nature reserve it owns to one end. Other venues hosting annual events in a range of sports are Kempton Park Racecourse and Staines Lammas Park. The stated proportion of land that is absorbed by domestic dwellings tends to be housing with gardens forming suburbs to London and otherwise has mid rise urban town centres with exceptional offices (in Staines-upon-Thames) and apartments (in Sunbury-on-Thames) which are high rise, including
11466-478: The necessary finance, they prevailed upon James to call another Parliament, which met in February 1624. For once, the outpouring of anti-Catholic sentiment in the Commons was echoed in court, where control of policy was shifting from James to Charles and Buckingham, who pressured the king to declare war and engineered the impeachment of Lord Treasurer Lionel Cranfield, by now made Earl of Middlesex , when he opposed
11592-653: The negotiations for almost a decade. The policy was supported by the Howards and other Catholic-leaning ministers and diplomats—together known as the Spanish Party—but deeply distrusted in Protestant England. When Walter Raleigh was released from imprisonment in 1616, he embarked on a hunt for gold in South America with strict instructions from James not to engage the Spanish. Raleigh's expedition
11718-516: The neighbouring settlement of Wraysbury in the borough of Windsor and Maidenhead . In 2014 a campaign group of local business leaders called for the borough – along with others close to the capital – to be transferred from the county of Surrey to Greater London. The proposal was generally opposed by the public and was not pursued. Spelthorne Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council . There are no civil parishes in
11844-446: The older sister of Henry VIII . Mary's rule over Scotland was insecure, and she and her husband, being Roman Catholics , faced a rebellion by Protestant noblemen. During Mary's and Darnley's difficult marriage, Darnley secretly allied himself with the rebels and conspired in the murder of the queen's private secretary, David Rizzio , just three months before James's birth. James was born on 19 June 1566 at Edinburgh Castle , and as
11970-459: The parish was mostly open fields In 1603, Thomas Knyvet was granted the manor of Stanwell. Knyvet was the man who arrested Guy Fawkes in his attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament . He was created Lord Knyvet in 1607, and in his will left money to found a free school in Stanwell, which was established in 1624. The building is no longer a school and now belongs to a housing association. It
12096-481: The plan on grounds of cost. The outcome of the Parliament of 1624 was ambiguous: James still refused to declare or fund a war, but Charles believed the Commons had committed themselves to finance a war against Spain, a stance that was to contribute to his problems with Parliament in his own reign. After the Gunpowder Plot, James sanctioned harsh measures to control English Catholics. In May 1606, Parliament passed
12222-476: The prospect of a Spanish dowry from a marriage between Charles, Prince of Wales, and Infanta Maria Anna of Spain . The policy of the Spanish match , as it was called, was also attractive to James as a way to maintain peace with Spain and avoid the additional costs of a war. Peace could be maintained as effectively by keeping the negotiations alive as by consummating the match—which may explain why James protracted
12348-592: The repeal of anti-Catholic legislation by Parliament. Though a treaty was signed, Charles and Buckingham returned to England in October without the infanta and immediately renounced the treaty, much to the delight of the British people. Disillusioned by the visit to Spain, Charles and Buckingham now turned James's Spanish policy upon its head and called for a French match and a war against the Habsburg empire. To raise
12474-434: The rest of Middlesex to London : the Staines, Sunbury and Potters Bar Urban Districts transferred variously to Surrey and Hertfordshire , the most distant parts of the county from London. The civil parish , with its wider functions than those surviving today. It was relatively active; it intervened with partial success in the negotiations for the building of the reservoirs and saw the provision of allotments in 1918 and of
12600-478: The river banks, particularly in the north, but the remainder of the parish was largely arable land. Nearly all the land west of Stanwell Moor's clustered centre and that around Hammonds Farm was enclosed by the mid-18th century. Borough Field, to the north and west of the manor-house, and another small field nearby were inclosed in 1771 by the lord of the manor. Most of the area south of Stanwell and West Bedfont villages remained open until 1792 on their enclosure. By
12726-639: The route and James was amazed by the wealth of his new land and subjects, claiming that he was "swapping a stony couch for a deep feather bed". James arrived in the capital on 7 May, nine days after Elizabeth's funeral. His new subjects flocked to see him, relieved that the succession had triggered neither unrest nor invasion. On arrival at London, he was mobbed by a crowd of spectators. James's English coronation took place on 25 July at Westminster Abbey . An outbreak of plague restricted festivities. The Royal Entry to London with elaborate allegories provided by dramatic poets such as Thomas Dekker and Ben Jonson
12852-481: The same result, although a third attempt in 1607 was more successful. The Statutes of Iona were enacted in 1609, which required clan chiefs to provide support for Protestant ministers to Highland parishes; to outlaw bards; to report regularly to Edinburgh to answer for their actions; and to send their heirs to Lowland Scotland , to be educated in English-speaking Protestant schools. So began
12978-485: The sites of special scientific interest (SSSI). Hospitality is widespread in the riverside towns. Sunbury and Staines town hubs are within 6 miles (10 km) of top UK attractions such as Windsor Castle, Thorpe Park, Hampton Court, Twickenham Rugby Stadium and Kew Gardens. Staines is the borough's main station, being served by South Western Railway services to London Waterloo , Reading and Windsor & Eton Riverside . A January 2005 enhanced base map study by
13104-492: The skilled diplomacy of the delegation, in particular Robert Cecil and Henry Howard, now Earl of Northampton . James celebrated the treaty by hosting a great banquet. Freedom of worship for Catholics in England, however, continued to be a major objective of Spanish policy, causing constant dilemmas for James, distrusted abroad for repression of Catholics while at home being encouraged by the Privy Council to show even less tolerance towards them. A dissident Catholic, Guy Fawkes ,
13230-691: The south. The first few letters of the name are the same as in the name of neighbouring Staines-upon-Thames, which also is said to mean 'stones', in the same way as the Great Vowel Shift failed to influence the spelling and pronunciation of the contemporaneously pronounced Stane Streets (i.e. stone streets), the Old English for many of the stone-laid Roman roads in Britain The Domesday Book of 1086 records 'Stanwelle' held by Walter, son of Othere. This places it among
13356-421: The southwest Crooked Billet roundabout (named after a demolished pub) were built in the 1880s. As a community they formed part of Staines, and were transferred to it officially in 1896. The Staines Union Workhouse was built on the London Road in the mid-19th century. Together with a former boys' home and a former isolation hospital, both opened about 1913, it became Ashford Hospital. Two cemeteries were opened near
13482-525: The support of Catholics in England, so he assured Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland , a prominent sympathiser of the old religion, that he would not persecute "any that will be quiet and give but an outward obedience to the law". In the Millenary Petition of 1603, the Puritan clergy demanded the abolition of confirmation , wedding rings, and the term "priest", among other things, and that
13608-577: The third consecutive Scottish monarch to ascend to the throne as an infant. The care of James was entrusted to the Earl and Countess of Mar , "to be conserved, nursed, and upbrought" in the security of Stirling Castle. James was anointed King of Scotland at the age of thirteen months at the Church of the Holy Rude in Stirling, by Adam Bothwell , Bishop of Orkney , on 29 July 1567. The sermon at
13734-659: The third, rugby union is played at the London Irish Hazelwood Centre sharing pitches with London Irish Amateur Rugby Football Club in Sunbury. Staines Rugby Club play next to the Feltham -Hanworth-Sunbury tripoint in Lower Feltham. Spelthorne has two football clubs – semi- or non-professional – as the top men's sides compete in the lower leagues: Spelthorne hosts one of
13860-490: The title was not used on English statutes. James forced the Scottish Parliament to use it, and it was used on proclamations, coinage, letters, and treaties in both realms. James achieved more success in foreign policy. Never having been at war with Spain, he devoted his efforts to bringing the long Anglo–Spanish War to an end, and a peace treaty was signed between the two countries in August 1604, thanks to
13986-435: The torture of women accused of being witches. After 1599, his views became more sceptical. In a later letter written in England to his son Henry, James congratulates the prince on "the discovery of yon little counterfeit wench. I pray God ye may be my heir in such discoveries ... most miracles now-a-days prove but illusions, and ye may see by this how wary judges should be in trusting accusations". The forcible dissolution of
14112-660: The village of Shepperton but not in the other small villages which are connected by road and bus to the nearby towns. Kempton Park Racecourse and Shepperton Studios are in Spelthorne. Staines is the largest town and has local government and judicial buildings. Each of the towns has libraries and schools. In July 2017, Shepperton was named as the UK's most courteous town by the National Campaign for Courtesy. Notes References James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625)
14238-514: The wearing of cap and surplice become optional. James was strict in enforcing conformity at first, inducing a sense of persecution amongst many Puritans; but ejections and suspensions from livings became rarer as the reign continued. As a result of the Hampton Court Conference of 1604, some Puritan demands were acceded to in the 1604 Book of Common Prayer , though many remained displeased. The conference also commissioned
14364-517: The whole body of the State in general". The sensational discovery of the "Gunpowder Plot", as it quickly became known, aroused a mood of national relief at the delivery of the king and his sons. The Earl of Salisbury exploited this to extract higher subsidies from the ensuing Parliament than any but one granted to Elizabeth. Fawkes and others implicated in the unsuccessful conspiracy were executed. The co-operation between monarch and Parliament following
14490-456: The young king's senior tutor, Buchanan subjected James to regular beatings but also instilled in him a lifelong passion for literature and learning. Buchanan sought to turn James into a God-fearing, Protestant king who accepted the limitations of monarchy, as outlined in his treatise De Jure Regni apud Scotos . In 1568, Mary escaped from Lochleven Castle, leading to several years of sporadic violence. The Earl of Moray defeated Mary's troops at
14616-450: Was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until his death in 1625. Although he long tried to get both countries to adopt a closer political union, the kingdoms of Scotland and England remained sovereign states , with their own parliaments, judiciaries, and laws, ruled by James in personal union . James
14742-622: Was a disastrous failure, and his son Walter was killed fighting the Spanish. On Raleigh's return to England, James had him executed to the indignation of the public, who opposed the appeasement of Spain. James's policy was further jeopardised by the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War , especially after his Protestant son-in-law, Frederick V, Elector Palatine , was ousted from Bohemia by the Catholic Emperor Ferdinand II in 1620, and Spanish troops simultaneously invaded Frederick's Rhineland home territory. Matters came to
14868-552: Was already unpopular, and her marriage on 15 May 1567 to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell , who was widely suspected of murdering Darnley, heightened widespread bad feeling towards her. In June 1567, Protestant rebels arrested Mary and imprisoned her in Lochleven Castle ; she never saw her son again. She was forced to abdicate on 24 July 1567 in favour of the infant James and to appoint her illegitimate half-brother James Stewart, Earl of Moray , as regent . This made James
14994-527: Was deferred to 15 March 1604. Dekker wrote that "the streets seemed to be paved with men; stalls instead of rich wares were set out with children; open casements filled up with women". The kingdom to which James succeeded, however, had its problems. Monopolies and taxation had engendered a widespread sense of grievance, and the costs of war in Ireland had become a heavy burden on the government, which had debts of £400,000. James survived two conspiracies in
15120-437: Was discovered in the cellars of the parliament buildings on the night of 4–5 November 1605, the eve of the state opening of the second session of James's first English Parliament. Fawkes was guarding a pile of wood not far from 36 barrels of gunpowder with which he intended to blow up Parliament House the following day and cause the destruction, as James put it, "not only ... of my person, nor of my wife and posterity also, but of
15246-399: Was found in a local garden in 1838, and given the name of Stanwell Perpetual. Hounslow Heath extended over the area north of Bedfont Road until 1792, and a strip of moorland (Borough Green and Spout Moor) along the present Spout Lane joined it to Hither Moor and Farther Moor, which stretched towards Staines Moor. There were lammas lands in the far east and elsewhere and meadows along many of
15372-455: Was free to concentrate on bigger issues, such as a scheme for a closer union between England and Scotland and matters of foreign policy, as well as to enjoy his leisure pursuits, particularly hunting. James was ambitious to build on the personal union of Scotland and England to establish a single country under one monarch, one parliament, and one law, a plan that met opposition in both realms. "Hath He not made us all in one island," James told
15498-667: Was known as the king's mistress. After his accession in England, his peaceful and scholarly attitude contrasted strikingly with the bellicose and flirtatious behaviour of Elizabeth, as indicated by the contemporary epigram Rex fuit Elizabeth, nunc est regina Iacobus (Elizabeth was King, now James is Queen). Some of James's biographers conclude that Esmé Stewart, Duke of Lennox; Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset ; and George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, were his lovers. John Oglander observed that he "never yet saw any fond husband make so much or so great dalliance over his beautiful spouse as I have seen King James over his favourites, especially
15624-464: Was seriously ill from 1617. James visited Anne only three times during her last illness. She died before her husband , in March 1619. James's visit to Denmark, a country familiar with witch-hunts , sparked an interest in the study of witchcraft , which he considered a branch of theology. He attended the North Berwick witch trials , the first major persecution of witches in Scotland under
15750-481: Was the land distributed, which at first was wholly theirs. And so it follows of necessity that kings were the authors and makers of the laws, and not the laws of the kings." In the 1580s and 1590s, James promoted the literature of his native country. He published his treatise Some Rules and Cautions to be Observed and Eschewed in Scottish Prosody in 1584 at the age of 18. It was both a poetic manual and
15876-679: Was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots , and a great-great-grandson of Henry VII , King of England and Lord of Ireland, and thus a potential successor to all three thrones. He acceded to the Scottish throne at the age of thirteen months, after his mother was forced to abdicate in his favour. Four regents governed during his minority , which ended officially in 1578, though he did not gain full control of his government until 1583. In 1589, he married Anne of Denmark . Three of their children survived to adulthood: Henry Frederick , Elizabeth , and Charles . In 1603, James succeeded his cousin Elizabeth I ,
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