Stage 3 of our walk around Staines is 2.15 miles in length. It starts on the footpath, on the north side of the River Thames and immediately upstream from Staines Bridge. The walk takes in the River Thames, Church Island, the Lammas Park, Lammas Nature Reserve, Staines Reservoir Aqueduct, Staines Moor, Moormede and Mill Mead.

For an interactive map of Part 3 of the Staines Historic Walk visit the link at MapMyWalk.com. I apologise as the photos have not come out below, However, you can also download the full route description with photos as a Word doc at the bottom of this page.

TO START. Follow the footpath upstream along the Thames and away from Staines Bridge.

Tilling at Hanover House

The path soon passes Thames Side Brewery & Tap Room and then Hanover House, headquarters of a national housing association catering for the elderly. The building is modern and is listed in the Staines Artwalk:

“If you keep following the River Thames north beyond the bridge, you will find an intricate mosaic facing the river. This decorative tiling is part of Hanover House.”

A plaque on the river side of the building, dated 1999, displays an award from the Staines Town Society.

As you continue to walk along the path, to the right and facing onto the River Thames, there are a few modern residential buildings. They occupy part of the area where Harry H. Gardam (Engineering) Co. Ltd. was once based. The red-brick houses and small green gardens are quite pleasant to the eye, but it does seem to be a strange use of some of the most important land in the town.

The footpath along the river soon comes out onto Church Street. Stay left past the footbridge to Church Island and along the road, after 50 yards turn left through a metal gate into Lammas Park. Immediately, through the gate, stay left and along the footpath next to the River Thames.

Church Island

Church Island has a handful of houses on it, a few boats moored around it and is connected to the north bank of the river by a footbridge. Many years ago barrels of beer from the Ashby Brewery were transported here by chain ferry, then taken across the island and loaded onto boats. The old chain ferry (see left photo below), although looking a bit sad for itself, is still moored to the north side of the island.

The Thames stream between the Middlesex bank and the island provided a sheltered backwater for sports up to the late 1920s: a place for small boys to fish with home-made rods; a base for Staines & District Swimming Club; where people could hire small rowing crafts from John Tims’ Boatyard, and where the popular annual Staines & Egham Juvenile Regatta was held between 1906 and 1931 (see photo below).

In the early 1900s the Staines Swimming Club had its headquarters on Church Island, but between the wars the club moved their base from the island to The Lammas when it became a public land again. As you can see from the photo, in Edwardian Times, morals of the day meant that even men could not swim bare-chested and all in this old photo below obliged.

Some sources (Wikipedia is one) suggest “Ad Pontes” referred to a crossing of the river via Church Island, where one bridge ran from the north bank of the Thames to the island and a second spanned the main stream of the river to the south bank. On studying maps, this is a real possibility as the old A30 into Staines High Street veers in the correct direction. However, shortly before reaching the Thames, the route would still have had to cross the Colne and thus suggest three bridges. Whichever theory is correct, it’s clear an important Roman Road ran from Holborn along Oxford Street, joining the route of the A402 through Shepherds Bush, the A315 through Hounslow High Street, and the A30 to and through Staines and onto the Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum (aka Silchester). Staines was a day’s march from London and would have been the stopping point before another two days march to Silchester. Calleva Atrebatum and London were both major Roman Towns and this also indicates Staines was hugely important at the time. Today it is still easy to follow this Roman route from London to Staines on modern maps (e.g. MapMyWalk) and it shows how towns still exist along this old road - their most important streets still line the route.

Lammas Park

Church Lammas is an historical piece of common land used by people to grow crops and graze livestock. The word “Lammas” is derived from an ancient tradition dating back to at least Saxon Times and literary translated as “Loaf Mass”. Lammas Day was traditionally on 1^st August, the festival of wheat and the first harvest of the year. On this day towns-people would bring a loaf of new harvest bread, to church to be blessed.

I have not yet ascertained how far back the Lammas dates - you may be able to help. However, in 1814 records said they covered 200 acres, and there were about 60 acres of lammas’ land to the west of St Mary’s Church later in the century. In 1884 John Ashby, a member of one of Staines most wealthy families, bought the Lammas, removed Commoners’ rights and enclosed the land. After many battles over enclosure of common land, the rights to some of these lands were reinstated.

In the early 1900s people regularly swam in the Thames here, but local councillors complained there was nowhere to change into appropriate bathing costumes. So in 1922 John Ashby donated this land for a recreation ground and changing hut. The park opened here bore Ashby’s name as the Ashby Recreation Grounds. However, through public opinion and unable to forgive Ashby, in 1993, the local council changed the name back to the Lammas (sometimes referred to as Lammas Recreation Ground or Church Lammas). The park now covers an area of 15.5 acres. On its west side is a stream which forms the boundary between Surrey and Berkshire. The facilities here include: parking; changing & showers; tennis courts; a skate park; crazy golf; a playground; mini train line, a youth shelter and is home to Staines & Egham Sea Cadets.

The London Stone dates from 1285 AD and sat on the River Thames, next to the old bridge and behind what is now the Town Hall. It marked the highest point along the Thames where the tide could be recorded and the limit of the jurisdiction of the City of London. In the 18^th century it was then moved upstream to sit on a new base, next to where the Shire Ditch flows into the River Thames, at Church Lammas. In 1986 the London Stone was removed and replaced by a replica. The replica stayed here until 2012 and was then moved back to near the original site, behind the Town Hall. The original stone is on view at Spelthorne Museum.

Small Garden & Footpath

At the boat launch area, take a small diversion along an enclosed footpath next to the river and into a small garden. The footpath leads to a dead-end at the point the Shire Ditch enters the River Thames.

Retrace your steps back along the footpath, veer left staying to the right of the Sea Cadets’ buildings and then turn left past the pavilions and the play area to your LHS. At the end of the play area, veer left along a line of trees and soon to a small stream with houses on the opposite side. Follow the worn grassy path along the edge of the Lammas’ Field keeping the trees to your LHS. At the opposite side of the field turn right past a children’s skate-board park and then a car-park.

Shire or Boundary Ditch

On the west side of the Lammas is the Shire Ditch (aka County Ditch). This is a branch of the River Colne and marked the boundary between Middlesex (now Surrey) and Berkshire in this area. At points there are footbridges over the ditch to houses on Lammas Drive, but all are blocked with locked gates. The photos below show Shire Ditch and the line of trees which follow the ditch along the western side of the Lammas.

Exit Lammas Recreation Grounds

Turn left to exit the Lammas Recreation Ground and cross straight over Wraysbury Road taking great care as there is no traffic island, pelican or zebra crossing and cars don’t always stick to the 40 mph speed limit along this open stretch of road.

Before exiting The Lammas look around inside the main entrance to some information boards which give some interesting history about the area.

Half a mile west of here along the Wraysbury Road sat the entrance to Staines Stadium. This was opened in 1955 as a stock-car racing track and closed in 1960. From 1957 it was also used for greyhound racing. The track was dismantled in 1965 and one of the buildings was sold to the Egham & Staines Model Railway Society for £25. This building is still uses today as its clubhouse behind Tesco in Egham High Street. The site of the old stadium was between the Wraysbury Road and the River Thames and is now covered over by the M25 motorway. To read more visit Pete’s Stock Car Pages.

Colne Valley Park

Near the Wraysbury Road entrance to Lammas Recreation Ground is an information board providing details on the Colne Valley Regional Park. This is the first real green lung to the west of London. It stretches from the River Thames at Staines in the south to Rickmansworth in the north and covers an area of 27,500 acres. The park was originally established in 1967 to preserve areas suitable for leisure, recreation and conservation and has grown over the years with additions such as Church Lammas Nature Reserve, which we pass through next on our walk. As well as the River Colne flowing through, and giving its name to the park, there are many other waterways, plus reservoirs and over 50 lakes left over as a consequence of gravel extraction. An 11 mile footpath, marked on OS maps as Colne Valley Path, goes north from the Thames through Church Lammas, the nature reserve, across Staines Moor, through Stanwell Moor and Colnbrook, where it then joins up with the Colne Valley Trail and other footpaths through the Colne Valley and along some of its tributaries. Collectively these are known as the Colne Valley Routes.

Enter Church Lammas Nature Reserve

After crossing Wraysbury Road go straight on through the metal kissing-gate and into the Church Lammas Nature Reserve. There is a choice of gravel footpaths once inside, but all really lead to the same junction.

The Church Lammas Lakes were formed in the 1990's after mineral extraction and have been restored as a local amenity and for wildlife. Recent additional improvements have included level paths and a wheelchair accessible entrance to the lakes, providing an environment suitable for the elderly and people with mobility and other impairments. In 2005 the developers Robert Bretts won the Cooper Heyman Cup for the work they done to the area and making it accessible for people with disabilities.

This Nature Reserve is a beautiful area of lakes, parkland and footpaths. There are wooden platforms with great views over the lakes, gravel footpaths throughout and great areas to just relax or have a picnic. During the day the area is so peaceful and seems to be such a secret that it is really underused. The wildlife and flora is a delight to behold. All of those involved in creating the reserve should be really proud with what they have achieved here. However, it’s not very well advertised and most probably the large majority of local don’t even know it exists. OK, the car par is across the main road and Spelthorne Council website does state:

Parking is currently only available in the Lammas Park, the entrance to which is on the opposite side of Wraysbury Road to the reserve. As yet there is no controlled crossing from Lammas Park to the entrance of the reserve, and at busy times it may be difficult to cross.

Maybe the local council are worried about people being knocked down whilst crossing over the Wraysbury Road. They maybe also embarrassed about local youths using the area at night as there are a few signs of this with empty alcohol containers and evidence of slight vandalism. However, why not reduce the speed on this part of the road to 30 mph and put in a zebra or pelican crossing, plus put up warning signs that the local police visit the area after dark to ensure people don’t litter or vandalise.

Shortly before 1990, excavations here found long flint blades dating to 9,000 BC, thus providing evidence of late Upper Palaeolithic hunters in this area. For more information you can read the record at Exploring Surrey’s Past. There were also finds of an enclosure, a ditch, a pit, plus flints and pot from the Early to Middle Bronze Age (c 2,500 – 1,000 BC). Again see Exploring Surrey’s Past for more information on all the finds here at SHHER_605 and SHHER_5003, SHHER_15281

After entering the nature reserve follow the gravel footpath to the right. Soon after coming out of the trees and on reaching a junction of paths, turn right to stay on the main path. Follow this, soon between lakes and later when it turns sharp right. After another 20m, turn left to exit the nature reserve via a metal gate.

Over Staines Aqueduct

The path leads to an enclosed railed footbridge over the Staines Aqueduct – the rails are there for your safety as this is a deep waterway.

The aqueduct and pumping station (which we see later) were built c1902 to feed the Staines Reservoirs which were constructed across the parish boundary in Stanwell a year earlier. It takes water from the River Thames at Hythe End, just above Bell Weir Lock. In later years it was used to feed the Hampton Water Works reservoirs at Kempton Park, plus the King George VI Reservoir built next to the Staines Reservoirs, between Staines and Stanwell and opened in 1947. The aqueduct continues to still feed all these reservoirs today. Overall it’s a wonderful piece of architecture passing over and under rivers, railways and roads.

Tunnel under A30 and Footpath between Aqueduct and A30

Once over the aqueduct in front is a tunnel under the A30 bypass. The footpath north from here leads across the Moor to Moor Farm and the recently closed Swan Inn on Moor Lane. The pub was probably Staines most isolated drinking hole and is still listed in guides for walkers. However, to stay with our walk, do not go under the A30, instead climb the steps to the left of the tunnel and at the top turn right along an enclosed path between the road and the aqueduct.

Back over Aqueduct

After 300m along the footpath, turn right, between railings and back over the aqueduct. Go straight over Annie Brookes Close and onto footpath behind houses. The footpath comes out onto the north side of Moor Lane and at a fence next to Moor House Care Home. At this point, and before the first house, turn left onto a signed public footpath between trees.

To the left of the footpath after Annie Brookes Close is a ditch. When I last visited this was dry, but from maps this seems to have been a small stream. From maps its course went under the path where we turn left onto the public footpath across the small green mentioned below and stayed to our RHS as far as Moor Lame. The maps show the stream then crossing Moor Lane and diverting south to join the River Wraysbury just north of the town. It seems to me this was an ancient stream fed from Staines Moor, but its source was cut off by the building of the Staines Aqueduct Reservoir and the Staines by-pass. What were the real origins of this stream? I have been unable to discover, but there must be a story here and there has to be some history connected with this. I have also been unable to find out where Annie Brookes Close takes its name from. I assume she was a local and contributed in some way to this area.

Public Footpath to Moor Lane

The public footpath leads to and through a small green and past a memorial bench with a plaque dedicated to a lady named Judi Giffin. It states:

“In memory of Judi Giffin (1947 – 2005), Secretary, Association for the Preservation of Staines Moor whose untiring efforts helped to preserve the “Moor” for future generations”.

On reaching the road, turn left for just a few yards along Moor Lane and then right past a metal gate and a “Staines Moor” information board onto a wide track signed, “Public Footpath 21, Stanwell Moor 2”.

As we saw earlier Pound Mill was named so as it sat next to the local parish pound up until 1824 when the pound was sold. By 1895 a new pound existed here. It was situated behind the small parking area and just to the right of the wide track leading to the Moor.

Herdsman’s Cottage

To our left, as we turn right, onto the footpath from Moor Lane, is Herdman’s Cottage. The two storey house retains its original design and is a Grade II listed building. It was originally known as Moor Lodge and as the name suggests, it was here the “Keeper (or Warden) of Staines Moor” lived. On the top front of the house is a plaque inscribed

“1900. Herdsman’s Cottage erected by the Committee of Commoners out of funds received as compensation for the extinguishing of certain Common Rights Chas, F. Leake, Chairman.”

The Old “Cattle Bridge”

The wide track leads uphill and over three bridges of different dates joined end to end and built between c1840 and 1885. There is a plate girder bridge over the now closed Great Western Railway, a bridge with two yellow brick arches over the Wraysbury River and a single red brick span over the Southern Railway Staines to Windsor line. This access bridge is the largest surviving monument to the importance of the moor and is known locally as the “Cattle Bridge” or Drover’s Bridge.

The two photos below are from the Staines West to Paddington section of Keith Jaggers’ website and show the old Cattle Bridge from 1960. The first shows the different sections of the bridge from below and looking north; the second shows the bridge looking south towards Staines. In the second you can see the lino factory and tanks of the oil terminal above the bridge.

It may be difficult to see, but as well as three bridges, there are also three levels. There are the bridges, the railways and Wraysbury River, plus below this is a tunnel carrying the Staines Reservoir Aqueduct. The photo below, taken in 2012, shows the aqueduct from the bridge.

A30 Staines By-pass

The track soon leads towards the A30 and then turns right and gradually downhill and parallel to the road. The A30 Staines bypass was built in the early 1980s to join up with the newly opened M25. It starts from the Crocked Billet Roundabout (the Old Crocked Billet, like many old pubs is now gone) and the road takes passing traffic away from the centre of Staines Town.

Subway under A30

At the bottom of the track, turn left to follow the path through the subway under the A30 and as far as the Staines Moor information board entitled “Managing the Moor – animals and ancient rights”. It’s a bit of a fudge to get through the gap in the fence and onto the Moor, but there is a gap and I’m sure you’ll work this out when you get here.

Staines Moor

Staines Moor is one of the last remaining Commons of the medieval Manor of Staines. The Moor has been registered Common Land since 1065 and only registered Commoners are entitled to graze their animals on it. There is usually a mixture of cows and horses grazing freely, but they are removed during the winter months to allow the land to recover.

The Moor has been managed the same way for centuries. The grassland has never been ploughed or fertilised, and has always had animals graze on it. It supports a huge mix of plants and animals, many of which are rare elsewhere. Due to this unusual richness and its importance to nature conservation Staines Moor is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is one of the largest areas of neutral grassland in England which has not been extracted for gravel or agriculturally improved. The Moor and the River Colne attract wildfowl and waders including ruff and golden plover in winter. Other wildlife which can be seen includes kingfishers, skylarks, lapwings, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies, as well as a wide range of wildflowers and grasses. At over 200 years old, the Moor is home to the oldest recorded yellow meadow ant hills in Britain.

Staines Moor is owned by Brett Aggregates and as owners they hold the title of Lord of the Manor. The moor is managed by Spelthorne Borough Council, in partnership with the Moormasters and other community organisations. They meet once a quarter to discuss issues of the day.

The airplanes in the photos above (taken from next to the information board) are seen to be disappearing behind the wall of the King George VI Reservoir. From this view you get the impression they are landing on the water. However, they are on their final approach to Heathrow and just north of the reservoir. It is an impressive sight to see and worth waiting a few minutes to watch some planes disappearing beneath the wall.

The King George VI Reservoir was completed in 1939 but left empty until after the war. During World War II it was used by the military for training and sources claim a replica of Clapham Junction Station was built here to confuse German bombers. The reservoir was officially opened in 1947 by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother). You can watch a video of the opening ceremony at Britishpathe.

At the Visit Thames website you can read a tourist’s guide to Staines Moor entitled “Staines Moor, how to get there, what to see”. It has a bit extra information, some similar photos and an interactive map.

Footpath across the Moor to Moormede

Retrace your steps back through the subway and to a metal gate. Here turn left through a wooden kissing gate and then right onto a footpath across open land. During certain times of the year you may encounter four legged friends here.

After 150m the path veers right between metal fences and over the aqueduct. It then veers left, soon past a metal kissing gate to your RHS (see note¹ below), then through some trees and eventually out via a wooden kissing gate onto an open meadow at Moormede. Once again there is another information board here, this time entitled “Trees that border Staines Moor”.

Veer slightly left and across the grass to a small paved area with a semi-circular brick wall and metal bench. Here, inlayed in the ground, is a small plaque to commemorate the Papa India, Staines Air Disaster.

note¹. The metal kissing gate mentioned above is another footpath which leads to and crosses the railway via a level crossing and behind the warehouse shops at Two Rivers, then comes out at the Staines Moor information board next to the site of what was Pound Mill, as mentioned in part 1 of the walk.

Papa India Memorial

North of the town is London Heathrow Airport. This is one of the busiest in the world and continues to grow. The afternoon of 18^th June 1972 was wet and cloudy. At 5.11pm, two minutes after take-off, British European Airways Trident G-ARPI Flight 548 crashed on Staines Moor (next to the bypass and near Birch Green), killing all 118 passengers and crew. The plane had many distinguished people on-board and went into a deep stall after the crew ignored warning signs. It was climbing too steeply and airspeed was much less than it should have been. The disaster could have been much worse as a few seconds later the plane would have been directly over the town. The amazing thing is this plane was also damaged in a crash four years earlier, when another plane lost a wing whilst landing and collided with two parked tridents, damaging one beyond repair but leaving G-ARPI in a state where it was repaired and continue to fly until its disastrous end. You can read more about this and other Heathrow plane crashes at nycaviation.com

The extracts below are about the Staines Air Disaster of 1972 and are taken from Wikipedia:

“There were three eyewitnesses to the impact; two brothers, Paul and Trevor Burke, aged 9 and 13, who were walking nearby, and a passing motorist who stopped and called at a house to telephone the airport authorities and advise them of the accident. We were out with the dog and I looked up and saw the plane. It was just coming out of the mist when the engines stalled and it seemed it glided down. It was just like a dream. The plane just fell out of the sky. We just about saw it hit the ground ... because it was right in a clump of trees. When it did hit the ground the front bit hit first and the back bit was just blown away.

—Trevor Burke, Air Disasters”

“Air traffic controllers had not noticed the disappearance from radar of BE 548, while the emergency services only became aware of the accident after 15 minutes had passed and did not know the precise circumstances of it for nearly an hour. First on the scene of the accident was a nurse who lived nearby, who had been alerted by the two boys, and an ambulance crew that happened to be driving past by chance. A male passenger who had survived the accident was discovered in the aircraft cabin, but died without recovering consciousness on arrival at Ashford Hospital. A young girl was also found alive but died at the scene; there were no other survivors. Altogether, 30 ambulances and 25 fire engines attended the accident.

Sensation-seeking occupants of cars formed heavy traffic jams soon after, and were described by Minister of Aerospace, Michael Heseltine on BBC Television that evening as "ghouls, unfortunate ghouls". Nevertheless, although the crash site was insufficiently accessible for the police to prevent access by spectators, contemporary reports that members of the public impeded rescue services by their presence near the site were dismissed during the subsequent inquiry. In addition, some witnesses on the day have claimed that the traffic jams were simply the result of the recovery and rescue effort, during which the police closed the A30 road.

A BEA Captain, Eric Pritchard, arrived at the accident scene shortly after the bodies had been removed; he noted the condition of the wreckage and drew his own early conclusions:

The aircraft had impacted in a high nose up attitude. The No. 2 engine had dug a considerable crater. The tail section was almost if not completely separated from the rest of the airframe. There was little evidence of any forward movement, in fact, the complete aircraft looked intact though distorted and broken, mainly the fuselage. Both wings suffered not much visible damage. I noticed that the droops and flaps were retracted.

—Eric Pritchard, “Disasters In The Air”

“The accident became known as the Staines disaster, and was the worst air disaster in Britain until the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. The crash was also the first aviation disaster to occur in the United Kingdom involving the loss of more than 100 lives.”

“Among those killed were 12 senior businessmen from the Republic of Ireland, including the head of the Confederation of Irish Industry, en route to Brussels for meetings preparatory to Ireland's accession to the European Economic Community. A referendum approving Ireland's entry had been passed in May.

A group of 16 doctors and senior staff from the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital were also on board the flight, and a memorial bench to them can be found close to Great Ormond Street Hospital in Queen Square.

Coming back from the JCI European Conference in Edinburgh, there was a group of seven members of JCI Belgium, together with two partners who were killed. The JCI Staines Foundation was established, supporting the families and children of the members that never reached Brussels.”

As a consequence of the crash and the enquiry, every passenger plane is now got a pilot cabin “Black Box” installed in case of a crash and to give clues as to why.

On 18^th June 2004 a quiet seating area on the Moormede Estate, close to where the accident took place, was dedicated to those who died. The area was landscaped by staff from BAA Heathrow and Spelthorne Borough Council. There is also a stained glass window in St Mary’s Church in Church Street commemorating the crash.

On 18^th June 2012 relatives, friends and colleagues of those killed, plus emergency services who attended the scene of the crash came together for a 40^th anniversary service to remember the dead. On the link to a BBC news article of that same day you can read about the memorial service and listen to an emotional interview of Policeman Bernard Cooke who was one of the first to arrive at the scene.

YouTube has a video with an insight as to what happened here and some amazing footage of the aftermath. I have provided a link below, but there are some scenes which are not pleasant, so don’t visit if you don’t wish too. YouTube footage. There is a more detailed video about the plane crash at flygc Air Crash Investigation, again with some footage you may not want to see. Whatever the reason for the crash, 118 people died that day and their families & friends will live with this for the rest of their lives.

Bridge to Waters Lane

From facing the memorial turn right, soon past a children’s playground to your RHS, and over a bridge to a residential area at Waters Drive. The river, once again, is the Colne.

Cross over the road and go straight on along the LHS pavement following Waters Drive for 170m. At this point a footpath crosses the road, going between residences in both directions and with no cycling signs at the entrance to both sides (see photo below). Turn right to cross over the road and follow the footpath between houses. This soon leads out into a small industrial estate at Mill Mead.

The footpath to our left, the one we don’t take, leads to Staines Moor and the site of the air crash. The plane came down in the trees just over the footbridge across the aqueduct. All traces of the crash have been removed, but if you wish to divert to visit the scene, it’s only a short walk.

Waters Drive is part of the Moormede Estate, a housing development built in the 1970s. It was built on what was part of the old Lino Factory and the factory’s sports grounds. In the early 1900s industries and shops had early closing on Thursdays so their staff could go and enjoy themselves playing sports or just watching. Lots of these sports events took place on the playing grounds of the lino factory.

Probably one of the best photos of Staines from the Britain From Above website was taken in 1928 and can be seen by following this link. As I like this photograph so much I have copied it and pasted it below. This way I can point out some of the details which are displayed here.

In the left top corner you can see the sports fields of the lino factory and ironically the small plane in the very corner marks the site of the Staines Papa India air disaster; to the right of this are the large houses on Fairfield Avenue; below are the terraced cottages at Mill Mead; to the north, the large houses which occupied the north of the High Street and London Road; in the right hand corner is the spire of the Methodist Church on Kingston Road; in the middle is Staines High Street Station with a train passing through and showing both lines coming in from the west, below and just right of this is the Old White Lion Inn and Mumford and Lobb department store jutting out into the High Street; half way south of this is Elmsleigh House, with its large tree-lined gardens hiding behind the right of the High Street; the main part of the lino factory covers the left bottom quarter of the photo and the leafy Birch Green is at the centre top.

There is so much to see in this photograph which I have not mentioned above, but all very relevant to the places we have passed already and will pass later. I’ll let you study this more and see what else you can work out for yourself. Two things which really strikes me, is that how over time, Staines has gone from being an industrialised town to now being a retail and services centre, plus where in 1928 were all the huge car parks we now have today? It seems from this photo the only cars parked here are on what is now the pedestrianised part of the High Street. Also, ask yourself a question. Romans didn’t much like putting bends into their roads, so in Roman Times did the main road through the town bend this much, or were these added later?

Mill Mead & Renshaw Iron Foundry

The small industrial area at Mill Mead is aptly named the Renshaw Industrial Estate. It was here John Enoch Renshaw started his Iron Foundry around 1903. This was situated among the rows of terrace houses which existed here at the time. The photo below shows an aerial view of Mill Mead from 1927. In this you can see the terraced houses, a train passing by just before reaching the iron bridge and Staines first purpose built cinema can be seen in the bottom right half.

Many examples of Renshaw’s work, such as man-hole covers, can still be found in the area. However, the foundry closed in the mid-1970s. Below are photos of two Renshaw “11 bar gullies” and a Renshaw “manhole cover” in Mill Mead, Staines (August 2012). There is a third 11 bar gully, but it was littered with rubbish when I took the photos.

In the early part of the 20^th century, Mill Mead was a thriving community of terraced streets with many employees from the lino factory and the mills living here.

On 23^rd April 1935 the whole country celebrated the Silver Jubilee of King George V. There were events all over Staines, at the Town Hall, the Lammas, the town’s cinemas and at Mill Mead. The street was especially praised by the effort the residents had taken to make it special, as you can see from the photo on the left below. These people were not the upper class, having tea on the veranda, they were poor families whose breadwinners worked hard in the mills and factories of the town and lived in the small houses provided by their employers. However, like today they looked beyond their poverty, celebrated their heritage and done their best to party, to enjoy the occasion as a community and in the best way possible. The second and third photos below show how different Mill Mead was in 2012.

Mill Mead leads out onto the High Street with the iron railway bridge to your right and the “Garibaldi” to your left.

Iron Bridge & Staines High Street Station

The original bridge erected here in 1844 was an arched cast-iron construction – the angled stone plates still form part of the walls under the bridge. The older bridge was replaced by “The Iron Bridge” in the early 20^th century as double-decker buses could only get under the bridge by driving in the middle of the road. The present bridge is a steel plated and riveted construction, which dissects the High Street in half.

Staines High Street Station was opened in 1884 by the London & South West Railway and closed 32 years later, in 1916. The station was built on an embankment immediately northwest of the Iron Bridge and consisted of two wooden platforms on stilts some 20 feet above ground level. There were steps up to the platforms from Mill Mead and Factory Path (now Mustard Mill Road). Two lines ran through the station, one from Staines Junction (now Staines Station) and one from Egham. The Egham line crossed over the Thames then diverted both right and left. One line going Staines Station, and the second turning left forming a curve around the east side of what is now South Street, and up to join the line over the Iron Bridge to Staines High Street Station.

The curve helped form a triangle of railways with the Thames Rail Bridge to the south, Staines Station to the east and Staines High Street Station to the west. The photos below show the Iron Bridge with the Garibaldi behind it, plus a manhole cover on the pavement under the bridge which was made by Clark Steel at their old foundry in the town.

The bridge is one of only two rail bridges over a road within the Borough of Spelthorne, we go under the other later in the walk. The amusing story below is from Keith Jaggers’ childhood memories of Staines (the photo is also from his website).

“Hereabouts we encountered a minor bit of excitement on 4^th April 1966 (a freezing day with late snowfall) when this huge marine boiler got stuck under the railway bridge. The fish shop is just visible behind it on the left, and a red RF bus passes by on LT route 216. The High Street was still 2-way traffic then, and the old “Empire” cinema building can just be seen beneath the bridge. The obstruction was removed some time later by the simple expedient of letting some of the tyres down on the transporter!”

The Garibaldi

The pub is a mock Tudor building. It was originally a timber beer house in a row of cottages. These were demolished and replaced by brick buildings c17^th century (possibly later). However, the name can be no earlier than mid to late 19^th century – after the Italian patriot (1807 – 1882). The Garibaldi Public House closed in January 2010 and is now a restaurant named Saffron Lounge.

The building next door (now Contract Options) dates back to at least the 16^th century, as recent building work has uncovered a chimney left over from that period.

The photos below are of The Garibaldi Pub as it was, now as Saffron Lounge and view down side of Garibaldi from Mil Mead to The Iron Bridge

This stage of the walk finishes on the corner of Mill Mead and Staines High Street, next to what was the Garibaldi Public House and is now Saffron Lounge. If you are only doing this section of the walk, it’s only a short walk south along the High Street and west along Clarence Street to Staines Bridge to get back to the start of the section.

This section of our walk finishes here as we come out onto Staines High Street and beside the Iron Bridge.

I hope you have enjoyed this short walk along the Thames, through the Lammas, over Staines Moor, through Moormead and along Mill Mead and finishing at the Iron Bridge in the High Street. Our next part of the walk goes north along the High Street, through Birch Green, along London Road, Kingston Road, via Leacroft, through Knowle Green, past Staines Station, back along Station Path to the Iron Bridge and finishing on the pedestrianised part of the High Street. For more information, see part 4 of our historical walk through Staines.

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