Section 4 of our walk around Staines, starts at the junction of Mill Mead and Staines High Street. At 2.6 miles it is the second longest of the five sections and takes in the north side of the High Street, Birch Green, London Road, Kingston Road, Leacroft, Knowle Green and Staines Station.

For an interactive map of Part 4 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, go north along the High Street and past Saffron Lounge.

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 2012 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

Station Path

Immediately past Contract Options and on the opposite side of the High Street is the entrance to Station Path. This provides a shortcut direct from the station to the middle of the High Street. The path has existed for over 100 years and we’ll come across it again later in our walk.

As we continue along the High Street there is not much to see on this side apart from a blue wooden boarded wall, a bus-stop and an old red post office box. However, up until 1961 this was also the site of three of Staines most beautiful and best loved buildings of the 20^th century.

To photo below shows the smart offices of Gale and Power, the Majestic Theatre and part of the old post office. It was taken in 1961 and shortly before the offices and the Majestic were both demolished.

Majestic Theatre

The Majestic Theatre was built on the site of what was originally a lavish house in huge gardens, named Fairfield House after the owners’ American wife’s hometown in Connecticut. In the early 1920s the house was briefly used as a convent, then as a restaurant named the Silver Teapot. It was later converted to a hotel and restaurant named Marmadukes which eventually became The Sevens Hotel (in honour of Edward VII – see photo below). The hotel was demolished in 1929 after the owner sold it to buy a small island in the Channel Islands.

The Majestic was an ornate cinema with a Venetian scheme of decoration and large auditorium, which took only eight months to build. It opened on 11^th December 1929, seated over 1,500 and its grand splendour rivalled the large cinemas of the West End. As well as showing films it had a restaurant, a dance hall and hosted many popular live acts of the day. The cinema transformed nightlife in the town, but to the dismay of locals only had a short lifespan for 32 years. It closed on 27^th May 1961 and soon afterwards the building was demolished and replaced by shops with and an office building occupied by the Inland Revenue (now HMRC) called Majestic House.

Lewis & Son was a family furniture store located directly across the High Street from The Majestic. It still trades today as “Lewis Furniture, Beds & Carpets”, and states “Established 1896”. At 117 years this has to be one of Staines oldest surviving retailers.

The Old Post Office

Staines has a postal history going back centuries. During the years of stagecoaches local postmasters were often innkeepers. The earliest recorded postmaster at Staines was in 1672 of a woman named Susan Downes. The first proper post office was roughly where the main entrance to the Elmsleigh Centre is now. From 1899 until 1931 the post office was on the High Street, in a building now occupied by McDonalds. What we knew as “The Old Post Office” was the one which opened in March 1931 and stood virtually unaltered on the northern side of the High Street until both it, the Majestic House offices and the shops were demolished in 2008. Most people in the town were probably not too unhappy to see the horrendous office block and the shops below disappear, but the old post office was a loss to the character of this part of the High Street. Now at the start of 2013 the whole site is still derelict. However, we still do have a blue boarded wall, a bus-stop and the old red post box as you can see below. On “Postcards Then and Now” there is wonderful postcard of the Majestic Theatre and the Old Post Office from 1933, plus a Google Street View of how it looks today. Also, if you turn around and look back at the side wall of Contract Options you might think to yourself, Banksy has been here. Sorry to disappoint you as the wall art is from the inside of a now demolished Spanish restaurant.

Turn left into Fairfield Avenue and continue along the LHS pavement. Across the road is the side of an art-deco parade of shops, built around a century ago. A Roman arched stile doorway still has the sign of an old “Surgery”, what it is today I’m not sure.

However, Fairfield Avenue has changes greatly over the years. Today, there is not much to see apart from a few offices (some empty and up for rent), a boarded up area where offices once stood and the Staines BT Exchange. The Exchange is probably the tallest building left in the town and you can see photos and read more about it at “The Transmission Gallery”, plus the one below. Over 100 years ago this road was a tree-lined avenue with large houses on both sides. In more recent years it was home to the Staines Careers Service, but again no longer exists.

Swan Upping Statue

The statue of the Swan Upper (1983), by Diana Thomson, is outside Ash House in Fairfield Avenue. “Swan Upping” dates back to the 12^th century, when The Crown claimed ownership of all mute swans in open water. This “swan marking” event which takes place in the third week of July each year, starts at Sunbury Lock on the Monday and proceeds up river to finish at Abingdon on the Friday. In the Swan Upping ceremony, The Queen's Swan Marker, the Royal Swan Uppers and the Swan Uppers of the Vintners' and Dyers' livery companies are all dressed in traditional clothing and use six traditional Thames rowing skiffs. They mark the swans, check their health and record all their findings. It is traditional for the flotilla to stop at The Swan Hotel in Staines on the second day for lunch.

Continue on along Fairfield Avenue for 150m, crossing over both entrances to Moormede Crescent. Then, immediately after a red-brick wall and before an A308 road-sign, turn left thru’a gap and onto a path across Birch Green towards a wooden gate at the other side.

Birch Green

This is part of Staines Commons as can be seen by the Spelthorne Borough Council By-laws signs. In total they comprise an area of 353 acres and are made up of Staines Moor (by far the largest at 289 acres), Shortwood Common & Knowle Green (61 acres) and Birch Green (the smallest at 3 acres). They were preserved under The Metropolitan Commons Supplement Act of 1880.

Although, not obviously apparent, as we come onto the green we cross over a small stream. The green is very pleasant and peaceful backwater, well hidden from the main traffic routes. There is lots of open space plus a few secluded houses on the north-west edge. The River Ash flows behind the houses and can be seen from the bridge at the entrance to the pumping station. Access to the south bank of the river is from the northern section of the green on the other side of the road.

In historical writings, Birch Green is referred to as a hamlet as far back as the early 19^th century. It most likely existed long before this, but I have found no recorded evidence.

On reaching the wooden gate, turn right along the road, past the lane to Staines Pump House and eventually to a T-junction with London Road.

Lane to Pumping Station

Staines Pump House was built c1886 to pump water from the Staines Reservoir Aqueduct into the reservoirs just north of here. The house at the entrance to the lane was built at the same time and was home to the manager of the operation. The plaque on the front of the house states “Jubilee Cardens 1887”. I assume this should be Jubilee Gardens and the date refers to Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. The photo on the right below is taken from the bridge to the pumping station and shows the River Ash as it flows in our direction and under the bridge.

Jack Beard’s at The Three Tuns.

On exiting Birch Green at a T-junction, turn left along London Road. To your right at the junction is The Three Tuns public house. This is recorded as existing from at least 1670 as claimed on the pub sign.

A farrier named John Willett opened a forge, next to The Three Tuns pub on London Road, in 1837. In 1850 the forge moved to larger premises next to the candle factory at the junction of the High Street and Kingston Road. At this time most veterinary work was performed by farriers and Staines was a town full of coaching inns – there was plenty of business for farriers and vets at the time. By the early 20^th century, with the decline of working horses, forges started to become redundant. However, today Willett House Veterinary Surgery still practises at different premises on Kingston Road. The surgery also has practices in Feltham, Addlestone and Hampton.

Shell Garage

Soon to your left is the Shell Garage followed by the Staines Service Centre. The photos below show the Shell Garage after a refit in 2012, and a photo by Martin Addison (1976) from flikr.com. Most of the area of this side of London Road around the garage has remained the same, but the large building in the background of the 1976 photo has gone. This was Staines only skyscraper and was headquarters to British Gas, the Automobile Association & Centrica and named North Thames House (more on this later). As far as I know Shell is the only remaining petrol station in Staines north of the Thames.

Crooked Billet & River Ash

Continue along London Road to the junction with the Crooked Billet Roundabout and stay left along the pavement for just a few yards crossing over the River Ash to your LHS and to where the Staines Aqueduct disappears under the road.

With the opening of the first stage of the Staines Bypass in 1959, this became a busy junction and both waterways went underground. In the early 1980s, the by-pass was enlarged to a dual-carriageway to cope for traffic feeding the newly opened M25. Today, both waterways still disappear here and don’t emerge again until almost 300m east. To describe this as just a roundabout is probably a bit daft, as three major roads meet here, the A30 as a dual carriageway goes straight through the centre, cutting it in two and with options to join both other roads which do form a roundabout around the junction (see photo below). The complications for drivers are not obvious and before you know it you can soon be going in a direction you never wanted too. As well as the roads and water channels there is an underpass, a footbridge and two pelican crossings. How all the lights, to direct everyone, work in synchronisation, I don’t know? However, they do seem to. Less than a mile west along the A30 is one of the busiest sections of the M25. If for some reason the motorway is closed, which happens often, or a plane lands short of a runway at Heathrow, which luckily almost never happens, then a huge amount of traffic is diverted to here and can cause chaos on smaller local roads.

Where we cross over the River Ash, to our left, is what seems to be one side of an old bridge. This still displays the Coat of Arms of the former Middlesex County Council. The old council was abolished in 1965 and absorbed into London, Surrey and other surrounding areas. Just further on through a metal fence there are good views of the Staines Pumping Station and the aqueduct.

Directly across the junction from here sat the Crooked Billet Inn, from which the roundabout takes its name. According to Surrey Historical Records:

“a partially weather-boarded inn of this name existed as early as 1792. An old painting of 1838 shows its rural setting near a small stone bridge and Watersplash across the River Ash. The pub was rebuilt on the present site, slightly to the east of the original, over 100 years ago.”

According to Wikipedia, “… local hearsay suggests bare-knuckle events were held at the Crooked Billet earlier in the 20^th century”.

The later Crooked Billet, which we all knew as a pub, a Berni Inn and later a Beefeater, was closed in the mid-2000s and demolished in August 2007. It was acquired by a construction company, who were to build 39 residential properties on the site. However, the site has remained barren ever since.

The area to the north of the roundabout sits just south of and between the reservoirs. This is a small enclave of houses, a school and industrial units. Many of the houses were built c1880 with later additions. This was once part of Stanwell, but became Staines after being cut off by the huge reservoirs to its north. However, to residents it must seem now like an island cut off from the Staines by the roundabout and the A30 to the south. There are some lovely old houses and other buildings here, but to get to Staines they have to cross a footbridge or take a subway.

The photo below was taken in 1880 and shows the original inn which once stood here. On Flickr you can see a set of photos of the Crooked Billet, boarded up and shortly before it was demolished.

The old Roman Road ran west from here, along the A30 and then the A315, to and through what we now know as Hounslow. From here to Hounslow is almost 6 miles and travelling this stretch of road in earlier times would have been perilous as it was renowned for its outlaws and bandits. As we saw earlier, on the introduction to our walk, historians claim in the third Roman conquest it is more likely the Roman Army initially took a route south of the Thames to Silcester to avoid the dangers of this area. However, they must have come back shortly afterwards to build their road. Up until the reign of Henry III (reigned 1216 – 1272) the whole of the area between Staines and Hounslow, on the southern side, was subject to forest laws and was referred to as the Forest, or Warren of Staines. However, in 1227 the area was disforested and diswarrened. Today, most of this area is now built-up and occupied by towns such as Bedfont, Ashford and Feltham. There are lakes, reservoirs, golf courses, industrial estates, an airport and even two prisons to lock-up outlaws from today, one is for women and one for youngsters.

I hope you all don’t mind me putting a personal slant from my research from other things I have read and written, I believe this is important and even important today.

During Medieval Times, and even before and later, people who lost everything would have no choice but to find refuge – there were no state benefits in those days and just staying alive was a feat. Many would relocate to dense forests where they could live off the land and hide. However, this was breaking laws as the Norman lords would hold claim to the ground they slept on plus the wildlife and plants they lived off. These poor people were classified as outlaws, as they were forced to live outside the law. They would have to compete with others who were in the same situation. They would often fight and kill for a meal – sometimes they had no choice. If caught by the landowners, they would be imprisoned or executed – prison was the less harsh of the two, but it still meant their death sentence. Prisoners didn’t get three meals a day, have their own cells and weren’t able to watch Sky TV. They were piled on top of each other, diseases were rife and any food was a luxury.

Staines Forest was a place (as mentioned above) where destitute people went to live and it must have many stories to tell of the poor people who sought shelter here through the centuries. For ordinary people, the small farmers, most tradesmen, and all their families, even monks and priests, times were hard. Today these are equivalent to your carpenters, electricians, plumbers, builders, small businessmen, nurses, lower ranks of the emergency forces and white collar workers who can now afford to live in comfortable houses. There was no going to your local supermarket to stock up on food. Meals such as breakfast and lunch (then called dinner) usually consisted of stale bread and hard cheese washed down with weak ale (water was not safe to drink). Supper in the evenings was a hot bowl of a crude vegetable and oat stew called pottage and if you were very lucky it may contain some meat. Sometimes people even went for days without eating because they could not afford it. There was no birth control and if you had more children than you could afford to feed, new born babies were often left in the forests to die at the hands of wolves or foxes. Most people worked from daybreak to dusk to feed their families. The houses were basic (if you were lucky enough to have one) usually made from mud, timber and straw with a hard bed of rushes to sleep on. There were no toilets and diseases flourished and killed many, even the young and strong. Underwear was not part of the clothing, not even wonder bras, thongs or boxer shorts. Over garments were your only clothes and these didn’t get washed very often. Women were not respected like they are today and children had no rights apart from those granted to them by their kin. Brothels were more common than ale houses, but condoms did not exist. It usually meant the girls and women who occupied them were well fed and could sleep in a soft bed, but their life expectancy was short. You could say the Lord of the Manor ruled the roost. He controlled the gaming writes to the forest, the rivers and lakes and if you wanted to do anything yourself you either paid taxes to make it legal or were punished severely if you were caught doing it illegally. The only charity came from monasteries where monks may let you in just before dark, give you some stale bread and weak beer, a roof over your head, a hard floor crowded with many others to sleep on and kick you out at daybreak. The common people were basically owned by the Lord and in many instances were not even allowed to leave the town without his permission. On the other hand, the “well-born” and wealthy ate to excess. Their meals were long lasting and always extravagant with various meats and fishes, fresh bread and the best vegetables washed down by good quality beers and wines. The leftovers ware usually fed to their pets or thrown in the rubbish. The servants were not allowed to finish off what was left, yet they did out of view of their masters, but were severely punished if caught.

On reaching the metal railings turn back on yourself and follow the pavement for a short distance along London Road. Immediately after the metal barrier, dividing London Road in two, cross straight over. At this point the pavement and central reservation also flattens to allow disabled access.

Roman Shields & Staines Country Bus Garage

To your left after crossing is a 7m tall sculpture on the corner of London Road and Greenlands Road and in the grounds of Centurion House. The Roman shields are made of self coloured iron and remember the town’s Roman past. It was along here that Roman soldiers marched on their way from London to Silchester and evidence of the Roman road has been found at the site. The sculpture was created by Terence Clark in 1998. His signature is a tiny snail which he affixes to each of his works.

Centurion House stands on what was the site of the Staines County Bus Garage, built c1936. This was demolished in 1996 to make way for the three story office building we have today. The photos below show aerial view of the bus garage from 1961 and looking south along London Road past the bus garage during the floods of 1947. You can also read Mike Hazell’s account of working at Staines Garage during and after World War II at the BBC website.

Turn right and go south along London Road, soon past Staines Jobcentre (where you might wish to pop in and find a job) then past a few other square modern office blocks.

Execution Cemetery at Venture House

Venture House at 42 – 54 London Road is one of these modern office blocks and occupied by Centrica Storage. My original assumption was that this building stored all the equipment removed from North Thames House, the sky-scraper we saw earlier, now demolished. However, I was incorrect as this is the offices of a branch of Centrica which stores the UK’s largest reserves of gas in the North Sea.

From the photos below you can see roughly the same section of London Road in two different eras. The first is from 1902 and shows a pleasant, rural and peaceful residential area, the second is from 2012 and highlights the changes over 110 years. The one thing which has not changed is the Three Tuns pub on the right side of both photos.

Venture House hides what seems to be a dark past. Before the redevelopment of this side of London Road archaeological research was undertaken by the Surrey County Archaeological Unit (SCAU) on some of these sites. The occupants from the houses, in the photo of 1902 above, had probably no idea what lay under them. You have to remember this was once a Roman Road and Romans had a habit of burying their dead at the side of roads. Many Roman graves have been found next to the old A30 along London Road and the High Street. However, what was found here was brutal and may have been carried out in the later Saxon era by invading Vikings. The extract below is record SHHER_5104 from Exploring Surrey’s Past and gives us some more information.

“SHHER 5104 - Prehistoric settlement, 42-54 London Road, Staines

Evaluation by SCAU in advance of the redevelopment. At the rear of the site, two intercutting ditches of possibly Roman date were revealed; at the front of the site, one medieval and one undated ditch were revealed. A few sherds of prehistoric pottery were also recovered. The subsequent excavation revealed evidence for Prehistoric, Roman and medieval settlement, together with an inhumation cemetery containing 30 or more individuals. The majority of the burials exhibited unusual characteristics such as decapitation prior to burial, interment face down, hands behind the back as if tied; there was haphazard grave alignment and multiple inhumations. All these characteristics suggest the burials were of execution victims. Little dating evidence was found to accompany the burials, although comparable sites of Saxon date have been previously excavated.”

New Street

To the left, immediately past Venture House is New Street. This is one of Staines shortest roads and at first looks very uninteresting. It comes out onto London Road, directly opposite Jack Beards at The Three Tuns and is sandwiched between two large modern office blocks. However, there are a few early 20^th century houses and on the ground are some of the best preserved examples of street furniture from both Staines old iron foundries – Renshaw and Johnson & Clark.

On continuing along London Road you pass the offices of A2 Dominion Group, an affordable housing trust who’s main offices, which we saw earlier on the River Thames, during part 3 of our walk, are being currently refurbished.

Magna House, 18 - 32 London Road Staines

The next office block to the left is Magna House, built in 1999, and taking its name from the Magna Carta. Before redevelopment excavations here found evidence of prehistoric, Bronze-Age, Roman and early medieval settlements. You can read more on this at Exploring Surrey’s Past.

North Thames House & HQ of British Gas

Across London Road is a huge area, now boarded up, with signs stating “Staines Central”. This was once home to North Thames House, headquarters of British Gas, Centrica and the Automobile Association (the AA). It was a large building, the town’s tallest at 42 m high, occupying ten storeys and much longer than it was high. The photo below was taken shortly after it had facelift by CoolGlaze Ltd who applied high-performance panels to its outside in an energy saving effort. This probably cost a lot of money and would generate an annual savings of £7 k. I suppose with the costs of electricity and gas rising so rapidly over the last few years, this would have at least doubled, yet think about this, the money they could have saved would have been on bills to themselves.

North Thames House was demolished in 1998 and the site sat idle for a few years. Plans were eventually passed to build a number of office blocks, underground car parks and restaurants, a development which was to be named “Staines Central”. The other boarded up area, just south of here along the High Street and the site of the Old Post Office, was supposed to have also been redeveloped as a train station with a fast link into Terminal 5 at Heathrow. This was probably one of the drivers for the redevelopment of this site, but with all the money gone, both sites have set empty for years now and I’m not sure there are any plans in the pipeline. It’s such a shame that two such important areas of the town are left derelict and not used by the local council to help tourism, culture or further education in the area.

Roman Frieze / The Old Police Station

A few yards further along, just past Heliting House, is a Roman frieze on the wall to the Old Police Station car park. It depicts the Roman era in Staines, when the town was known as Ad Pontes (by the bridges). An on the sculptor states:

“This panel is based on a Samian pot in the style of the potter “Cornutus” AD 125 found on this site”

Other inscriptions on the frieze are AD Pontes AD XLV, Giorgio Fanelli Facit MMII, Hadrian’s Wall CXXII. So I suppose these represent AD Pontes AD 45, Giorgio Fanelli Facit 2002 (possibly maker and date), Hadrian’s Wall 122 (the building of the wall began in AD 122).

The Old Police Station started life as a single-storey veterinary surgery and sat here for many years, before being acquired by the police in 1876 for £500. The building was greatly modified and a second storey was added. The local police moved in during July 1876 and shortly afterwards a stable block and married quarters were added. The building has been well preserved over the years and looks almost new. Above the main door you can still see the word “POLICE” engraved into the concrete. The extension, on Kingston Road was added in 2002, and built in an appreciative style so as to blend in with the older.

Policing at Staines goes back even further than the Old Police Station. In 1840 Staines became part of the Metropolitan Police District and would remain part of this for many decades. There was also an earlier station on Thames Street manned by the famous “Bow Street Runners” and records of this date back to at least 1808. It is also recorded they were at one time based just across the road where One London Road now sits.

A sort of policing and judiciary system existed in Staines before the founding of the Bow Street Runners and as far back as Norman Times. The record below is from British History Online.

The lord of the manor had a prison in Staines in 1274, and he may have had gallows there in the 15^th century. A new pillory and cucking-stool were provided in 1335. In 1430 the abbot failed to maintain his stocks at Staines, but there were stocks at Staines in the 16^th century and as late as 1790. The lord's bailiff fulfilled many of the functions of local government in the Middle Ages, and the election of two constables at the view of frank pledge is recorded in 1504. By 1593 there were two constables and four headboroughs, who, though they were appointed by the manor, had jurisdiction over the whole parish. The constables were superseded when Staines became part of the Metropolitan Police district in 1840: some police had in fact been stationed in the town for a year or two before this. The old parish cage, which stood on the west corner of the High Street and Thames Street, was demolished about 1830, and the present police station in the London Road was built in 1885. Other manorial officers were the ale-tasters, who were still appointed along with the constables and headboroughs in 1805.

Headboroughs were also law enforcing agents and later referred to as constables. The “pillory”, the “cucking-stool” and the “stocks” were situated near the southern half of the High Street and used to give barbaric public humiliation. The townsfolk would gather and threat it as public entertainment, even join in by chucking whatever they had brought, such as rotten food, animal excrement, or anything they could get their hands on to abuse and laugh at the poor people being bound and punished. Many of those who were punished for minor crimes died when crowds got a bit carried away. I won’t go into detail here but will leave you with the links above to read more if you wish.

Just along Kingston Road from the junction is the modern Staines Police Station. It’s a central hub for police cars which patrol this part of Surrey and local stretches of the M25. In the early days of the 20^th century policing took on a slightly different form. Those days we had the local “Flying Squad” named the “Staines & Sunbury Flying Column”, as you can see from the photo above they didn’t dress much differently to the present day “London Bobby”. They wore their uniforms and half oval helmets, but would stay at base until called to a crime. Instead of panda cars they would cycle to the scene, investigate the crime and return to base to wait for the next call.

Excavations in 2000 and 2001 at the Old Police Station, and next door at Heliting House, uncovered evidence of Roman rituals. This included early human burials and cremations, animal burials and pits and ditches dating from a later 4^th century settlement.

Statue of Horse

The plaque on the horse outside One London Road states:

“The symbol of surging potency and power of movement, of action.” D H Lawrence.

“Horses have long been an important part of Staines’ history. The Romans crossed the Thames here with mounted soldiers in about 50AD and later London Road was the main coaching route to the West Country. Today horses still graze on Staines Moor, a pasture which has remained uncultivated for thousands of years.”

“This sculpture, by Belinda Rush Jansen, was commissioned by Clerical Medical Investment Group Limited! “May 2000”

Where One London Road now sits was at the start of the 20^th century occupied by a number of small businesses which included Staines Motor Works Garage, a tea & coffee shop and a large house named Staines House. In the 1960s these were demolished and replaced by North Thames House. This was demolished in 1998 to make way for the current, modern office block, One London Road. During excavations on this site in July 1998 two Roman graves, Roman ditches marking boundaries at right angles to the Roman, plus a number of 13^th / 14^th century features were uncovered – see SHEER_5099 at Exploring Surrey’s Past for more information.

The photos above are looking north along London Road from the top of Staines High Street in 1908, and the same view taken in 2012.

Smith’s Candle Factory & Forge

Across Kingston Road, just south of the old Police Station was a candle factory. It was built on farm land with the farmhouse retained as the owner’s home. The factory and farmhouse covered most of the land between Kingston Road and the metal bridge. It was here by at least the 1850s as earlier we read that John Willett had moved his forge to premises next to it by this time. The candle factory had a reputation of expelling an unpleasant smell over this part of the town. However, a huge fire here on 9^th April 1924 took three hours and 400 gallons of water to put out. It was said to have lit up the sky and attracted many locals who probably looked on with glee. Melted wax blocked the drains, fire-fighters and policemen had to wade up to their knees in molten wax. Traces of this wax can still most probably be found underground today.

The photo below was taken in 1908 from just north of the Iron Bridge. It shows the north side of the High Street, with the Old Police Station in the centre and the chimney of the candle factory just to the right of this.

Although the factory itself was remarkably little damaged by the fire, candle manufacturing was never resumed at the site. The factory was soon demolished and replaced by Central Parade which still exists today as can be seen from the photo below, taken in 2012 and looking south along the High Street from the Old Police Station and towards the Iron Bridge.

Kingston Road

Turn left into Kingston Road and continue along the LHS pavement. After just a few yards, across the road and behind Central Parade is a large, modern red-brick office block with the Logica logo adorning its’ front. This was one of the Logica offices closed due to restructuring in 2008. I’m not sure what’s there now, if anything.

To our left is the Oriental Buffet Restaurant. The building dates from the late 19^th century and was the Staines depot of Stansfield & Co. of the Swan Brewery at Fulham. The image of the swan on the top middle of the building represents its original owners. Up until 2003 the premises had always been occupied by brewers or wine merchants.

You may wonder why I have taken you along Kingston Road on an historical walk around Staines. I hope as we walk and you’ll see why. This area of the Staines was inhabited back to at least Roman Times, but really only developed into an important residential area after the railway came to the town in 1848. The railway station was built here and this made it easy to commute to London. The town soon became recognised as an easily accessible “resort” on the river and attracted the well-off from London. Good houses began to spring up, the population of the Kingston Road area grew and shops and other businesses opened to cater for the increase in population. Much of what the railway brought to this part of the town can still be seen. However, the community here has almost disappeared and as we walk you will see how much has changed here in recent years. Today Kingston Road is not as homely as it was. Many of the old shops, grand houses and ornate buildings are gone, but luckily some of the history still survives.

The photos below show Kingston Road looking east from near the Old Police Station in 1908, an aerial view of the same part of the road in 1928 plus an old photo looking west towards the London Road / High Street junction. In the first two you can make out the spired Methodist church which was built in 1890 and demolished in 1987 – a new development of flats now sits on the site. You can also see rows of small shops and other old buildings. On the photo on the right, and to the right of this, you can see the grand façade of the Staines & Egham Co-operative Society, rebuilt after a fire in 1908. From a photo above you can see the north side of the road today and everything, after the Oriental Buffet, has changed to a faceless concrete block housing a motor parts company and a disabled shop. I suppose it’s not the fault of their occupiers, as they only took space which was available at the time.

Soon to our right is the “new” Staines Police Station, a hub for Surrey Police traffic cops. It was built on the site of the Kingston Road School which sat here from 1903 – 1992 (see photo below).

For many years policing in Staines was controlled by the Metropolitan Police and in 2000 with realignment of boundaries was moved to the come under Surrey Police. There were Roman, Prehistoric and Medieval finds here in 1995, during archaeological digs and before building. You can read more about this at Exploring Surrey’s Past.

It’s very clear from studying all the photos above how much wider this part of Kingston Road is now than it was in the past and how the south side suffered more in the last couple of decades. Road widening is always to help the flow and increase traffic into and through a town, Staines and Spelthorne Councils has had a great history of doing this over the years. The old white one-storey building in the photo above was once part of the Harris Brewery (we’ll revisit the brewery later). It was set back from Kingston Road and is now almost on top of the road, but the newer buildings, beyond it, are now set back from the road. All is not negative as many old buildings along here and on the residential roads running north from Kingston Road still stand.

North Star Inn & Railway Hotel

As we pass Station Approach, we also pass The North Star Inn. The pub is named after a famous early railway locomotive and was built soon after Staines Station (1848). The Railway Hotel was just across the entrance to Station Approach and was known to have existed since at least 1849. Over the years the hotel was a popular venue for local clubs and some of the original meetings of Staines Hockey Club (one of the oldest in the world), The Staines Cine Society and the Rotary Club of Ashford Middlesex were held here. The first photo below was taken c1910 and shows a peaceful street with the Railway Hotel and the North Star divided by the entrance to Station Approach. The second shows a similar view from 2013. The Railway Hotel was demolished in recent years and replaced by an office block housing “Sonus Networks”. The third is just of the North Star today, with the side of “Staines One”, another new office bock backing onto it. As for Staines Railway Station, we’ll visit this later.

As we continue along Kingston Road we pass many new blocks of flats and some residential roads going off to the left. The housing along the Kingston Road may have changed greatly in recent years, but most of the houses on the roads going north are those which sprung up after the coming of the railway.

As the road starts to climb, to our left a road (Leacroft) descends through trees to a green. Turn left and follow Leacroft, staying on the LHS pavement. There’s a little bit of history down here and it makes the crossing of the road a bit safer.

Leacroft

As you descend down along Leacroft you’ll soon come across the Old Red Lion to your LHS. The pub sign states it dates from c1610 and takes its name from the Coat of Arms of King James IV of Scotland, also later James I of England. Its origins are believed to have been a beer house with the owner selling from barrels over a single counter in a small room. Leacroft was, and still is, an interesting place. There are many good old houses here, the Old Red Lion has always been popular with locals, sports clubs meet here and sometimes Morris Dancers perform outside the pub. A small building which housed a skittles alley sat just north-east of the pub and quoits were played on the green. In 1904 Drill Hall was built just around the corner in Raleigh Court to house the Staines Volunteer Battalion. The River Ash flows through here, the Staines Aqueduct borders it to the north-east, the railway to the south and Kingston Road to the west.

The photo below was taken in 1904 and shows some of the Staines Volunteer Battalion on parade celebrating the opening of their new home at Drill Hall, Leacroft in 1904.

Up until 1910 there was a blacksmiths’ forge here. It was bought out Tom Simmons who developed it into a larger business making wheels, carriages, carts and eventually motor vehicles. He had many skilled craftsmen working for him and produced quality carts and carriages for local businesses. This expanded to take over the skittles alley and other buildings near the Old Red Lion. The business of T.G. Simmons prospered and after Tom’s death in 1959 was taken over by his son Rodney. It continued to work as a motor body-building and vehicle repair company until 1968, when it was bought out by an automobile company names Crimbles’. Today all the old buildings once owned by Simmons have been demolished and a red-brick office block stands on the site.

Below, look how proud workers at Simmons seem just before delivering a new milk cart to the local milkman, plus a BBC radio programming recording the shoeing of a horse, both at their works at Leacroft.

Leacroft has many of the pleasant characters of a small village, with the village pub overlooking the green, many old character houses and the river flowing through it. However, there is no cricket pitch, no shops and no church. The nearest church and shops are a short walk away along Kingston Road on the other side of the railway at Knowle Green and Stainash Parade.

In 1904, after sustained heavy rain, the River Ash broke its banks and Leacroft suffered heavy flooding. Most of the area went under water, but in the photos below it looks as if the locals were not deterred by this. The man on the left, standing next to the sign of the Old Red Lion Inn, seems to have just rolled up his trousers, waiting for the pub to open for his first beer of the day. On the right the local postman and a few city gents are being delivered by a raft to get on with their work. In both photos you can see the small building in the middle which for a time was used as the pub’s skittles alley.

Continue straight on past the Red Lion pub, over the entrance to Raleigh Court and past some stone bollards onto an enclosed path. Follow this until it comes to a T-junction. Cross straight over the road (still Leacroft) and turn right. Here you can see the River Ash emerging from under the road (see photo below). Almost immediately veer left onto the grass and continue along the edge of the green, keeping the road parallel to your RHS.

If you look to your left across the green you can see the Kingston Road Bridge as it passes over the railway, this has a great significance to the story below.

Rail Crash

On 9^th August 1957 an electric passenger train drew away from the up platform at Staines Station with a signal at danger and collided with a shunting steam engine just east of the Kingston Road bridge and next to Leacroft. Fortunately, there were no fatalities but 14 people were injured, five of which were detained in hospital. Employees of T.G. Simmons were among the first on the scene and helped in the rescue of the train crew and passengers. The first photo of the crash below is from the Surrey History Society, the second is from Keith Jaggers’ website Staines Central to Waterloo Line – the link is good for any rail enthusiasts amongst you.

At the other end of the green go straight on along the pavement and follow it uphill, around to the left, and at the top turn left on the pavement along Kingston Road and over the railway.

Manor Works of W. E. Sykes

Immediately over the railway bridge a public footpath is signed to the left and goes down some steps. We go straight on past this. The footpath goes down parallel to the railway, past an area named “The Nest” and onto a row of old delightful cottages named Manor Place. These cottages date back over a century and look straight onto the railway line. The Nest (and I’m not sure where the name comes from) shelters a building company “CR Construction”. However, the area around it once housed a much larger engineering firm by the name of W.E. Sykes Ltd. Sykes established his gear-shaper cutters business at Egham Hythe in 1927. It expanded and the company bought five acres of the local Manor’s lands at Knowle Green in the early 1930s. Between 1934 and 1935 the Manor Works of W.E. Sykes was built here and tooled up for the production of gear generating machines. The quality of their products gained recognition throughout the world. The company helped during the war effort and for decades was an important employer in the town. At its peak it employed almost 1,000 workers, had its own sports facilities and even a football team in the Staines District League. Sykes were eventually bought out by the 600 Group, who in turn sold off the Manor Works for housing development in 1986. The photo below shows the Sykes Football Team for the 1950-51 season.

The pavement descends, and at the bottom crosses over Priory Green. Stay straight on for just a few yards and turn Right to cross over Kingston Road via the pelican crossing. Then turn left along the pavement and at the roundabout follow the pavement as it turns right into Knowle Green.

Staines Preparatory School

As the road descend towards Knowle Green, look right, through the hedgerow, and you can see the old red-brick buildings of Staines Preparatory School on Gresham Road. Some of the buildings date back to c1870 and are listed locally of being of historical interest. The original school was founded by a Mr Burges & Miss Hanson (later Mrs Burges) and opened on 8^th May 1935, only two days after the Silver Jubilee of King George V. It started with just eleven boys, but soon expanded. Nos. 1 and 5 Gresham Road were acquired and during World War II girls were also admitted. Today this is a thriving co-educational independent day school with over 300 pupils. To read more you can download a PDF entitled “A Brief History of Staines Prep from 1935 to 2010” from the school website, or see the school’s entry at Wikipedia.

Knowle Green, a Manor and a Priory

The Priory Green road sign states “Priory Green, leading to Manor Place, Priory Mews, Chestnut Manor Close, Sykes Drive, …”. The sign seems to imply this area “Knowle Green” may have once had a manor and a priory, or connections to these two things. As far as I can ascertain the manor here was most likely that of Grovebarns, which seems to date back to the 13^th century. It passed through many hands and became the property of John Knowle (died 1617) in the 16^th century. It seemed to stay in the family until William Knowles (now with “s” at the end) sold the estate in 1634. Records imply that the only Lord of the Manor of Staines to live at Knowle Green was Richard Tayler (died 1792). He lived at Knowle Green in 1768, but by 1771 he had moved to Charlton House at Sunbury. The manor house here seems to be what was called Knowle Farm in 1720 and Knowle Green House in 1753, but since the mid-19^th century was called the Manor House. This was most likely to be the house where Richard Tayler lived and hence it’s final name. By the 1930s the house was in a dilapidated state and was acquired by Rex Willett, the town veterinary surgeon. Five acres of the land were sold to W E Sykes for his factory. The old house remained but was demolished in the early 1970s to make way for an office block and housing.

As for a connection to a priory, this is a bit more difficult. One source states the Manor House may have also at one time been re-named Priory House. It is also known Staines was granted to Sheen Priory by Queen Mary in 1558, but this grant may never have taken effect. Another source is a book published in 1816 and entitled “The Beauties of England and Wales, or, Delineations, topographical, historical and descriptive, of each county, v. 10, pt. 4”. This says two late 16^th / early 17^th century historians, John Speed and John Weever claimed there was a priory at Staines, founded by Ralph, Lord Stafford. However, an 18^th century historian by the name of Newcourt later “shews that the priory of Stanes alluded to by these two writers was really situated at Stone, in Staffordshire; which place, like all others of similar denomination, was termed Stane in ancient records”. Of course Stane (meaning stone) was also an old name for Staines and most likely this was the reason for the possible incorrect earlier claims.

Whatever the correct reasons for the history of these road names, I am not totally sure and am happy to listen to other claims. It seems Knowle Green House and its grounds were replaced by the “United Glass” office block and housing in the Chestnut Manor Close and Sykes Drive areas. The United Glass building didn’t last long and was replaced by a much larger office block named Compass Point. For years this was an important office of BP (British Petroleum) and a few years ago became the Head Office of JP Kenny.

Grovebarns sheltered housing for the elderly, just southeast of Knowle Green on Park Avenue, remembers the old manor. You can read further information about Staines Manors at British History Online.

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As you follow the pavement through Knowle Green, soon to the right are the large red-brick offices of Spelthorne Borough Council and across the road are the Law Courts.

Spelthorne Borough Council

Since the 1920s Staines Urban District Council has had a number of homes: The Town Hall, 33 Clarence Street, London Road, High Street, etc. By 1970 things had got so bad, the council had offices scattered all over the place. It was then decided to build the current offices at Knowle Green to bring all the different departments under one roof. The offices were opened in September 1972. The building cost £400,000 and was the first of a number of civic facilities planned for Knowle Green. Spelthorne Borough Council was formed soon afterwards, by the joining Staines and Sunbury Councils in 1974. The building was extended in 1985 and the council is still housed here today. Spelthorne elects 39 councillors each year, at present (2013) there are 32 Conservative, 6 Liberal Democrats, and 1 Independent representative.

The Law Courts

These consist of the Staines County Court, the Staines Magistrates’ Court and the Staines Probation Office. These were part of the number of civic facilities planned for Knowle Green and built soon after the council offices.

Artwork

Immediately past the council offices and on the other side of the road, on the edge of Staines Park, is an artwork of a mosaic horse. It was made at the local Special Needs Centre and placed here c1993.

Soon to the left is Staines Health Centre and on our right is Spelthorne Leisure Centre (picture below) and the Knowle Green Day Nursery. All built as part of the plan laid out by the council for civic facilities to be used by townsfolk.

Go straight on, past a yellow barrier, staying on the pavement and onto a footpath which leads to Gresham Road. Turn right along Gresham Road staying on the RHS pavement.

To the left at the junction of the footpath from Knowle Green and Gresham Road is a mini-roundabout. If you divert the short distance to this roundabout you can see Sweeps Ditch between houses on both sides of the road and disappearing under the roundabout (see photo below). Further on past the roundabout are many lovely mid-19^th century houses and some of them are listed buildings. The old houses in this area were built as a consequence of the railway coming to Staines. However, we turn right along Gresham Road past an industrial estate, some old houses, new flats and a Catholic Church.

Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church

According to British History Online:

“The only record of Roman Catholicism in Staines before the late 19^th century is that John Perkins of Staines was returned as a convicted recusant in 1667 and 1668. In 1890 the chapel in Gresham Road was opened, and was served from Hampton Wick. For some years before this a priest from Sunbury had held services at the Staines Union Workhouse in Stanwell. There was a resident priest in Gresham Road from 1891 and by 1893 the church was known, as it is now, as the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. A school was opened in 1893. The church was much enlarged in 1931, so that the old church became the western part of the nave. The new eastern end had a narrow south aisle, and a chancel with an apsidal east end was also added.

From about 1904 to about 1919 there was a convent of Sisters of Sainte Chretênne in Gresham Road, with a school attached.”

In 1967 the school moved a short distance away to Langley Road and has remained there ever since. For more information about the church, you can visit the church website at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church.

Cross over Gresham Road, by the entrance to Jewson’s and turn right along the pavement past three strange looking buildings housing Allan Nevin Shoe Repairs, Gresham News and Staines Cars Ltd. Stay left to climb the steps to the footbridge over the railway.

Staines Station

Staines Station opened in 1848 and provided a swift and efficient service to Waterloo and outwards to Windsor. The journey to London took about 40 minutes and as well as making London accessible to Staines it also made Staines accessible to Londoners. It provided jobs and attracted many London gentlemen to move their families to the cleaner air of the “countryside”, yet still be able to take the train to work. Staines also got a reputation of being a resort on the river and advertised this greatly to attract visitors. It was during this period that the town grew rapidly, industry flourished and more shops opened to cater for the increasing population. Many new houses were built in the area around the station and along the river, and many of these still exist today. Staines Railway Bridge across the Thames was completed in 1856 and provided a second line into the town. It carries the London Waterloo to Reading line and the London Waterloo to Chertsey via Hounslow. By the 1930s the steam trains started to get replaced by faster electric trains. The town became even more accessible and still continued to grow.

The footbridge we just crossed over, from Gresham Road, was built c1881 by the London & South West Railway Company. Their logo “L and SWR” can still be seen on some of the corner brackets. The footbridge replaced a level crossing at the London end of the station and is locally listed as being of historical interest. As you cross over look right and you’ll see another footbridge at the opposite side of the station. This has been recently completed and links the two platforms.

Staines Station and the old footbridge linking Station Path to Gresham Road, 2013

On the link to Wikipedia, you can see that Staines Railway Station once had three platforms. The third was removed to make way for an enlarged car park. The track which ran to the third platform still can be seen coming in from the east. On 30^th January 1965 the funeral train holding the body of Winston Churchill passed through Staines on its way to Handborough Station in Oxfordshire. A sister train was on hand at Staines, should the funeral train break down. Churchill had a State Funeral in London, but was buried alongside his mother, father, wife and children at St Martins Church at Blaydon and near to his ancestral home at Blenheim Palace.

Another exiting day for Staines Station was on the 9^th May 1965, when the most famous steam engine of all time “The Flying Scotsman” passed through (see photo above from Keith Jaggers’ website).

Staines Station c1860 and Station Staff c1900

Once over the footbridge, around to the right, is the main building of Staines Railway Station. Go straight on along the enclosed footpath and past the “Welcome to STAINES” sign. To the left there is a small garden …..

Station Path

Station Path leads to the High Street, by the Iron Bridge. The path is probably as old as the station and provided a short-cut for people working at industries in the town such as the Lino Factory. Part way along another path goes through a subway under the railway and into the South Street car park. This once continued south of here under another railway line and out onto Thames Street – we’ll come back to this later in the walk.

The 1895 1:2,500 OS map below is taken from Disused Stations and shows the triangular junction south of Staines High Street Station. Station Path linking the two stations, Staines Station (or Staines Junction as it was then named) and Staines High Street Station is clearly visible. You can also see the other path going through subways under both railway lines and in the direction of Thames Street

Harris Brewery

To right, about 100 yards along Station Path, is an open air car park surrounded by buildings of the old Harris Knowle Green Brewery. This was operated by Thomas Poulter Harris & Son until 1877, and then by Thomas Fladgate Harris until 1903, when the brewery and its 94 licensed houses were bought by the Ashby Staines Brewery, for what was then a pricely sum of £125,000 – this wouldn’t even buy you a flat in Staines today. The Ashby Brewery paid for their venture by selling half of the tied houses to Watney, Coombe & Reid of London. Brewing here only continued for 10 years and ceased in 1913. Recently, the Oast House building was used by Surrey Count Council as an Adult Learning Centre but this is now up for rent. The Granary building is now the Hope Christian Centre. However, these old buildings are a part of Staines history and to date most are still intact and hopefully will be preserved for future generations.

Just a short distance after passing the buildings of the old Harris Brewery turn left through a subway and under the railway. At the other side turn right along the edge of South Street car park. The path along the edge of the car park follows the western boundary of what was the railway line from the Thames railway bridge to High Street Station. This eventually takes us back to Staines High Street, immediately west of the Iron Bridge.

From the photos below, taken in 2012, you can see a cluttered council metal sign on the path just after the subway, and also the footpath to the east of South Street car park as it comes out onto the High Street, next to the Iron Bridge. The embankment to the right of the second photo was that of the old railway line which ran from the Thames to High Street Station.

Before reaching the Iron Bridge, turn left to cross over South Street using the staggered pelican crossing.

Factory Path and the Empire Cinema

To your right when crossing over is the entrance to Mustard Mill Road. This part of the road was built in the late 1990s and replaced Factory Path which for many decades led from the Iron Bridge to the Lino Factory and the mills which occupied the site for years before.

The first purpose built cinema in Staines opened in 1922 and was named “The Paris”. This was immediately southwest of the iron bridge and only separated from the railway by Factory Path. It was later renamed The Empire and remained open until about 1960, when cinemas went into decline due to competition from television. The “Empire” was locally known as the “Fleapit”, and the picture wobbled on the screen every time a train passed. After closing it became Gamleys Toy & Video Store with offices above. When the building was being demolished in 1997, to make way for an extension to Mustard Mill Road (see photo below), the old art-deco ceiling of the auditorium was uncovered above a false ceiling.

Once over the pelican crossing go straight on along the pedestrianised part of Staines High Street to finish just a few yards later at the 'gateway' plinth at the north of the pedestrianised section of Staines High Street (see photo below).

I hope you have enjoyed this short circular walk through the northern part of the town. Our next and last part of the walk will take in the southern half of the High Street, Two Rivers, Thames Street, Laleham Road, Staines Park and the River Thames Path.

You can download a Word Doc with pictures and full instructions below. A word of WARNING. When you click to download the Word Doc, Google gives you a Google Doc. You need to then click on the download arrow in the top right hand menu to get the proper Word Doc.