Stanwell Stadium

Stanwell is a suburban village and civil parish in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, approximately 16 miles (26 km) west of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, it was transferred to Surrey in 1965. The village is to the south of the cargo-handling area of Heathrow Airport and to the east of the Staines Reservoirs.

The boundaries of the civil parish changed twice in the 20th century. First land was taken by Heathrow Airport and then, in 1995 after the completion of the M25 motorway, the settlement of Poyle was detached and reassigned to Colnbrook, Berkshire.

Stanwell Moor is a distinct settlement, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of Stanwell, although it is part of the same ward and civil and ecclesiastical parishes.

History

There are two theories regarding the origin of the name Stanwell. One is that it was named after St Ann(e)'s well in the village, but according to all known records the parish church has always been dedicated to St Mary. The second is that it means 'stone well', referring to stony soil or the adjoining street to the south. The first few letters of the name are the same as in the name of neighbouring Staines-upon-Thames, which also is said to mean 'stones', in the same way as the Great Vowel Shift failed to influence the spelling and pronunciation of the contemporaneously pronounced Stane Streets (i.e. stone streets), the Old English for many of the stone-laid Roman roads in Britain.

The Domesday Book of 1086 records 'Stanwelle' held by Walter, son of Othere, Anglo Saxon names. Its Domesday assets were: 15 hide, 4 mills worth £3 10s 0d and 375 eels, 3 weirs worth 1000 eels, 10 ploughs, meadow for 12 ploughs and woodland worth 12 hogs. It rendered £14 per year to its feudal system overlords. The fruitful watercourse was the western border of the village and of Middlesex, the River Colne West Bedfont may have been a hamlet of Stanwell in 1086; however, the dividing line between West Bedfont hamlet in Stanwell parish and