Hounslow Heath

Hounslow Heath is a local nature reserve in the London Borough of Hounslow. The public open space, which covers 200 acres (80 ha), is all that remains of the historic Hounslow Heath which covered more than 4,000 acres (1,600 ha). The present day area is bounded by A315 Staines Road, A3063 Wellington Road South, A314 Hanworth Road, and the River Crane.

History

The heathland of Hounslow Heath originally covered an area underlain by Taplow gravel that now includes parts of Bedfont, Brentford, Cranford, Feltham, Hampton, Fulwell, Hanworth, Harlington, Harmondsworth, Heston, Hounslow, Isleworth, Stanwell, Teddington, Twickenham, and Heathrow.

Hounslow Heath has had major historical importance, originally crossed by main routes from London to the west and southwest of Britain. Staines Road, the northern boundary of the present heath, was the Roman Road, Via Trinobantes. There are several historic references to Roman camps on or close to the heath. Continuous recorded history dates back to Norman times. In 1546, Hounslow Heath was surveyed with a recorded area of 4,293 acres (1,737 ha) (6.71 square miles).

Hounslow

Coordinates: 51°28′00″N 0°22′30″W / 51.4668°N 0.375°W / 51.4668; -0.375

Hounslow (/ˈhaʊnzloʊ/) is the principal town in the London Borough of Hounslow in Greater London. It is a suburban district 10.6 miles (17 km) west south-west of Charing Cross. It forms a larger post town in the TW postcode area and is an economic hub within the capital; it has a large shopping centre which adjoins its high street and a large number of restaurants, cafés and small businesses, many of which are associated with product assembly, marketing, telecommunications and London Heathrow Airport. A minority of its workers are employed in Central London, to which the town is connected by rail and tube. Hounslow is part of the TW3 postcode area, though some areas to the west are in TW4 instead. The population of the town, comprising the Hounslow Central, Hounslow Heath and Hounslow South wards, was 41,304 in the 2011 census.

Etymology

The name Hounslow is spelt in old records as 'Hundeslow' and similar, pointing to Anglo-Saxon Hundes hlāw, meaning "the dog's mound" or "the mound of a man named or nicknamed Hound".

Isleworth Hundred

Isleworth Hundred was a subdivision of the ancient county of Middlesex, England. In Domesday Book (1086) it was recorded as Hundeslaw Hundred ("Hounslow Hundred" in modern spelling).

It contained the following parishes and settlements :

References

Coordinates: 51°28′N 0°21′W / 51.47°N 0.35°W / 51.47; -0.35

London Borough of Hounslow

The London Borough of Hounslow ( pronunciation ) is a London borough in west London, England, forming part of Outer London. The borough stretches from near Central London in the east to the border with Surrey in the west, covering Chiswick, Brentford, Isleworth and Feltham in addition to Hounslow itself; it borders the boroughs of Richmond upon Thames, Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing and Hillingdon, plus the Surrey borough of Spelthorne. Landmarks include Osterley Park, Gunnersbury Park, Syon House, the London Museum of Water & Steam and Chiswick House. The local authority is Hounslow London Borough Council.

Districts in Hounslow

The various electoral wards of Hounslow are grouped into five Areas, each of which is given an extent of self-government: