Spelthorne appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a hundred of Middlesex. In the local government reorganisation in 1965 it was transferred to Surrey.
Spelthorne shows evidence of human occupation since the earliest times of Prehistory, probably due to its location on the River Thames, which provided transport and trade links to other settlements around what is now London and the Thames Valley. The fertile lands that surround the Thames are ideal for farming and evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements have been found around Staines, Laleham and Stanwell.
The first Staines Bridge was built in Roman times, as a crossing point on the main Roman Road which travelled through Staines from London to Silchester (near Reading).
The London Stone was erected in 1285, to mark the western limit of the City of London’s jurisdiction over the Thames. It is probably this closeness to London that has encouraged many industries to develop in Spelthorne. In 1862 the Staines Linoleum Company was opened to produce the newly invented floor covering. Hardboard was invented in Sunbury in 1989. Shepperton Studios has been used to film numerous blockbusters, including the James Bond and Harry Potter films.
In 1897 the Sunbury Clock was erected in celebration of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and the Lucan family were residents of Laleham until the 7th Earl went missing in 1974.
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