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Stanwell lies on the southern boundary of London Heathrow Airport 2 miles north-east of Staines.
Recent archaeology at Heathrow as part of the Terminal 5 development has revealed a complex prehistoric settlement, some of it in Surrey. Please click here for more information.
Most of the land south of Stanwell and West Bedfont villages remained open until late in the 18th century. Orchards and market gardens spread rapidly in the second half of the 19th century, while in 1838 the Stanwell Perpetual rose was discovered in a local garden. In 1919 a small housing estate was constructed at Stanwell and since 1945 many more houses have been built.
Reproduced courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection
The irregular layout of the historic village core is in marked contrast and several buildings of particular interest remain. An important feature in this essentially flat area is the view of St. Mary's Church from the small green and from farther afield. The octagonal, shingled spire sits above a squat tower with battlements. On the south wall of the church chancel is a two-stall sedilia, a piscina and an arcade of eight seats believed to have been intended for the use of the monks of Chertsey Abbey to which Stanwell was given in 1415 by the Windsors.
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