East Bedfont , or simply Bedfont, straddles the Staines Road at the west of the
London Borough Of Hounslow from Baber Bridge on the
River Crane to the boundary with Ashford. Referred to in the
Domesday Book as “Bedefunde”, the name is thought to be derived from the
Saxon “Bedfunta”, meaning “Bed’s spring”.
The Staines Road follows the Roman “Via Trinobantes” linking Londinium (
London ) to Pontes (
Staines ) and the West Country, though the name suggests older origins as the
Trinobantes were a powerful Celtic tribe before the Roman invasion. Excavations prior to the building of
Heathrow ’s Terminal 5 site a few miles north west of Bedfont found evidence of settlement during the
Bronze Age ,
Iron Age and Roman periods, suggesting there may have been people living in and around the Bedfont area during these periods.
The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is situated on the edge of the village green and is the oldest surviving church in the borough dating from around 1150. Its Norman chancel, chancel arch and south doorway have survived the centuries, as have medieval wall paintings from the mid 13th century, which were uncovered in
1865 .
The
Domesday Book has an entry stating that the manors of Bedfont, Hatton and Stanmore were all held by William Fitz Other. From the early
14th Century the Manor of
East Bedfont was held by the Trinitarian Priory of Hounslow, before being taken by the Crown during the reformation. The Berkeley family of Cranford then held the manor before selling it to the
Earl Of Northumberland in
1656 .
Charles I licensed the Hounslow Sword Mill in 1630 on the banks of the
Duke Of Northumberland's River . The sword smiths, who came from
Solingen in
Germany , produced one thousand swords a month, which have become collector’s items and an impressive collection of these can be seen at the Gunnersbury Park Museum.
The
Longford River , which also flows through Bedfont, also dates from the reign of Charles I.
During the
English Civil War , when both the
Royalist and
Parliamentary armies passed through Bedfont, the mill was taken by Parliamentary forces, and was converted to a
Gunpowder mill in
1654 .
This converted mill was supplemented by new mills closer to Baber Bridge, in the area now known as Donkey Woods. The manufacture of
Gunpowder was a dangerous occupation and workers were killed or maimed in many explosions down the years, with the mills being demolished and rebuilt a number of times. The water-powered gunpowder mills continued to be used until 1926 when they were closed by the then owners,
Imperial Chemical Industries .
Bedfont has the unique claim of having two surviving manor houses. Pates Manor, behind the church, is the oldest house in the Borough with one wing dating from the late
15th Century . Fawns Manor, on the south side of the Green, dates from the 16th century and was sold to the
British Airways Housing Association in the 1980’s by the Sherborn family, who had owned it from the
17th Century .
As coach services grew from the 17th to 18th centuries, so too did the number of inns in Bedfont. The Duke’s Head and The Bell were situated on Bedfont Green, and The Plough, The Sun, The White Horse and the Queen’s Head joined them in providing stabling and refreshments to the weary travellers on the road between
London and the West Country.
The building of the
Great Western Railway between
London and
Bristol in
1841 marked the beginning of the end for the golden age of the
Stagecoach , and by
1847 both state and mail coaches had ceased to run to the west. The
Waterloo to
Staines line was opened in
1848 leaving the roads mainly for the use of local traffic.
Following on from the railways, the
Twentieth Century saw the motor car appearing on the main road, and the building of Great South West Road in
1925 saw traffic diverted around Bedfont.
By
1946 another form of transport began to impact on the village when
Heathrow Airport opened and became the largest employer in the area, with the effect of increasing the demand for local housing. The hamlet of Hatton has all but disappeared beneath the airport and its surroundings, but The Green Man public house survives from the
17th Century and the name survives through the London Underground station on the edge of the airport.
Captain Matthew Webb , who was the first man to swim the English Channel (
25 August 1875 ), lived in The Limes, New Road, Bedfont, from
1880 until
1883 when he died attempting to swim the rapids below the
Niagara Falls .
