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'East Bedfont', or simply Bedfont, is a suburb of west London. It 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.

Contents

History

Origins & mediaeval Bedfont

The growth of the town and industrialisation

Postwar development and the construction of Heathrow

Buildings of interest

Sport in Bedfont

History

Origins & mediaeval Bedfont

Referred to in the Domesday Book as “Bedefunde”, the name is thought to be derived from Anglo-Saxon ''Bedfunta'' = "Bed’s spring", or ''Bydenfunta'' = "spring provided with a drinking-vessel".
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.

The growth of the town and industrialisation

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.
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.

Postwar development and the construction of Heathrow

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.

Buildings of interest

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.

Sport in Bedfont

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.
Bedfont Sports Football Club is based in Bedfont, with a number of youth and adult teams.