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Stanmore is part of the
London Borough of Harrow The London Borough of Harrow () is a London boroughs, London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs London Borough of Barnet, Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street, Watl ...
in
Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
. It is centred northwest of
Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...
, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, at high. The district, which developed from the ancient
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
parishes of Great and
Little Stanmore Little Stanmore was an ancient parish of Middlesex which is today the residential area of Canons Park in the London Borough of Harrow, England. The parish included the western part of the town of Edgware. Toponymy The name 'Stanmore' means "po ...
, lies immediately west of Roman
Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...
(the A5 road) and forms the eastern part of the modern
London Borough of Harrow The London Borough of Harrow () is a London boroughs, London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs London Borough of Barnet, Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street, Watl ...
. Stanmore is the location of the former
RAF Bentley Priory RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was the headquarters of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. The Royal Air Force station c ...
station – base of the
Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...
during both world wars – along with its accommodating
Bentley Priory Bentley Priory is an eighteenth to nineteenth century stately home and deer park in Stanmore on the northern edge of the Greater London area in the London Borough of Harrow. It was originally a medieval priory or cell of Augustinian Canons in ...
mansion, notably the last residence of
Queen Adelaide Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (Adelaide Amelia Louise Theresa Caroline; 13 August 1792 – 2 December 1849) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 26 June 1830 to 20 June 1837 as the wife of King W ...
. Some members of the
Bernays family The Jewish Bernays family has its recent origins in the town of Groß-Gerau in the German state of Hesse, where the patriarch of the family, Rabbiner Beer Neustädtel (also known as Baer Lazarus) lived with his family. Two of his sons, Isaac, born ...
were also based here, including Adolphus Bernays and his son and grandson who were both rectors of St John's church; the
Bernays Institute Bernays Institute is a Victorian building in Stanmore, London Borough of Harrow, England, that currently functions as a community event hall, Bernays Memorial Hall. History It was built in the old village of Great Stanmore as a parish hall and o ...
and Bernays Gardens are public amenities in the centre of the old village. The district increasingly developed into a
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
suburb during the 20th century, and in the latter half housed the
Automobile Association An automobile association, also referred to as a motoring club, motoring association, or motor club, is an organization, either for-profit or non-profit, which motorists (drivers and vehicle owners) can join to enjoy benefits provided by the club ...
's regional headquarters. Today it is a
commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
with a
tube station The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
that is the northern terminus of the
Jubilee line The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in east London, via the West End of London, West End, South Bank and London Docklands, Docklands. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the ...
, and large green spaces.


Toponymy

The place earliest documented use of the name comes from a charter of 793, when land in Stanmore was granted to
St Albans Abbey St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, also known as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be an abbey follo ...
. The Domesday book of 1086 records the two manors of Stanmore as ''Stanmere'', the name deriving from the
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''stan'', 'stony' and ''mere'', 'a pool'. There are outcrops of gravel on the clay soil here and the ''mere'', which gave the manors their name, may have been one of the ponds which still exist. One possible candidate is a pond on Stanmore Common still sometimes known as Caesars Pond after a battle believed to have taken place in the vicinity in 54BC.The London Encyclopaedia, Weinreb and Hibbert, 1983 p811


History


Rome

An obelisk on Brockley Hill, in the grounds of the
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) is a specialist orthopaedic hospital located in Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow, run by the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust. It provides the most comprehensive range of neuro- ...
, marks the reputed site of a battle between Julius Caesar's Roman legions and the local
Catuvellauni The Catuvellauni (Common Brittonic: *''Catu-wellaunī'', "war-chiefs") were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century. The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and thei ...
tribe, under
Cassivellaunus Cassivellaunus was a historical British military leader who led the defence against Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. He led an alliance of tribes against Roman forces, but eventually surrendered after his location was revea ...
. This battle is said to have taken place during Caesar's raid in force on Britain, in 54BC. Britain was conquered after Claudius invaded in 43AD; sometime after this the Romans established a local settlement called Sulloniacis.


Origins of the Manors and Parishes of Stanmore

A manor called Stanmore is first recorded in 793 AD, and the Domesday book of 1086 describes pre-existing manors (estates) of Great and Little Stanmore as having changed ownership in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest. These estates were subsequently served by the
ancient parishes Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient hi ...
of Great and Little Stanmore.


Pre-urban

Until the late 19th century, Stanmore was a small rural community. In the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, a monastic community of cell of
Augustinian Canons The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religio ...
was established at
Bentley Priory Bentley Priory is an eighteenth to nineteenth century stately home and deer park in Stanmore on the northern edge of the Greater London area in the London Borough of Harrow. It was originally a medieval priory or cell of Augustinian Canons in ...
. It was dissolved in 1536 during the dissolution of the monasteries.''Victoria County History'', Middlesex, Harrow including Pinner, Manors, 1971
/ref> One of the really old surviving buildings are the Cottrell cottages built c. 1565. It suggests that the medieval population centre in Stanmore was around the present day Broadway, before the developments among Stanmore Hill in the late 18th.


Stately homes

Between 1713 and 1724, the 1st Duke of Chandos built
Cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during t ...
house in Little Stanmore. Shortly after, in 1729 Andrew Drummond, the founder of the
Drummonds Bank Messrs. Drummond, Bankers is a formerly independent private bank in the United Kingdom that is now part of NatWest Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland incorporating Messrs Drummond, Bankers is based at 49 Charing Cross in central London. Drummo ...
and Jacobite sympathiser, purchased Stanmore House and the Stanmore Park estate as his country residence. A new mansion was built for Andrew Drummond at Stanmore Park in 1763: it was designed in neo Palladian style by
John Vardy John Vardy (February 1718 – 17 May 1765) was an English architect attached to the Royal Office of Works from 1736. He was a close follower of the neo-Palladian architect William Kent. John Vardy was born to a simple working family in Durham. ...
and
Sir William Chambers __NOTOC__ Sir William Chambers (23 February 1723 – 10 March 1796) was a Swedish-British architect. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, the Gold State Coach and the pagoda at Kew. Chambers was a founder member of the Royal Academy. ...
. Zoffany painted the Drummond family in the grounds. The Drummonds leased Stanmore House to the Countess of Aylesford (in 1815) and later to Lord Castlereagh. The Marquess of Abercorn acquired the estate, along with Bentley Priory, in 1839. In 1848, Stanmore House was sold again to
George Glyn, 1st Baron Wolverton George Carr Glyn, 1st Baron Wolverton (27 March 1797 – 24 July 1873) was a banker with interests in the railways, a partner in the family firm of Glyn, Mills & Co., which was reputed to be the largest private bank in City of London, London. Ba ...
. The house was later used as a boys' preparatory school. It was demolished in 1938 and the site was taken over by the
Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces ( Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary re ...
as the headquarters of Balloon Command. The history of the area is reflected in street names, such as Lady Aylesford Avenue and Abercorn Road. RAF Stanmore Park closed in 1997 and is now a housing estate. The wealthy businessman James Duberley commissioned
Sir John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the Ro ...
to design a large mansion house north of the original Bentley Priory in 1775. This house was added to throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by various owners. It was significantly extended in 1788, again by Sir John Soane, for
John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn John James Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn (2 July 1756 – 27 January 1818) was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician. Background and education John James was born in July 1756 in London, the posthumous son of John Hamilton (Royal Navy offic ...
. The Priory was the final home of the
Dowager Queen Adelaide Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (Adelaide Amelia Louise Theresa Caroline; 13 August 1792 – 2 December 1849) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 26 June 1830 to 20 June 1837 as the wife of King W ...
, queen consort of
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
, before her death there in 1849. In 1882 Bentley Priory was acquired by the hotel millionaire Frederick Gordon, who turned it into a country house hotel for wealthy guests. The
opera librettist Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...
(of the
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...
duo) lived at
Grim's Dyke Grim's Dyke (sometimes called Graeme's Dyke until late 1891)How, Harry ''The Strand Magazine'', Vol. 2, October 1891, pp. 330–41, reprinted at ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', 20 November 2011 is a house and estate in Harrow Weald, in n ...
, a country house located between Stanmore and
Harrow Weald Harrow Weald is a suburban district in Greater London, England. Located about north of Harrow, London, Harrow, Harrow Weald is formed from a leafy 1930s suburban development along with ancient woodland of Harrow Weald Common. It forms part of ...
. In 1911, Gilbert drowned in the pond at Grim's Dyke. He was cremated at
Golders Green Golders Green is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet in north London, northwest of Charing Cross. It began as a medieval small suburban linear settlement near a farm and public grazing area green, and dates to the early 19th century. It ...
and his ashes buried at the churchyard of St. John's Church, Stanmore.Stedman, Jane W
"Gilbert, Sir William Schwenck (1836–1911)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004, online edition, May 2008, accessed 10 January 2010


Urbanisation

The railways first reached Stanmore in 1890 when Frederick Gordon opened the
Stanmore branch line The Stanmore branch line was a railway line in Harrow, Middlesex (now Greater London), in the United Kingdom. Located to the north of London, it provided commuter rail services between Harrow and the village of Stanmore. Beginning at Harrow st ...
to improve access to Bentley, in the hope of attracting more affluent customers. Great Stanmore Parish Council stipulated that Gordon's new station building should be of the highest quality, and so Stanmore station (later renamed ''Stanmore Village'') was designed to resemble a small English church, complete with a spire and
gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...
s. Trains were run by the
London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...
(LNWR). Gordon also purchased land near the station and laid out a wide avenue—named ''Gordon Avenue''—lined with new superior houses, in the hope of attracting wealthy Londoners to come to live in the country and commute into the city on his new railway. Despite his efforts, Gordon's business ventures at Stanmore were not successful, and in 1899 he sold the railway to the LNWR. Gordon died in 1904 at his Hotel Metropole in
Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
. His body was brought back to Stanmore and buried in the family grave at the church of St. John's Church. In the early years of the 20th century, as the population of London grew, Stanmore was affected by increasing
urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also ...
and the small rural village was rapidly becoming a suburb of London. In December 1932 the
Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...
(MR) opened a new electric railway with a station at (now the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
station on the
Jubilee line The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in east London, via the West End of London, West End, South Bank and London Docklands, Docklands. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the ...
). This rapid, direct route into London presented strong competition for Gordon's old railway (by now run by the
London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...
(LMS)), especially as branch line passengers had to change trains at for London services. After years of decline, Stanmore Village station was closed by
British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...
ways in 1952.


The war and afterwards

During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Stanmore played an important role. Stanmore had an outstation from the
Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...
codebreaking establishment, where some of the
Bombe The bombe () was an Electromechanics, electro-mechanical device used by British cryptologists to help decipher German Enigma machine, Enigma-machine-encrypted secret messages during World War II. The United States Navy, US Navy and United Sta ...
s used to decode German Enigma messages were housed. Bentley Priory was taken over by the RAF, and in 1940 the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
was controlled from
RAF Bentley Priory RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was the headquarters of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. The Royal Air Force station c ...
. RAF Bentley Priory closed in 2009. In the 1950s the Automobile Association built and opened a four-storey office building on The Broadway which eventually became the AA regional headquarters for London and the South East. A major employer in Stanmore, the centre once handled up to 3,000 calls a day. In 1986 the AA moved a few hundred yards to a new building on The Broadway. The abandoned building eventually became derelict and a target for vandalism, graffiti and the dumping of rubbish. There were plans to build a shopping centre at the site, but they did not go ahead, leaving the building abandoned for several years with its windows broken before it was demolished in 1993. The site lay empty for several years before
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...
secured its development of a supermarket here, opening at the end of 1999. Bernays Memorial Institute survived demolition and was restored during a period of 18 years until 2009. However, the AA call operating centre closed in 1997 when it moved its base to
Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...
, and in January 1999 it was announced that the breakdown centre would close with the loss of 140 jobs, ending the firm's long association with Stanmore. After being sold by the AA the building was used by Carpetright and as offices.


Parish church

The first
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
was the 14th-century St Mary's, built on the site of a wooden
Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
church, which itself may have been built on the site of a Roman compitum shrine.
It has now completely disappeared; one tomb survives in a back garden. This building was replaced by St John the Evangelist, Great Stanmore, a new one built in the current churchyard, consecrated in 1632 and dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. Built of brick and consecrated by
Archbishop Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms; he was arrested by Parliament in 164 ...
, it is one of the relatively small number of churches built in Britain between the medieval period and the eighteenth century. By the nineteenth century, this church had become considered outdated and unsafe. After its replacement, its roof was pulled off and it became a ruin. A new church was constructed in the
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
style from 1849 to 1850.
Queen Adelaide Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (Adelaide Amelia Louise Theresa Caroline; 13 August 1792 – 2 December 1849) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 26 June 1830 to 20 June 1837 as the wife of King W ...
's last public appearance was to lay the foundation stone of the new church. She gave the font and when the church was completed after her death, the east window was dedicated to her memory.


Stanmore Hall

Built in the 1840s, Stanmore Hall is a
Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
building built as a gothic castle. Located on Wood Lane near the top of Stanmore Hill, Stanmore Hall was developed by Matthew John Rhodes and was owned by balloonist Robert Hollond and his wife Ellen Hollond, who lived for the rest of their lives at the residence. The interiors were redesigned by
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...
later that century.
William Knox D'Arcy William Knox D'Arcy (11 October 18491 May 1917) was a British-Australian businessman who was one of the principal founders of the Energy in Iran, oil and petrochemical industry in Persia (Iran). The D’Arcy Concession was signed in 1901 and all ...
resided at the Hall, where he died in 1917. One of the pioneers of the oil exploration business, D'Arcy's funeral was attended by dignitaries and celebrities, carrying his coffin from the hall through the village to St John the Evangelist for service. After D'Arcy's death Stanmore Hall was sold and no longer used as a family home. During the Second World War it was used by
Allied Expeditionary Air Force The Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF), also known as the Allied Armies’ Expeditionary Air Force (AAEAF), was the expeditionary warfare component of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) which controlled the tactical air ...
, and after the war until 1971 it was a nurse's home for the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital. Stanmore Hall has been used as a filming location, such as the British films ''
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed ''Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed'' is a 1969 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Films, starring Peter Cushing, Freddie Jones, Veronica Carlson and Simon Ward. The film is the fifth in a series of Hammer films focusing on ...
'', '' Nothing but the Night'', 1960s series '' The Avengers'' and later ITV's '' The Professionals''. Following neglect, the structure of the building deteriorated, and it received damage by a fire in 1979. Eventually in 1998 the Hall was converted into separate luxury dwellings by a developer.


Modern Stanmore

Many of Stanmore's residents commute to jobs in central London, contributing to the affluent character of the area.


Shopping and hospitality

Central Stanmore includes a range of shops, pubs and restaurants from small independent businesses to large chains.


Open spaces

Stanmore Park is at the foot of Stanmore Hill and right next to the local library. Bentley Priory Nature Reserve, Stanmore Common and Stanmore Country Park are larger parks and nature reserves. Travel and excursion to these places and other attractions such as the Bernays Gardens are promoted by the Stanmore Tourist Board. Further south is Stanmore Marsh. These of wetlands with grassland and woodland ran dry before a restoration project was completed in 2017. Here a tributary of the Stanburn Brook becomes the Edgware Brook when it leaves the marsh travelling east towards Edgware.


Sports clubs

On the border with Bushey is Stanmore Cricket Club, one of the oldest in the Middlesex county championship league, which celebrated 150 years in 2003. The club has nurtured two famous cricketers who have played tests for England in the last two decades:
Angus Fraser Angus Robert Charles Fraser (born 8 August 1965) is an English cricket administrator. He served as the managing director of Middlesex Cricket between 2009 and 2021, before assuming a new role heading the club's academy. He is currently se ...
and
Mark Ramprakash Mark Ravin Ramprakash (born 5 September 1969) is an English former cricketer and cricket coach. Outside of cricket, Ramprakash won the Strictly Come Dancing series 4, fourth series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2006. He is currently the Pr ...
.


Schools

Stanmore is home to Avanti House Primary and Secondary Schools, St John's Church of England School, Park High School, Bentley Wood High School, Stanmore College and the
North London Collegiate School North London Collegiate School (NLCS) is a private day school for girls in England. Founded in Camden Town, it is now located in Edgware, in the London Borough of Harrow. Associate schools are located in South Korea, Jeju Island, Dubai, Vietnam ...
.


Health

The suburb also hosts the
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) is a specialist orthopaedic hospital located in Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow, run by the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust. It provides the most comprehensive range of neuro- ...
– known as RNOH – which is famed for its spinal unit and paediatric/young adult hip unit.


Housing

File:Little Common.jpg, Housing in Little Common File:Morecambe Gardens1994.jpg, Housing in Morecambe Gardens


Demography

The population of the London Borough of Harrow ward (Stanmore Park) was 11,229 at the 2011 Census. The Canons ward which covers Stanmore railway station and eastern areas had a population of 12,471 at the same census. Stanmore has Christian,
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
,
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, Jain, and
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
communities, including its local synagogue,
Stanmore and Canons Park Synagogue Stanmore and Canons Park Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on London Road in Stanmore, in the Borough of Harrow, London, England, in the United Kingdom. , the congregation had the largest community of any si ...
on London Road (which has one of the largest memberships of any single synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the UK behind Borehamwood), an Islamic centre, KSIMC of London (Hujjat) and a new Hindu temple on Wood Lane. The 2011 census showed that in Stanmore Park ward, 56% of the population was white (47% British, 7% Other, 2% Irish) and 20% Indian. 31% was Christian, 22% Jewish, 15% Hindu and 11% Muslim. Canons ward (covering eastern areas) was 52% white (40% British, 10% Other, 2% Irish) and 24% Indian. 26% was Christian, 25% Jewish, 18% Hindu and 11% Muslim.


Notable residents

*
Queen Adelaide Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (Adelaide Amelia Louise Theresa Caroline; 13 August 1792 – 2 December 1849) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover from 26 June 1830 to 20 June 1837 as the wife of King W ...
(1792–1849),
queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...
of
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
, lived at
Bentley Priory Bentley Priory is an eighteenth to nineteenth century stately home and deer park in Stanmore on the northern edge of the Greater London area in the London Borough of Harrow. It was originally a medieval priory or cell of Augustinian Canons in ...
, Stanmore from 1848 until her death. *
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in f ...
,
Peelite The Peelites were a breakaway political faction of the British Conservative Party from 1846 to 1859. Initially led by Robert Peel, the former Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader in 1846, the Peelites supported free trade whilst the bulk ...
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
(in office December 1852 – February 1855) was raised and is buried in Stanmore * Frederick Gordon, hotel millionaire and builder of the first Stanmore railway *
W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...
, English dramatist, librettist and illustrator; lived at
Grim's Dyke Grim's Dyke (sometimes called Graeme's Dyke until late 1891)How, Harry ''The Strand Magazine'', Vol. 2, October 1891, pp. 330–41, reprinted at ''The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive'', 20 November 2011 is a house and estate in Harrow Weald, in n ...
and died in the lake there. His ashes are buried in Stanmore. *
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
and Ellen Hollond lived here. He was a balloonist and MP, and she founded London's first créche.Great Stanmore: Introduction', A History of the County of Middlesex
Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 88–96. URL: Date accessed: 12 May 2009.
*
Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...
, Labour Prime Minister in the first post-war government, lived in a large villa "Heywood", later replaced by
mid-rise A low-rise is a building that is only a few stories tall or any building that is shorter than a high-rise, though others include the classification of mid-rise. Definition Emporis defines a low-rise as "an enclosed structure below 35 metres 15 ...
apartments. *
Chaz Jankel Charles Jeremy "Chaz" Jankel (born 16 April 1952) is an English musician and songwriter. In a music career spanning more than 50 years, he came to prominence in the late 1970s as the guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Ian Dury and the ...
, singer and multi-instrumentalist, was born in Stanmore. *
Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Idol achieved fame in the 1970s on the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of Generation X ...
, rock musician, was born in Stanmore. * Mary Cholmondeley, Lady Delamere, heiress, born in Stanmore. *
Dave Bassett David Thomas Bassett (born 4 September 1944 in Stanmore) is an English football manager and a former player. Bassett won a total of seven promotions and is one of a select number of managers who took charge of over 1,000 matches. After a playi ...
, football coach, was born in Stanmore. *
Clive Anderson Clive Stuart Anderson (born 10 December 1952) is an English television and radio presenter, comedian, writer and former barrister. Winner of a British Comedy Award in 1991, Anderson began experimenting with comedy and writing comedic scripts dur ...
, radio and television presenter, was born in Stanmore. *
Peter Van Hooke Peter Van Hooke (born 6 April 1950) is an English rock drummer and producer with over 350 credits to his name. He was the drummer for the English band Mike + The Mechanics (from 1985 to 1995) and also drummed for Van Morrison's band, Headston ...
, drummer, grew up in Stanmore. * Linda Hayden, actress, was born in Stanmore. *
Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the '' Alex Rider'' series featuring a 14-year-old British boy who spi ...
, screenwriter and author, was born in Stanmore. *
Cyril Shaps Cyril Leonard Shaps (13 October 1923 – 1 January 2003) was an English actor of radio, television and film, with a career spanning over seven decades. Early radio Shaps was born in the East End of London to Polish-Jewish parents; his father ...
, actor, lived in Stanmore. *
Laurie Johnson Laurence Reginald Ward Johnson (7 February 1927 – 16 January 2024) was an English composer and bandleader who wrote scores for dozens of film and television series, described as "one of the most highly regarded arrangers of big-band swing a ...
, bandleader and composer, lived in Stanmore between 1962 and 2015. *
Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...
, actor, famous for his role as
Simon Templar The Saint is the nickname of the fictional character Simon Templar, featured in a List of works by Leslie Charteris, series of novels and short stories by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date other authors collaborat ...
in '' The Saint'' and later as
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
lived in Stanmore. *
Patricia Medina Patricia Paz Maria Medina (19 July 1919 – 28 April 2012) was a British actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the films ''Phantom of the Rue Morgue'' (1954) and ''Mr. Arkadin'' (1955). Early life Medina was born on 19 July 1919 ...
, actress, lived in Stanmore. *
Richard Greene Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 – 1 June 1985) was a noted English film and television actor. A matinée idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series ...
, actor, most notable for his role as Robin Hood, lived in Stanmore when he was married to Patricia Medina. *
Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented England at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012 and won 47 caps, scoring eight goals. Walcott currently appears as a cl ...
, footballer, was born in Stanmore. *
William Knox D'Arcy William Knox D'Arcy (11 October 18491 May 1917) was a British-Australian businessman who was one of the principal founders of the Energy in Iran, oil and petrochemical industry in Persia (Iran). The D’Arcy Concession was signed in 1901 and all ...
lived at Stanmore Hall and died there. *
Keith Vaz Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz (born 26 November 1956) is a British politician who served as the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East for 32 years, from 1987 Unit ...
, MP, ( Lab) and his family lived in Stanmore (2005–2016). *
Olly Mann Olly Mann is a British podcaster, broadcaster and BBC presenter. He is best known as the presenter of the weekend evening show on LBC and for his work with longtime collaborator Helen Zaltzman with whom he presented the award-winning podcast '' ...
, co-host of cult podcast '' Answer Me This!'', grew up in Stanmore. * James Bord, professional poker player * Bacary Sagna, footballer, lived in Stanmore until 2014 while at
Arsenal FC The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...
. * Jay Foreman, musical comedian, grew up in Stanmore. * Beardyman (Darren Foreman), performer and musician, grew up in Stanmore. *
Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain (TV series), Little Britain'' (2003–2006) ...
, performer and comedian, was born in Central London but grew up in Stanmore. *
Alexis Sánchez Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (; born 19 December 1988), also known mononymously as Alexis, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Udinese and the Chile national team. He is often regarded as the ...
, footballer, lived in Stanmore while playing for Arsenal F.C. *
Nikki Grahame Nicola Rachele-Beth Grahame (28 April 1982 – 9 April 2021) was an English television personality and author. She was a contestant on the seventh series of the reality show '' Big Brother'' in 2006, which she finished in fifth place. Followi ...
, television personality and model, lived in Stanmore. *
Dolly Alderton Dolly Alderton (born 31 August 1988) is a British author and screenwriter. She is also columnist for ''The Sunday Times''. Her memoir '' Everything I Know About Love'' won a 2018 National Book Award for autobiography and was shortlisted for the ...
, author, grew up in Stanmore.


Transport


Road

The A410 (London Road/The Broadway/Church Road/Uxbridge Road) runs east–west across Stanmore. To the west it goes towards
Harrow Weald Harrow Weald is a suburban district in Greater London, England. Located about north of Harrow, London, Harrow, Harrow Weald is formed from a leafy 1930s suburban development along with ancient woodland of Harrow Weald Common. It forms part of ...
and
Hatch End Hatch End is an area of North West London, situated within the London Borough of Harrow. It is located north west of Charing Cross. Attractions Hatch End is home to Harrow Arts Centre, a complex which centres on the 404-seat Elliott Hall and ...
. To the east it meets the A5 (Brockley Hill and Stonegrove) at Canons Corner roundabout providing a connection to the
M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...
and Central London. A short distance east of that is a junction for the A41 trunk road. Marsh Lane and Honeypot Lane travel south towards Queensbury while Stanmore Hill/The Common travels towards
Bushey Heath Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...
and on to
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
.


Nearby places

*
Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, which follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...
*
Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 36,322, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly know ...
*
Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northwest London. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex east of the ancient Watling Street in what is now the London Borough of Barnet but it is now informally considered to cover a wider area, inc ...
*
Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...
*
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
*
Harrow Weald Harrow Weald is a suburban district in Greater London, England. Located about north of Harrow, London, Harrow, Harrow Weald is formed from a leafy 1930s suburban development along with ancient woodland of Harrow Weald Common. It forms part of ...
* Belmont


Tube/Trains

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...
is the northern terminus of the
Jubilee line The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in east London, via the West End of London, West End, South Bank and London Docklands, Docklands. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the ...
, giving the area direct
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
access to Central London. The
Stanmore branch line The Stanmore branch line was a railway line in Harrow, Middlesex (now Greater London), in the United Kingdom. Located to the north of London, it provided commuter rail services between Harrow and the village of Stanmore. Beginning at Harrow st ...
to
Harrow & Wealdstone station Harrow & Wealdstone () is an interchange station in north-west London. It is located in both Harrow, London, Harrow and Wealdstone in the London Borough of Harrow. The station provides southbound Bakerloo line services of the London Underground; ...
closed in 1964.


Bus routes


References


External links


Stanmore College website

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital website
{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Harrow Places formerly in Middlesex District centres of London