Harlington is a district of Hayes in the London Borough of Hillingdon and one of five historic parishes partly developed into London Heathrow Airport and associated businesses, the one most heavily developed being Harmondsworth. It is centred 13.6 miles (21.9 km) west of Charing Cross. The district adjoins Hayes to the north and shares a railway station with the larger district, which is its post town, on the Great Western Main Line. It is in the west of the county of Greater London and until 1965 it was in the south-west corner of the historic county of Middlesex.

Harlington
The Grade I Listed parish church is the oldest of the listed buildings in Harlington. The War Memorial was designed by C. O. Scott.
Harlington is located in Greater London
Harlington
Harlington
Location within Greater London
OS grid referenceTQ085775
• Charing Cross13.5 mi (21.7 km) E
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHAYES
Postcode districtUB3
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London
51°29′09″N 0°26′11″W / 51.4859°N 0.4364°W / 51.4859; -0.4364
Harlington as seen on Ordnance Survey map sheet 71, 1822–1890, with railway added 1891.

Etymology

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The place-name Harlington is recorded in Anglo-Saxon as Hygereding tun: "Hygered's people's farmstead".[1]

History

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Bolingbroke and Ossulston's Dawley House (demolished), north-west of the station
 
Photograph of Dawley House, in the spring of 1902. This was the remains of the house of Bolingbroke and Ossulston.
 
Photograph of dilapidated Dawley House and barns, Harlington, 1902. (Between the Great Western Railway and the canal). Home of Bolingbroke and Ossulston.

The earliest surviving mention of Harlington appears to be in a 9th-century charter in which land at Botwell in Hayes was said to be bounded on the west by "Hygeredington" and "Lullinges" tree. The first of these must be Harlington; the second has not been identified. The boundary between Hayes and Harlington, which may thus have been defined by the date of this charter, was later marked by North Hyde Road and Dawley Road, but Dawley Road may not have followed the boundary before the 18th century.[2]

Administrative history

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By 1834 the select vestry (informally known simply as the vestry) employed a paid assistant overseer. In 1824 a surgeon for the poor of Cranford and Harlington was appointed by the vestries of both. Their later co-operation saw the establishment of Harlington's National School jointly with in 1848, and its cottage hospital jointly with Cranford and Harmondsworth in 1884.

Dates Entities
c. 1840 Harlington Parish then Civil Parish
1872 Staines Rural Sanitary District
1889 Middlesex County Council
1894 Staines Rural District
1930 Hayes and Harlington Urban District
1965 London Borough of Hillingdon Hillingdon L.B. with Mayor of London, London Assembly and predecessor[3]

In 1924 the civil parish council (CPC) asked Staines Rural District Council (RDC) to light the village street and this was done a year later. The cemetery in Cherry Lane was opened in 1936 by the UDC and the CPC started its first allotments in 1895, but they rejected proposals to acquire a recreation ground or parish hall. See the entry for Hayes for the later detailed local history.[2]

Sanitation

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The chief task from 1872 for local government was the making of sewers in villages beyond a handful of homes such as this. Sewerage had been discussed in the vestry as long ago as 1864. The increase of population in the 20th century, growing preference for flush toilets and prohibitions on ground water contamination made the need for proper sanitation more urgent. In 1912, for instance, there were said to have been eleven cases of typhoid near the 'White Hart', and there was an outbreak of diphtheria in 1916.

During the 1920s the RDC made plans for constructing sewers, and the relative cost of their scheme and of schemes proposed by Hayes Urban District Council largely influenced the parish council's views on local government reorganisation. In the end the council seem to have acquiesced peacefully in the amalgamation with Hayes that took place in 1930, only on the grounds that this seemed to provide the best and cheapest chance of sewers being constructed soon. A sewerage scheme for the parish was completed by Hayes and Harlington Urban District Council in 1934.[2]

Present day

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Northern end of the Parish: the Dawley Wall, from the inside, 2014.

Harlington Library[4] is towards the north of the village/district.

The village contains six public houses: Captain Morgans', The Great Western, The Pheasant, The Red Lion, The Wheatsheaf, and The White Hart. There are two churches, a Baptist church and a Church of England church, St Peter & St Paul's. Schools include Harlington School.

Hellenic Imperial Airways has its United Kingdom offices in Axis House in Harlington.[5] Harlington Locomotive Society on the High Street of the village - operates a trestle railway around the site of an old orchard. Harlington is covered by a community radio station: 91.8 Hayes FM, which is licensed with the national authority.

Churches

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The glebe was absorbed into the land of Sir John Bennet of Dawley, who held the benefice during the Interregnum.[7]

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Great Western Railway and part of the former HMV & EMI factory at Harlington, looking east, 2014.

Transport

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Central London is 13.6 miles (21.9 km) east. The area is served by Hayes & Harlington railway station, served by Elizabeth Line trains from London Paddington, Shenfield and Abbey Wood to Heathrow Airport and Reading.

The following bus routes serve Harlington

  • 81 Hounslow Bus Station - Slough
  • 90 Feltham - Northolt
  • 111 Kingston - Heathrow Central
  • 140 Heathrow Central - Harrow Weald
  • 222 Hounslow Bus Station - Uxbridge
  • 285 Kingston- Heathrow Central
  • H98 Hounslow Bus Station- Hayes End

Historic transport

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The Grand Junction Canal runs through the Dawley land, east to west: it was constructed c. 1794–1800.[8] In the late 1830s the main line of the Great Western Railway was also built across the former Dawley Park (by then Dawley Wall Farm). However, Hayes & Harlington railway station (just outside the parish) was not opened until 1864. Before then there was a choice of the stations at West Drayton and Southall, or of the daily omnibus and weekly carrier to London.[9]

A road going south-east towards Hatton was removed because of Heathrow's construction. The road along with Harlington High Street were formerly designated A312 until the 1950s.

Former cottage hospital

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The Harlington, Harmondsworth and Cranford Cottage Hospital, in Sipson Lane, opened in 1884, demolished and closed in 1977. Its site hosts a branch of the Sant Nirankari Satsang Bhawan.

Listed buildings

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name type built use and main features
Church of St. Peter & St. Paul (Grade One Listed) Religious 12th century Christian faith centre; the Harlington Yew, formerly probably the largest example of topiary in England,[10] survives in the churchyard, unclipped
Veysey's Farm Farm late 18th century Mixed agricultural/nature
Shackle's Barn Agricultural early 1800s Scouts headquarters & Shackles Family chapel (cross inset at front apex)
Barn at Manor Farm Agricultural Restored in the 1970s, used as offices, timber-framed
Small hospital (Sipson Lane) Social 1884 Hindu faith centre.
Dower House (High Street) House 16th century Timber framed building
Harlington Baptist Church Religious 1879 Christian faith centre.

Former listed buildings in the parish

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name type built demolished (exact or between dates) use
Dawley Manor Farm House 17th century 1962 M4 motorway and part of St Peter's Way
Shackle's House House early 1800s 1960–70 Pembury Court (street)
Harlington rectory House Victorian 1970 Homes and the new church hall
Old Church Hall Church hall early 1900s 1970 Was in rectory grounds. Houses.
Bletchmore House House 1970–80 Bletchmore Close
Woodlands Farmhouse House 1960–65 178-182 High Street
Poplar House House 18th century 1970–75 Felbridge Court (apartments)

Manor Farm was demolished between 1930 and 1940 and pre-dated the possibility of statutory listing. It is the site of shops in Manor Parade and adjoining residential roads.

Notable people

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Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke. He bought Dawley in 1724 and sold it in 1737, or 1738.
 
Lady De Tabley is buried alongside her eldest daughter in the SS Peter & Paul graveyard.
 
Tattersall's stallion Glencoe stood at Dawley in 1835.
 
Shackle's Barn, Harlington, Middlesex, from the west, October 2014.
 
Wheat field beside the M4, once part of Dawley Manor Farm, at Harlington. July 2015. Looking to the south-east.

Sport

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A greyhound racing track was opened during the 1930s, off the Bath Road. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the National Greyhound Racing Club) and was known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks.[30] In 1959 plans for two large hotels, The Skyways (Now Sheraton) and Ariel (Now Holiday Inn) were revealed to serve Heathrow, which resulted in the track having to be being demolished and the last meeting was on 22 January 1962. The track would have stood very near to where the Holiday Inn is today.[31]

Sources

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  • Harlington and Harmondsworth, by Philip Sherwood, Tempus, Stroud, 2002;
  • The History of Dawley (Middlesex), by B.T. White, Hayes and Harlington Local History Society, 2001;
  • Victorian Harlington, Hayes and Harlington Local History Society, 1985;
  • De Salis Family : English Branch, by Rachel E. Fane De Salis, Higgs & Co., Henley-on-Thames, UK, 1934.
  • Eight Hundred Years of Harlington Parish Church in the County of Middlesex, Herbert Wilson, MA, Rector, Uxbridge, 1909.
  • An Historical Account of Those Parishes in the County of Middlesex, Which Are Not Described in the Environs of London, by the Rev. Daniel Lysons, London, 1800, pp. 125–135.

References

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  1. ^ "Key to English Place-names".
  2. ^ a b c d e Susan Reynolds (ed.), A History of the County of Middlesex, vol. 3 (1962)
  3. ^ History of Harlington: Units and Statistics A vision of Britain through time. The University of Portsmouth and others. Accessed 2015-08-31.
  4. ^ Harlington Library
  5. ^ "Hellenica Airways Archived 11 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine." Hellenic Imperial Airways. Retrieved on 10 May 2011. "London / United Kingdom Hellenic Imperial Airways Axis House 242 Bath Road Harlington UB3 5AY"
  6. ^ Eight Hundred Years of Harlington Parish Church in the County of Middlesex, Herbert Wilson, MA, Rector, Uxbridge, 1909.
  7. ^ "Harlington: Churches." A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3, Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington. Ed. Susan Reynolds. London: Victoria County History, 1962. 270-273. British History Online. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  8. ^ A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3,, Victoria County History, London, 1962.
  9. ^ A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3, Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington, Victoria County History, London, 1962.
  10. ^ Engraved broadside, 1729, British Library.
  11. ^ The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558–1603, edited by P.W. Hasler, 1981.
  12. ^ The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1604–1629, ed. Andrew Thrush and John P. Ferris, 2010.
  13. ^ The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660–1690, ed. B.D. Henning, 1983.
  14. ^ a b c d e f A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3, Victoria County History (VCH), London, 1962.
  15. ^ The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690–1715, ed. D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, S. Handley, 2002.
  16. ^ Alexander Pope, by Leslie Stephen, 1880.
  17. ^ The Alexander Pope Encyclopedia, by Pat Rogers, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004.
  18. ^ The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715–1754, edited by Rodney Sedgwick, 1970.
  19. ^ The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558–1603, ed. P.W. Hasler, 1981
  20. ^ a b c d An Historical Account of Those Parishes in the County of Middlesex, Which Are Not Described in the Environs of London, by the Rev. Daniel Lysons, London, 1800, pp. 125–135.
  21. ^ He now started a stud farm at Dawley in Middlesex, which, together with his reputation for integrity, became the cornerstone of his large fortune., Thomas Seccombe, DNB, 1898.
  22. ^ a b The Racing Calendar for the year 1833, by Edward & Charles Weatherby, London, 1834, p. 561.
  23. ^ O.D.N.B.
  24. ^ The Racing Calendar for the year 1832, by Edward & Charles Weatherby, London, 1833, p. 559.
  25. ^ The World of William Byrd: Musicians, Merchants and Magnates, by Mr John Harley, Ashgate, 2010, pp. 122, 123 & 218.
  26. ^ Fane De Salis MSS.
  27. ^ Just outside the parish of Harlington at Goulds Green there was a house which the De Salis renamed Dawley Court, and lived there from 1835 until 1929 when it was sold and then demolished.
  28. ^ the clergy database
  29. ^ Wanderers, Wycombe (10 June 2024). "Wycombe Wanderers secure Harlington training facilities". Wycombe Wanderers. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  30. ^ Barnes, Julia (1988). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File, page 419. Ringpress Books. ISBN 0-948955-15-5.
  31. ^ "Harlington". Greyhound Racing Times. 10 February 2019.