Hounslow Heath

Hounslow Heath
Hounslow Heath in Greater London
Location	Hounslow
Nearest city	London
OS grid	TQ1274
Coordinates	51°27′17″N0°23′6″W
Area	82 hectares (200 acres)
Operated by	London Borough of Hounslow
Status	open all year
Hiking trails	Crane Valley Walk (London Loop)
Habitats	Heathland
Designation	Local Nature Reserve
Parking	A315 Staines Road
Public transit access	Buses:237,116,117,235,635 Hounslow West tube
Website	www.hounslow.info/parks-open-spaces/find-your-park/hounslow-heath/

Hounslow Heathis alocal nature reservein theLondon Borough of Hounslowand at a point bordersRichmond upon Thames.The public open space, which covers 200 acres (80 ha), is all that remains of the historic Hounslow Heath which covered more than 4,000 acres (1,600 ha). The present day area is bounded by A315 Staines Road, A3063 Wellington Road South, A314 Hanworth Road, and theRiver Crane.

History

Theheathlandof Hounslow Heath originally covered an area underlain byTaplowgravelthat now includes parts ofBedfont,Brentford,Cranford,Feltham,Hampton,Fulwell,Hanworth,Harlington,Harmondsworth,Heston,Hounslow,Isleworth,Stanwell,Teddington,Twickenham,andHeathrow.

Hounslow Heath has had major historical importance, originally crossed by main routes from London to the west and southwest of Britain. Staines Road, the northern boundary of the present heath, was theRoman Road,Via Trinobantes. There are several historic references to Roman camps on or close to the heath. Continuous recorded history dates back toNorman times.In 1546, Hounslow Heath was surveyed with a recorded area of 4,293 acres (1,737 ha) (6.71 square miles).

Various armies used the heath due to its proximity to London,WindsorandHampton Court.Oliver Cromwellstationed an army there at the end of theEnglish Civil Warin 1647.James IIcamped his army there, and conducted military exercises andmock battlesto try to intimidate the population in London. In 1793,Hounslow Barrackswas built to the north of Staines Road as part of the preparations to meet a possible French invasion. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the heath was notorious as the haunt ofhighwaymenandfootpads,being crossed by theGreat West Roadand theBath Road.

The eventual mapping of the whole of the United Kingdom by theOrdnance Surveybegan with the measuring of an accurate base-line on Hounslow Heath, chosen for its flatness and its relative proximity to theRoyal Greenwich Observatory.A sighting was made of the spire of All Saints' church inBanstead,and along that line a length of 27,400 feet was very precisely measured. This work by GeneralWilliam Roywas the start of theAnglo-French Survey (1784–1790),which led to thePrincipal Triangulation of Great Britain.

By 1900, the heath was still in use as a training ground for horse-mounted cavalry based atHounslow Barracks,a gun shooting range, and adjacent army medical units including an isolation hospital. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914,Hounslow Heath Aerodromewas established, that developed to become a fighter aircraft defence and training base. In 1919, the aerodrome became the sole London Terminal Aerodrome, and hosted the first scheduled daily international commercial air services. In 1920, it surrendered its role toCroydon Airport,and closed. The heath was then again used for military training and a repair depot.

On the south side of Staines Road, to the north of the Heath, is a monument, now in a state of neglect, commemorating the firstflight to Australia,a modifiedVickers Vimybomber G-EAOU, flown by Australian brothers Keith and Ross Smith, which took off from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome on 12 November 1919 and arrived in Darwin on 10 December.A plaque marks the entrance to London's first civil airport, stating: "London Terminal Aerodrome Hounslow Heath August 1919 - 1920. From here the first British international airline operation and the first flight from Europe to Australia was made. Erected by the Heston and Isleworth Borough Council". On 10 April 2016, another memorial to the aerodrome was unveiled and dedicated by theAirfields of Britain Conservation Trustimmediately south of the car park beside the Staines Road.

An area to the west of the present heath was used for gravel extraction afterWorld War II.Used forlandfilluntil the late 1960s, the land was reclaimed to formHounslow Heath Golf Centrewhich opened in 1979.

Archaeology

Bronze Age spearheads, axes, and sword and knife fragments from Hounslow, are held at the British Museum, also Celtic badges and amulets discovered in a field at Hounslow in 1864. In 1999, excavations on the former Feltham Marshalling Yards to the south of the heath unearthed remains of an Iron Age furnace and post holes from a round house. There are various remains of former mills and other industrial archaeological features adjoining theRiver Cranenear the heath. This part of the river is classified as anArchaeological Priority Area.

Hounslow Heath,West London.

Nature reserve

Dragonfly sculpture at Hounslow Heath, looking west, adjacent to the rangers' yard near the Staines Road main entrance

Hounslow Heath is a designatedlocal nature reserveandSite of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation,and is made up of lowland heath, dry acid grassland, woodland, scrub, neutral grasslands, wetlands, wildflower meadows, providing a wild, rugged country setting with a large network of paths.

See also

• Hounslow parks and open spaces
• Murder of Patsy Morris,took place on the heath in 1980

External links

• Hounslow Council website: Parks and Open Spaces