Feltham
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Feltham is a place in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is a suburban development situated 13 miles (20.9 km) west south-west of Charing Cross.
Referred to as Felteha in the Domesday Book, subsequently as Feltesham, Felten, and by 1800, Feltham. From Norman times the Manor of Feltham was closely linked with that of Kempton. Feltham remained a farming community until the end of the 18th century when many farms converted to market gardens driven by demand from the growing population of London.
The Longford River that flows from the north of the town, was constructed in 1638, built to supply water to Hampton Court to the south.
A flax mill was one of the earliest industrial sites, situated on the bank of the River Crane that forms Feltham's north-eastern border with Hounslow. This became a snuff mill and finally a cartridge mill, presumably associated with the nearby gunpowder mills in East Bedfont until the end of the 19th century.
The railway station opened in 1848, gravel for the adjacent bridge extracted from a pit on the opposite side of the Hounslow road to form a pond. The railway station is often puported to be a common ground for so-called "rap battles"; this is suspected by many to be a myth however, and is possibly a rumour that exists in accordance with the many stereotypical views of Feltham.
The earliest factory buildings built in Feltham were for the Whitehead Aircraft Company in 1915. Nearby Hanworth Park became the test airfield until the company was liquidated in 1919. The factory was used as motor car store, then for the construction of trams and underground railway carriages. A class of tram developed there during 1930 was known as the Feltham. The site was sold to the General Aircraft Company in 1935 and was used for aircraft construction throughout the war until 1948. The park is still known as the "Air Park". Since then, many industrial developments in Feltham have continued to be associated with aviation, due to the proximity of Heathrow Airport.
The town has few historic buildings, due to ill-considered planning decisions before the scheme of "listing" was introduced in the sixties. As a result, a medieval manor house was lost to a now-demolished Ford garage franchise in the mid-sixties. A decade later, St Catherine's church, the chapel-of-ease to the town's parish church dedicated to St Dunstan, was declared redundant and demolished. The landmark tower, built of Kentish ragstone, survives but only attached to a modern office block currently occupied by local council revenue offices and Hounslow Homes, the arm's length company managing the borough's council housing stock. The oldest building in the High Street now is considered to be the Red Lion public house, eighteenth century, which only survives thanks to a concerted campaign against its demolition. Like St Catherine's spire it remains as one of the few buildings in the High Street dating back before the late 20th and early 21st century.
A re-development of the town centre is due for completion in 2007, with the first phase of new shops including the major superstore Asda, a new library and medical centre opened in late June 2006. The project has been described as the biggest urban re-generation in the UK , costing in excess of £100 million. Including over 800 new apartments with most of them built over the new retail units, The Centre, Feltham replaces two rather ugly 1960s high rise blocks and a precinct of the same period which had become very unpopular due to a "wind tunnel" effect and the gradual departure of key retailers and major companies occupying office space. Although it continues to be the source of some controversy, with some critics suggesting it will turn Feltham into more of a "dormitory town" than the vibrant urban village the developers claim, there is probably due reason for this to be called "Feltham re-born", though several of the 1960s shops remain in the scheme and even somewhat incongrously "Wilton Parade" which pre-dates the post-war developments.
Like many British towns before the advent of television, Feltham once boasted several cinemas. These all disappeared by the 1960s, to find new uses for a while as bingo halls, shops and carpet showrooms. However, in a bit of a return to old times, there is now a multiplex cinema on the site of the old aircraft factories mentioned above. Leisure West, as it is known, also features a bowling alley and a purpose-built bingo club, plus several restaurant chains. However, the complex has sometimes been marred by anti-social behaviour and is perhaps not as well used by local residents as it might be. Many of the cinema goers come from neighbouring towns to watch the large range of "Bollywood" films shown here.
The other major public building is the Feltham Assembly Hall, one of the last projects completed by the town's former Urban District Council, before it was swallowed up by the new London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The Assembly Hall is used for a number of different purposes such as local amateur dramatic and variety shows, concerts, commercial exhibitions and is a popular venue for weddings for several communities. It is situated in the main Feltham Park, a short distance from the railway station, which includes tennis, basketball, football and cricket facilities and once had a popular bowling green. A dedicated arena was in its heyday the home to Feltham Athletics Club and Feltham Football Club, but both these sports groups have now moved elsewhere and the arena is controversially near derelict despite promises to restore it.
Feltham's other sporting facilities include the all-weather pitches at the Feltham Community College, one of the town's two comprehensive schools- the other being Longford Community School. The Community College is situated on the border with Hanworth, which like Bedfont is considered part of Feltham for most practical and postal purposes. The Feltham Airparcs complex, comprising swimming pools and fitness facilities, occupies part of Hanworth Park.
Apart from St Dunstan's, Feltham has a number of places of worship, including Christ Church in Hanworth Road. Originally built in the early 1900s as a Methodist Church, the extensive premises are now home to the United Free Church of Feltham (Methodist/URC) as well as being used by other Christian congregations and a number of community groups.
North Feltham is a rather vaguely defined area that forms the boundary between the town and the borough centre of Hounslow, and the neighbouring village of Bedfont. Both the River Crane and the Duke of Northumberland's River pass through North Feltham, and the North Feltham Trading Estate is a large development of factories and warehouse units owned by Slough Estates plc. Feltham North is also the ward of Hounslow borough councillors Alan Wilson, the deputy mayor for 2006-2007, and the Deputy Leader of the council Mark Bowen.
Lower Feltham is an area of Feltham that covers approximately 0.25 sq. km. It is more widely known as being home to Feltham Young Offenders Institution. Many local people however still refer to it as the "borstal"; this was a former name for all youth prisons in England, named after the site of the first one in Borstal, Kent.
Feltham may gain new infamy by featuring on the Hard-Fi album, Stars of CCTV. The song gives a lovely description of life in Feltham, with appropriate references to above-mentioned institution!!!! Lyrics of "Feltham is singing out" at [link]. Ironically, inmates of the Young Offenders Institution achieved acclaim some years ago after taking part in an award-winning programme on Channel 4 based on a musical produced there, called "Feltham Sings"
Nearest places
- Ashford, Surrey-- still referred to in many contexts as Middlesex, the former administrative county
- Bedfont
- Hanworth
- Heathrow
- Twickenham
- Heston
- Cranford
- Hounslow
Nearest railway station
Regular services to London Waterloo- average journey time 28 minutes- plus Twickenham, Richmond, Staines, Windsor, Weybridge and Reading.Celebrities to have visited
- Hard-Fi (based in nearby Staines, and supporting local football club- Brentford FC)
- Freddie Mercury (who lived there after returning from Zanzibar in 1964)
- Oasis (whilst filming the video to "Stand By Me")
- Hepburn (band) (a mildly successful late 90s band, sort of like Kenickie but better)
- Ross Kemp (aka Grant Mitchell from EastEnders, who came (at the third time of asking) to visit the local bowling alley)
- Derek Martin (aka Charlie Slater from EastEnders, who lived, and may still live, in Feltham)
- Brian May guitarist with Queen, attended the former Hanworth Road Junior Mixed School. This building remains as Cardinal Road Infants school
- Priyanka Chopra former Miss World has visited Feltham Cineworld whilst promoting her Bollywood films.
- Lesley Waters. Celebrity chef often seen on Ready Steady Cook. Attended Longford School.
- Caryn Franklin. Host of the BBC's Clothes Show Live. Attended Feltham Comprehensive
- Tony Adams. The former Arsenal captain and legend has been spotted several times in Feltham while watching his son play football.
- Michael Collins. World-renowned clarinet player, has performed at the BBC Proms and many other events, and won the woodwind section of the BBC Young Musician competition in 1979. Attended Hanworth Road Junior and Feltham Comprehensive
- Hritik Roshan, Visited Cineworld to promote his 2006 film "Krrish" along with the director of the film below.
- Rajesh Roshan, Visited to promote film Krrish, Famous bollywood Director has son who is also a famous bollywood actor "Hritik Roshan"
- Chris Kamara, former Brentford footballer who has been spotted passing through on occasions.
References
- Feltham and its Library past and present, Hounslow Arts and Recreation, (1986).
- The Centre, Feltham website.
External links
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