Staines-upon-Thames

Staines-upon-Thames, commonly called Staines, is a town on the River Thames in the borough of Spelthorne in Surrey, England. The town changed its official name from Staines to Staines-upon-Thames on 20 May 2012.

The town is within the western bounds of the M25 motorway and located 17 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is within the London Commuter Belt of South East England and the built-up Greater London Urban Area. It is located on the Thames Path National Trail.

Early history
Evidence of neolithoic settlement has been found at Yeoveney, on Staines Moor. There has been a crossing of the River Thames at Staines since Roman times. The emperor Claudius sent the Romans into Britain in 43 A.D and they settled in Staines the same year. Soon after this invasion the first Staines Bridge was constructed to provide an important Thames crossing point on main road from Londinium (London) to Calleva Atrebatum, near the present-day village of Silchester. The name Staines comes from the Old English, meaning "[the place at the] stone[s]". The equivalent Roman name was "ad Pontes" (plural "at the bridges") implying that there was more than one bridge and it is believed that these bridges traversed Church Island.

Staines, albeit spelt Stanes, appears in the Middlesex section of the Domesday Book of 1086, as a property held by Westminster Abbey. It was stated to occupy 19 hides of land, and had 6 mills worth £3 4s 0d, 2 weirs worth 6s 8d, 24 ploughs, meadows for 24 ploughs, and some cattle. It rendered £35.

A border stana, or stone, on the bank of the River Thames, dated 1280, still remains, indicating the western limit of the City of London jurisdiction over the Thames. (Although familiarly known as the 'London Stone', it is not to be confused with the more famous (and probably more ancient) London Stone in Cannon Street in the City of London).

The situation of the town as a major crossing point over the River Thames, its position on the main road from London to the southwest, and its proximity to Windsor has led to the town being involved in national affairs. The barons assembled there before they met King John at Runnymede in 1215, and Stephen Langton held a consecration there shortly after the issue of Magna Carta. Sir Thomas More was tried in 1535 in a Staines public house, to avoid the outbreak of plague in London at that time. Kings and other important people must have passed through the town on many occasions: the church bells were rung several times in 1670, for instance, when the king and queen went through Staines.

During the period 1642–48 there were skirmishes on Staines Moor and numerous troop movements over Staines Bridge during the Civil War.

Modern history
Staines was a site for a horse change on The Trafalgar Way in 1805, announcing the victory over the combined French and Spanish fleet and the death of Nelson. This is commemorated on a plaque on Staines town hall.

The town was the major producer of linoleum, a type of floor covering, after the formation of the Linoleum Manufacturing Company in 1864 by its inventor, Frederick Walton. Linoleum became the main industry of the town and was a major employer in the area up until the 1960s. In 1876 about 220 and in 1911 about 350 people worked in the plant. By 1957 it employed some 300 people and in 1956 the factory produced about 2675 m2 of linoleum each week. The term 'Staines Lino' became a worldwide name but the factory was closed around 1970 and is now the site of the Two Rivers shopping centre completed circa 2000. A bronze statue of two lino workers in Staines High Street commemorates the Staines Lino Factory. The Spelthorne Museum has a display dedicated to the Linoleum Manufacturing Company. The Lagonda Car factory manufactured Lagonda cars from the site where Sainsburys is today. The town was the site of the Staines air disaster in 1972, at the time the worst air crash in Britain until the Lockerbie disaster of 1988. The crash was commemorated in June 2004, with the opening of a dedicated garden near the crash site, created at the request of relatives, and the unveiling of a stained glass window at St. Marys Church, where a memorial service was held.

Staines Urban District
In 1894, the Local Government Act 1894 created the Staines Urban District of Middlesex. In 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, most of the rest of Middlesex became part of Greater London while Staines Urban District was transferred to Surrey. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the Staines Urban District was abolished and its area combined with that of the former Sunbury-on-Thames Urban District to form the present-day borough of Spelthorne.

Staines-upon-Thames
On 15 December 2011 the Spelthorne Borough Council voted 25 - 4, with 6 abstentions, to change the name of the town to Staines-upon-Thames with the aim of promoting its riverside location so boosting the local economy and, reportedly, to attempt to discourage association with the fictional character Ali G. The name change proposal originated with the Spelthorne Business Forum. There were some public objections, and the local football team Staines Town F.C. campaigned against the change, attempting to present 134 signatures to the council but they were not received.

The formal change of name took place on 20 May 2012 at 2p.m.

Economy
The proximity to London and Heathrow have attracted a number of companies: Bupa (healthcare), Logica (telecommunications and IT consultants) have major offices, NDS (conditional access DRM provider), Siemens Building Automation Division and British Gas (part of Centrica) have their national headquarters here. Samsung Electronics Research Institute (SERI), Samsung's U.K R&D Division, is based in Staines-upon-Thames.

The town centre is fairly compact and mainly focused on a wide pedestrianised High Street, housing most familiar names such as Waterstones, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, T.K. Maxx, JD Sports, Sony, McDonald'sx2, Argos, PC World, Tesco, Waitrose, Monsoon, HMV and H&M. Smaller independent units can be found in Church Street including Iris Bloomfield Florists and Refresh Juice Cafe, Clarence Street and the eastern end of the High Street. A market in the pedestrianised High Street is held every Wednesday and Saturday. It is one of the largest and busiest street markets in Surrey. A moderately-sized shopping centre (Elmsleigh) is directly behind the High Street. A retail park was opened in 2002 called Two Rivers which is bisected by the confluence of the rivers Wraysbury and Colne. Retailers include Waitrose as well as a Vue cinema, gym and cafes. Outside the High street there are also many other parades of shops like Stainash and Edinburgh Drive.

Culture
The administrative offices of Spelthorne Borough Council are located at Knowle Green. The town has recently unveiled a revitalised Thames-side with landscaping and sculptures. The Town Hall (converted first to an arts centre, then a bar, and now empty) is a pleasant Victorian blend of Italian and Flemish influences set in a small market square. Some well preserved Georgian town houses line Clarence Street (named after the Duke of Clarence). Church Street and The Lammas house some lovely Georgian and Victorian properties clustered around the parish church of St Mary. Most housing in the town is middle class in nature with plenty of green spaces (Staines Moor, Shortwood Common, Knowle Green, Leacroft, The Lammas and Laleham Abbey to the immediate south). Staines Bridge spans the Thames with a graceful three arch structure completed in 1832. Until the 14th century Staines was the tidal limit, now downstream at Teddington.

The town is the home of the fictional character Ali G, and indie rock band Hard-Fi.

Education
The town has the following schools: A number of other schools have previously existed in the town, including:
 * Our Lady Of the Rosary, a Catholic school, opened in 1893
 * Staines Preparatory School, an independent, ages 3–11 school, opened in 1935
 * Matthew Arnold School, properly opened in 1954, though partially completed premises were also in emergency use during World War II
 * Riverbridge Primary School, formed in September 2011 from the merger of three local schools: Kingscroft, Knowle Park and Shortwood, each of which retains its original site
 * The Magna Carta School, a technology college with over 1500 students. It opened in 1957, and is located in Egham Hythe, thus it has a Staines postcode.
 * British School (Staines' first school opened in 1808; date of closure unknown)
 * National Girls' School (1818-c.1825, 1844-1874, 1885-?)
 * National Boys' School (c.1823-c.1830 and 1848-1874)
 * British School of Industry for Girls (pre-1831-?)
 * British Infant School (1833-1874 and 1885-?)
 * Margaret Pope School, a merger and relocation of three previous schools (1874-?)
 * Church of England Infants' School, Stanwell New Road (from 1890, renamed Shortwood in 1900)
 * Shortwood County Infant School (renamed from C. of E. Infants' in 1900, merged into Riverbridge 2011)
 * Wyatt Road Infants' School (1896-1974)
 * Kingston Road School[s] (1903-1992 when replaced by Kingscroft; the original plural title denoted that there were separate schools for boys and girls; its site is now occupied by the town's new Police Station)
 * Knowle Park County First School (1974-2011 when merged into Riverbridge)
 * Kingscroft School (replaced and absorbed Kingston Road in 1992, merged into Riverbridge in 2011)

Sport
The town has two football clubs; Staines Town F.C. and Staines Lammas F.C. Staines Town play at the newly rebuilt Wheatsheaf Park ground and have recently been promoted to the Conference South. Staines Town enjoy a strong rivalry with Hampton & Richmond Borough. Staines Lammas were champions of the Combined Counties League Division One in the 2007-08 season and additionally run various age group teams. Staines is also home to a number of successful junior football clubs: Staines Town, Staines Lammas and Staines Albion, as well as girls clubs &mdash; Colne Valley and the U11, one of the best girls junior clubs in Surrey.

Staines Rugby Football Club which used to play at the Lammas (a recreation ground on Wraysbury Road, which was also known as the Ashby Recreation Ground) relocated to The Reeves (on Snakey Lane, near Hanworth) in the 1960s but still proudly bears the name of the town with teams named Swans, Cobs and Mucky Ducks. The Club is in National League 3 London & South East and offers a Mini and Youth section.

Staines Boat Club is situated on the river and competes at an international level.

Staines Swimming Club founded in the early 1900s and affiliated to the Amateur Swimming Association is based at Spelthorne Leisure Centre and provides competitive swimming from inter-club level up to national level.

There are also many local gyms in the area including the recently revamped Matthew Arnold Sports Centre which is home to a Lifestyle fitness suite. Based at the school of the same name on the Kingston Road, the centre's revamp has included a cv suite, spinning studio and dedicated free weights room.

There are also Staines clubs catering for rowing, sailing, cricket, hockey, running, rambling, martial arts (jujitsu), rifle & pistol shooting, bowls, chess, contract bridge, snooker / darts / pool / poker, and various football teams, as well as a district table tennis league.

The town is also home to T.S Thamesis, Staines and Egham Sea Cadet Corps. This is a uniformed youth organisation for young people aged between 10 and 18 years old. They meet at The Lammas.

Motorcycle speedway racing was staged at a stadium in Wraysbury Road. Events in 1938 and 1939 are well known but it is possible that a venue was active from at least 1931 as a team named Staines raced at Caxton Speedway (near Cambridge 1931 - 1933 inclusive). The stadium was also utilised for greyhound racing, as well as 'novelty' events such as cheetah racing.

Other sports which were once held in Staines but are no longer to be found there include: boxing (there were weekly programmes off the High Street in the 1930s, and local hearsay suggests bare-knuckle events were held at the Crooked Billet earlier in the 20th century); wrestling (bouts were included in boxing programmes of the last 1930s); motorcycle football (a club existed in the 1960s; and American football (a short-lived team called Staines Removers entered the Budweiser League in 1988, but failed to start the season, although they did play some friendly matches at their base on The Lammas).

Transport
The nearest station is Staines railway station serving London Waterloo, Weybridge, Windsor and Eton Riverside and Reading. Taxis are available from the station. The bus station is a five-minute walk from the railway station. Staines-upon-Thames is also a short ride south of Heathrow Airport. Buses also connect Staines-upon-Thames to Thorpe Park.

There are proposals to build a new line, called Heathrow Airtrack, from Staines-upon-Thames to Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 station. As part of these proposals a new station, to be called Staines High Street railway station was due to be built between the existing Staines station, and Wraysbury railway station although planners have now decided that this will not go ahead and the existing station would have an additional platform built instead.

Nearest places
Neighbouring towns and villages are Egham, Wraysbury, Ashford, Stanwell, Laleham and Chertsey. About 3 miles north east of Staines-upon-Thames is the large Heathrow airport. The area between Egham and Staines-upon-Thames town centres is known as Egham Hythe.

Notable people

 * Ali G (Sasha Baron Cohen)
 * The Lucan family, at Laleham Abbey until the 1930s
 * Norman Hunter, author
 * Matthew Arnold
 * Denny Laine
 * Terence Dackombe, writer Spitting Image; actor Krays, Cockneys vs. Zombies
 * Christine Keeler, actor
 * Bobby Davro, comedian
 * Bill Nankeville
 * Richard Murdoch, Murdoch Close, off Cherry Orchard was named after him
 * Hard-Fi, indie rock band
 * Richard Archer
 * Jon Tickle
 * Nina Wadia, actor
 * Danny Blanchflower, former captain of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., was living at Woodlands Nursing Home, Rookery Road, at the time of his death in 1993, having lived at a private address in Staines in the immediately preceding years

Local media
A number of local newspapers are available in Staines-upon-Thames; these include:
 * Staines Informer
 * Staines and Ashford News
 * Staines and Egham News
 * Surrey Herald