Editing Staines-upon-Thames (section)

===Transport and communications===
[[File:Penton Hook Lock on a beautiful Autumn day - geograph.org.uk - 1025368.jpg|thumb|right|[[Penton Hook Lock]], [[River Thames]]]]
The earliest [[lock (water navigation)|locks]] on the upper Thames were built in the 17th century, following the establishment of the [[Oxford-Burcot Commission]].<ref>{{harvnb|Thacker|1914|p=9}}</ref> However, efforts to improve the stretch of the river through Staines did not start until the 19th century. The [[pound lock]] at [[Penton Hook Lock|Penton Hook]], a tight [[meander]] downstream of Staines,<ref name=Thacker_1920_pp398-401>{{harvnb|Thacker|1920|pp=398–401}}</ref> was constructed in 1815,<ref>{{harvnb|Thacker|1914|p=209}}</ref> but the weirs were not added until 1846.<ref name=Thacker_1920_pp398-401/>{{refn|The current [[Penton Hook Lock]] dates from 1909<ref name=Thacker_1920_pp398-401/> and has a fall of {{cvt|1.2|m|ft}}. The lock chamber is the third longest on the Thames.<ref>{{harvnb|Mills|1993|p=5}}</ref>|group=note}} [[Bell Weir Lock]], upstream of the town, opened in 1818, but was rebuilt in 1867-8 after the chamber walls had collapsed the previous year.<ref>{{harvnb|Thacker|1920|pp=381–382}}</ref> The construction of the locks regulated the flow of the river and increased its depth to facilitate navigation, whilst maintaining an adequate head of water to power [[watermill|mills]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Oliver |first1= Stuart |year= 2010 |title= Navigability and the improvement of the river Thames, 1605-1815 |journal= The Geographical Journal |volume= 176 |issue= 2 |pages= 164–177 |doi= 10.1111/j.1475-4959.2010.00354.x |jstor= 40835641 |bibcode= 2010GeogJ.176..164O }}</ref>

With the exception of the construction of the causeway at Egham Hythe in the mid-13th century, there were few improvements in the local road network in the millennium following the [[end of Roman rule in Britain|end of the Roman period]]. In 1727, the [[turnpike trust|turnpike road]] from [[Hounslow]] to [[Bagshot]], which crossed the river via Staines Bridge, was opened. A second turnpike, from Staines to Kingston opened in 1773.<ref>{{harvnb|Jones|2010|p=46}}</ref> The re-siting of the bridge by George Rennie in the early 1830s necessitated changes in the road network at the western end of the High Street: The Market Square became a [[dead end (street)|no through road]] and Clarence Street was constructed to direct traffic to the new crossing.<ref name=Maryfield_2006_pp90-91/>

The [[Staines–Windsor line|railway line through Staines]] between [[Richmond station (London)|Richmond]] and {{rws|Datchet}} was opened by the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway on 22 August 1848. In 1856, {{rws|Staines}} became a [[junction (rail)|junction]] when the [[Waterloo–Reading line|line across the Thames]] to [[Ascot railway station (Berkshire)|Ascot]] was opened.<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1989|loc=Fig. 53}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Mills|1993|p=17}}</ref> A curve linking the Ascot and Datchet lines was opened in April 1877 and remained in use until March 1965.<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1989|loc=58}}</ref> A second station in the town, [[Staines High Street railway station|Staines High Street station]], to the northwest of the junction of this curve and the Datchet line, was open between 1884 and 1916.<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1989|loc=Fig. 55}}</ref> The railway line through Staines to Windsor was [[Railway electrification in Great Britain|electrified]] in June 1930<ref>{{harvnb|Marshall|1963|p=413}}</ref> and to {{rws|Virginia Water}} in 1937.<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1989|loc=Introduction}}</ref> Staines [[signalling control|signal box]] closed in September 1974.<ref>{{harvnb|Mitchell|Smith|1989|loc=Fig. 54}}</ref>

[[File:Staines West railway station.jpg|thumb|right|The former [[Staines West railway station]]<ref>{{NHLE |num=1205094 |grade=II |desc=Former Staines West Station, Wraysbury |fewer-links=yes}}</ref>]]
A third station in the town was opened on 2 November 1885. {{rws|Staines West}} was the terminus of a single-track branch from the [[Great Western Main Line]], constructed by the [[Staines and West Drayton Railway|Staines and West Drayton Railway Company]]. Originally the intention had been to create a junction with the line from Datchet and for trains to serve the main Staines station, but inter-company rivalry meant that a separate facility was built instead.<ref>{{harvnb|Dix|Nunn|1987|p=60}}</ref> The freight yard closed in the 1950s and passenger services ceased in March 1965.<ref>{{harvnb|Mills|1993|p=19}}</ref> Trains continued to run to the Staines [[oil depot|fuel yard]], at Staines West, until the early 1990s.<ref name=Mills_1993_pp30-31>{{harvnb|Mills|1993|pp=30–31}}</ref>

During the second half of the 20th century, there were large-scale improvements to the road network around Staines. The [[A30 road|A30 bypass]] was constructed in the early 1960s and included the building of [[Runnymede Bridge]] over the Thames.<ref name=Goble_2016_p6>{{harvnb|Goble|2016|p=6}}</ref>{{refn|The A30 Runnymede Bridge was designed by [[Edwin Lutyens]] in 1939. The original design was modified to use a single {{cvt|173.5|ft|m|wide|adj=mid}} arch across the main river channel, before construction began in the 1960s.<ref name=Goble_2016_p6/>|group=note}} A second bridge, alongside the first, was required for the construction of the [[M25 motorway|M25]]. The route of the motorway north of Staines was constrained by the [[Wraysbury Reservoir]] to the west and [[Staines Moor]] to the west.<ref name="Baldwin 2007 224">{{harvnb|Baldwin|Baldwin|Evans|2007|p=224}}</ref> The Chertsey to Staines stretch of the M25 was opened in November 1981 with three lanes in each direction, but with a wide [[median strip|central reservation]], allowing the road to be widened easily later. Four lanes in each direction were provided from outset between the A30 and the [[M4 motorway|M4]].<ref name="Baldwin 2007 224"/>{{refn|The short stretch of the M25 between Staines and [[Chertsey]] was opened before neighbouring sections were completed, as it crossed the [[M3 motorway (Great Britain)|M3]] and it was hoped that this stretch would help to ease the distribution of traffic from [[Hampshire]] onto the local Surrey and west London road network.<ref>{{harvnb|Baldwin|Baldwin|Evans|2007|p=221}}</ref>|group=note}}

[[File:Staines air crash memorial seat (40856307931).jpg|thumb|right|Memorial to those who died in the [[British European Airways Flight 548|Staines air disaster]]]]
The [[British European Airways Flight 548|Staines air disaster]] occurred on 18 June 1972, when a [[Hawker Siddeley Trident]], operated by [[British European Airways]], crashed shortly after [[takeoff]] from [[Heathrow Airport]]. All 118 people aboard the aircraft, including the six crew members, were killed.<ref name="sbp30070624">{{cite news|url=http://www.thepost.ie/archives/2007/0624/call-for-memorial-to-businessmen-killed-in-air-crash-24602.html|title=Call for memorial to businessmen killed in air crash|last=Carswell|first=Simon|date=24 June 2007|work=[[The Sunday Business Post]]|access-date=8 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001050632/http://www.thepost.ie/archives/2007/0624/call-for-memorial-to-businessmen-killed-in-air-crash-24602.html|archive-date=1 October 2011}}</ref> Two memorials to all the victims were dedicated on 18 June 2004 in Staines. The first is a [[stained glass|stained-glass]] window in [[St Mary's, Staines|St Mary's Church]] where an annual memorial service is held on 18 June.<ref name=Memorial_Window>{{cite web|title=Trident Memorial Window |url=http://www.stainesparish.org.uk/our-churches/st-mary/trident-memorial-window/|website=The Parish of Staines-upon-Thames |access-date=4 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160603161345/http://www.stainesparish.org.uk/our-churches/st-mary/trident-memorial-window/ |archive-date=3 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/501903.memorial-garden-to-commemorate-heathrow-disaster/ |title= Memorial garden to commemorate Heathrow disaster |website=This Is Local London |date= 21 June 2004 |access-date= 16 October 2019 |archive-date=16 October 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191016164949/https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/501903.memorial-garden-to-commemorate-heathrow-disaster/ |url-status= live}}</ref> The second is a garden near the end of Waters Drive in the Moormede Estate, close to the accident site.<ref>{{cite news |date=18 June 2004 |title=Memorial for plane crash victims |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3818031.stm |access-date=4 June 2016 |work=BBC News |archive-date=9 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309080908/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3818031.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{refn|The Staines air disaster was the worst aircraft crash in the UK until [[Pan Am flight 103|the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie]] on 21 December 1988.<ref>{{cite news |date= 14 June 2012 |title= Staines air crash remembered 40 years on |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-18444961 |work= BBC News |access-date= 9 May 2022 |archive-date= 25 May 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220525194850/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-18444961 |url-status= live }}</ref>|group=note}}