Editing Stanmore (section)

== History ==
[[File:Broadway Cottages Harrow 1358610 20230821 0004.jpg|thumb|left|Cottrell Cottages, The Broadway (16th century)]]
[[File:Bentley Priory c 1800.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bentley Priory]] (c.1800)]]

===Rome===
An obelisk on Brockley Hill, in the grounds of the [[Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital]], marks the reputed site of a battle between [[Julius Caesar|Julius Caesar's]] Roman legions and the local [[Catuvellauni]] tribe, under [[Cassivellaunus]]. This battle is said to have taken place during [[Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain|Caesar's raid in force]] on Britain, in 54BC.<ref>Website of Stanmore tourist board https://www.stanmoretouristboard.org.uk/the-stanmore-obelisk.html</ref> Britain was conquered after [[Roman conquest of Britain|Claudius invaded in 43AD]]; sometime after this the Romans established a local settlement called [[Sulloniacis]].

===Origins of the Manors and Parishes of Stanmore===
A manor called Stanmore is first recorded in 793 AD, and the Domesday book of 1086 describes pre-existing manors (estates) of Great and Little Stanmore as having changed ownership in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest.<ref name="The London Encyclopaedia p811"/> These estates were subsequently served by the [[civil parish#Ancient parishes|ancient parishes]] of Great and Little Stanmore.

===Pre-urban===
Until the late 19th century, Stanmore was a small rural community. In the [[Middle Ages]], a monastic community of cell of [[Canons Regular|Augustinian Canons]] was established at [[Bentley Priory]]. It was dissolved in 1536 during the [[dissolution of the monasteries]].<ref name="manors">[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22466&strquery=bentley ''Victoria County History'', Middlesex, Harrow including Pinner, Manors, 1971]</ref> One of the really old surviving buildings are the Cottrell cottages built c. 1565. It suggests that the medieval population centre in Stanmore was around the present day Broadway, before the developments among Stanmore Hill in the late 18th.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://dipnd.uk/compot/Harrow/Vol%205/18%20the%20broadway.htm| title = The Broadway}}</ref>

===Stately homes===
Between 1713 and 1724, the [[James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos|1st Duke of Chandos]] built [[Cannons (house)|Cannons]] house in Little Stanmore. Shortly after, in 1729 [[Andrew Drummond (banker)|Andrew Drummond]], the founder of the [[Drummonds Bank]] and [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] sympathiser, purchased [[Stanmore House]] and the Stanmore Park estate as his country residence.<ref>H Bolitho and D Peel, The Drummonds of Charing Cross (London: George, Allen & Unwin, 1967)</ref><ref name="drummond">{{cite web|title=Andrew Drummond, Stanmore Resident and founder of The London bank Messrs Drummond|url=http://www.stanmoretouristboard.org.uk/andrew_drummond.html |website=stanmoretouristboard.org.uk|access-date=11 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211124522/http://www.stanmoretouristboard.org.uk/andrew_drummond.html|archive-date=11 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> A new mansion was built for Andrew Drummond at Stanmore Park in 1763: it was designed in neo Palladian style by [[John Vardy]] and [[William Chambers (architect)|Sir William Chambers]]. [[Zoffany]] painted the Drummond family in the grounds.  The Drummonds leased Stanmore House to the [[Louisa Finch, Countess of Aylesford|Countess of Aylesford]] (in 1815) and later to Lord Castlereagh. The Marquess of Abercorn acquired the estate, along with Bentley Priory, in 1839. In 1848, Stanmore House was sold again to [[George Glyn, 1st Baron Wolverton]]. The house was later used as a boys' preparatory school. It was demolished in 1938 and the site was taken over by the [[Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] as the headquarters of Balloon Command.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Baggs |first1=A P; Bolton, Diane K; Scarff, Eileen P; Tyack, G C |title=A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5, Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham. |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol5/pp96-99 |website=British History Online |access-date=26 May 2020}}</ref> The history of the area is reflected in street names, such as Lady Aylesford Avenue and Abercorn Road. RAF Stanmore Park closed in 1997 and is now a housing estate.

[[File:Gilbert-library-working-1891.jpg|thumb|Opera librettist [[W. S. Gilbert]] in the library at [[Grim's Dyke]] (1891)]]
The wealthy businessman James Duberley commissioned [[Sir John Soane]] to design a large mansion house north of the original Bentley Priory in 1775. This house was added to throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by various owners. It was significantly extended in 1788, again by Sir John Soane, for [[John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn]]. The Priory was the final home of the [[Dowager Queen Adelaide]], queen consort of [[William IV]], before her death there in 1849. In 1882 Bentley Priory was acquired by the hotel millionaire [[Frederick Gordon (hotelier)|Frederick Gordon]], who turned it into a country house hotel for wealthy guests.<ref name="drummond"/><ref name="manors"/>

The [[libretto|opera librettist]] [[W. S. Gilbert]] (of the [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] duo) lived at [[Grim's Dyke]], a country house located between Stanmore and [[Harrow Weald]]. In 1911, Gilbert drowned in the pond at Grim's Dyke. He was cremated at [[Golders Green Crematorium|Golders Green]] and his ashes buried at the churchyard of St. John's Church, Stanmore.<ref name=DNB>Stedman, Jane W. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33400 "Gilbert, Sir William Schwenck (1836–1911)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004, online edition, May 2008, accessed 10 January 2010 {{ODNBsub}}</ref>

===Urbanisation===
[[File:Stanmore Village railway station.jpg|thumb|[[Stanmore Village railway station]]]]
The railways first reached Stanmore in 1890 when Frederick Gordon opened the [[Stanmore branch line]] to improve access to Bentley, in the hope of attracting more affluent customers. Great Stanmore Parish Council stipulated that Gordon's new station building should be of the highest quality, and so [[Stanmore Village railway station|Stanmore station]] (later renamed ''Stanmore Village'') was designed to resemble a small English church, complete with a spire and [[gargoyle]]s. Trains were run by the [[London and North Western Railway]] (LNWR). Gordon also purchased land near the station and laid out a wide avenue—named ''Gordon Avenue''—lined with new superior houses, in the hope of attracting wealthy Londoners to come to live in the country and commute into the city on his new railway. Despite his efforts, Gordon's business ventures at Stanmore were not successful, and in 1899 he sold the railway to the LNWR.<ref name="stb-stanmore">{{cite web|title=The Harrow and Stanmore railway|url=http://www.stanmoretouristboard.org.uk/the-harrow-and-stanmore-railway/the-stanmore-branch-line.html|website=stanmoretouristboard.org.uk|publisher=The Stanmore Tourist Board|access-date=7 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207094027/http://www.stanmoretouristboard.org.uk/the-harrow-and-stanmore-railway/the-stanmore-branch-line.html|archive-date=7 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Gordon died in 1904 at his Hotel Metropole in [[Cannes]]. His body was brought back to Stanmore and buried in the family grave at the church of [[St John the Evangelist, Great Stanmore|St. John's Church]].<ref name="stb-stanmore"/>

[[File:Manor Stanmore.jpg|thumb|left|The manor house on Old Church Lane built in 1930, separate from an older manor house nearby]]
In the early years of the 20th century, as the population of London grew, Stanmore was affected by increasing [[urbanization|urbanisation]] and the small rural village was rapidly becoming a suburb of London. In December 1932 the [[Metropolitan Railway]] (MR) opened a new electric railway with a station at {{stl|LUL|Stanmore}} (now the [[London Underground]] station on the [[Jubilee line]]). This rapid, direct route into London presented strong competition for Gordon's old railway (by now run by the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] (LMS)), especially as branch line passengers had to change trains at {{rws|Harrow & Wealdstone}} for London services. After years of decline, Stanmore Village station was closed by [[British Rail]]ways in 1952.<ref name="stb-stanmore"/>

===The war and afterwards===
[[File:RAF Stanmore Park aerial 1945.png|thumb|left|Aerial shot of [[RAF Stanmore Park]] (1945)]]
During [[World War II]], Stanmore played an important role. Stanmore had an outstation from the [[Bletchley Park]] codebreaking establishment, where some of the [[Bombe]]s used to decode German [[Enigma machine|Enigma]] messages were housed. Bentley Priory was taken over by the [[RAF]], and in 1940 the [[Battle of Britain]] was controlled from [[RAF Bentley Priory]]. RAF Bentley Priory closed in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stanmore – Hidden London|url=http://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/stanmore/|website=hidden-london.com|access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref>

In the 1950s the Automobile Association built and opened a four-storey office building on The Broadway which eventually became the AA regional headquarters for London and the South East. A major employer in Stanmore, the centre once handled up to 3,000 calls a day. In 1986 the AA moved a few hundred yards to a new building on The Broadway. The abandoned building eventually became derelict and a target for vandalism, graffiti and the dumping of rubbish.<ref name="HQ">{{Citation
| title = End of line for HQ that answered drivers' pleas
| newspaper = Pinner Observer
| date   = 26 August 1993
| page   = 12
| url    = https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002510/19930826/074/0012
}}</ref> There were plans to build a shopping centre at the site, but they did not go ahead, leaving the building abandoned for several years with its windows broken<ref>{{Citation
| title = Marks says No to place in shopping mall
| newspaper = Pinner Observer
| date   = 13 August 1992
| page   = 3
| url    = https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002510/19920813/012/0003
}}</ref> before it was demolished in 1993.<ref name="HQ"/> The site lay empty for several years before [[Sainsbury's]] secured its development of a supermarket here, opening at the end of 1999.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/6509803.supermarkets-will-go-ahead-residents-told/|title=Supermarkets will go ahead residents told|date=9 May 1998 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/news/58537.second-supermarket-a-surprise-to-stanmore/|title = Second Supermarket a Surprise to Stanmore| date=January 2000 }}</ref>

[[File:Bernays Memorial Hall, The Broadway, Stanmore - geograph.org.uk - 4170106.jpg|thumb|Bernays Institute, a parish hall erected by Rev. Leopold Bernays]]
[[Bernays Institute|Bernays Memorial Institute]] survived demolition<ref>{{Citation
| title = Town centre plans save hall
| newspaper = Pinner Observer
| date   = 5 March 1992
| page   = 14
| url    = https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002510/19920305/102/0014
}}</ref> and was restored during a period of 18 years until 2009. However, the AA call operating centre closed in 1997 when it moved its base to [[Basingstoke]], and in January 1999 it was announced that the breakdown centre would close with the loss of 140 jobs, ending the firm's long association with Stanmore.<ref>{{Citation
| title = 140 jobs go as AA moves out
| newspaper = Pinner Observer
| date   = 21 January 1999
| page   = 1
| url    = https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002510/19990121/006/0001
}}</ref> After being sold by the AA the building was used by [[Carpetright]] and as offices.

=== Parish church ===
{{Main|St John the Evangelist, Great Stanmore}}
[[File:St John's Church, Stanmore - geograph.org.uk - 356290.jpg|thumb|[[St John the Evangelist, Great Stanmore|The Church of St John the Evangelist]] (1850), seen through the ruin of the 1632 building]]
The first [[parish church]] was the 14th-century St Mary's, built on the site of a wooden [[Saxon]] church, which itself may have been built on the site of a Roman [[compitalia|compitum shrine]].<ref name="SHoS">{{cite web|url=http://www.mellis.me.uk/stjohn.htm|title=Notes about the Churches of Great Stanmore|last=Ellis|first=Mike|date=1996-12-26|work=Short History of Stanmore|publisher=Mike Ellis|access-date=15 January 2010|archive-date=19 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719185512/http://www.mellis.me.uk/stjohn.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="SJtE">[http://www.stjohnsstanmore.org.uk/content.php?folder_id=9]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209130116/http://www.stjohnsstanmore.org.uk/content.php?folder_id=9|date=9 February 2012}}</ref> It has now completely disappeared; one tomb survives in a back garden.<ref name="SHoS" /><ref name="Victoria County History">{{cite web|title=Great Stanmore: Church|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol5/pp105-107|website=British History Online|publisher=[[Victoria County History]]|access-date=20 September 2016}}</ref>

This building was replaced by [[St John the Evangelist, Great Stanmore|a new one]] built in the current churchyard, consecrated in 1632 and dedicated to [[St John the Evangelist|St. John the Evangelist]].<ref name="SHoS" /><ref name="SJtE" /> Built of brick and consecrated by [[William Laud|Archbishop Laud]], it is one of the relatively small number of churches built in Britain between the medieval period and the eighteenth century.<ref name="SHoS" /> By the nineteenth century, this church had become considered outdated and unsafe. After its replacement, its roof was pulled off and it became a ruin.

A new church was constructed in the [[Gothic Revival]] style from 1849 to 1850. [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Queen Adelaide]]'s last public appearance was to lay the foundation stone of the new church. She gave the font and when the church was completed after her death, the east window was dedicated to her memory.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=26912 |title=Great Stanmore: Church |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |date=1976 |work=A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham |access-date=3 April 2013}}</ref>

===Stanmore Hall===
Built in the 1840s, Stanmore Hall is a [[Grade II* listed]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101194606-stanmore-hall-stanmore-park-ward|title=Stanmore Hall, Harrow, Harrow}}</ref> building built as a gothic castle. Located on Wood Lane near the top of Stanmore Hill, Stanmore Hall was developed by Matthew John Rhodes and was owned by balloonist [[Robert Hollond]] and his wife [[Ellen Hollond]], who lived for the rest of their lives at the residence. The interiors were redesigned by [[William Morris]] later that century. [[William Knox D'Arcy]] resided at the Hall, where he died in 1917. One of the pioneers of the oil exploration business, D'Arcy's funeral was attended by dignitaries and celebrities, carrying his coffin from the hall through the village to St John the Evangelist for service.<ref name="stanmoretouristboard.org.uk">{{cite web| url = https://www.stanmoretouristboard.org.uk/stanmore_hall.html| title = Stanmore Tourist Board {{!}} Stanmore Hall Wood Lane {{!}} Visit Stanmore}}</ref>

After D'Arcy's death Stanmore Hall was sold and no longer used as a family home. During the Second World War it was used by [[Allied Expeditionary Air Force]], and after the war until 1971 it was a nurse's home for the [[Royal National Orthopedic Hospital]].<ref name="books.google.co.uk">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=atktMkuOvPwC&pg=PA176|title = British Horror Film Locations|isbn = 9780786451937|last1 = Pykett|first1 = Derek|date = 10 January 2014| publisher=McFarland }}</ref>

Stanmore Hall has been used as a filming location, such as the British films ''[[Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed]]'', ''[[Nothing but the Night]]'', 1960s series ''[[The Avengers (TV programme)|The Avengers]]'' and later ITV's ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]''.<ref name="stanmoretouristboard.org.uk"/><ref name="books.google.co.uk"/>

Following neglect, the structure of the building deteriorated, and it received damage by a fire in 1979. Eventually in 1998 the Hall was converted into separate luxury dwellings by a developer.<ref name="stanmoretouristboard.org.uk"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5a8ff73a60d03e7f57eaa0ab|title = National House Building Council v Relicpride Ltd & Ors &#124; &#91;2009&#93; EWHC 1260 (TCC) &#124; England and Wales High Court (Technology & Construction Court) &#124; Judgment &#124; Law &#124; CaseMine}}</ref>