Stanwell is a village close to two of the three main towns in the
Borough of Spelthorne
Spelthorne is a local government district and borough in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Staines-upon-Thames; other settlements in the area include Ashford, Sunbury-on-Thames, Shepperton, Stanwell and Laleham.
Spelthorne borders the L ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, about west of central London. A small corner of its land is vital industrial land serving Heathrow Airport – most of the rest is residential/recreational, and the housing ranges from suburban homes with gardens to low- to mid-rise urban apartment blocks. Historically part of the county of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, it has, like the rest of Spelthorne, been in Surrey since 1965. The village is to the south of the cargo-handling area of
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
and to the east of the
Staines Reservoirs
The Staines Reservoirs are two large pumped storage reservoirs sitting to the east of the King George VI Reservoir near Heathrow airport in Surrey within the Colne Valley regional park. The village of Stanwell is mainly to the north east, and ...
.
Its recognisable extent has been substantially cut three times – all in the 20th century. Land was taken for reservoirs in about 1900; a few decades later land was taken into Heathrow Airport; and in 1995, after the completion of the
M25 motorway
The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...
, the settlement of
Poyle
Poyle is a largely industrial and agricultural area in the unitary authority of Slough, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England (of which it is the easternmost settlement). It is located west of Charing Cross in London and immediately ...
(beyond Stanwell Moor) was detached from the Borough and reassigned to
Colnbrook in the Borough of Slough.
Stanwell Moor
Stanwell Moor is a village and moor in the Borough of Spelthorne, approximately west of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, it was transferred to Surrey in 1965. West of its generally narrow moor is the M25 London Orbita ...
is seen as its own village since the 1870s secularisation of local government. It likewise has reservoirs in its historical area. It was recognised as a manor in medieval times. It has a few pasture/horse-riding fields, horticultural businesses and flood meadows. It is centred from the historical nucleus of Stanwell and is part of the same
ward and