Whitton is an area in the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...

, England. Historically, the boundaries of Whitton were the north-western part of

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

manor, bounded internally by the sections of the River Crane and the Duke of Northumberland's River. The main focus of Whitton is its High Street, which is one of the best-preserved 1930s high streets in London. The most common type of housing in the area is 1930s detached and semi-detached housing. Whitton lies on the

A316 road The A316, known in parts as the Great Chertsey Road, is a major road in England, which runs from the A315 Chiswick High Road, Turnham Green, Chiswick to join head-on the M3 motorway at Sunbury-on-Thames. Its initial London section Chiswick L ...

, which leads to the M3 motorway, and has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on the line from

London Waterloo Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

. As a mainly residential area in outer London, many residents commute to Central London. Education, retail, transport and catering businesses are also significant local employers.

History

Whitton was formally part of the ancient parish of

until 1862 when it became a separate parish, with the church of St Philip and St James opening that year. Due to rapid development, the parish was divided again in 1958; the two electoral wards that make up the area still broadly follow these two parish boundaries.

Bronze Age

In 1999, excavations on the former

Feltham marshalling yard Feltham marshalling yard, also known as Feltham hump yard, was a large railway marshalling yard designed for the concentration of freight traffic to and from South West London, and for transfer to other marshalling yards in London. It was built ...

, located on the western border of Whitton, unearthed remains of an Iron Age furnace and post holes from a round house. There are various remains of former mills and other industrial archaeological features adjoining the River Crane; this part of the river is classified as an Archaeological Priority Area.

Norman

In Norman times, Whitton was the western rural part of Twickenham, which in turn was part of the Manor of Isleworth – itself part of the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

of the same name in the ancient 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 ...

. The manor had belonged to

Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia Ælfgar (died ) was the son of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, by his famous mother Godgifu (Lady Godiva). He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on the latter's death in 1057. He gained the additional title of Earl of East Anglia, but a ...

in the time of

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

, but was granted to Walter de Saint-Valery (Waleric) by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

after 1066.

Tudor

Around 1540, gunpowder started to be produced on

Hounslow Heath Hounslow Heath is a local nature reserve in the London Borough of Hounslow and at a point borders Richmond upon Thames. The public open space, which covers , is all that remains of the historic Hounslow Heath which covered more than . The prese ...

, which at the time covered a large part of Twickenham. The site, beside the River Crane, was to become known as the Hounslow Gunpowder Mills, and was chosen in part as it was away from built-up areas, lessening the impact of accidental explosions. The site remained active until 1927. By the 16th century the area that was to become Whitton started to see large houses being developed, as the fashionable society in Twickenham started to spread outward. The Elizabethan and Jacobean courtier Sir John Suckling built a house in the vicinity of the present Murray Park (his son the poet Sir John Suckling was born in Whitton in 1609). Sir John later replaced his first house with a grander residence on land adjoining today's Warren Road.

Stuart

Around 1640, Edmund Cooke built a large house close to the centre of the village. In 1709, this house was bought by the court painter Sir

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to Kingdom of England, English and Br ...

, who had it demolished and replaced with a larger house reputedly designed by Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

. This house was originally known as Whitton Hall, but was renamed

Kneller Hall Kneller Hall is a Grade II listed mansion in Whitton, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It housed the Royal Military School of Music, training musicians for the British Army, which acquired the building in the mid-19th century. I ...

following Kneller's death in 1723. It was considerably modified by later owners, before it was acquired by the state in 1847 for use as a teacher training college. Today, it is home to the

Royal Military School of Music The Royal Military School of Music (RMSM) trains musicians for the British Army's fourteen regular bands, as part of the Royal Corps of Army Music. Until August 2021, the school was based at Kneller Hall in Twickenham, however it moved to HMS ...

. At the centre of the original village, about 200 metres from Kneller Hall, is the White Hart, an inn dating back to at least the mid-17th century and possibly much earlier. Records relating to this inn seem to suggest that Whitton had an importance that was not well recorded, or that travellers passed through it in considerable numbers. A document of 1685 shows that it provided three beds and stabling for ten horses, numbers which did not seem to fit with Whitton's apparent status as a sleepy rural

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

with only a few dozen inhabitants.

Georgian

At the northern end of Whitton was Whitton Park, the estate of

Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and '' bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop o ...

. The Duke established the estate in 1722 on land that had been enclosed some years earlier from Hounslow Heath. An enthusiastic gardener, the Duke imported large numbers of exotic species of plants and trees for his estate; he received professional advice from the Scottish gardener James Lee (1715–1795). After the Duke's death in 1761, his nephew

John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British nobleman who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. He was arguabl ...

, moved many of these plants and trees, including mature trees, to the

Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (Welsh: ''Tywysoges Cymru'') is a courtesy title used since the 14th century by the wife of the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. The current title-holder is Catherine (née Middleton). The title was firs ...

' new garden at

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

, which later became

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

. Some of the Duke's trees can still be seen at Kew Gardens to this day.

Victorian

Whitton was renowned as a

market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or s ...

, known for its roses, narcissi, lilies of the valley and for its apple, plum and pear orchards. Indeed, until the 1920s the village was still separated from the surrounding towns by open fields and much of the earlier character of the old village was retained well into the 1940s. Following the coming of the railways in the mid-19th century, there was some housing development along Nelson, Kneller and Hounslow Roads. Whitton was initially served by what is now

Hounslow railway station Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in ...

, which opened on 1 February 1850.

Early 20th century

Whitton developed rapidly following the opening of

Whitton railway station Whitton railway station is in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in southwest London, within Travelcard Zone 5. It is down the line from . The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. The station was ...

, on Percy Road, in 1930. Houses replaced the market gardens and the former Whitton Park estate, while new parades of shops were built on either side of Percy Road from the new railway station to the junction with Nelson and Hounslow Roads, this stretch then being renamed High Street Whitton. At around the same time, the A316 Chertsey Road was built through the south of the area. Today, this road leads to the M3 motorway, with links to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and the South West of England. Whitton station look west2

World War II

A number of houses were damaged by enemy bombing in the early years of the Second World War. Before 1944, 86 Hounslow Road received a direct hit from a German bomb and was badly damaged, though not destroyed. In June 1944, 81 High Street received a direct hit from a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

. Part of the parade of shops and the flats above were totally destroyed and several people were killed. Around the same time, a house on Lincoln Avenue was also destroyed by a V-1 and several adjoining houses were severely damaged. A common sight during

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

was of

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

fighters scrambling from nearby airfields almost at rooftop height, low enough for the pilots to be seen in their cockpits.

Economy

Most people travel outside of the town for their work as very little land is in employment use. Many people travel into

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

making use of the good transport connections, or work in nearby district centres such as

and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

or the bigger metropolitan centres such as

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

and

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

London 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 Airports of London, London airport sys ...

is important to the local economy both through direct employment and the cluster of international firms that have their European headquarters in the

Thames Valley The Thames Valley is an informally-defined sub-region of South East England, centred on the River Thames west of London, with Oxford as a major centre. Its boundaries vary with context. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub, ...

area. The town centre is the third largest in the

Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...

. In 2014, it received a £2 million programme of economic regeneration including new street lighting,

yorkstone Yorkstone or York stone is a variety of sandstone, specifically from quarries in Yorkshire that have been worked since the middle ages. Yorkstone is a tight grained, Carboniferous sedimentary rock. The stone consists of quartz, mica, feldsp ...

pavements and a £5 million redevelopment of the railway station was completed in December 2016.

Notable inhabitants

* Charles Calvert (1768–1832), brewer and Member of Parliament, lived at Kneller Hall. *

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

(1951–), musician. *

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

(1954–), musician. *Sir

(1646–1723), portrait painter, built a house in 1709 in Whitton; its site is now occupied by the mid-19th century

, home of the

.Cobbett, Richard Stuteley, ''Memorials of Twickenham: parochial and topographical'' ( Smith, Elder & Co., 1872), p. 402St Mary's Church

Twickenham Museum The Twickenham Museum is a volunteer-run museum in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located opposite St Mary's parish church at 25 The Embankment, Twickenham TW1 3DU, an 18th-century three-storey building which ...

, accessed 4 November 2012 *Michael MacLeod (1930–2018), graphic designer noted for his crisp packet designs. *

Munira Wilson Munira Wilson (' Hassam; born 26 April 1978) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham at the 2019 general election. She succeeded the former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cab ...

(1978–),

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

Member of Parliament. * Lucy Irvine (1956–), British adventurer and author, was born in Whitton

Leisure activities

With a third of the borough being green and open space – five times more than any other borough in London – Whitton has much to offer in the way of leisure activities.

Parks and open spaces

The town has one long linear park along the

River Crane, London The River Crane, a tributary of the River Thames, runs 8.5 miles (13.6 km) in West London, England. It forms the lower course of Yeading Brook. It adjoins or passes through three London boroughs: Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames ...

and five smaller neighbourhood parks that have sport facilities and children's playgrounds along with three cemeteries. Close to the town are the large

Bushy Park Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton ...

and

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...

that are managed by

The Royal Parks The Royal Parks of London are lands that were originally used for the recreation, mostly hunting, of the royal family. They are part of the hereditary possessions of The Crown, now managed by The Royal Parks Limited, a charity which manages ...

and serve as the larger district parks for the area. Hounslow Heath, a large open space and local conservation area is heavily used by the town's residents. *

Borough Cemetery Borough Cemetery is a cemetery in Powder Mill Lane, Heathfield in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, though owned and operated by neighbouring Hounslow Council. It was established in 1942 in what was then the Municipal Borough of Hes ...

along Powder Mill Lane and operated by

London Borough of Hounslow The London Borough of Hounslow () is a London borough in West London, England, forming part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 when three smaller borough councils (forming part of the former Middlesex County Council area) amalgamated under ...

.
Heathfield Recreation Ground
was opened in the 1930s and is laid out to accommodate sport pitches and a pavilion. *

is located directly to the north of Whitton. It is one of the largest open spaces in West London and managed by

as a nature reserve.
Hounslow Heath Open Space
is the part of

within

and managed as a recreation ground and contains a children's playground.
Chase Green
is located between Redway Drive and Godfrey Avenue, next to Chertsey Road (A316) and is a registered Village Green and contains a children's playground and a dog park. *

Crane Park Crane Park is a 30 hectare public park next to the River Crane in western Twickenham. The park north of the river is in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and the south in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is part of The Crane Corridor ...

, the largest nearby park, lies to the south on the

London Loop The London Outer Orbital Path — more usually the "London LOOP" — is a 150-mile (242 km) signed walk along public footpaths, and through parks, woods and fields around the edge of Outer London, England, described as "the M ...

walking route. It is managed as a number of wildlife habitats and is home to a number of protected species such as

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

s and

common kingfisher The common kingfisher (''Alcedo atthis''), also known as the Eurasian kingfisher and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of ...

s. The river is also the historic boundary line between Whitton and Twickenham.
Hounslow Cemetery
along Hanworth Road and operated by

Kneller Gardens
was opened in 1931 and is set out as grassland and children's playgrounds.

was opened in 1914 and is set out as grassland and children's playgrounds. *

Twickenham Cemetery Twickenham Cemetery is a cemetery at Hospital Bridge Road, Whitton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was established in 1868 and was expanded in the 1880s when the local parish churchyards were closed to new burials. Notable bu ...

was opened in 1868 by the local council and serves as the main burial ground for Twickenham.

Cycling

Richmond is part of the

London Cycle Network Cycle routes in London that have been waymarked with formal Road signs in the United Kingdom, route signage include "Cycleways" (including "Cycle Superhighways" and "Quietways") and the older London Cycle Network, all designated by the local gov ...

, offering on and off-road cycle paths throughout the area.

Leisure centres

The local authority operated Whitton Sports and Fitness Centre, based at the

Twickenham School Twickenham School, is a co-educational secondary school located in Whitton, in the London Borough of Richmond, south-west London. It has two predecessor schools: Twickenham Academy and before that Whitton School. Twickenham School is an acad ...

site, has a modern gym, sports hall and astroturf pitches. There are also three large commercial health clubs just over the town's boundary at The Stoop, Twickenham Golf Course and

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team play ...

Sport clubs

There are a number of sports clubs in Whitton including th
Whitton Lions
rugby club an
Hounslow and Whitton Cricket Club
both located at th
Whitton Park Sports Association
and th
Whitton Tennis Club
based next to

Cinema

The Odeon cinema in the high street closed in December 1961; since then, residents have had to travel to nearby towns such to visit a cinema. The local council has built a new arts centre in

which has a 300-seat auditorium for dual theatre and cinema use. This was due to open in 2017, opposite

Twickenham station Twickenham railway station is in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and is in Travelcard Zone 5. By track it is from . Only one main street abuts the station – at its west end – London Road running between a trunk r ...

, but has not yet been formally named.

Youth centre

In September 2013,

Richmond Council Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council is the Local government, local authority for the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London, the United Kingdom capital. Richm ...

opened a
youth centre
located behind Whitton High Street in Britannia Lane.

Heritage

With the Royal Court often staying in

and

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...

in the eighteenth century, Twickenham was a very fashionable place to live and this has left the area with a unique cultural heritage. Many residents remember childhood outings to a number of important historical houses on the doorstep of Whitton including

Ham House Ham House is a 17th-century house set in formal gardens on the bank of the River Thames in Ham, south of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The original house was completed in 1610 by Thomas Vavasour, an Elizabethan cou ...

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

Marble Hill House Marble Hill House is a Neo-Palladian villa, now Grade I listed, in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was built between 1724 and 1729 as the home of Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, who lived there until her ...

, Sion House and

Strawberry Hill House Strawberry Hill House—often called simply Strawberry Hill—is a Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival villa that was built in Twickenham, London, by Horace Walpole (1717–1797) from 1749 onward. It is a typical example of the "#Strawb ...

. The only remaining

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

left in Whitton is

, which is now home to the

. There is on only one

Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

in the locality
Rosecroft Gardens
In addition, there are a number of listed buildings such as

, th
Shot Tower
at

along with a number o
locally listed
buildings.

Education

Primary schools

There are five primary schools in Whitton. Two of them are

voluntary-aided A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In mo ...

faith school A faith school is a school in the United Kingdom that teaches a general curriculum but which has a particular religious character or formal links with a religious or faith-based organisation. The term is most commonly applied to state-funded f ...

s – Bishop Perrin Church of England Primary (opened in 1936) and St. Edmund's Roman Catholic Primary (opened in 1938). The other three have no faith designation – Chase Bridge Primary School, Heathfield Schools Partnership and Nelson School. Chase Bridge Primary and Heathfield Schools Partnership are maintained by the local authority, with Heathfield being a federation of nursery, infants (opened 1931) and Junior schools on one site. Nelson Primary (opened 1911) is now an

academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

run by the Latchmere Academy Trust.

Secondary schools

Whitton has two secondary schools,

in Percy Road, and

Turing House School Turing House School is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school which was opened in 2015 in the London Borough of Richmond, south-west London, under the Government's free schools initiative. The proposal for the school was initiated b ...

in Hospital Bridge Road. An independent school, Radnor House, is planning to relocate its senior students to Whitton's Kneller Hall, subject to planning permission. Many local children go to other Richmond Borough secondary schools, or to secondary schools in neighbouring boroughs. Significant numbers go to The Heathland's School in nearby Hounslow or to the

Richmond upon Thames School Richmond upon Thames School (RTS), is a co-educational secondary free school located in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond, south-west London, established in September 2017. It is part of the Richmond Education and Enterprise Campus ( ...

(RTS) just over the A316 in

Churches

In 1862 Whitton separated from St Mary's, Twickenham to become the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of St Philip and St. James Whitton. In anticipation of this change Church of St Philip and St James (C of E) was built. In 1935, due to population growth, St Augustine of Canterbury, Whitton, was created as a London Diocesan Home Mission church in 1935, within the parish of St Philip and St Paul, and met in the main hall of Bishop Perrin School, Hospital Bridge Road. Later in 1958 it became the parish of 'St. Augustine Whitton' to coincide with the opening of new St Augustine's, Whitton that was opened further up Hospital Bridge Road. Whitton Methodist Church, in Percy Road, now shares its building with Calvary Chapel Twickenham, which is a Baptist church. A non-conformist Gospel Hall was built in 1881 on the western side of Nelson Road a few metres to the north of the junction with Warren Road. This became redundant with the opening of Whitton Baptist Church in Hounslow Road in 1935 and was later used by various commercial enterprises. The building of Whitton Baptist Church was funded by the compensation paid for the compulsory purchase of St Margaret's Baptist Church, which was demolished during the construction of the Great Chertsey Road approach to the new

Twickenham Bridge Twickenham Bridge crosses the River Thames in southwest London, England. Built in 1933 as part of the newly constructed "Chertsey Arterial Road", the bridge connects the Old Deer Park district of Richmond (historically Surrey) on the south ban ...

across the Thames in 1932. Another Baptist church, The Free Grace Baptist Church, was formed in 1964 and meets in a former Salvation Army Hall in Powder Mill Lane. The Catholic Church of St Edmund of Canterbury is in Nelson Road and was opened in 1934 by the Edmundite Fathers (

Society of Saint Edmund The Society of Saint Edmund ( la, Societas Patrum S. Edmundi) abbreviated SSE, also known as the Edmundites is a clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men in the Catholic Church founded in 1843, in Pontigny, France, by Rev. Jea ...

). In 1988 the Edmundite Fathers left Whitton, since when the parish has been in the care of secular clergy.

Demography and housing

Transport

Roads

Whitton has good road links and is less than 10 miles from the M25. Journeys to

take twenty minutes, journeys to Hounslow take 5 minutes or 10 minutes by foot, whilst a journey to

is ten minutes. The

A316 The A316, known in parts as the Great Chertsey Road, is a major road in England, which runs from the A315 Chiswick High Road, Turnham Green, Chiswick to join head-on the M3 motorway at Sunbury-on-Thames. Its initial London section Chiswick L ...

becomes the M3 at

Sunbury-on-Thames Sunbury-on-Thames (or commonly Sunbury) is a suburban town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, centred southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other ...

and connects with the M25 at junction 2. Going the other direction the

passes by

town centre and then

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many centu ...

, and finally

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

where it joins The Great West Road A4.

Tube/trains

The principal rail service from

is the Windsor Line into

, taking 30 minutes on the ‘semi-fast’ service operated by South Western Railway. There is also a ‘stopping’ service that calls at all stations and takes 40 minutes via Richmond, or 50 minutes via Brentford. Residents living in the north of the town use the closer

on the

Hounslow Loop Line The Hounslow Loop Line is a railway line in southwest London which was opened by the London and South Western Railway in 1850. It leaves the Waterloo to Reading Line at Barnes Junction and after some seven and a half miles rejoins it at a trian ...

and Waterloo-Reading mainline. As

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

does not serve the Twickenham area, connections are often made at

for the

District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited servic ...

, or at Hounslow East for the Piccadilly line. Plans to increase the frequency of the 'semi-fast' service to four trains per hour were first discussed in the Wessex Route Study consultation held in 2014 and are expected to be included in the new

South Western franchise South Western is a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services from London Waterloo to destinations in Surrey, Hampshire, Somerset, Dorset, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Devon on the South West, Portsmouth Direct and West of Engl ...

. However, Richmond Council has requested these go via the Hounslow Loop and not Richmond due to concerns about the amount of time the level crossing would need to be down in

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

Buses

Whitton is served by

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...

routes 110, 111, 281, 481, H20 and H22.

Geography

Whitton is located between the two district centres of

to the north, and

town centre to the east and is for the most part suburban housing. The land is between 60 and 70 feet above sea level and is noticeable flat and fertile and was once home to extensive market gardens until the turn of the twentieth century. The soil is mainly Taplow gravel with some patches of brick clay. The borough's main arterial road, the

, running between

and the M3 motorway was built in the 1930s. Over time areas south of the

have been transferred to Twickenham apart from the Rosecroft Estate (which can only be accessed via the

thus cutting off Whitton from the rest of

and helping to develop the separate community identity in Whitton. Whitton residents have a Twickenham (TW2), Whitton, Hounslow (TW3 & TW4) or Isleworth (TW7) post town and postcode. Residents who live in Whitton but on the border of Whitton and Hounslow have a Whitton, Hounslow (TW3 & TW4) post town and postcode. Prior to 2015, these residents who were on the border only had a post town of Hounslow despite living in Whitton. However, Vince Cable, the Twickenham MP when to Parliament and requested Royal Mail to create Whitton as a post town. In 2015, Royal Mail created Whitton as a unique postal district where now residents of Whitton who live on the border of Whitton and Hounslow can put Whitton in their address.

Nearest places

Whitton is bordered by a number of other residential districts, with other areas of

and the centre itself nearby. Large nearby towns including

and

are also close and have an even greater pull, especially Richmond, due to their shopping facilities and employment opportunities.

References

External links

Whitton Planning Guidance

Borough of Twickenham Local History Society

Love Whitton

Whitton Village Facebook Page
{{LB Richmond upon Thames Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Places formerly in Middlesex Wards of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames District centres of London