Langley, Berkshire
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Langley, also known as Langley Marish, is an area of
Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...
in
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
, England. It is east of Slough town centre and west of
Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...
in
Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...
. It was a separate
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
and village until the 1930s, when the built-up part of Langley was incorporated into Slough. Langley was in the historic county of
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
, being transferred to the administrative county of Berkshire in 1974.


Etymology

The place-name Langley derives from the
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
word ''
lang Lang may refer to: *Lang (surname), a surname of independent Germanic or Chinese origin Places * Lang Island (Antarctica), East Antarctica * Lang Nunatak, Antarctica * Lang Sound, Antarctica * Lang Park, a stadium in Brisbane, Australia * Lang, ...
'', meaning long, and '' lea'', a wood or clearing. Langley was formed of a number of clearings: George Green, Horsemoor Green, Middle Green, Sawyers Green and Shreding Green. They became the sites for housing which merged into one village centred on the parish church in St Mary's Road. The clearings are remembered in the names of streets or smaller green fields. ''Marish'' or ''Maries'' commemorates Christiana de Marecis who held the manor for a short time in the reign of
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
.Langley Village history


History


Notable buildings

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, ...
. The church is a Grade I
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
and houses the Kedermister Library, given by Sir John Kedermister (or Kederminster), who also endowed the surviving almshouses of 1617 in the village. Other surviving almshouses include the Seymour Almshouses (1679–1688), given by Sir Edward Seymour who was a Speaker of the House of Commons, and those founded in 1839 by William Wild in Horsemoor Green. The courtier Henry Norris owned a house, "Parlaunt" or "Leving", at Langley Marish. The property was forfeited to the crown when he was executed in May 1536. When Henry married
Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...
in 1540, furnishings from Parlaunt were taken to Oatlands Palace. There are no remains of this manor house. Sir John Kedermister's house, Langley Park (bought by Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough) was demolished and rebuilt to designs by
Stiff Leadbetter Stiff Leadbetter (c. 1705 – 18 August 1766) was a British architect and builder, one of the most successful architect–builders of the 1750s and 1760s, working for many leading aristocratic families. Career Leadbetter's career began when he ...
, starting in 1756 and completed in the year of his death, 1758. The Langley Academy secondary school opened in 2008 and was designed by architects
Foster + Partners Foster and Partners (also Foster + Partners) is a British international architecture firm with its headquarters in London, England. It was founded in 1967 by British architect and designer Norman Foster. The firm has been involved in the design ...
.


Langley Airfield

The Hawker Aircraft Company bought Parlaunt Farm at Langley in 1938 and built a major factory and airfield there. Over 9,000 military aircraft were manufactured at the site especially the
Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and also the Tempest and Sea Fury. The final Hurricane built (a MkIIC serialled PZ865, which still flies today with the
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force Flight (military unit), flight which provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster heavy bomber and two fighters, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurr ...
) was completed here on 27 July 1944 and named 'Last of The Many' in a special ceremony. Retiring Chief Test Pilot P W S 'George' Bulman made the first flight of this the aeroplane on this occasion – he having made the first flight of the prototype from
Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
almost nine years earlier. The
Hawker Tornado The Hawker Tornado was a British single-seat fighter aircraft design of the Second World War for the Royal Air Force as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane. The planned production of Tornados was cancelled after the engine it was designed to ...
(1940),
Typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...
(1940), Tempest (1942), Fury (1944), Sea Fury (1945), and the General Aircraft Hamilcar X tank-carrying glider (1945) all made their first flights from Langley. Postwar, the aerodrome was also used by
Airwork Services Airwork Limited, also referred to during its history as Airwork Services Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary company of VT Group plc. It has a long and rich history in providing a variety of defence support services to the Royal Air Force (RA ...
, British South American Airways and Airflight for aircraft maintenance work. The Hawker factory closed in 1958 having also manufactured
Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...
fighters and earlier jet prototypes. Production and staff were transferred to the flight test airfield at
Dunsfold Aerodrome Dunsfold Aerodrome (former International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO code EGTD) is an General aviation in the United Kingdom#Aerodrome licensing, unlicensed airfield in Surrey, England, near the village of Cranleigh. It exten ...
and the parent Hawker factory in
Kingston-on-Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...
(now
Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...
), both in Surrey. Little of the factory or airfield remain today although the area's aviation past is remembered in street-names such as ''Spitfire Close'' and ''Hurricane Way''. A marker stone was unveiled by the
Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust The Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust (ABCT), founded 2006, is a non-profit organisation that works to preserve and protect airfields in Great Britain, as well as educating people about their history. The Trust is a registered charity. T ...
on 5 October 2019.


Ford factory

The
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
opened a commercial vehicle component factory at Langley Airfield in 1949, and then bought the entire site from Hawker Siddeley in 1959. The former aircraft factory was re-used for commercial vehicle manufacture and the
Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a panel van, cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford ...
was built here until production was transferred to Ford's Southampton plant at Swaythling,
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, and later the
Ford Cargo The Ford Cargo is a forward-control (cab-over-engine) truck model manufactured by Ford since 1981. Designed by Ford of Britain as the successor of the Ford Transcontinental heavy commercial tractor, Ford introduced the Cargo to North America ...
. The Langley factory became part of
Iveco Iveco S.p.A., an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company with headquarters in Turin, Italy. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy Commercial vehicle, commercial veh ...
in 1986 but finally closed in September 1997. Demolished a year later by Gregory Demolition, the site is now redeveloped with new housing, offices and warehousing (including
Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...
's Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre, which services nearby
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
).


Miscellaneous

Langley Carnival is held annually on the second Saturday in July at the Langley Park Memorial Recreation Ground. The Cable Corporation, based at Langley, was the first cable company in the world to offer voice, video and data services to business and residential users. Langley is reputed to be haunted by a ghost in a yellow coat.


Transport

Langley railway station, which includes an
Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...
period building, is on the
Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs between London Paddington and . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. The GWML is presently a part of t ...
to London Paddington.
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
operate a half-hourly service in each direction. In July 2012, the
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...
announced plans to build the Western Rail Approach between Langley and
Iver Iver is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central nucleated village, clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park and the hamlets o ...
stations. On 15 December 2019, Langley station became part of the
Elizabeth line The Elizabeth line is a railway line that runs across Greater London and nearby towns, operating similarly to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries. It runs services on dedicated infras ...
with services operated under TfL Rail branding until 24 May 2022. Due to the addition of the Elizabeth line, the station was upgraded to include three new lifts along with a new ticket hall, new ticket office and new ticket gates.


Governance

Langley forms part of the
unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...
of Slough. It therefore has no separate parish or community council, but is governed directly by Slough Borough Council. Langley was formerly a separate parish, also known as Langley Marish or Langley Marsh. From 1835 the parish formed part of the Eton
Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...
. When parish and district councils were established under the
Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...
, the parish of Langley was given a parish council and was included in the Eton Rural District. Following significant development in the southern part of the parish adjoining Slough, the area south of the
Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...
(including the parish church and old village centre of Langley), was transferred into the parish and urban district of
Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...
on 1 April 1930. The residual, more rural, part of the parish north of the Grand Union Canal continued to be administered as a parish called Langley for another four years before being finally abolished, with most of the northern rural area being transferred into the parish of Wexham on 1 April 1934, and smaller areas being transferred at the same time to the parishes of
Fulmer Fulmer is a village and civil parish in south Buckinghamshire, England. The village has, along most of its northern border, a narrow green buffer from Gerrards Cross and its heavily wooded adjoining neighbouring villages of Iver Heath and We ...
and
Iver Iver is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central nucleated village, clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park and the hamlets o ...
. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1180.


Notable people

* Entrepreneur Peter Jones, born in Langley in 1966 * Actor Daniel Mountain (1984-), raised in Langley * Artist Paul Nash (1889–1946), buried in the churchyard of St. Mary's Church, Langley * Writer John Pudney (1909–77), born in Langley * Writer Charles Tyrie grew up in Langley in the 1940s and 1950s; the first volume of his autobiography is titled ''The Langley Boy''. * Nathaniel Vincent (1639?–97), nonconformist minister and writer, lived in Langley after the Restoration, until ejected in 1662 * Footballer Matty Cash (1997-), grew up in Langley


Nearest places


References


Sources and further reading

* * * * * * *


External links


Langley Village website
* {{Slough suburbs Suburbs of Slough