Anglo-Saxons
It is from this period that the name Hampton is derived. It is thought that Hampton comes from hamm, meaning a large bend in the river and ton means settlement or farm. Hampton Hill is a comparatively new name. The area in 1650 was known as 'The Common' then from c.1800 as 'New Hampton'  - the name Hampton Hill came into use around 1870.

The Manors The Hampton manor at the time of the Domesday Book (1086) was owned by Walter de St Valery, and it remained in his family until 1217. Between 1237 and 1514 it belonged to the Nights Hospitaller: from them Wolsey purchased the lease and there built his palace of Hampton Court. This and the manor were acquired by Henry VIII in 1529. Hampton Court Palace

Hampton in 1338 - probable land use Click to enlarge & print out In 1086 only about 200 people resided in the Hamptons. In 1600 there was about 600 then after over 100 deaths from the plague in 1603 the number reached 1,150 in 1700.

Hampton Hill
After the Enclosure Act of 1811, Hampton Hill was parcelled up and slowly developed, but it needed the impetus of building St James church in 1863 and the coming of the railway in 1864 to transform the area. In 1861 the population of Hampton Hill was approximately 1,100, almost doubling to 2,100 in 1881 and by 1951 it had reached around 10,500.

The Hampton Hill smock mill in 1870. The figure in the foreground is carrying buckets of water. It was illegal to take water from the Longford River but this was ignored by local people as it was then the only source of running water.

The Longford river in autumn

There had been isolated buildings before the Enclosure Act. Certainly a windmill was erected in 1785 when John Naylor was granted land on the common to build a smock mill to grind corn and grain. This was demolished in 1876. It's site was on the opposite side of the river to the Windmill Pub in Windmill Road.

Before enclosure “The Common” was a place of furze, briers and heather, used by Hamptonians to graze cattle and cut brushwood for fuel. In fact the whole of Hampton Hill was common land; subsequently the land was parcelled up, leading to gradual development. The only known buildings were Upper Lodge in Bushy Park and the windmill.

By 1839 there were a good number of buildings along the High Street, with a few more in Windmill Road and Uxbridge Road, but the rest of the area was still open field. At first almost the only street, and certainly the only shopping street, was High Street. The High Street remains, in essence, the only shopping street today.

In 1850 there were 24 traders, including including three beer houses - The Crown & Anchor (1823) The Duke of Wellington (1816) and the Duke of Clarence. The rebuilt Crown & Anchor is now Joe's Restaurant on the corner of Windmill Road.

The population grew in the 1850s and 1860s with the arrival of labourers building the Hampton Waterworks and the railway. Many of these people were housed in “wooden shacks” or “hovels”. The increase in population led to the building of a new parish church, St James’s. When the Rev, James Burrow became the vicar of Hampton he decided that the Hampton Hill area should have it's own church - St James was consecrated in December 1863.

 

The first vicar, the Rev F J Fitzwygram, was a man of energy and private means. He set about improving the infrastructure of the village, building cottages and houses and better facilities for the workers, using his own money. The 1861 population of 710 rapidly increased to 1322 in 1871, 2014 in 1881 and to 2440 by 1891. The Reverend and his wife had a significant effect on the village. They devoted much of their private fortune to building up the infrastructure and amenities of the area. This included getting rid of hovels that still existed in some areas and building houses at affordable rents. They also instituted schools, one for girls and infants and one for boys. When the church was first built it was a simple structure with a nave 67 feet X 24 feet, but there was considerable enlargements in subsequent years, so that by 1887 a tower and spire were added to celebrate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Thus the area of Hampton Hill grew in a few years from obscurity and poverty into a well-formed suburb with good amenities. Any development that followed and quite a bit did, benefited from the efforts of the Fitzwygrams. By the 1880s many new roads had been built and a large area was covered by nurseries. The principal growers were Sherwood’s, Page’s, Gill’s and Milne’s Flowers: particularly carnations and daffodils. The face of Hampton Hill changed significantly after the introduction of trams in 1903. Initially much of the line along the High Street was single track with passing loops. From 1904 until 1910 buildings were demolished, in order to accommodate double tracks, and were re-built further back on their sites. The new Fulwell tram terminus was built A directory of 1839 listed 26 businesses of which about 17 could be considered to be shops. These included 3 boot and shoemakers, 3 grocers, 2 coal and corn merchants and 2 public houses: The Duke of Clarence and The Duke of Wellington. The Duke of Wellington, now converted to housing, and just outside Hampton Hill, opened before 1816. It was then in the occupation of Joseph Burton, who no doubt lent his name to the adjacent Burton’s Lane. The exact age of The Duke of Clarence is unknown, although it was probably there before 1830. The Post Office, also known as Makepeace’s (the printers) occupied the same building from 1835 until 1995 when it moved a few doors along the street. As well as shops, the High Street contained many cottages and indeed some fine mansions. Many of the cottages later had their front gardens built over as shops and many of the larger properties were replaced by parades of shops. One of the largest changes was brought about by the coming of the trams. The trams, from Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith to Hampton Court arrived in 1903, passing along the High Street. Initially much of the line along the street was single track with passing loops. From 1904 land was purchased to widen the road to create double tram tracks.

St James Church, St James Road The interior of St James church Fulwell Tram Station

Paine's the butcher Many properties had to be re-built further back on the same land. The 1832 Pantile Bridge, with the adjacent water splash for heavy traffic, at the southern end of High Street was also re-built in 1910. Building and infill continued in the 20th century. Sainsbury’s supermarket was built on the last nursery, St Clare’s, in 1990. The High Street today is still relatively unchanged from a century ago at its southern end but has been considerably re-developed at the northern end in recent years. The overall appearance of High Street, particularly at the southern end, is remarkably unchanged from a century ago. All the High Street’s five public houses remain, licensed from that time. The northern end of the High Street has been significantly re-built in recent years but would still be recognisable to someone from that time. 2001 statistics According to the 2001 Government Census the population of Hampton Hill stood at 9.448. 4,578 were male and 4.870 were female and the average age was 41. 65.5% stated they were of the Christian religion 57% stated they were of the Buddhist religion 0.43% stated they were of the Jewish religion 1.99% stated they were of the Muslim religion 0.50% stated they were of the Sikh religion 0.23% stated they were of other religions 21.30% stated they were of no religion UK Census Data from: www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk

Howe's confectionery and cake shop Pictured to the left is an old newspaper cutting of the Hampton Hill High Street in 1910 when a Fire Brigade Procession & the Coronation of King George V Celebration Procession passed by. Click the image to enlarge. The Metropolitan Drinking Fountain (pictured below) and Cattle Trough Association was established in 1859 and they installed a drinking trough near to the traffic lights end of Park Road, Hampton Hill (pictured below)

Drinking trough on Park Road, Hampton Hill

The objectives of the Association are to promote the provision of drinking water for people and animals in the United Kingdom and Overseas and the preservation of the Association’s archive materials, artefacts, drinking fountains, cattle troughs and other installations. Visit their website: http://drinkingfountains.org

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