| | |||
| Statistics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Population: | 24,097 | ||
| Ordnance Survey | |||
| OS grid reference: | Maps for TQ045715 | ||
| Administration | |||
| District: | Spelthorne | ||
| County: | Surrey | ||
| Region: | South East England | ||
| Nation: | England | ||
| Other | |||
| Ceremonial county: | Surrey | ||
| Traditional county: | Middlesex | ||
| Post office and telephone | |||
| Post town: | STAINES | ||
| Postcode: | - style="vertical-align: top;" | Dialling code: | 01784 |
| Politics | |||
| UK Parliament: | |||
| European Parliament: | South East England | ||
| [image] | |||
Staines is a town in the Spelthorne borough of Surrey and part of the London commuter belt of South East England. It is a suburban development within the western bounds of the M25 motorway and 17.2 miles (27.7 km) west south-west of Charing Cross. The town is served by South West Trains services from Waterloo station.
As a commuter town, a significant proportion of the town's population finds employment in London and at Heathrow. However, a number of larger companies, such as insurance company BUPA and telecommunications and IT consultants LogicaCMG, have major offices in Staines. Thorpe Park is also close by.
Most of Staines is on the north bank of the River Thames, across which there has been a bridge since Roman times (hence the Roman name of the town Pontes). Claudius led the Romans into Britain in 43 AD and they settled in Staines the same year. Soon after this invasion the first Staines Bridge was constructed to provide an important Thames crossing point on main road from Londinium (London) to Silchester, near Reading.
Staines was the site of the Staines air disaster in 1972, at the time the worst air crash to have occurred on British soil. It is also the home of the Fictional character Ali G and Rock band Hard-Fi.
The name Staines is thought to derive from Old English for 'stones', due to a long-lost site of monoliths in nearby Stanwell. Others believe the name to derive from 'St Anne's in the Thames'.
A border stana, or stone, on the bank of the River Thames, dated 1280, still remains, indicating the to mark the western limit of the City of London jurisdiction over the Thames. Known as the London Stone
The situation of Staines on the main road from London to the south-west, combined with its proximity to Windsor, has involved the town in national affairs. The barons assembled there before they met King John at Runnymede in 1215, and Stephen Langton held a consecration there shortly after the issue of Magna Carta. Kings and other important people must have passed through the town on many occasions: the church bells were rung several times in 1670, for instance, when the king and queen went through Staines.
During the period 1642-48 there were skirmishes on Staines Moor and numerous troop movements over Staines Bridge during the Civil war.
The administrative offices of Spelthorne Borough Council are located in the town.
Staines was created an Urban district of Middlesex in 1894. In 1965 when most of the rest of Middlesex became part of Greater London, Staines Urban District was transferred to Surrey. In 1974 the Urban district was abolished and Staines became part of the borough of Spelthorne.