Laleham

History

| image-width = 700 | image-left = -30 | image-top = -520 The toponym "Laleham" comes from lael meaning twig and hamm (land in a river bend) or from Lella's ham (cognate with holm or homestead), meaning farmstead owned by a person named similarly to the first syllable.

There may have been a 1st-century Roman marching camp in the far north, in a field which is now part of Matthew Arnold School.

Iron Age spearheads from the 5th century have been found in the Thames at the point where a ferry used to run. Tenth century charters, see Chertsey Abbey (which long owned the lands surrounding its Abbey across the Thames) record the village/parish as Laelham.

The Middlesex section of the Domesday Book of 1086 records the village as Leleham. The manor was held partly by Fécamp Abbey from Robert of Mortain and by Estrild, the nun; its owner before Norman Conquest there recorded as Aki (the Dane). Middlesex formed the far south of the Danelaw. K. Holman, The Northern Conquest: Vikings in Britain and Ireland, p. 157 S. Thomason, T. Kaufman, Language Contact, Creolisation and Genetic Linguistics, p. 362 The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England, ed. Michael Lapidge (2008), p. 136 Its Domesday assets were: 10 hides of land, 6½ ploughs, 5 ploughlands, meadow and cattle pasture. Its villagers and chief tenants rendered £5 per year to its feudal overlords. The manor of Laleham was within a few generations held by Westminster Abbey throughout its monetary heyday.

The Church of England parish church of All Saints dates from the 12th century but was largely rebuilt in brick about 1600 and the present tower was built in 1780. It is a Grade I listed building. The church has a stained glass window by Wilhelmina Geddes. In the 13th century Westminster Abbey records its Laleham grange and watermill on the banks of the Thames near the site of Laleham Manor House (later briefly a Catholic revival 'Abbey'). In 1970 the clustered village centre of Laleham was designated a conservation area. The traditional borders resemble Staines in being a long tract of land, rarely more than 1 mi east–west.

In 1951 the civil parish had a population of 3,166. On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished.

Today, Laleham has a Church of England primary school, an archery club and Burway Rowing Club.

Buildings

Laleham has 25 listed buildings. Church Farmhouse, next to All Saints' church, is an early 17th-century brick farmhouse with Georgian alterations. It is an example of a central chimney house with a standard layout for such a house. On either side of the central chimney is a living room and the entrance is through a tiled two-storey porch, the stairs filling the space on the opposite side of the chimney. It once housed the Lucan's bailiff. It was sold in 1966 by the profligate 7th Earl.

Laleham Abbey

All Saints' Church is an evangelical Anglican Church. It has a hatchment of the Earls of Lucan in the north aisle; east of the vestry in the churchyard is the Lucan gravesite.

Laleham has a Methodist church in Edinburgh Drive. An Elim Pentecostal Church, Kingdom Living Church, also meets at the Methodist church.

Notable people

The poet and critic Matthew Arnold was born in the village and is buried in All Saints' parish churchyard. A local county-supported comprehensive school is named after him. His father Dr Thomas Arnold was headmaster of Rugby School, travelled widely and settled his family in Laleham.

In 1803 Richard Bingham, 2nd Earl of Lucan bought the manor from William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale. Both Arnold and Lucan family names are prominent in All Saints' parish church, with memorials to various generations of those families. Lord Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan (1800–88), the Field Marshal who reluctantly passed on the order for the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854 is buried in the churchyard; along with Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan, George Bingham, 5th Earl of Lucan and their countesses.

Gabrielle Anwar, actress and star of the Fox television series Burn Notice was born in Laleham and attended Laleham C of E Primary and Middle School 1975–82.

Other notable family names are Buckland and Honor and the four houses at Laleham school are Buckland (Red), Arnold (Blue), Honor (Yellow) and Lucan (Green). The Reverend Andy Buckland was Matthew Arnold's maternal uncle; Buckland primary School in Staines was named after him.

The Reynell Baronets, originally from Devon, were substantial landowners at Laleham.

Coal and mining administrator, Alfred Robens, Baron Robens of Woldingham lived with his wife at Laleham Abbey after his retirement in 1982.

Denny Laine, and Steve Holley of the band Wings lived in Laleham in the late 1970s.

Demography and housing

The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%.

The proportion of households in the town who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free). Ashford Charlton Egham Hythe

References

References

1. [http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk Neighbourhood Statistics]; Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density] [[United Kingdom Census 2011]] ''[[Office for National Statistics]]'' Ashford makes up 2011 lower output areas Spelthorne 003, 005 and 006. Note: the towns and villages in Spelthorne have one [[wards of the United Kingdom. ward]] each which covers part of a neighbouring town or village. Laleham is the exception which covers less than two wards but gives its name to half of both. Retrieved 21 November 2013
2. "Laleham Village – Around and About". Spelthorne Borough Council.
3. "Laleham | Domesday Book".
4. "Surrey Domesday Book".
5. "Church History". All Saints' Laleham.
6. {{NHLE
7. Gordon Bowe, Nicola. (1 September 2008). "A window with a punch". [[Apollo (magazine).
8. "Population statistics Laleham CP/Ch through time". [[A Vision of Britain through Time]].
9. "Surrey Northern Registration District". UKBMD.
10. {{NHLE
11. (27 October 1999). "Lord Lucan "officially dead"". [[BBC]].
12. {{NHLE
13. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zcEHAAAAQAAJ Wyld's South Western London and Southampton Railway Guide Portsmouth, Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands...containing a topological...account of the country and of the towns and villages within 10 miles of the railway] Publ. [[W. Clowes and Sons]], London, 1839. Retrieved 2 March 2015
14. Penrhyn Stanley, Arthur. (1845). "The Life and Correspondence of Thomas Arnold". Fellowes.
15. Norman, Philip. (2016). "Paul McCartney: The Life".