Great Stanmore, Middlesex

Historical Description

Stanmore, Great, a village and a parish in Middlesex. The village, about a mile long, and standing on the slope of a hill some 500 feet high, is about 10 miles from London. It is the terminus of a branch line from Harrow on the L. & N.W.R., and has a head post office. The parish contains also Stanmore Marsh hamlet, and comprises an area of 1484 acres; population, 1473. The manor was held At Domesday by Earl Mortaigne, and passed to St Albans Abbey, Smithfield Priory, the Spaniard Gambo, the Lakes, the Brydgeses, the Drummonds, the Abercorns, and the Kelks, and now belongs to the Clutterbucks. Bentley Priory occupies the site of an ancient priory; belonged for some time to the Marquis of Abercom; was the residence and deathplace of Queen Adelaide: and is now the seat of the Gordon family. It is a fine and spacious mansion, very pleasantly situated and surrounded by beautiful pleasure gardens and a deer park of about 250 acres. Stanmora Park is a good modern country mansion, standing in a park which contains a small lake, and of which one portion commands an extensive view. George IV. when Prince Regent and the allied sovereigns met in the parish on the eve of Louis XVIII.'s restoration. A splendid view is obtained from the summit of Bushey Heath. Roman coins have been found at Bentley Priory, and a treasure of French and Spanish coins to the value of about £4000 was found in a field near the parsonage. The living is a rectory in the diocese of London; net value, £392 with residence. The church was built in 1850 at a cost of £8000, and is a building of stone in the Decorated style, consisting of chancel with S aisle, nave, aisles, S porch, and a lofty tower. It has a stained east window inserted as a memorial to Queen Adelaide, and some interesting tombs and monuments. The old church, which stands a short distance to the west of the new building, is a picturesque ruin. There are a Baptist chapel, a memorial institute used for parish meetings and entertainments, and a cottage hospital. Archbishop Boyle was rector, Dr Parr took pupils at Stanmore Hill, and Forbes, author of " Oriental Memoirs," was a resident. There are many good villa residences in the parish.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Great Stanmore from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Stanmore, Great (St. John the Evangelist))

Land and Property

A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Middlesex is online.