A HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX 



part of the parish. East Bedfont has no station, 

 the nearest being that at Feltham, i^ miles away. 

 Besides the main highway from London to the 

 south-west, roads from Hatton and Cranford, from 

 Stan well, and from Feltham converge on the village. 

 ' The Duke of Northumberland's River ' cuts in a 

 straight line across the parish from west to east. 

 It is a branch of the Colne, which leaves that river 

 near Longford, and running in an artificial channel 

 falls into the Thames near the Duke of North- 

 umberland's house at Syon. It is said to have 

 been made by the convent of Syon in the 

 time of Henry V.' The more wandering course 

 of the ' Queen's or Cardinal's River ' enters the 

 parish at almost the same point, and passes out 



east of East Bedfont. It forms a junction for the 

 many byways which radiate north and south to- 

 wards the Bath and the Staines roads, and for this 

 reason it is said to have been a favourite haunt of 

 highwaymen in days gone by. It then stood on 

 the borders of Hounslow Heath, and either road 

 was easily accessible from the old inn, the ' Green 

 Man ' where the hiding-hole behind the chimney 

 is still shown. 



Two fairs, held respectively about 7 May at 

 Bedford and 14 June at Hatton, were abolished 

 by the Home Secretary on the representation of 

 the Justices of the Peace in April 1881.** It does 

 not appear how long it had been the custom to 

 hold the fairs. 



BEDFONT CHURCH, FROM THE SOUTH 



to the south towards Feltham. It supplies 

 water for Hanworth and Bushey Parks and for 

 Hampton Court,* and is said to have been made 

 by Cardinal Wolsey's orders. The latter river is 

 crossed by the London road at White Bridge, 

 and the road to Hatton is carried over both rivers 

 within a few score yards of one another by the 

 Two Bridges. The River Crane forms the most 

 easterly boundary of the parish, and near its junction 

 with the Duke of Northumberland's River are 

 the Bedfont Powder Mills, which are now disused. 

 There is a gravel pit by the road to Ashford. 

 The hamlet of Hatton lies 2 miles to the north- 



There is a Baptist chapel in Hatton, and a 

 licensed mission room of the Church of England. 



New Bedfont is a small hamlet consisting of an 

 inn, a smithy, and a few cottages on the road be- 

 tween Hatton and East Bedfont. 



The soil and subsoil are gravel ; the crops con- 

 sist mainly of garden produce. There are 1,926$ 

 acres in the parish, of which five-sixths are under 

 cultivation, the remainder being grass, with about 

 4 acres of woodland * and 1 8 acres water. The 

 parish was inclosed under an Act of 1813.* A 

 mill is mentioned in the taxation returns of 1291 

 as belonging to the abbey of Westminster.* 



* I.yson, Env. of Land. (i8oo),iii,8z. 



Firth, Midd. 18 ; Lyions, Suff le- 

 vant a Env. of London, 71. 



" Land. GHK. ig April 1881. 

 4 Inf. iupplied by the Bi of Agric. 

 (1905). 



3 IO 



' Slater, Engl. Peasantry and 

 Enclosure of Common Fields, 287. 

 ' tofe Nick. Tax.(Rec. Com.), i 



the 



