Pre-history The
River Thames was displaced southwards to its present course through
Berkshire and
London following the
Anglian glaciation c. 450,000 BCE. The local geology comprises
Kempton Park Gravel above
London Clay, on which the Thames deposits fertile, well-drained alluvial soils, making it an attractive area for human habitation and settlement. There is evidence of small hunter-gatherer communities in the Thames Valley in the
Palaeolithic period, who would have hunted migrating animal herds (reindeer and horse) depending on seasonal conditions. Hand-axes and a flint from that era have been recovered from sites in Hampton, indicating the presence of human activity as early as the
Wolstonian Stage. The resettlement of Britain following the
Last Glacial Maximum and the start of the
Holocene is evidenced in Hampton and surrounding areas by the artefacts (predominantly flintwork) of
Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, who would have favoured the diversity of habitats and food resources offered by rivers and their floodplains for settlement and resource procurement. Three Mesolitihic
tranchet axes were discovered during construction of the Hampton Waterworks. Evidence of
Neolithic and
Bronze Age settlement activity in the area is widespread, during a period when the level of the River Thames would have been significantly lower than at present. Finds on
Garrick's Ait (Neolithic stone axe), Hurst Park (Neolithic pits), and
Platt's Eyot (early Bronze Age axe); and the excavation in 1854 of a significant Bronze Age
barrow in Bushy Park (containing the cremated remains and offerings of a local chieftain) indicate the transition to settled agriculture. Before the
Roman invasion of Britain, the Hampton area was occupied by the
Catuvellauni, a
Celtic tribe with its centre of government at
Watamestede, near modern-day
St Albans. There is little archaeological evidence of
Roman activity in the Hampton area (which was concentrated around the
river crossing at
Kingston-upon-Thames), except for a small collection of finds at
Hampton Hill, a corn drier in Hurst Park, and field boundaries laid out to Roman proportions in what would become
Bushy Park.
Anglo-Saxon Hampton and the Norman Conquest Following the
end of Roman rule the Hampton area would have been on the fringes of the
Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of
Mercia, in territory which came to be known as
Middlesex. The settlement of Hampton first developed under the
Saxons, centred on a village clustered around the intersection of the
Windsor-
Kingston road running east–west along the river with the road north to
Twickenham, around the hillock on which
St Mary's Church stands. The Anglo-Saxon
parish of Hampton included the area comprising present-day Hampton,
Hampton Hill,
Hampton Wick,
Bushy Park, parts of
Teddington, and
Hampton Court. The Hampton settlement developed under the
manorial system (where tenant serfs work the arable farm and grazing land of the manor on behalf of the absentee lord) as an agricultural domain primarily supporting neighbouring
Kingston, which by the 9th century was a significant royal estate.
Bushy Park shows extensive use of the
ridge and farrow system of agriculture introduced by the Saxons. The 1086
Domesday Book records that prior to the
Norman Conquest the Manor of Hampton belonged to
Aelfgar, Earl of Mercia, but indicated that, as Aelfgar had not passed his lands to his son Edwin upon his death in 1062, they were instead held by King Harold at the time of the
Norman Invasion.The name
Hampton may come from the
Anglo-Saxon words
hamm meaning an enclosure in the bend of a river and
ton meaning farmstead or settlement.
Hamntone is recorded in the Domesday Book, the entry listing 41 villagers and 4 smallholders (accounting for households comprising ~200 individuals) occupying 35
hides, each comprising the area that could be ploughed by eight oxen in a year (~120 acres, or ~4,200 acres total). The
demesne (lands belonging to the lord of the manor) comprised 18 hides tilled by only 3 ploughs, indicating it was used mostly for sheep pasture. The other 17
villanes (hides leased to serfs) each had a plough, suggesting cultivation. The entry also recorded a substantial meadow (for the provision of hay for plough animals) and a significant fishery. The Domesday Book records the total annual value of the estate in 1086 (used to calculate how much tax the lord should be charged) as 39 pounds. The assessed 1086 value was 9 pounds
less than prior to the conquest, attributed to the devastation caused by Norman forces on their circuitous route around London as they sought its subjugation. After the Conquest the Manors of Hampton and
Isleworth (comprising the
hundred of
Hounslow) were granted to
Walter of Saint-Valéry, from whose home town in
Flanders,
Saint Valery-sur-Somme,
William had sailed in 1066. Walter probably never resided in Middlesex, and he and his heirs were active participants in the
First and
Second Crusades. In 1189 the estate passed to
Thomas de St Valerie, who, as a baron in the "extraordinarily difficult" position of holding large possessions on both sides of the
English Channel in the time of
Magna Carta and the
rebellion against
King John, appears to have taken the precaution of severing the two holdings—transferring the Manor of Hampton to Henry de St Albans, a London merchant, and the Manor of Isleworth to his daughter Annora's husband,
Robert III of Dreux—at some point before the 1217
Battle of Lincoln (in which he was implicated and ultimately exiled). The Manor of Hampton transferred from the hundred of
Hounslow to that of
Spelthorne in the late 12th or early 13th century.
Medieval Hampton and the Knights Hospitaller The Manor was acquired in 1237 by the
Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (known as the
Knights Hospitaller). A
Benedictine order charged with the care and
defence of the
Holy Land, the Knights Hospitaller operated from headquarters on
Rhodes, using their holdings in England (received via bequests from returning
Crusaders) to fund their operations. The Order became established in Hampton around 1180 (probably by a gift from Reginald St Valery), and by 1237 owned a house and sheep pasture on the site of present-day
Hampton Court Palace. In 1338, the Order commissioned a financial survey of its possessions in England, which showed the Manor of Hampton comprising 800 acres of
demesne (rented arable land), 40 acres of meadow by the Thames, pasture for 24 oxen, 18 cows, 10 store cattle and 2000 sheep, a fish weir and a pigeon house. The Knights Hospitallers developed their estate at Hampton Court into one of the largest and best-appointed of their manors in England, and it was frequently used by the royal court as alternative accommodation to
Sheen Palace (the royal palace on the Thames at
Richmond), and as a way station and guest house for visitors en route to the
royal manor at Byfleet on the
River Wye (constructed by
Edward II in the early 14th century). The destruction by fire of Sheen Palace in 1497 saw the royal court move to Hampton Court. In 1500 the
Lord Chamberlain Sir Giles Daubeney ordered that 300 acres of the demesne near Hampton be enclosed for hunting, taking out a lease for the entire manor in 1505. After his death in 1508, the lease passed to Sir Giles' wife, who allowed it to lapse.
Cardinal Wolsey purchased the lease from the Knights Hospitaller in 1514, and continued development of the site into the
historic palace ultimately acquired by
Henry VIII after Wolsey's demise in 1530.
Post-medieval Hampton The 1534
Act of Supremacy enshrining
Henry VIII as supreme head of the
Church of England saw the
expropriation of Catholic properties throughout England. The Knights Hospitallers Order was formerly dissolved by an Act of Parliament in 1540 and the manor annexed by the Crown. In 1536 Henry acquired part of
Teddington from the
Abbot of Westminster, enclosing the land for hunting. In 1537 Henry emparked the arable land around Upper Lodge and ordered the construction of brick walls from Hampton Court to Teddington and Hampton Wick. The boundaries of modern-day
Bushy Park were set in 1620 with the addition of the Hampton Eastfield (nearest the town). 's 1757 map of Middlesex, showing the enclosure of
Bushy Park, the
Longford River, the settlement of Hampton, and fields to the northwest.The supply of water for the ever-increasing population of the royal complex at Hampton Court had been problematic since the time Wolsey had first taken the Hospitallers' lease, but it was not until
Charles I ordered the construction of a
canal connecting the
River Colne to the Thames via Hampton Court that the
palace secured a steady supply for its household and expanding water features. Designed by Nicholas Lane, the
canal started at
Longford on the
Colne, and was built swiftly in 1638–39, cutting through
Feltham,
Hanworth,
Hounslow Heath, and the north Hampton heath on its route to Bushy Park. Initially unpopular for blocking roads and dividing parishes, the original river (variously known as the Cardinal's, Queen's or King's River) was poorly made and prone to flooding. Protesters dammed the river in 1649 and the river fell into disuse and ran dry during the
Protectorate. After the
Restoration,
Charles II sought to replicate in Bushy Park the
garden at
Versailles, establishing the Long Water in Home Park as a wedding present for
Catherine of Braganza, and thus ordered the
Longford River restored. Between 1500 and 1700 the population of Hampton and Hampton Wick grew from 300–350 to 1100–1200. This growth came despite regular outbreaks of
plague in London, which both culled the citizenry and swelled the population of Hampton with the migration of London citizens out of the city. In 1603, 99 of the 119 deaths recorded among Hampton's 400-500 inhabitants were attributed to
plague, compared to 11 total deaths the previous year. {{Quote frame |quote=All the villages around Hampton Court are infected, and I found yesterday, I, the Duke of Verneuil, while having my walk along the main road, the body of a man who had just died of plague.|author=
Gaston Henri de Bourbon, Ambassador of France to the Court of
Charles II|source=9 August 1665 In the Christmas of 1603-04 the newly crowned
James I moved his court to
Hampton Court Palace to escape the outbreak that had blighted London (and Hampton) that summer, before hosting the
conference of bishops and clerics (also postponed due to plague) which would commission the
Book of Common Prayer and the
King James Version of the Bible. In July 1665 the court of
Charles II escaped London to Hampton Court after an escalating outbreak of plague in the spring (which would come to be known as "
The Great Plague"), but would be forced to move again to Oxford in September after the infection reached Hampton.|center|400x400px
Hampton in the Modern era Hampton's transition from medieval manor to privately owned land and housing began with the passage of the '''''' (
51 Geo. 3. c. cxxxviii), which led to the parcelling and enclosure of common land, and a steady increase in population. The rapid growth and urbanisation of
19th-century London saw agricultural production pushed out to the city's perimeter. Land in north Hampton which had been used for grazing and farming was enclosed and, after unsuccessful attempts at residential development, was converted to market gardens and nurseries to service the increased demand from London markets. Having last been used as a royal residence by
George II,
Queen Victoria opened the State Apartments of
Hampton Court Palace to the general public in 1838, displaying artworks from the
Royal Collection. The 1840-46 restoration and redecoration of the Great Hall saw the palace became a major tourist attraction. Visitor numbers increased further following the opening of the
Hampton Court branch line (off the
London and Southampton Railway mainline) in 1849 (see
Hampton Court Palace). The passage of the
Metropolis Water Act 1852 made it unlawful for any water company to extract water for domestic use from the tidal reaches of the Thames (i.e. below
Teddington Lock). This led to the
Southwark and Vauxhall,
Grand Junction and
West Middlesex water companies to jointly construct water works on the Thames at Hampton, between the
Sunbury and
Molesey Locks, which began operations in 1855, and became a major employer (see
Hampton Water Treatment Works). The
Shepperton branch line, including
Hampton and
Fulwell stations, was opened in 1864, and electrified in 1916. The curve of the railway line would come to define the suburb of Hampton distinct from the original village, but did not immediately lead to an increase in population (unlike neighbouring Teddington). The 'New Street' (now Station Road) was developed along the route of a historic trackway to link Hampton Station to the village. The area around the station between the railway line and the water works began to be developed for housing in the 1880s and 1890s, and was occupied primarily by
Metropolitan Water Board staff and their families.Hampton recorded a population of 1,722 in the
Census of 1801, rising to 3,134 in the
Census of 1851, and 9,220 in the
Census of 1911. The passage of the
Local Government Act 1858 allowed for the creation of elected
Local Boards, which, unlike
civil parishes, had the power to borrow money against future revenue, allowing for capital projects. Hampton residents initially voted in 1865 against establishing a Local Board, but after being subsumed into the Kingston Rural
Sanitary Authority in 1872, voted in favour of establishment in 1884. Permission was however denied on the basis of Hampton being too small an area, and a Local Board was not created for Hampton until 1890. The Board converted to an
Urban District Council in 1895, and established its office in Rosehill in 1902 (see
Rosehill and Hampton Library).
St Mary's Church had been demolished in 1829 and replaced by the present larger building in 1831, at which time the parish of
Hampton Wick was separately established. The parish of Hampton was further divided with the establishment of the parish of
St James's Hampton Hill in 1863, and the parish of
All Saints' in 1929 following the consecration of All Saints Church in 1908. Hampton developed into its current form of a residential suburb of
London over the course of the late 19th and 20th centuries, as the families of professional workers settled within
commuting distance of the city, and demand for local shops and services grew. A police station was first opened in Hampton in c1840, and moved into purpose-built premises at 12 Station Road in 1846 (with an inspector and 9 constables). A "new and more commodious" Police Station was opened at 68 Station Road in 1905. Hampton fire station was built in 1897.
London United Tramways extended its network from Twickenham to Hampton, Hampton Court, East Twickenham (west of
Richmond Bridge) and
Teddington in 1903.
Hampton during the Great War and Interwar period Following the outbreak of the
Great War, recruitment drives were held by both services on Hampton Court Green in the summer of 1915. A mass meeting on Hampton Court Road in June 1916 calling for government action regarding
aliens was followed later that month by a meeting of 5,000 people on Hampton Court Green calling for the internment of all Germans and Austrians. St Mary's Hospital was used throughout the war as a military hospital, and the Whitehall Hotel was converted to a military hospital in January 1917. Food shortages led to the ploughing and cultivation of fields in Bushy Park, and allotments established in Nine-Acre Field in Percy Road and other open land throughout Hampton. Suburban development of the area bound north of the railway line took place mostly during the
Interwar period: the streetplan laid out generally following old lanes and field boundaries. The commercial centre of Hampton also gravitated away from the original triangle of streets around St Mary's Church to along Station Road near Hampton Station, as the increased popularity of the motor car led to increased traffic (and associated dust, mud, noise) along the road between Sunbury and Kingston. The Electric Theatre opened in 1912 on Station Road, seating 400. Renamed
The Palaceum in the 1920s, it operated until 1938.
Hampton Pool was built in 1922 (on land previously occupied by the Hampton and Hampton Hill Rifle Club) after plans approved in 1914 were delayed due to the outbreak of the
World War I (see
Hampton Pool). The four-storey telephone exchange on High Street near St Mary's was built in 1927 as a replacement for the original telephone exchange at Manor Road in
Molesey (hence known as the Molesey Telephone Exchange). The exchange switched from manual operation to
Subscriber Trunk Dialling in the 1960s, and an additional building constructed on the other side of Old Farm Passage ini 1982. The exchange was enabled for ADSL broadband internet in 2000, and the newer building demolished in 2001.
Hampton during the Second World War showing bomb impacts in Hampton. Blue dots represent high explosive bombs, red incendiary bombs, and crosses unexploded ordnance. Preparations by the Borough of Twickenham for the outbreak of hostilities in the
Second World War began in 1936, and a public meeting held to discuss the enlistment of
Air Raid Precaution (ARP) wardens held in the Public Hall on Church Street on 30 November that year.
Anderson shelters were distributed to houses in Hampton, and public shelters constructed, during 1939-1940. Three air-raid rescue parties (out of 11 for the Borough) were established in Oldfield Road. The first bomb to fall on the Borough in the
Battle of Britain fell on 153 Tudor Road in the first night attack on London on 24 August 1940, and properties throughout Hampton were damaged and destroyed as
bombing continued through 1940. On 7 October a high-explosive bomb landing in Warfield Road demolished most of the houses on Station Road between the
Worlds End and
Railway Inn pubs, killing four. Four nights later a high-explosive bomb damaged another five neighbouring shops on Station Road. On the night of 7 November Hampton was hit by 8 high-explosive bombs, killing six people. {{Quote frame |quote=In 1944, Bushy Park was a huge, mainly
US military base. One sunny morning in June we were cycling through the park, past lines of American tents. Nearby was a sandbagged gun emplacement with an anti aircraft gun inside. As we neared it, a soldier rushed out and wound a warning siren denoting imminent danger. A few seconds later we saw and heard a V1 coming straight toward us. The gun crew started elevating the gun to fire at the V1. Just then an officer rushed out of the tent and shouted, ''"Don't fire at the goddamned thing – let it go over and hit some other poor sons of bitches – get in the ditch and take those boys with you."'' As we dived into the ditch, the V1's engine cut out ...|author=David Fisher (Hampton Grammar schoolboy)|source=June 1944 In 1944
V1 flying bombs and later
V2 rockets either passed over or landed in or near Hampton (their distinctive noises recorded in residents' diaries). On 19 June 1944 two V1 bombs landed in Hampton, one near
Hampton Grammar School (breaking two panes of glass), the other falling into a reservoir at the
Hampton Water Treatment Works blowing out the windows of the nearby Grange building. On 7 January 1945, a V2 rocket was heard to pass over Hampton and land in
Teddington.
VE Day celebrations were held in
Carlisle Park, with dancing from 8 to 11 pm; a drumhead service was held on Sunday 9 June, and children's events on 10 June, culminating with fireworks.
Post-war Hampton Regeneration Post-war
austerity and recovery meant construction activity in Hampton focussed on the immediate needs of house rebuilding and repair, with construction of new roads and housing not returning to pre-war levels until the mid-1950s. The 1970s and 1980s saw the demolition and regeneration of significant parts of Hampton, including land occupied by the nurseries, and derelict properties along the riverfront. The Hampton nurseries had begun to face competition in the 1960s from overseas and domestic produce sourced using refrigeration,
air freight and cheaper labour, and by the 1970s had become uncompetitive and increasingly derelict. After a lengthy planning process, work to develop the area into the Nurserylands Housing estate began in 1980, with 48 new roads built by 1989. The
Sainsbury's 'superstore' built on the site of the St Clare's nursery in 1989-90 was at the time the largest built by Sainsbury's in the UK. The population of Hampton North / Hampton Nursery rose from 3,977 to 6,426 between the
1981 and
1991 Censuses. During the 1970s several historic Thames Street properties backing onto the river became derelict, partly due to the planning blight associated with proposals to construct an elevated road along the riverside, and were successively demolished during the 1980s.
Spring Grove, constructed in the 1760s by the Clerk of Works at
Hampton Court Palace on the site of the original conduit house supplying the palace, was demolished in 1981, having fallen into disrepair and despite repeated proposals for restoration.
St Albans, an imposing
Restoration-era riverside property on Hampton Court Road, had been bequeathed to the Borough of Twickenham upon the death of the owner in 1961, but inaction on the part of the Council saw the property fall into disrepair and become unstable, and the property was demolished in February 1972. The gardens of St Albans are retained as
St Albans Riverside. Serial killer
Levi Bellfield murdered
Marsha McDonnell near her home in Hampton on 4 February 2003. The population of Hampton in the
2021 Census was recorded as 27,307, with 77.4% recording the United Kingdom as their country of birth. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, 52% of Hampton residents in employment recorded in the 2021 Census that they worked mainly from home, compared to 32% for England, reflecting Hampton's status as a commuter suburb. == Hampton and the River Thames ==