Laleham

Laleham is a village on the River Thames, in the borough of Spelthorne, about 17 mile (27 km) west of central London, England. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, it was transferred to Surrey in 1965. Laleham is downriver from Staines upon Thames and upriver from Chertsey. The north of the area has a number of sports fields, including the Staines and Laleham Sports Ground, and two family pubs, one each on the Laleham and Ashford Roads. Laleham Park, by the River Thames, is south of the village. Laleham is just over 3 mile (5 km) from three motorway junctions. The nearest railway station is , 1.5 mile (2 km) north, on the Waterloo to Reading Line. Two Surrey County Council bus routes serve the village. The poet Matthew Arnold (1822–88) lived here, dividing his time between Laleham and Rugby School.

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. 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. 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 mile (2 km) east–west. In 1951 the civil parish had a population of 3166. On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished. Today, Laleham has a Church of England primary school, an archery club and Burway Rowing Club.

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 was Laleham House or Laleham Manor House from the medieval period until 1928, the sole manor in the parish and taking in on the opposite bank of the river let out to agricultural tenants — Laleham Burway after a medieval grant from and dispute with Chertsey Abbey. Designed by J. B. Papworth, the house was wholly rebuilt in 1803–06 as the British country seat of The 2nd Earl of Lucan, an Anglo Irish peer, and altered, employing Papworth again, in the 1820s and 1830s. It is a Grade II* listed building, the middle classification. Its private demesne (park) spanned , much of which is a public amenity, with riverside refreshments, playgrounds, football areas, fishing, camping and a cross country circuit. The house is neoclassical with a Doric portico. Inside are marble floors and columns, a semi circular staircase and a cupola. Maria II of Portugal stayed here for the English part of her tour of three European courts due to Miguel of Portugal's 1826–1834 insurrection. It was for some decades let to the Catholic Church in the early 20th century, acquiring its Abbey status as a Nunnery. The house was divided into apartments in 1981. In 1803 Richard Bingham, 2nd Earl of Lucan bought the manor from William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale.