Фелтем: История и современность западного Лондона

Suburb of West London

Feltham ('/f//ɛ//l//t//əm/) is a town in West London, England, 13 mile (21 km) from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party MPs since 1992. In 2011, the population of the combined census area of Feltham, Bedfont and Hanworth was 63,368. The economy of the town was largely agrarian until the early twentieth century, when it was transformed by the expansion of the London urban area. Most of the original High Street was demolished in the 1960s and 1970s. Further redevelopment in the early 2000s created the current shopping centre, which opened in 2006. Heathrow Airport is to the north west of the town and is a major centre of employment for local residents. Feltham railway station is on the Waterloo to Reading line, between Twickenham and Staines upon Thames.

Feltham formed an ancient parish in the Spelthorne hundred of Middlesex. The Domesday Book records 21 households and an annual value of six pounds sterling; it was held as lord and tenant in chief by Robert, Count of Mortain. A large area of ten cultivated ploughlands is recorded. Following Mortain's son's forfeit of lands (William's rebellion triggering the attainder), the land was granted to the Redvers/de Ripariis/Rivers family. The heir in that family, Hubert de Burgh ('Chief Justiciar and Earl of Kent') swapped Feltham and Kempton with Henry III for his manors of Aylsham in Norfolk and Westhall in Suffolk. General Roy is commemorated by a local pub. The MOD Defence Geographic Centre maintains a base in Feltham, announced for disposal in the 2015–2020 Parliament. In 1831, Feltham occupied an area of , stretching into Hounslow Heath and had a population of 924. The Waterloo to Reading Line established a station here from its construction in 1848. From 1894 to 1904 the Felham parish was included in the Staines Rural District. In 1932 the parishes of Hanworth and East Bedfont were also transferred from the Staines district to Feltham Urban District. From the 1860s until late 1920s Feltham was also home to the "Cabbage King", A. W. Smith. Smith was considered one of the most successful market gardeners of the time, and his "Glass City" of greenhouses along Feltham's High street was unmatched. It has a border with Ashford and the neighbouring village of East Bedfont. Famous former resident Freddie Mercury (born Farokh Bulsara in Zanzibar, 1946–1991) of rock band Queen was commemorated by a permanent, Hollywood style granite star in Feltham's town centre piazza, unveiled on 24 November 2009 (the eighteenth anniversary of Mercury's death) by Queen guitarist Brian May, alongside Freddie's mother, Jer Bulsara, and his sister. In 2011, owing to neglect and weather damage, Hounslow Council removed the memorial, resolving to substitute a smaller one elsewhere.

The main economic activity of the Feltham area was market gardening until well into the twentieth century. A popular variety of pea known as the Feltham First is so named for being first grown in the town. The market gardens were largely replaced with light industry, gravel and aggregate extraction, and new housing from the 1930s onwards. Feltham has been associated with land and air transport for more than a century. In what is now the Leisure West entertainment complex of various buildings including cinema, bowling alley and restaurants, the Feltham tramcar was once manufactured and ran along the tracks of many municipal operators, though never in Feltham itself. In the same area of the town, aircraft manufacture was an important industry, particularly in the war years. Feltham was in the early and mid 20th century home to Britain's second largest railway marshalling yard which was geared towards freight, and was a target for German air force bombs in World War II. The motor car manufacturer Aston Martin had its main factory in Feltham between 1926 (when it bought the former Whitehead Aircraft factory) and 1963. The site is now occupied by part of Leisure West. A former company based in Feltham from 1911 until the closure of its factory in the 1980s was Minimax Limited, manufacturers of fire extinguishers. The largest local employer is Heathrow Airport. Associated businesses conglomerate in the business parks of the TW14 (Bedfont and Feltham North) part of the post town particularly in logistics and couriers who store and carry the air freight of much of Britain. However, accessibility of parts of Central London and a good local road network have also made Feltham a base for a number of high tech companies, including DHL and Arqiva. The latter is notable in having a telecommunications port (teleport) in Feltham which provides transmission and distribution facilities for TV companies including Sky and Channel 5.

Feltham has in its land use considerably more open spaces than average in (Greater) London; It lasted five years before the nuns initiated a series of moves which would see them relocate to Curzon Park Abbey in Chester in 1988. The tall spire fronting tower of an additional church first built 1880–1898, to St Catherine, opposite the railway station forms the façade of St Catherine's House, a London Borough of Hounslow Housing office and temporary housing accommodation. As of August 2014, St Catherine's House is now closed because the council have moved out and relocated elsewhere. The Roman Catholic church of Saint Lawrence, with its attendant primary school, faces onto Feltham Green.

Nearby Hatton Cross, which is on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line provides a Central London and Heathrow rail option to Feltham, and is north of the town centre. Bus routes 90, 117, 235, 285, 490, H25 and H26 also run frequent services through the town, as well as bus route 116 through Feltham North.

The town is served by Feltham railway station on the Waterloo to Reading Line, Two branch line services operate on the line here, to Windsor and Weybridge.

The town has London Buses services to Kingston upon Thames, Richmond, Brentford, Heathrow, Staines upon Thames, Northolt, Isleworth and Sunbury on Thames. Intervening places such as Hayes, Hounslow, Hampton Court/Hampton, Twickenham and Ashford are called at. Long distance express services are offered predominantly from various sides of Heathrow to places such as Slough, Reading, Berkshire and Croydon, the latter under the London Buses pricing and operational scheme. Brian May, also of rock band Queen, once lived in Feltham. Vic Briggs, guitarist with The Animals, was born in Feltham and grew up in Twickenham. Mo Farah, long distance runner, went to Victoria Junior School and later Feltham Community College, also running for Feltham athletics club. Andrew Hall, hedge fund manager. Thomas Denman (1733–1815), midwifery pioneer, lived in Feltham. Film writer and director Edmund Goulding (1891–1959) was born in Feltham. Buster Lloyd Jones (1914–1980), veterinarian, was born in Feltham. Actor Derek Martin, who played Charlie Slater in EastEnders, lived in Feltham. Steven Caulker, professional footballer, born in Feltham.