Little Stanmore is a locality in the
London Borough of HarrowThe London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...
in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England.
Toponymy
Little Stanmore (parish) population
| 1881 |
862 |
| 1891 |
926 |
| 1901 |
1,069 |
| 1911 |
1,761 |
| 1921 |
2,015 |
| 1931 |
6,918 |
Absorbed by Harrow parish ►Harrow is an area in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, United Kingdom. It is a suburban area and is situated 12.2 miles northwest of Charing Cross...
|
| source: UK census |
Little Stanmore was named to distinguish it from
Great StanmoreStanmore is a suburban area of the London Borough of Harrow, in northwest London. It is situated northwest of Charing Cross. The area is home to Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, high.-Toponymy:...
, which is now known as Stanmore. The parish was also known as
Whitchurch.
WhitchurchWhitchurch can refer to:Towns in the United Kingdom:*Whitchurch, Shropshire*Whitchurch, HampshireVillages in the United Kingdom:*Whitchurch, Bristol*Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire*Whitchurch, Cardiff*Whitchurch, Devon...
is a common English place-name meaning 'white church', and probably referring to a church built of stone. The name has fallen out of use and is preserved in Whitechurch Gardens and Whitechurch Lane.
History
Little Stanmore formed an ancient parish in the
GoreGore was a hundred of the ancient county of Middlesex, England. It covered an area in the north of the county. According to it contained the following parishes and settlements*Edgware*Great Stanmore*Harrow on the Hill*Hendon*Kingsbury*Little Stanmore...
hundred of
MiddlesexMiddlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
. It was grouped for relief of the poor and sanitary provision into Hendon
Poor Law UnionA Poor Law Union was a unit used for local government in the United Kingdom from the 19th century. The administration of the Poor Law was the responsibility of parishes, which varied wildly in their size, populations, financial resources, rateable values and requirements...
in 1836 and Hendon
rural sanitary districtSanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1875 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures:*Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies...
in 1875. The parish became part of
Hendon Rural DistrictHendon was a rural district in Middlesex, England from 1894 to 1934.The rural district was established in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894, consisting of the following parishes:...
from 1894, and was abolished as a civil parish in 1934, becoming absorbed by Harrow Urban District. The population in 1901 was 1,069 and in 1931 it was 6,918.
St Lawrence Church
The medieval St Lawrence Church was reconstructed by
James Brydges, 1st Duke of ChandosJames Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, MP, PC was the first of fourteen children by Sir James Brydges, 3rd Baronet of Wilton Castle, Sheriff of Herefordshire, 8th Baron Chandos; and Elizabeth Barnard...
in the
baroqueThe Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style. The architect was John James, who also worked on the Duke of Chandos' nearby house called
CannonsCannons was a stately home in Little Stanmore, Middlesex built for James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos between 1713 and 1724 at a cost of £200,000 but which in 1747 was razed and its contents dispersed....
(which was demolished in 1747). It is possible that
James GibbsJames Gibbs was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Scotland, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England...
oversaw the finishing touches to the church when he replaced John James as the Duke's architect in 1715. The interior retains early eighteenth-century paintings by artists such as
Louis LaguerreLouis Laguerre , was a French decorative painter mainly working in England.Born in Versailles in 1663 and trained at the Paris Academy under Charles Le Brun, he came to England in 1683, where he first worked with Antonio Verrio, and then on his own...
and there is an
organThe organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
played by
HandelHANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
and restored in the 1990s to its original condition. In the churchyard is a tombstone to William Powell, supposedly "
The Harmonious BlacksmithThe Harmonious Blacksmith is the popular name of the final movement, Air and variations, of George Frideric Handel's Suite No. 5 in E major, HWV 430, for harpsichord...
" who inspired one of Handel's keyboard works.
External links
- http://www.achurchnearyou.com/st-lawrence-whitchurch/
- http://www.little-stanmore.org/