Upper Halliford

Etymology

Halliford derives from a ford on the River Ash where a holy man lived during Anglo-Saxon times and performed miracles; the name Holy Ford eventually evolved into Halliford.

Early history

Throughout its early history Halliford Manor's land was divided; in the Sunbury Charter of 962 AD the Anglo-Saxons fixed Sunbury on Thames's parish boundaries along the River Ash and then far to the west, by a north-south stream/ditch by the Queen Mary Reservoir (built 1925–31). However a Halliford Manor House and demesne are recorded as being in Shepperton where two contenders to the original medieval house exist near the River Thames. Upper Halliford was always part of the parish of Sunbury on Thames, in which its modern manor, Halliford Manor leaves a trace, centred immediately north-east of the village centre. Charlton is mentioned by the Domesday Book of 1086 and Halliford in 962, though no reference has been found to the hamlet of Upper Halliford before 1274. In terms of the feudal system, Upper Halliford was in the wider Spelthorne Hundred until hundreds became redundant with the formation of rural districts and urban district councils and until 1 April 1965 was in the now historic and ceremonial county of Middlesex

In the 14th century a windmill stood at Upper Halliford, later to be replaced by a windmill at Lower Halliford (now generally considered part of Shepperton).

Kempton, Sunbury, Halliford and later Upper Halliford all formed the nucleus of a medieval manor, except for Upper Halliford which was probably the lesser of the two Halliford hamlets within Halliford manor formed a narrow strip running back from the River Thames over the open fields to the common land to the north. Also a common meadow lay by the river in the south and southeast of Upper Halliford.

Upper Halliford Road and Windmill Road gained in importance after Walton Bridge was built in 1750. Gaston Bridge over the Ash in Upper Halliford, which had been in existence at least since the 15th century, was rebuilt at the same time.

Upper Halliford and Charlton did not share in the 18th-century popularity of the riverside and contained little but cottages and farmhouses. Several houses around the green at Upper Halliford survive from the early 19th century, while those called Halliford Manor and Home Farm Cottage close to the green are earlier; in the case of Halliford Manor its clock in its adjoining Clock House Cottage is dated 1744, though they have been much altered.

Post Industrial Revolution

Based on 1841 census statistics, Samuel Lewis (publisher) in his 1848 A topographical guide to England stated the population of the parish of Sunbury which included Charlton and Upper Halliford, an area of 2,580 acres (1,040 ha) was 1,828.

On the establishment of the postal system, the post town of Shepperton was chosen for Upper Halliford, which is from the perspective of the southern half is geographically closer than Sunbury-on-Thames.

In 1894 the urban district of Sunbury on Thames was founded, comprising just the parish of Sunbury on Thames including, as the ecclesiastical parish does, Upper Halliford and at that time also included Charlton.

A halt at Upper Halliford along the Victorian railway to Shepperton was not opened until 1944, to serve the factories of the Sunbury Industrial Estate in World War II and was still a halt until at least 1962.

Until the 1950s there was very little new building in the western half of Sunbury parish. Gravel-working had left many large pools around Upper Halliford and Charlton, and the rest of the land was open, with many market-gardens and glasshouses. A good deal of land still remained open in 1959 and gravel-working was continuing, but there was new building around Upper Halliford

Geography

Surrounded on all sides by a Green Buffer, Upper Halliford is situated 15.6 miles (25.1 km) southwest of London and 12.3 miles (19.8 km) NNE of the county town, Guildford with easy access to the River Thames 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south and Heathrow Airport centred 4.5 miles (7.2 km) to the north.

A bypass of the A244 cuts off a portion of the west of the village with a pedestrian crossing from meeting minor roads on each side, leaving the core of the village with far less traffic compared to the northern stretch. This stretch is made up of Upper Halliford Road: its west side has a residential estate, nurseries in front of a railway line, whereas its east side has Grange Farm mobile home village, farmhouse, residual farm, Upper Halliford (or Manor Park) recreation ground and nursery before the large road bridge at the border to Sunbury Common, over the Shepperton Branch Line and the M3 motorway.

In 2001 Halliford gave a population figure of 3,011.

Elevations, Soil and Geology

Elevations range between 12m AOD which applies for most of the village, with a maximum of 12.4m excluding bridge in the west, to 10.8m AOD in the residential road closest to one of the River Colne's many distribuaries, the River Ash.

In regards to geology, the former flood plain and river course has shaped the almost flat former and present flood plain landscape from just north Heathrow Airport, as far west as Windsor, Berkshire to Brentford, Greater London with free draining alluvium and organic deposits forming a wide area of soil including Spelthorne, underlaid deeper with a mixture of gravel aquifers and London Clay which gives rise to two types of soil of free and poor drainage across all of the lower-lying parts of the London Basin.

Soil across Spelthorne is categorised as "free draining slightly acid and loamy".

Upper Halliford Green and the Upper Halliford Conservation Area

Much of the bypassed Upper Halliford Road area including the main section of its green is a conservation area. This has recognised since 1993 the large number of buildings and structures pre-dating 1900 and the historic road pattern centred on the village green. In this area are seven buildings dating to before 1800. Frith Cottage, the listed building north of The Goat gains its name from former resident, painter William Powell Frith FRA who lived there for a time.

Care Home

A large residential care home was opened next to The Goat in the early part of the 21st century.

Garden Centre

The village has a large garden centre with rose nursery, restaurant and café, deli food hall and craft department, rebuilt in a glass design in 2011, Squires,

The Goat

The Goat is a pre-1800 built public house that is the only public house (as well as carvery and other restaurant) in the village centre.

Shopping parade

A convenience shopping parade provides services including a small post office, hairdressers, a café and dry cleaning.

Other

The Baptist church pictured above, opposite the green is also within the bypassed section of main through road and near the flats and shops at the centre of the village. Another pub once known as The Bugle is beside the combined single carriageway to the north and by the village park below.

Sport and park

A large recreation ground co-exists with Halliford Park to the north of the main village and is close to Grange Farm Estate, a neatly laid-out mobile home estate, which has football, flowers, trees and paths.

Demography and housing

The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%.

Transport

Junction 1 of the M3 motorway is 1.2 miles (1.9 km) northeast along a choice of routes and the M25 motorway is a few mile further along that motorway at Junction 2 "the Chertsey Interchange".

Upper Halliford railway station provides a half-hourly service to London Waterloo station for which the journey time is 47–52 minutes and to Shepperton. Walton on Thames railway station has more frequent services easily accessible by bus from the south of the village which provides the South West Main Line and a 20 minute service to London Waterloo station. In both cases there is only one train service provider, South West Trains.