Cranford, Hounslow/Hillingdon
A Heathrow satellite community, lying between Hounslow and Hayes
Cranford’s claustrophobic Round House, in which local miscreants were once locked up for the night
An early Saxon settlement on what became known as Hounslow Heath, the manor of Cranforde is mentioned in Domesday Book and was later described as the prettiest village in Middlesex. By 1274 there was a bridge carrying the Bath Road over the River Crane, but the village remained a quiet backwater until the early 20th century – even showing a slight decline in the late 19th century as the railway took away coaching traffic.
Cranford Park, once the grounds of Cranford House, lies beside the River Crane, immediately south of the M4. Cranford House was the seat of the Countess Berkeley, who so feared accusations of perjury regarding the claimed date of her marriage that she had an escape tunnel constructed, which still runs under the park. The stables block is the most complete part of the remaining buildings of the house. Also in the park, St Dunstan’s church has a 15th-century tower and 18th-century nave. In the churchyard is a memorial dedicated to the comedian Tony Hancock.
Across the motorway, in a small extension of the park, are the remains of a moat marking the site of the manor house of Cranford-le-Mote, which was demolished in 1780. The High Street still has some 17th- and 18th-century buildings, and the Round House, in which petty criminals used to be locked up overnight.
Half of Cranford’s residents are of Asian origin and the dominant faiths are Sikhism, Islam and Hinduism. There is also a small Somali community. Heathrow Airport has brought significant commercial development to the area.
