Editing Colnbrook

{{Short description|Village in Berkshire, England}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{infobox UK place
| official_name            = Colnbrook
| country                  = England
| region                   = South East England
| static_image_name        = Colnbrook bridge over water.jpg
| static_image_caption     = Bridge over [[Colne Brook]] in the village of Colnbrook
| population               = 6,157
| os_grid_reference        = SU945805
| label_position           = left
| post_town                = SLOUGH
| postcode_area            = SL
| postcode_district        = SL3
| dial_code                = 01753
| constituency_westminster = [[Windsor (UK Parliament constituency)|Windsor]]
| civil_parish             = [[Colnbrook with Poyle]]
| unitary_england          = [[Borough of Slough|Slough]]
| lieutenancy_england      = [[Berkshire]]
| coordinates              = {{coord|51.4835|-0.5221|display=inline,title}}
}}
'''Colnbrook''' is a village in the [[Borough of Slough|Slough]] district in [[Berkshire]], England. It lies within the [[historic counties of England|historic boundaries]] of [[Buckinghamshire]], and straddles two [[distributaries]] of the [[River Colne, Hertfordshire|Colne]], the [[Colne Brook]] and [[Wraysbury River]]. These two streams have their confluence just to the southeast of the village. Colnbrook is centred {{convert|3|mi|km}} southeast of the [[Slough]] town centre, {{convert|4|mi|km}} east of [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]], and {{convert|19|mi|km}} west of central London.

Colnbrook forms the greater part of the [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] of [[Colnbrook with Poyle]] (see also [[Poyle]]). Junctions of the [[M4 motorway|M4]] and [[M25 motorway|M25]] are near the village.  To the east is [[Longford, London|Longford]], London, and [[Bedfont]] and [[Stanwell]] which abut the south of London [[Heathrow Airport]].

Colnbrook with Poyle is a suburban parish with significant industrial units, logistical premises and open land.  The parish was created on 1 April 1995 as an amalgamation of Colnbrook from [[Iver]] to the north and the smaller Poyle from an unparished area of [[Stanwell]] to the south-east. At the 2011 census the whole civil parish had a population of 6,157 living in 2,533 homes.<ref name=ons>{{Cite web |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/ |title=2011 Census |access-date=17 August 2013 |archive-date=11 February 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030211201309/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Colnbrook Village Ostrich Inn.jpg|thumb|The Ostrich Inn, High Street]]
Mentioned in [[William I of England|William the Conqueror's]] [[Domesday Book]], Colnbrook is on the [[Colne Brook]], a tributary of the [[River Colne, Hertfordshire|River Colne]], hence ''Colnbrook''.<ref name="GYLL">''History of the Parish of [[Wraysbury]], [[Ankerwycke Priory]], and [[Magna Carta Island|Magna Charta Island]]; with the History of [[Horton, Berkshire|Horton]], and the town of Colnbrook, Bucks.'', G. W. J. Gyll, 1862, London: [[H. G. Bohn]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=qMcHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA267#PPA267,M1 Online version at Google Books] [http://worldcat.org/oclc/5001532 OCLC: 5001532]</ref> [[Coaching inn]]s were the village's main industry.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} In 1106, the first one was founded by Milo Crispin, named ''the Hospice'' (subsequently the 'Ostrich', probably by way of corruption of the original name), the third oldest in England.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

When [[Elizabeth I|Princess Elizabeth]] was brought from [[Woodstock Palace]] to [[Hampton Court]] in April 1555, she spent a night at ''The George''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pollard |first1=Albert Frederick |last2=Seccombe |first2=Thomas |title=Tudor tracts, 1532-1588 |date=1903|publisher=New York, E. P. Dutton and co. |page=360 |url=https://archive.org/details/tudortracts1532100pollrich |access-date=26 May 2025}}</ref> By 1577, Colnbrook had no fewer than ten [[coaching inn]]s.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Colnbrook's High Street was on the main London to [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] road and turn off point for Windsor and was used as a resting point for travellers.

[[File:St Thomas, Colnbrook, late April 2019 - geograph.org.uk - 6132440.jpg|thumb|St Thomas's Church]]
In [[Thomas Deloney]]'s fictional ''Pleasant History of Thomas of Reading'' (c.&nbsp;1598), Jarman, the landlord of the Crane Inn<!-- Signe of the Crane in the original story; later tradition has it as the Ostrich; please discuss on the talk page before changing --> during the reign of [[Henry I of England|Henry I]], installed a large trap door under the bed in the best bedroom located immediately above the inn's kitchen. The bed was fixed to the trap door and the mattress securely attached to the bedstead, so that when two retaining iron pins were removed from below in the small hours of the morning, the sleeping guest was neatly decanted into a boiling cauldron. In this way, more than sixty of his richer guests were murdered silently and with no bloodshed. Their bodies were then disposed of in the River Colne. The murder of a wealthy clothier, Thomas Cole of Reading, proved to be Jarman's undoing in that he failed to get rid of Cole's horse, leading to his confessing. The story ends with Jarman and his wife being hanged for robbery and murder, and the river and town being named "Cole" and "Colebrooke" respectively after Thomas Cole.<ref>{{cite book | first=Thomas | last=Deloney | author-link=Thomas Deloney | chapter=Chapter 11 | title=Thomas of Reading: or, The Sixe Worthie Yeomen of the West | publisher=Robert Bird | publication-place=London | edition=6 | year=1632 | chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/thomasofreadingo00delo/page/n89 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first1=John | last1=Ayto | first2=Ian | last2=Crofton | section=Thomas of Reading | title=Brewers Britain and Ireland | publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson | year=2005 | section-url=https://archive.org/details/brewersbritainir0000unse/page/914 | page=914 }}</ref> According to local tradition, this inn was the Ostrich Inn.<ref name="PAGE">[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42554 ''The hundred of Stoke: Colnbrook, A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 3.''] William Page (editor), 1925, pp. 246-249.</ref><ref>''Sweet Thames Run Softly'' – [[Robert Gibbings]]</ref><ref>[http://www.hornpipe.com/mystclas/myscl8.pdf ''How Thomas of Reading was Murdered'' – Thomas Deloney]</ref> The inn is reportedly haunted and has been subject to investigations by the Sussex Paranormal Research Group and ''[[Most Haunted]]''.<ref>[http://www.sprg.co.uk/ostrich07.htm Sussex Paranormal Research Group] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328025749/http://www.sprg.co.uk/ostrich07.htm |date=28 March 2010 }}</ref> On an episode of ''[[Ghosthunters International]]'' that aired on 21 July 2010, it is mentioned that the Jarman murders at the Ostrich Inn were the inspiration for the story of [[Sweeney Todd]].

Colnbrook is also the place where Richard Cox (a retired brewer), in 1825, first grafted the [[Cox's Orange Pippin]] apple at his orchard named ''The Lawns''.<ref name=robbins>{{cite book|last=Robbins|first=Michael|title=Middlesex|year=1953|publisher=Phillimore|location=Chichester|isbn=9781860772696|pages=60–66}}</ref>

A traditional [[coaching inn|coaching]] history has led to no fewer than four inns or [[public house]]s remaining, three in Colnbrook, one in Poyle.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.colnbrookwithpoyleparishcouncil.org.uk/index.php |title=Colnbrook with Poyle Civil Parish Council |access-date=18 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051219222411/http://www.colnbrookwithpoyleparishcouncil.org.uk/index.php |archive-date=19 December 2005 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

In August 1902, a clock was installed by public subscription to celebrate the [[Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra]], which stood until the building it was attached to was demolished in 1935. The clock was kept in storage for a number of years while several attempts to reinstall it elsewhere were unsuccessful, and it is currently kept inside The Ostrich Inn. In 2012, a new free-standing clock was installed in front of Ye Old George Inn at the end of the High Street to commemorate the [[Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II]]. The new clock was unveiled on 29 June 2012 in a ceremony attended by [[Queen Camilla|Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.colnbrookwithpoyle-pc.gov.uk/Jubilee_Clock_27128.aspx |title=Jubilee Clock |date=2012 |website=colnbrookwithpoyle-pc.gov.uk |access-date=23 December 2024}}</ref>

===Administrative history===
Colnbrook has a complicated administrative history.  The village was historically divided by the Colne Brook between the [[ancient parish]] of [[Stanwell]] in [[Middlesex]] in the east, and the parishes of [[Horton, Berkshire|Horton]] and [[Langley Marish]] in Buckinghamshire in the west.  The parish [[vestry|vestries]] provided traditional poor relief and road maintenance but lay in the 19th century in different [[Poor Law Union]]s.  Stanwell became part of [[Staines Rural District]] in 1894 and [[Staines Urban District]] in 1930.<ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10020232 Vision of Britain: Stanwell AP/CP]</ref> The Buckinghamshire parishes joined [[Eton Rural District]] in 1894.<ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10135850/relationships Vision of Britain: Eton RD]</ref>

In 1965 the eastern part of Colnbrook was transferred to [[Surrey]] with the rest of Staines Urban District.  In 1974 Staines Urban District was absorbed into the new [[borough of Spelthorne]].<ref name="Hunter 1995 11">{{cite book |last=Hunter |first=Judith |title=A History of Berkshire |year=1995 |publisher=Phillimore |location=Chichester |isbn=0-85033-729-1 |page=11 }}</ref> In 1974 most of the parish of Horton was transferred to the new borough of [[Windsor and Maidenhead]] in Berkshire, but the western part of Colnbrook remained in Buckinghamshire and was added to the parish of [[Iver]], in the [[South Bucks]] district.  Colnbrook was finally united on 1 April 1995, when the present combined parish of Colnbrook with Poyle was formed and added to the borough of Slough in [[Berkshire]].  That was the county's last boundary change before [[Berkshire County Council]] was abolished to be replaced by six [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authorities]].<ref name="Hunter 1995 11"/> When the county council was abolished in April 1998 the borough became more important for local government; however a Berkshire Fire and Rescue service persists, as do ceremonial roles, judicial roles and sporting competitions.

==Geography==
Colnbrook (with Poyle) is at the eastern end of the borough of Slough and is directly west of the [[M25 motorway]] which separates it from [[Heathrow Airport]] in the [[London Borough of Hillingdon]] in Greater London and the [[borough of Spelthorne]] in Surrey. Elevations vary between 22 and 20m [[Above Ordnance Datum]] with the [[River Thames|Thames]] at 17m AOD {{convert|3|mi}} south at [[Staines upon Thames|Staines]] which is where the natural rivers generally drain toward. The river is unusual for its [[Colne Valley regional park|regional park (and walk)]] and seven mouths ([[distributary|distributaries]]).

==Economy==
[[File:Ye Olde George Inn, Colnbrook - geograph.org.uk - 5908644.jpg|thumb|Ye Old George Inn behind the [[Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Jubilee]] Clock erected in 2012]]
The town's industrial estates are important in fields such as transportation, food and drinks manufacture, warehousing and distribution and despite almost all being in [[Poyle]], landlords have mostly preferred to let premises under the name '''Colnbrook''' – but not all, such as [[Coca-Cola]].<ref>[http://www.carehome.co.uk/supplier.cfm/searchazref/65432196804 Example industrial estate business address listing in the parish] (Poyle)</ref> Beside the [[Greater London]] boundary and a historic part of [[Stanwell]] which forms the southern part of London [[Heathrow Airport]], it is also equidistant between nearby accessible junctions of the [[M4 motorway|M4]] and [[M25 motorway|M25]] and a suburban parish with significant industrial/logistical buildings and open land.<ref name=os>[http://getamap.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getamap/frames.htm?mapAction=gaz&gazName=g&gazString=TQ0377 Grid square map] [[Ordnance survey]] website</ref>

==Politics==
Colnbrook is in the [[Windsor (UK Parliament constituency)|Windsor]] constituency and its Member of Parliament is [[Jack Rankin]] ([[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]).

==Demography==
At the 2011 census, the whole civil parish had a population of 6,157 living in 2,533 homes, giving a density of 10.9 people per hectare (approximately a quarter of the density of the borough as a whole and just under one half of the average for England).<ref name=ons/>

==Transport==
[[File:End of line, Colnbrook - geograph.org.uk - 5424143.jpg|thumb|Former Colnbrook Station located in Poyle, closed in 1965]]
Colnbrook was before the [[M4 motorway|M4]] along the Roman-origin [[A4 road (Great Britain)|A4 (previously the Bath road)]] as well as to [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]] or [[Maidenhead]] by way of [[Slough]], and had been a convenient halting-place for travellers before the introduction of railways.<ref name="PAGE"/>

Local bus services are operated by [[Metroline]] who run services on the [[London Buses route 81|81]] from the main village to [[Hounslow]] and [[First Berkshire & The Thames Valley]] who run the remainder of the services.

===Abandoned railway===
{{main|Staines and West Drayton Railway}}
Colnbrook was served by a railway line that ran to [[West Drayton railway station|West Drayton]], with a [[Colnbrook railway station|railway station]] serving the village until it was closed in 1965 under the [[Beeching Axe]]. The railway line formerly continued to also to [[Staines West railway station|Staines-upon-Thames]].

==Nearest places==
{{Adjacent communities
<!-- This template is for immediately adjacent places only -->
 | Centre    = Colnbrook<ref>{{cite web |title=OS Maps: online mapping and walking, running and cycling routes |url=https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/51.48015,-0.52077,14 |website=osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk |access-date=6 June 2021}}</ref>
 | East      = [[Poyle]]
 | South     = [[Horton, Berkshire|Horton]]
 | West      = [[Brands Hill]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.colnbrookwithpoyle-pc.gov.uk/ Colnbrook with Poyle Parish Council website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121217032158/http://www.colnbrook.info/ Colnbrook Views ''- news and discussion portal for residents of Colnbrook with Poyle'']
* [http://www.colnbrook.com Colnbrook Village Website ''- no longer updated'']
* http://www.colnbrookbaptistchapel.co.uk
*{{Exploring Surrey's Past |place=Colnbrook |access-date=31 May 2017 |fewer-links=yes}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Slough suburbs}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Berkshire]]
[[Category:Slough]]