| Langley | |
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Langley
Langley shown within Berkshire |
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| OS grid reference | TQ005795 |
|---|---|
| Unitary authority | Slough |
| Ceremonial county | Berkshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SLOUGH |
| Postcode district | SL3 |
| Dialling code | 01753 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Slough |
| Website | http://www.langleyvillage.co.uk/ |
| List of places: UK • England • Berkshire | |
Langley (also known as Langley Marish) is a large village in the unitary authority of Slough, Berkshire in South East England. It is situated 2 miles (3 km) east of central Slough, and 20 miles (32 km) west of London. Langley was transferred from Buckinghamshire to Berkshire in 1974.
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The place-name Langley derives from two Middle English words: Lang (meaning Long) and Leah (meaning wood or clearing). Historically, Langley was made up of a number of clearings, known as: George Green, Horsemoor Green, Middle Green, Sawyers Green and Shreding Green. These became the sites of housing, which merged into one large village centred on the church in St Mary's Road. The former clearings are remembered in the names of streets or smaller green fields.
The appended Marish or Maries commemorates Christiana de Marecis, who held the manor for a short time in the reign of Edward I.[1]
The parish church of St Mary the Virgin is in the parish of Langley Marish in the diocese of Oxford. The church is a Grade I listed building[2] and houses the Kedermister Library, given by Sir John Kedermister (or Kederminster), who also endowed the surviving almshouses of 1617 in the village. Other surviving almshouses include the Seymour Almshouses (1679–1688), given by Sir Edward Seymour who was a Speaker of the House of Commons, and those founded in 1839 by William Wild in Horsemoor Green.
Sir John Kedermister's house, Langley Park (bought by Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough) was demolished and rebuilt to designs by Stiff Leadbetter (1756), and completed in the year of his death, 1758.[3]
Langley Hall was built in the 17th century, but the façade was added in the 18th. In the early part of the 20th century it housed a preparatory school for boys and was known as Langley Place.[4] The Hall then served as the Actor's Orphanage,[5] and was used by RAF Bomber Command during World War II, then by the Road Research Laboratory, Langley College and East Berkshire College.[4]
Langley Hall was purchased by the government in June 2011 to become one of the country's first Free Schools. Langley Hall Primary Academy opened in September 2011 for children aged 4 to 11. The school was refurbished to educate 364 local children and its motto is Ad Vitam Paramus which means ' We are Preparing for Life'. The school was officially opened on 10 November 2011 by Sir Christopher Ball and the school's founders were Mrs Jane Sculpher and Mrs Sally Eaton.
The Langley Academy, a secondary school opened in 2008, was designed by architects Foster and Partners, led by the renowned Norman Foster.
The Hawker Aircraft Company bought Parlaunt Farm at Langley in 1938 and built a major factory and airfield there. Many aircraft were manufactured there and on the Slough Trading Estate during World War II, including the Hawker Hurricane, Tempest and Sea Fury. The final Hurricane built (a MkIIC serialled PZ865, which still flies today with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight) was completed here on 15 September 1944 and named 'Last of The Many' in a special ceremony.
The Hawker Tornado (1940), Typhoon (1940), Tempest (1942), Fury (1944), Sea Fury (1945), and the General Aircraft Hamilcar X tank-carrying glider (1945) all made their first flights from Langley. Postwar, the aerodrome was used by Airwork Ltd and British South American Airways for aircraft maintenance work.
The Hawker factory closed in 1958. Production and staff were transferred to Dunsfold Aerodrome and Kingston-on-Thames (now Kingston upon Thames) in Surrey. Little of the factory or airfield remain today. The area's aviation past is remembered in street-names such as Spitfire Close and Hurricane Way.
The Ford Motor Company opened a commercial vehicle component factory at Langley Airfield in 1949, and then bought the entire ex-Hawker site in 1959. The former aircraft factory was re-used for commercial vehicle manufacture and the Ford Transit was built here until production was transferred to Swaythling, Southampton, and later the Ford Cargo. The Langley factory became part of Iveco in 1986 but finally closed in September 1997. Demolished a year later by Gregory Demolition, the redeveloped site is now the site of housing, offices and warehousing (including Royal Mail's International Mail Centre, which services nearby Heathrow Airport).
Langley Carnival, a day of fun and entertainment, is held annually on the second Saturday in July at the Langley Park Memorial Recreation Ground.
The Cable Corporation, based at Langley, was the first cable company in the world to offer voice, video and data services to business and residential users.
The first volume of writer Charles Tyrie's autobiography is titled The Langley Boy; Tyrie grew up in Langley in the 1940s and 1950s. ISBN 1425964036 / ISBN 978-1425964030
Langley railway station, which includes a Brunel period building, is on the Great Western Main Line to London Paddington. The train operator for this route is First Great Western; there is generally a half-hourly service in each direction.
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