Yesterday I went to Hanworth, which is a London suburb.
a) It's in the borough of Hounslow. b) It's southeast of Feltham and southwest of Twickenham. c) It's only a mile away from Surrey. d) It's not to be confused with Hampton (which is to the southeast) nor with Hanwell, Hatton or Heston (which are further away). e) It doesn't have a station, which may be why you're struggling to place it.
Here are five things Hanworth had.
1) A moated manor house owned by Henry VIII, then Anne Boleyn, then Katherine Parr. Elizabeth I lived here for a while as a child. 2) A 13th century church called St George's, where Henry VIII and Elizabeth I are known to have worshipped. 3) A big house called Hanworth Park House. 4) An aerodrome on the site of the Hanworth Park estate, also known as London Air Park, with hangars for the building of aeroplanes. 5) A few country lanes meeting by the Brown Bear pub.
Here's what those things are now.
1) The manor house burnt down in 1797 but the stable block survives as flats called Tudor Court. The moat is partly filled in and hidden within a housing estate. I tried hunting for it but was batted back by hedges and signs saying private so don't bother coming. The streets on the estate are called Seymour Gardens, Elizabeth Way and Moat Side. I met the postie. There ought to be a footpath through to the local off licence but the original planners didn't want the hoi polloi getting in so there isn't. 2) St George's was completely rebuilt in 1812 so parishioners aren't really worshipping where Henry and Elizabeth did. The spire is a local landmark. Outside is a rather nice half shell hollow yew tree. 3)Hanworth Park House has been derelict since the old people's home it turned into closed in 1992. It's entirely surrounded by trees so can't really be seen. A charitable group of Friends are keen to restore the house to something usefully communal, but thus far it's all good intentions and no realistic outcome. 4) The aerodrome became Hanworth Park which is a huge open space with woody bits, a stream and a lot of flat grass. It's looking a bit parched at the moment. In one corner is a Model Aircraft flying zone which is a nice nod back. Feltham Rugby Club is based in the park as is Hanworth's leisure centre/library. One of the teachers at the local academy asked me to throw their rounders ball back over the fence. 5) The lane to Sunbury got turned into a massive dual carriageway feeding down to the start of the M3. It scythed through Hanworth in a stripe of concrete destruction and rises up on a mighty embankment at the Bear Road flyover. Houses on the Oriel estate have been built with no rear windows to block out the noise.
Hanworth's not what it was.
coming later: a radio infographic coming when we reach halfway through the year: a quiz
