Benhilton

The Earl of Cornwall built stew (fish) ponds on the western boundary of his estate, and fish was an important part of the medieval diet. Fish weirs were used to trap fish in rivers, and were an important and often hotly disputed resource up to the 18th century. They were supposed to be licensed, but illegal weirs flourished and were a hazard to river traffic. There was at least one weir in the river by Isleworth with stakes at its upper end, and this gave its name to the modern Railshead Road where the Crane joins the Thames. In the Middle Ages the settlement at Twickenham was a cluster of houses in streets around St Mary’s Church and in narrow alleys nearby leading down to the river. Church Street was the principal way through Twickenham for travellers until the end of the 19th century when the present York Street was built. The name of Burgate was used for the area near the church in 1486. Although the nave of the present St Mary’s dates from 1713, when it was rebuilt after it collapsed, the ragstone church tower is medieval and may have formed part of an earlier fortification on the site.
An extract from from"Twickenham - A History & Celebration".

The local population in the Middle Ages made a living from agriculture, fishing, boat-building, and ferrying traffic up and down the river. There was even a local vineyard, which produced ‘two tuns and one pipe’ in 1297. This seems to have been planted with cherry-trees later. There is little detailed evidence on the number of people living at Twickenham during the Middle Ages but the manor of Isleworth, including Twickenham, seems to have expanded slowly during this period. In the 14th century there are accounts of crops of oats, wheat, and barley being grown locally, and local livestock included cows and sheep. The rolls also list a ploughman, a shepherd, a cowman, and a dairymaid in this period. By 1547 the people of Isleworth were said to number 400, and the figure relating to Twickenham apart from the rest of Isleworth Manor is estimated at 210. The River Thames has been an important means of transport since before the Romans arrived in England. As there was no bridge across the Thames from Twickenham on the Middlesex bank over to the Surrey bank until the 18th century, residents who wanted to cross to the opposite bank of the river did so by ferry. The first evidence of a ferry at Twickenham occurs in 1443.
An extract from from"Twickenham - A History & Celebration".

The Earl of Cornwall built stew (fish) ponds on the western boundary of his estate, and fish was an important part of the medieval diet. Fish weirs were used to trap fish in rivers, and were an important and often hotly disputed resource up to the 18th century. They were supposed to be licensed, but illegal weirs flourished and were a hazard to river traffic. There was at least one weir in the river by Isleworth with stakes at its upper end, and this gave its name to the modern Railshead Road where the Crane joins the Thames. In the Middle Ages the settlement at Twickenham was a cluster of houses in streets around St Mary’s Church and in narrow alleys nearby leading down to the river. Church Street was the principal way through Twickenham for travellers until the end of the 19th century when the present York Street was built. The name of Burgate was used for the area near the church in 1486. Although the nave of the present St Mary’s dates from 1713, when it was rebuilt after it collapsed, the ragstone church tower is medieval and may have formed part of an earlier fortification on the site.
An extract from from"Twickenham - A History & Celebration".

Gunpowder Gunpowder, which was invented during the first half of the 14th century, is a mixture of potassium nitrate (saltpetre), charcoal, and sulphur in a ratio of 75:15:10. It was used in guns, time-fuses, and fireworks. Until the reign of Henry VIII, the lack of saltpetre in England meant most gunpowder was imported. However, as British naval power expanded beyond Europe during the reign of Elizabeth I it became possible to manufacture gunpowder at home, and by the middle of the 16th century gunpowder mills had been established at Hounslow Heath on the River Crane. One of the constituents of gunpowder is charcoal. This was produced from willow and alder, which was readily available from the river banks. The river also provided water-power for the mills and transport for barges. The open land, relatively distant from settlements, was an added advantage as gunpowder manufacture is highly dangerous.
An extract from from"Twickenham - A History & Celebration".

Mills continued to flourish along the banks of the River Crane on the outskirts of the town, using water-power to create products like oil and gunpowder. Gunpowder manufacture was big business in the 17th century and James I (1602-25) granted a Royal Charter to the gunpowder manufacturers on the Heath. Crane Park Powder Mills were established between 1766 and 1768. The first mill started life as a corn mill. The gunpowder mill east of Hanworth Bridge was notorious for explosions that broke windows for miles around. In 1772 three mills blew up, shattering glass and buildings in the neighbourhood. Horace Walpole wrote complaining to his friend and relative Seymour Conway, then Lieutenant General of the Ordnance, that all the decorative painted glass had been blown out of his windows at Strawberry Hill.
An extract from from"Twickenham - A History & Celebration".