Place Name
It remembers an Old English name, first recorded in 1268 as Babbewrth and, a few years later as Babbeworth. It means an enclosed settlement owned by a man called Babba. By 1593 the name had morphed to Baber, and for a time there was a farm called Babbeworth in the area. The name survives with nearby Baber Bridge, part of the Staines Road. There has certainly been a crossing of the River Crane here since antiquity, for the original bridge carried the Roman Road from London to Silchester. A report into the Public Bridges of the County of Middlesex published in 1826 noted: “A timber bridge known as the Beaver or Baber Bridge is recorded as early as the late 13th century. The present bridge was rebuilt in 1798, having been found to be unsafe. It carries the road from Hounslow to Staines, and is a survivor from the great age of road improvements.”
