Place Name
The parish church, St Leonard’s is nearby and this road was laid out over glebe land (property, usually farmland, used to support the parish priest). In around 1270 Heston was made a separate parish under Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, who was the Lord of the Manor. Richard of Cornwall was King John’s second son and had served in the Barons’ Crusade of 1239, where he succeeded as a negotiator for the release of prisoners. A history of the church explains: “The date Heston Church became St Leonard’s is unknown, so it is possible that Richard dedicated the Church to St Leonard after his success at the Crusades. Also, the fact that Heston Church bears the name of St Leonard indicates a connection between this church and the Priory of Hounslow, situated in the parish and belonging to the Trinitarians, a Monastic Order formed for the redemption of Captives.” St Leonard was said to be a 6thCentury Frankish noble, who was converted to Christianity along with the king, Clovis I, at Christmas AD496. He asked the king if he could have the right to free prisoners who he found worthy, and this was granted. Despite being offered a position as bishop, he turned it down to become a monk. According to legend, Leonard became a hermit in the forest of Limousin, where he gathered a number of followers. Through his prayers the queen of the Franks safely bore a male child, and in recompense he was given royal lands at Noblac. The story goes that prisoners who invoked him saw their shackles break before their eyes. Many came to him afterwards, bringing their heavy chains and irons to offer them in homage. A considerable number remained with him, and he often gave them part of his vast forest to clear and make ready for the labours of the fields, that they might have the means to live an honest life. By the 11thCentury a cult had developed around him, following the release of Bohemond I of Antioch, the leader of the First Crusades, in 1103 from a Turkish prison. Leonard is the patron saint of prisoners and women in labour.
