Staines is a fairly typical town in London, part of the London Commuter Belt. It is in the traditional county of Middlesex, but rather than becoming part of Greater London with most of the rest of Middlesex in 1965, it was ceded to the administrative county of Surrey. A border stana, or stone, on the bank of the River Thames, dated 1280, still remains, indicating the extent of the jurisdiction of the city of London.
A significant proportion of the town's population finds employment thirty minutes down the rail line, in central London. However, a number of larger companies, such as insurance company BUPA and telecommunications and IT consultants LogicaCMG, have major offices in Staines. The administrative offices of Spelthorne Borough Council are also in the town.
Most of Staines is on the north bank of the Thames,
across which there has been a bridge since Roman times (hence the Roman name of the town Pontes ).
Staines was the site of the Staines air disaster in 1972, at the time the worst aircrash to have occurred on British soil.
Staines is also the home of the fictional character Ali G as well as locally being known to be home to many Chavs.
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Last updated: 10-20-2005 03:00:18
