HESTON, a parish in the hundred of ISLEWORTH,
county of MIDDLESEX, 1 mile (N. by W.) from Hounslow,
containing, with a portion of the town of Hounslow,
which is in this parish, 2810 inhabitants. The
living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Middlesex,
and diocese of London, rated in the king's books
at £11, and in the patronage of the Bishop of London.
The church, dedicated to St. Leonard, has received an
addition of two hundred and fifty-six sittings, of which
one hundred and ninety-three are free, the Incorporated
Society for building and enlarging churches
and chapels having contributed £200 towards defraying
the "expense; in this church were interred Sir Joseph
Banks, President of the Royal Society, and his lady.
A parochial school for children of both sexes, under the
patronage of the vicar, is supported by voluntary contributions.
Here is a manufactory for oil of vitriol.}
but the inhabitants are chiefly employed in agriculture.
A pleasure fair is held on tne 1st of May. This parish
is within the jurisdiction of a court of requests for the
recovery of debts under 40s., held at Brentford during
the. summer, and at Uxbridge during the winter. At
North Hyde, near Heston, is a large magazine for gunpowder,
surrounded by mounds of earth, to protect the
neighbourhood from the danger of an explosion. The
soil of this parish is remarkable for producing excellent
wheat, which, according to Norden and Camden, was
used to make bread for the royal table in the reign of
Elizabeth.