The district, which developed from the ancient Middlesex parishes of Great and Little Stanmore, lies immediately west of Roman Watling Street (the A5 road) and forms the eastern part of the modern London Borough of Harrow.

[1] The district increasingly developed into a London suburb during the 20th century, and in the latter half housed the Automobile Association's regional headquarters.

Today it is a commuter town[2] with a tube station that is the northern terminus of the Jubilee line,[3] and large green spaces.

The place earliest documented use of the name comes from a charter of 793, when land in Stanmore was granted to St Albans Abbey.

[4] The Domesday book of 1086 records the two manors of Stanmore as Stanmere, the name deriving from the Old English stan, 'stony' and mere, 'a pool'.

[7] An obelisk on Brockley Hill, in the grounds of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, marks the reputed site of a battle between Julius Caesar's Roman legions and the local Catuvellauni tribe, under Cassivellaunus.

[8] Britain was conquered after Claudius invaded in 43AD; sometime after this the Romans established a local settlement called Sulloniacis.

[11][12] A new mansion was built for Andrew Drummond at Stanmore Park in 1763: it was designed in neo Palladian style by John Vardy and Sir William Chambers.

[13] The history of the area is reflected in street names, such as Lady Aylesford Avenue and Abercorn Road.

The wealthy businessman James Duberley commissioned Sir John Soane to design a large mansion house north of the original Bentley Priory in 1775.

Stanmore had an outstation from the Bletchley Park codebreaking establishment, where some of the Bombes used to decode German Enigma messages were housed.

[16] In the 1950s the Automobile Association built and opened a four-storey office building on The Broadway which eventually became the AA regional headquarters for London and the South East.

One of the pioneers of the oil exploration business, D'Arcy's funeral was attended by dignitaries and celebrities, carrying his coffin from the hall through the village to St John the Evangelist for service.

[28][30] Many of Stanmore's residents commute to jobs in central London, contributing to the affluent character of the area.

Central Stanmore includes a range of shops, pubs and restaurants from small independent businesses to large chains.

Travel and excursion to these places and other attractions such as the Bernays Gardens are promoted by the Stanmore Tourist Board.

[33] On the border with Bushey is Stanmore Cricket Club, one of the oldest in the Middlesex county championship league, which celebrated 150 years in 2003.

The club has nurtured two famous cricketers who have played tests for England in the last two decades: Angus Fraser and Mark Ramprakash.

[34] The Canons ward which covers Stanmore railway station and eastern areas had a population of 12,471 at the same census.

The 2011 census showed that in Stanmore Park ward, 56% of the population was white (47% British, 7% Other, 2% Irish) and 20% Indian.

To the east it meets the A5 (Brockley Hill and Stonegrove) at Canons Corner roundabout providing a connection to the M1 motorway and Central London.