The settlement and foundation of Torrejón de Ardoz occurred in the years of the reconquest of Alcalá de Henares after the Muslim occupation. In 1118, the Christians, with Alfonso VII, recovered Alcalá and its land, where the Torrejón border fortification was included.
During the Middle Ages, Torrejón was part of the Ecclesiastic Lordship belonging to the Archbishopric of Toledo. The most important “Villa” was Alcalá, and Torrejón depended on it both administratively and legally. In the middle of the 16th century, the inhabitants of Torrejón (214 neighbours) saw the need to be independent from Alcalá.
Some families justified their request mentioning reasons such as the distance to ask King Carlos I, through the Archbishopric of Toledo, to be awarded a Charter of Privilege. From then on, Torrejón was under the direct control of the Archbishopric of Toledo and became a “Villa”.
During the reign of King Felipe II, some knights tried to buy the “Villa”, so the neighbours requested the King that their “Villa” be integrated in the Crown and abandon the Archbishopric of Toledo’s jurisdiction. The Crown accepted and as of 1 January 1575 the King became the sole owner of the “Villa”, breaking any tie with the Archbishopric of Toledo, except for some land in Soto de Aldovea, that continued belonging to the Archbishopric of Toledo until the 19th century.
According to the Geographical, Statistical and Historical Dictionary of Spain by Pascual Madoz, Torrejón belongs to the Madrid province and Territorial Court, Judicial District of Alcalá de Henares, General Captaincy of New Castile, Diocese of Toledo.
Torrejón de Ardoz has been a town with a farming and cattle breeding tradition, lacking industry and trade of interest until well into the 20th century, with notable changes such as the opening of the automobile industry base and the experimental field of the National Institute of Aerospace Technology. In the 1950’s the US Air Base started operating. In 1970 industrial estates and blocks of flats started being built.
