Ruislip was formerly a parish in the county of Middlesex covering the neighbouring areas of Eastcote, Northwood, Ruislip Manor and South Ruislip. This map shows the future site of Ruislip station – with the map dating from 1900 the station is not shown, being opened some years later.
The parish appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the earliest settlements still exist today, designated as local heritage sites. The parish church, St Martin’s, dates back to the 13th century and remains in use.
The buildings at the northern end of Ruislip High Street form the core of the original village square and are now Grade II listed. It originally featured a central water pump which was moved out of the road in the 1970s as a result of increased traffic.
The Metropolitan Railway (Harrow and Uxbridge Railway) constructed the line between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Uxbridge and commenced services on 4 July 1904 with, initially, Ruislip being the only intermediate stop. At first, services were operated by steam trains, but track electrification was completed in the subsequent months and electric trains began operating on 1 January 1905. The expansion of the Metropolitan Railway acted as a catalyst for development in the area.
The parish council created a new urban district to address the forthcoming population growth. The Ruislip-Northwood Urban District continued until 1965 when Ruislip became part of the newly established London Borough of Hillingdon.
Major landmarks in the area include Ruislip Lido, a former reservoir, now an area of public parkland with its own miniature railway and Manor Farm, a settlement dating from the 9th century which is now designates as a local heritage site.
When Queen Victoria ruled the country, the parish of Ruislip contained the quiet, country village of Ruislip and the hamlets of Northwood and Eastcote. It was surburbanised mainly in the 1930s. The image above shows Bury Street, Ruislip around the turn of the 1900s.
Ruislip Police Station, postmarked 1920.
The George Hotel in Ruislip Village – complete with haywain and horses.
Ruislip Road’s junction with Coston’s Lane. 1930s?