This guide to Hillingdon is mostly derived from the Conservation Area guides produced on behalf of the London Borough of Hillingdon
ACACIA AVENUE
Acacia Avenue runs parallel with the Uxbridge Road. The avenue is primarily residential with houses dating from the inter-war period.
ACACIA MEWS
developments have been built to the north east of Harmondsworth High Street in Acacia Mews (1980s) and Meadowlea Close (1990s). Both developments have involved the conversion and development of an historic building and the surrounding grounds.
BARRA HALL
Hayes Council bought Barra Hall to use as its town hall in 1924, the grounds were laid out as a public park, preserving the large expanse of open land.
BLONDELL CLOSE
To the north west of the High Street (north west of Moor Lane) is a small 1980s development in Blondell Close. The Close was clearly designed to be in keeping with the character of the Old School House opposite and the Victorian properties on Moor Lane, with the prominence of gables and dormers.
CAREW ROAD, FRITHWOOD AVENUE
Primarily characterised by large individually designed detached houses in the Arts and Crafts style. The estate was originally developed by Frank Carew, following the arrival of the Metropolitan Railway in 1887. Developed during the late 19th Century, the houses have retained many of their original features and fabric. The later houses were designed by architects CHB Quenell, Swanell and Sly and John Markham, a pupil of Lutyens. The roads are lined with mature trees and the landscaped gardens of the properties provide a green and leafy appearance to the streetscape of the area.
CHURCH AVENUE, RUISLIP
This road contains some of the best quality and larger 1920-30s houses within the area.
CHURCH WALK
Church Walk is a quiet lane running west to east from Wood End Green Road to the parish church. There is no through traffic along this route. It has a semi-rural character, and lies close to the extensive open green spaces of the cricket field and Grassy Meadows to the north, and Barra Hall Park to the south. Church Walk includes a charming group of 19th century cottages, some with pretty string courses and others in stucco, which are considered to be a positive contributor to the streetscape. Similarly, the surviving walls of the old (now demolished) Dr Triplett’s School add to the quality of the streetscene. There is an abundance of wildlife (foxes, squirrels and a variety of birds) within the surrounding open fields.
COPSEWOOD ESTATE
In 1909, Kings College held a competition to develop a plan for a Garden Suburb. This was won by Messrs A and J Soutar. The plan covered a long narrow area of land, pointing roughly in a north-northwest direction. It encompassed parts of Northwood, including what is now the Copsewood Estate, the area immediately to the east of Ruislip High Street and as far south as South Ruislip Station.
The Soutar plan included a system of axial roads aligned in a north-south direction. There were areas allocated for factories, workshops, market places, churches and schools. Socially, the estate was graded from north to south with large houses at low density in the north. The CA document map shows the 4 zones of densities. Ruislip was envisaged as medium density (8 houses to the acre) under area 3.
Following the Town Planning Act of 1909, the Soutar plan was incorporated into a much larger scheme, covering some 5,992 acres, developed by the Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council in 1910. Almost all the principles of the King’s College scheme were extended to cover the area of the joint plan. This scheme was approved in September 1914.
CULLERA CLOSE
Cullera Close is a development built in 1980s. It is a distinctive group of well designed properties, separated from the road by white painted brick walls with a slightly “hacienda-like” appearance.
DOVECOTE CLOSE / ROBARTS CLOSE
The only modern additions to the Eastcote Park Estate are the 1990s development to the north at Dovecote Close and the infilling to the south with the development of Robarts Close in the 1980s.
EASTCOTE PARK ESTATE
The Eastcote Park Estate was laid out as a single planned estate in the 1930’s. The plan form is based on one principal access from Bridle Road, following a loop formation.
It was built on part of the parkland of Eastcote House and stands on a gently sloping hillside. Comben & Wakeling Ltd developed the Eastcote Park Estate, with C.V. Galley having designed the bungalows in St Lawrence Drive, Rodney Gardens and on Field End Road. It was designed as an area of affordable housing for workers in London, along with several other estates in west London. The mature parkland trees have been retained along the street and within the private gardens.
Approximately 90% of properties within the estate are semi-detached and on similar sized plots and this provides a definable character type throughout the area.
FREEMAN’S LANE
Freemans Lane forms a natural boundary to the south side of Barra Hall Park. Looking eastwards along the road, the view is terminated by The Fountain House Hotel. On either side, at the Church Road (eastern) end of the lane, there are two small post-war housing developments, the style, construction and scale of which generally blend well with the area. When entering from Church Road, there are two landscape areas and several large trees that create a pleasing vista and entrance into the lane. On the south side of Freemans Lane, there are several large detached houses featuring double-height bay windows and projecting gables. Bell Field, was formerly part of the estate to Bell House (now the site of St Mary’s Convent, Botwell Lane) and has many substantial varieties of trees and bushes. It provides an open, semi-rural appearance to the area.
GREEN LANE
Green Lane was a quiet country road until the opening of Northwood Station in 1887. The arrival of the railway was the catalyst for growth and the whole of Green Lane had been sold for development by 1891. With the opening of the station and the development of the suburbs, the area developed into a vibrant community with a variety of shops, two churches and a school. Today, Green Lane is an important commercial centre and transport interchange. Most of the buildings within the conservation area are of a high quality design and include a variety of different architectural styles, such as Arts and Crafts, Neo Classical and 1930s Art Deco, all with very good decorative features.
HARMONDSWORTH
Archaeological evidence indicates that there was prehistoric activity in Harmondsworth, and extensive excavations around Heathrow to the south have recovered much prehistoric material. There is a track leading north towards West Drayton that has revealed archaeological remains of several Saxon houses.
On Prospect Park to the west of the Harmondsworth Barn, archaeological excavations have revealed landscape covered with evidence of Saxon buildings including two timber halls. Throughout the Village and around Harmondsworth there have been various Saxon finds that together with the occupation evidence are considered to be of national significance.
The earliest building phase of St Mary’s Church, still surviving today, is the 12th century south arcade and arched doorway. The church has since gradually developed through the centuries. The predominant building material is flint though the tower was built in brick in the 16th century.
Harmondsworth was mentioned in the Domesday Book and a Priory was constructed here in the 12th century. Archaeological work in the village has shown evidence of Medieval occupation, especially around Manor Farm. The original Manor House was demolished in the 1750s.
The Great Barn is a standing survival of the Medieval period, dated to 1426, though is likely to have been built on earlier foundations. Many of the other standing structures within the core of Harmondsworth Village are from the PostMedieval period.
At Home Farm Post-Medieval plough marks and field drains have been found.
Today Harmondsworth has retained much of its historic street layout. The survival of the layout and of the village is partially due to its inclusion within the Green Belt in the 1930s as well as being bypassed by the M4.
(The Harmondsworth CA document has a useful list of build dates)
HAYES
Not until the London United Tramways Co. extended its line from Southall to Uxbridge in 1901–1903 was there some development around Hayes Village, in Hemmen Lane and Church Road.
HAYES COURT
South-west of the church is Hayes Court, a farmhouse owned by the Minet family from 1766 until 1967; an octagonal 18th-century dovecote stands near the main residence, which was rebuilt c.1800. The house stood derelict in 1968, when there were plans to build on the site.
A small green south-east of the church is faced by a range of four yellow brick cottages dated 1867. Until 1914 these cottages overlooked a pond, as did others, demolished by 1935, which stood next to the lych gate. Church Road contains the former Rectory, now called Manor House, and several 19th-century buildings, including the refaced Wistowe House, and there are some weather-boarded cottages in Freeman’s Lane.
KING EDWARD’S ROAD
To the west, this is a private road lined with deep grass verges. The front boundaries of the houses are defined with walls and railings, although some are more open. There are also a number of mature garden trees, which add to the green character of the road. As such it has a slightly different and more spacious character to the rest of the conservation area.
The properties, which are mainly detached, vary in size and style. Nos 25-27 are noticeable as they are an asymmetrical pair of detached 1930s houses with exceptionally wide frontages. A number of properties are chalet style bungalows of individual design, although some are heavily altered.
KINGSEND
Kingsend was one of the first roads to be developed by King’s College. It has a pronounced slope, rising to the west and then dropping again where it meets Ickenham Road. There are long views eastwards, towards the High Street and beyond, and the road sides are defined by a number of good garden trees and hedges.
Kingsend includes a mixture of house designs and sizes, although most are medium to large detached houses.
LONGFORD
The village developed on the site of the ford on the River Colne, which was an important crossing point for travellers on the Old Bath Road. The name ‘Long’ford is derived from its great length, extending from the first bridge at Harmondsworth almost to Colnbrook. At the curve of the Bath Road some of the buildings have been grouped at angles and set back. Whilst there has been modern infill development along the road, the informal layout is still visible today.
Longford was known for its water mills, which were constructed along the river colne in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, though none survive today. the island would have resulted from the channelling of the river for the mills.
Despite the huge expansion of Heathrow airport since the 1940’s, Longford has retained its largely unspoilt village character. This has been due to the by-passing of the village by the A4 and the inclusion of the whole area in the Green Belt in the 1930s.
MANOR FARM, RUISLIP
The 1897 OS map shows little change. Farming was still the main economic concern. Manor Farm, from which most of the King’s College estate was farmed, was the largest and most important. Of the farms named on the map, Manor Farm, Mill Farm and Sherley’s Farm still remain but are no longer farms. Primrose Hill Farm and Fieldend Farm no longer exist.
MANOR WAY
The Ruislip Manor Cottage Society Ltd developed the area to the east of the village, for workers’ housing, in the Hampstead Garden Suburb tradition. These were for sale, or let to the working classes. The work started before the commencement of the First World War, with many of the houses being designed by architects working in the Hampstead Garden Suburb.
The advent of the First World War delayed the development of the area and the implementation of the plan.
Most building took place during the 1930s and this was mainly in the area south of the Metropolitan Line, between Eastcote and Ruislip. This area, later developed as the Manor Homes Estate, was designated for the highest density of housing in the joint scheme.
MEADOWLEA CLOSE
At Meadowlea Close a sympathetic development was built in the 1990s to complement the historic (but not listed) early Victorian building.
MONARCH’S WAY
Monarch’s Way is a typical 1980s back land development of polite yet undistinguished Georgian style design.
POPLARS CLOSE
This lies to the south of Ickenham Road and was developed during the 1930s. The entrance is marked by a pair of painted brick buildings.
REGENCY DRIVE
This is a modern close, circa 1990s, comprising quite tightly developed two, to two and a half and three storey red brick blocks. It includes houses and flats, some with balconies, with little space for landscaping.
ROCKINGHAM BRIDGE
The area around Rockingham Bridge was originally part of the workers’ settlement of Uxbridge Moor that developed during the early 19th Century. Post-war clearance schemes resulted in the partial redevelopment of Uxbridge town centre and much of the land to the east of the Conservation Area, originally called ‘The Lynch’, was cleared to make way for the ring road. Today, the area remains a quiet residential neighbourhood close to Uxbridge town centre. It is characterised by good quality, tightly developed 19th Century two storey workers’ terraces. It has an urban character, softened by the green spaces and the tree lined banks of the River Frays. The plot sizes are quite modest, and the houses have small front gardens, or front directly onto the street. Rockingham Bridge, dating from 1809, is an important feature and it is Locally Listed. It has three brick arches and a carved keystone above the central arch. Fronting the water, and near the entrance to Fassnidge Park, are Union Villas (Nos 15-16 Rockingham Parade). These are attractive two storey cottages dating from 1846, now much altered.
RUISLIP
Rocque’s Map of 1750 shows the hamlet of Kings End and further south, the hamlet of Field End. The early road layout included the High Street (running into Bury Street), Sharps Lane running west and south, Ickenham Road and Wood Lane.
The 1916 map illustrates that much of the road pattern that exists today had already been established. The High Street, Sharps Lane, Ickenham Road and Wood Lane (the old medieval lanes) remained the same. Kingsend Avenue and King Edward’s Road had been created, whilst Church Avenue and Manor Road, both former footpaths, had been widened to form roads. Also shown on the map was the railway station, which was constructed in 1904 as part of the Metropolitan Line. In this map, the very early stages of the development of Ruislip as a suburb can be seen.
SOVEREIGN CLOSE
This lies off Kingsend and was developed during the1970s. The houses are mainly detached and of typical “executive” style. They have an informal layout, with open frontages that are generally well landscaped, providing the buildings with an attractive setting.
THE GLEN
The Glen was designed by Kenneth C. Saunders, Architects, for Messrs. Dowtrill Properties Ltd, and built in 1958/1959 by AEA Prowting Ltd, Builders of Ruislip. 4.1 It was built on the site of three large detached houses named The Glen, The Spinney and The Firs, at 4, 8 and 10 Green Lane, Northwood. The development, described as ‘52 flats with 52 lock up garages’, was granted planning permission by Ruislip Northwood U.D.C. on 27th March 1958.
THE OAKS
The Oaks developed from one of the earlier routes within the area. It includes Park Cottages, which date from the 18th century and are located near to the junction with the High Street. Close by are two modern 3 storey blocks, containing offices and flats and opposite are the late 1950s police station and police houses.