Ruislip-Northwood | |
---|---|
Urban district | |
Ruislip-Northwood within Middlesex in 1961 | |
Area | |
• 1911/1931 | 6,585 acres (26.6 km2) |
• 1961 | 6,584 acres (26.6 km2) |
• Coordinates | 51°35′28″N0°25′48″W / 51.591°N 0.430°W |
Population | |
• 1911 | 6,217 |
• 1931 | 16,042 |
• 1961 | 72,791 |
Density | |
• 1911 | 0.94/acre |
• 1931 | 2.44/acre |
• 1961 | 11.05/acre |
History | |
• Origin | Ruislip parish |
• Created | 1904 |
• Abolished | 1965 |
• Succeeded by | London Borough of Hillingdon |
Status | Urban district |
Government | Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council |
• HQ | Oaklands Gate |
• Motto | Latin: 'Non Progredi Est Regredi' Not to go forward is to go backward. |
| |
Ruislip-Northwood was an urban district in west Middlesex, England, from 1904 to 1965. [1] From its inception Ruislip-Northwood fell within the Metropolitan Police District and from 1933 it was part of the London Passenger Transport Area.
The urban district council presided over a huge increase in population as the Metropolitan Railway gave rise to many new development opportunities. This created many challenges to improve public services and housing while preserving the area's heritage sites. In 1931 King's College, Cambridge sold their final plots of land to the council, having been owners of much of the land in the manor of Ruislip since the mid-15th century.
The urban district was abolished in 1965 and its former area was incorporated into the newly established London Borough of Hillingdon, as part of Greater London.
The urban district was created on 30 September 1904, covering the parish of Ruislip, which had previously been part of Uxbridge Rural District. The parish of Ruislip included Ruislip Manor, South Ruislip, Eastcote, and Northwood. The new urban district council held its first meeting at Northwood School on 1 October, the day after the district's formation. [2]
An urban district council had been considered a year previously, in light of the expansion of areas within the parish, particularly Northwood. A report was prepared in 1903 which noted the population in Northwood—2,700 by that time, with 530 houses—compared with the largely rural character of the rest of Ruislip parish. The Metropolitan Railway extension from Harrow to Uxbridge was also discussed at the meeting on 28 October 1903, as a station was to be opened in Ruislip on the line. King's College, Cambridge, owners of much of the land in the parish, were planning to sell some for development in light of the new line. As a result of these events, the Ruislip Parish Council voted in favour of becoming an urban district. [2]
The urban district council consisted of nine councillors in 1904: the Chairman William Page Edwards; F. M. Elgood; H. J. Brewer; H. Ewer; William Gregory; S. Matheson; Rev. Harvey Roe; J. Westacott, and A. M. Hooper. A clerk was appointed, E. R. Abbot, for £100 per year. He remained in the position until 1931. [2] By 1920 the number of councillors had reached 15. [3]
The expansion of the Metropolitan Railway caused the district to experience a sharp rise in population—from 6,217 in 1911 to 72,791 in 1961—and an increase in suburban housebuilding, especially in the area termed Metro-land . Consequentially, the district was one of the first in England to devise a statutory planning scheme in 1914, following the Housing and Town Planning Act 1909. [4] The council had been prompted to follow this new act by the Chairman of the council, Mr. Elgood, an architect, and the Clerk to the council, Mr. Abbot. Members of the council had already raised concerns over some of the new building work around Eastcote and South Ruislip and the new development near Northwood station, which they described as "badly arranged and closely-packed". [5]
Three divisions were established within the new council: Finance and General Purposes; Public Health, Buildings and Sewerage; and Highways. The council sought to save money from the outset; reducing the number of workmen employed on the highways from ten to seven and cancelling the cleaning of ditches beside the roads. The lowest-paid man working on the sewers was informed he would need to move within the district and take a pay cut from £1:6s to £1:3s or be made redundant. He accepted. [5]
The urban district council worked with King's College, Cambridge, to establish plots of land for development around Ruislip and Ruislip Manor. A town planning competition was held, won by A & J Soutar, town planners from Wandsworth, who sought to create a symmetrical design spreading across Ruislip parish. Many of the woods and historic sites including Manor Farm were to be demolished and cleared as part of the plan, making way for a projected total of 7,642 homes, enough for 35,000 residents. Only the church in Ruislip, St. Martin's, would have been spared. An outline map was made public on 30 November 1910 with few objections. A local board inquiry followed on 17 February 1911, which required negotiations with landowners to allow for a full planning scheme to be compiled. This was presented in February 1913 with an adaptation of the original Soutars plan and received approval from the Local Government Board in September 1914. [6]
Three roads with residential housing—Manor Way, Windmill Way, and Park Way—were completed before the outbreak of the First World War. All construction work was halted, and did not resume until 1919. The Ruislip Manor Cottage Society had been set up in 1911 to facilitate the construction of cottages and small housing in the area, though it did not manage to build as much as had been planned. As the council took on several plots in Eastcote, only four houses could be built by the society there. In Northwood, eighteen cottages were later built in 1926. [7]
Manor Farm and the local woods were eventually saved from new developments in January 1930, after a member of the Royal Society of Arts visited to choose the buildings that should be conserved. The Great Barn and Little Barn were singled out, together with the old Post Office, the Old Bell public house, and the Priest's House of the local church. The woods were included in a sale by King's College, Cambridge, to the district in February 1931. Park Wood was sold for £27,300, with Manor Farm and the old Post Office included as a gift to the people of Ruislip. King's had wished to also present the wood as a gift but was required by the university and College's Act to receive payment, as it was the trustee of the land. Middlesex County Council contributed 75 per cent of the cost, as the urban district council argued that many of those who would make use of the land would be recreational day-trippers from outside the district. Under a 999-year lease, the council agreed to maintain the wood and ensure no new building was constructed without the permission of the county council. An area of the wood to the south was not included in the lease agreement and three residential roads were later constructed on it. [8]
Copse Wood was purchased by Middlesex County Council and London County Council in 1936 for £23,250, joined by Mad Bess Wood in the same year. The urban district council purchased the 186 acres (75 ha) wood together with Middlesex and London County Councils for £28,000 in a compulsory purchase from Sir Howard Stransom Button. [9] Sir Howard became High Sheriff of Middlesex in 1937. [10]
The council purchased Haydon Hall and its 14.7 acres (5.9 ha) of ground in 1936, planning to build a civic centre there. The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 caused the plan to be suspended, and it was never continued. [11]
During the war, the urban district saw a high number of bombing raids by the Luftwaffe during The Blitz, between 8 September 1940 and 9 May 1941. A total of 57 raids were recorded with 241 high explosive bombs, 2000 incendiary bombs and 4 parachuted landmines falling on the area; 27 people were killed and a further 231 were injured. [12]
A public hall was built on part of the Manor Farm site in 1965 and named Winston Churchill Hall. The land upon which it was built had been Barn Close and was bought by Councillor T. R. Parker in 1932 from King's College. He presented the land to the Ruislip Village Trust as the site of a future public hall and the Trust gave it to the urban district council in 1964 stipulating that that would be the sole use. [9]
The urban district was abolished in 1965 and its area formed part of the London Borough of Hillingdon in Greater London. By this time the population within the district had reached 75,000. [6]
The Ruislip-Northwood name survived in the Ruislip-Northwood parliamentary constituency until 2010, when it was incorporated into the Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner constituency. [13]
A coat of arms was granted in 1937. It is described as " argent, a hurst of oak-trees proper growing out of a grassy mount, and above them a roundel azure charged with a star of five points or; on a chief gules a silver mitre between two fleurs-de-lis or". It also had a crest, described as "on a wreath or the colours in front of two ears of rye slipped in saltire proper a boar passant sable armed and unguled." [3] [14]
The hurst of trees with a representation of the Pole Star above are a play on the name Northwood. The mitre and fleurs-de-lys refer to the Abbey of Bec Herlewin in Normandy, to whom the Lordship of Ruislip was granted, where there was a cell of the Order. The Manor was later seized by Henry V and granted as part of the endowment of King's College, Cambridge. The Abbey and the college were dedicated to St. Mary, one of whose symbols is a fleur-de-lis. The 'rye slips' are a play on the name Ruislip. The wild boar shows that the Lordship was an ancient one, granted when the land was forest roamed by wild boars. [14]
The present coat of arms of the London Borough of Hillingdon use the Pole Star, fleur-de-lis, and rye stalks from the coat of arms of the former Ruislip-Northwood Urban District on its coat of arms. [15]
Ickenham is an area in Greater London, forming the northern part of Uxbridge and within the London Borough of Hillingdon.
Northwood is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon, North West London, located 14.5 miles (23.3 km) north-west of Charing Cross. Northwood was part of the ancient parish of Ruislip, Middlesex. The area was situated on the historic Middlesex boundary with Hertfordshire, and since being incorporated into Greater London in 1965, has been on the Greater London boundary with that county.
Ruislip is a suburb in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London. Prior to 1965 it was in Middlesex. Ruislip lies 13.8 miles (22.2 km) west-north-west of Charing Cross, London.
The London Borough of Hillingdon is a London borough in Greater London, England. It forms part of outer London and West London, being the westernmost London borough. It was formed in 1965 from the districts of Hayes and Harlington, Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, and Yiewsley and West Drayton. The borough includes most of Heathrow Airport and Brunel University, and is the second largest of the 32 London boroughs by area.
Eastcote is a London Underground station in Eastcote in the west of Greater London. The station is on the Uxbridge branch of both the Metropolitan line and Piccadilly line, between Ruislip Manor and Rayners Lane stations. The station is located on Field End Road. It is in Travelcard Zone 5.
Eastcote is a suburban area in the London Borough of Hillingdon, in west London.
Ruislip-Northwood was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 1950 to 2010 that elected one member (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It was centred on the districts of Ruislip and Northwood in the London Borough of Hillingdon.
Elthorne was a hundred of the historic county of Middlesex, England.
Uxbridge Rural District was, from 1894 to 1929, a local government district in Middlesex, England.
Yiewsley and West Drayton was a local government district in Middlesex, England from 1929 to 1965. Its area became the south-west of the London Borough of Hillingdon.
Ruislip Manor is an area of Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London. It is located approximately 13 miles (20.9 km) west north west of Charing Cross.
Ruislip Lido is a reservoir and artificial beach in Ruislip, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, situated between Ruislip Common, Ruislip Woods, and Poor's Field.
Ruislip Woods is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and national nature reserve covering 726 acres (294 ha) in Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The woods became London's first national nature reserve in May 1997. Ruislip Local Nature Reserve at TQ 090 899 is part of the national nature reserve.
RAF Eastcote, also known over time as RAF Lime Grove, HMS Pembroke V and Outstation Eastcote, was a UK Ministry of Defence site in Eastcote, Middlesex.
Manor Farm is a 22-acre (8.9 ha) historic site in Ruislip, Greater London. It incorporates a medieval farm complex, with a main old barn dating from the 13th century and a farm house from the 16th. Nearby are the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle believed to date from shortly after the Norman conquest of England. Original groundwork on the site has been dated to the 9th century.
Highgrove House, also known as High Grove House or High Grove, is a Grade II listed mansion in the suburban area of Eastcote, within the London Borough of Hillingdon. Originally built in 1750 by the Reverend John Lidgould, the house was rebuilt in 1881 by Sir Hugh Hume-Campbell following a catastrophic fire. Along with Haydon Hall and Eastcote House, Highgrove was one of the three main houses of Eastcote and eventually became a residential hostel for homeless families, run by the local council from the 1960s until 2007. An area of the estate was sold to the local council in 1935 by the then-owner Eleanor Warrender to become what is now Warrender Park. In 1975, the house was granted Grade II listed status on account of its special architectural character.
Eastcote House Gardens is an area of public parkland in Eastcote, within the London Borough of Hillingdon. The site covers 3.63 hectares and incorporates the walled garden, dovecote and coach house of Eastcote House. The house was demolished in 1964 by the then Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council (RNUDC), one of the predecessors of the London Borough of Hillingdon which was formed the following year. At the public's request, the garden and outbuildings were retained and are now maintained by a group of volunteers, the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens, in partnership with the local authority.
Haydon Hall was one of the three main houses of Eastcote, within what is now the London Borough of Hillingdon. The house was built in 1630 as a home for Lady Alice, Dowager Countess of Derby who had been living in Harefield. The house remained in the ownership of Lady Alice's descendants for several years, on the side of her eldest daughter. For a time the house was renamed "Eastcote Park" though was returned to the original name.
The coat of arms of the London Borough of Hillingdon is the official symbol of the London Borough of Hillingdon. They use elements from the coats of arms of the four previous districts. It is described as:
Arms: Per pale Gules and Vert an Eagle displayed per pale Or and Argent in the dexter claw a Fleur-de-lis Or and in the sinister claw a Cog-Wheel Argent on a Chief Or four Civic Crowns Vert.
Crest: On a Wreath of the Colours issuant from a Circlet of Brushwood Sable a demi-Lion Gules with wings Argent the underside of each wing charged with a Cross Gules and holding between the paws a Bezant thereon a Mullet Azure.
Supporters: On the dexter side an Heraldic Tiger Or gorged with an Astral Crown Azure and charged on the shoulder with a Rose Gules charged with another Argent barbed and seeded proper and on the sinister side a Stag proper attired and gorged with a Circlet of Brushwood and charged on the shoulder with two Ears of Rye slipped in saltire Or.
Motto: Forward.
Nick Hurd was elected as the Member of Parliament for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner in May 2010, having previously served as the MP for Ruislip-Northwood since 2005.