Ruislip

Ruislip ( ) is a suburb in the Hillingdon borough of West London. Prior to 1965, it was in Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross.

The manor of Ruislip 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. The High Street originally featured a central water pump, but this was moved out of the road in the 1970s as a result of increased traffic.

The expansion of the Metropolitan Railway from Harrow in the early 20th century acted as a catalyst for development in the area. Ruislip station opened in 1904, and a new urban district was created to reflect the forthcoming population growth; the Ruislip-Northwood Urban District split from the Uxbridge Rural District and 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 designated as a local heritage site.

Ruislip is included within the Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner and Uxbridge and South Ruislip parliamentary constituencies and is covered by three electoral wards within the local council. As of the 2024 general election, Ruislip is represented by 1 Conservative MP and 1 Labour MP, with David Simmonds representing the former and Danny Beales representing the latter.

History

Toponymy At the time of Edward the Confessor, the manors of Ruislip and Ickenham belonged to Wulfward White, a thane of the king who owned land in 11 counties. Ruislip parish included what are now Ruislip, Northwood, Eastcote, Ruislip Manor and South Ruislip.Bowlt 1994, p.8 Wulfward lost much of his land during the Norman conquest of England; Arnulf de Hesdin took control of Ruislip – his ownership is recorded within the 1086 Domesday Book.Bowlt 1994, p.11

Ruislip appears in Domesday Book as Rislepe, thought to mean 'leaping place on the river where rushes grow', in reference to the River Pinn.Mills 2001, p.196 It is formed from the Old English 'rysc' and 'hlȳp'.

Translated from Latin, an entry reads:

Under Edward the Confessor, Ruislip had been valued at £30, though the reduction to £12 by the time Ernulf de Hesdin took possession is believed to have been caused by a passing unit of the Norman Army taking crops. This led to the construction of buildings at Manor Farm to protect produce.Bowlt 1994, p.12

Before leaving England to fight in the Holy Lands, Ernulf de Hesdin gave ownership of Ruislip to the Benedictine Bec Abbey in 1087. He died fighting and is commemorated in annual masses held in June at Sacred Heart Church and on the remains of the motte-and-bailey at Manor Farm.

It was an ancient parish in the historic county of Middlesex, part of the hundred of Elthorne.

Early developments

The parish church, St Martin's, has been dated to the mid-13th century. An earlier church is believed to have been built during the Norman period, as a stone was found within the grounds with markings from that time. The name St. Martin is believed to have been given to the church by the monks of the Bec Abbey, after Martin of Tours, a saint in Normandy. Before 1245, references to the church only name it as "Ruislip church".Bowlt 2007, p.10

The present church is said to have been built upon the insistence of the Proctor-General, William de Guineville, under the ownership of Bec Abbey, to serve the growing population. He used the priory at Manor Farm as his main residenceBowlt 2007, p.11 The first recorded vicar was William de Berminton in 1327.Bowlt 1994, p.17 The building itself has been remodelled in parts over the centuries and was substantially restored by George Gilbert Scott in 1870.Newbery et al 1996, p.28 It received Grade B listed status as an Anglican church in 1950, corresponding as Grade II.

Under the ownership of the Bec Abbey, timber from the woods around Ruislip – Park Wood, Mad Bess Wood and Copse Wood – was used in the construction of the Tower of London in 1339, Windsor Castle in 1344, the Palace of Westminster in 1346 and the manor of the Black Prince in Kennington.Bowlt 1994, p.25 The woods were coppiced on rotation throughout the years with the timber sold to local tanneries. By the time King's College took ownership of the manor, the woods were let for sport, with pheasants kept for shooting.

Urban development In 1812, Bishop Winnington Ingram School was established by the vestry of St Martin's church in Eastcote Road. The school had 111 pupils by 1845 but fell into a state of disrepair until its rebuilding in 1931.Newbery et al 1996, p. 49.

Ruislip came under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police in 1845. By 1869, the police were renting a house in the High Street to serve as the local police station, the copyhold of which was purchased in 1873. A new station was built in The Oaks in 1961.Newbery 1996, p. 35.

In 1863, the White Bear public house came under the ownership of the Harman's Brewery in Uxbridge. It had been built close to Primrose Hill Farm near the junction of the Ickenham Road and Kings End. Kings End was a hamlet, with one building dating back to the 16th century. It was named after a family who had lived there at that time.Newbery et al 1996, p. 43.

A well was sunk in 1864 in the High Street at the junction with Bury Street, constructed by Mr Charles Page from Uxbridge. The first were dug, before was bored through the London clay and the final was cut through chalk. A drought in 1898 led to the parish council requesting a well be created on what are now the Pinn Meadows, to make use of the natural spring there. The Colne River Water Company agreed, upon the guarantee of £45 per year, and the service was established.Bowlt 1994, p. 79.

A report had been prepared for the parish council 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. At a meeting of the Ruislip parish council on 28 October 1903, the forthcoming extension of the Metropolitan Railway from Harrow on the Hill to Uxbridge was also discussed as it was known that a station would be opened in Ruislip on the new line. Councillors were also aware that King's College, Cambridge, owners of much of the land in the parish and lords of the manor, were planning to sell some for development. With this in mind, a vote was cast which went in favour of becoming an urban district. The new district was designed to better reflect to increase in development, as councillors felt a parish council would work slower than an urban district.Bowlt 1994, p. 90.

The first train on the new railway line ran on 30 June 1904, and the new station at Ruislip opened on 4 July. The area became popular with ramblers, who would head to the Ruislip Lido, and general day-trippers who sought out the countryside. Local residents in Ruislip established their own tea gardens, which they advertised for the visitors. In particular, the Poplars, a Georgian house built in 1774 on the corner of the High Street and Ickenham Road, opened a tea garden in the grounds. It was eventually demolished in 1929 to make way for shops. A similar establishment was opened in light of the new railway on the corner of Sharps Lane, known as the Orchard Bungalow. It was eventually expanded and became The Orchard Hotel.Newbery et al 1996, p. 44.

The new urban district was formed on 30 September 1904, covering the parish, which had previously been part of the Uxbridge Rural District. At the time the parish incorporated 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 forming.Bowlt 1994, p. 93.

King's End was developed as a residential road in the early 1900s. By 1907, the first of the new homes were completed and residents began to move into them. The road was named King's End Avenue, though reverted to the original name of King's End later in the century.Newbery et al 1996, p. 42.

The district experienced a sharp rise in population, from 6,217 in 1911 to 72,791 in 1961, caused by the extension of the Metropolitan Railway, termed Metro-land, which brought with it an increase in suburban house building. As a consequence, the district was one of the first in England to devise a statutory planning scheme in 1914, following the Housing, Town Planning, etc. Act 1909. 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 packed".

Together with King's College, the urban district council worked to establish plots of land for development around Ruislip and Ruislip Manor. A town planning competition was held and A & J Soutar from Wandsworth won. They plan 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 St. Martin's Church would have been spared. An outline map was made public on 30 November 1910 with few objections recorded. 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, receiving approval from the Local Government Board in September 1914. Three roads with residential housing, Manor Way, Windmill Way and Park Way were completed before the outbreak of the First World War when all construction work was halted. It did not resume until 1919.Bowlt 1994, p. 115.

Manor Farm and the local woods eventually avoided demolition in January 1930, after the visit by a member of the Royal Society of Arts to choose the buildings that should be conserved. The Great Barn and Little Barn were singled out from the site, 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 to the district in February 1931. Park Wood was sold for £28,100 with Manor Farm and the old post office included as a gift to the people of Ruislip.Bowlt 2007, p. 35. King's had wished to also present the wood as a gift but was required by the University and Colleges Act to receive payment as it was the trustee of the land. Middlesex County Council contributed 75% 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.

Copse Wood was later purchased by Middlesex County Council and London County Council in 1936 for £23,250, later joined by Mad Bess Wood in the same year. The urban district council purchased the wood together with Middlesex and London County Councils for £28,000 in a compulsory purchase from Sir Howard Stransom Button.Bowlt 1994, p. 119. Sir Howard became High Sheriff of Middlesex in 1937.