Ruislip

Ruislip (/ˈraɪslɪp/ ^ⓘ RY-slip) 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 manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the earliest settlements still exist today, designated as local heritage sites.^{[citation needed]} 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^{[clarification needed]} 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

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 & South Ruislip parliamentary constituencies and is covered by three electoral wards within the local council. As of the 2019 general election, Ruislip is represented by two Conservative MPs: Steve Tuckwell, and David Simmonds.

History

Toponymy

At the time of

Ruislip appears in Domesday Book as Rislepe,[2] thought to mean 'leaping place on the river where rushes grow', in reference to the River Pinn.^[5][6] It is formed from the Old English 'rysc' and 'hlȳp'. Translated from Latin, an entry reads:

M. Arnulf [Ernulf] of Hesdin holds Rislepe [Ruislip]. It is assessed for 30 hides.^[a] Land for 20 ploughs. In lordship 11 hides; 3 ploughs there. There are 12 ploughs between the Frenchmen and the villagers; a further 5 possible.

A priest, ½ hide; 2 villagers with 1 hide; 17 villagers, 1 virgate each; 10 villagers, ½ virgate each; 7 smallholders, 4 acres each; 8 cottagers; 4 slaves; 4 Frenchmen with 3 hides and 1 virgate.^[b]

d

too.

Total value £20; when acquired £12; before 1066 £30.

Wulfward White,^[2] a thane of King Edward's, held this manor; he could sell it to whom he would.^[7]

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.^[8]

Before leaving England to fight in the Holy Lands, Ernulf de Hesdin gave ownership of Ruislip to the

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".^[9]

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 residence

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.[15]

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.^[16]

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.^[17]

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 15-foot (4.6 m) were dug, before 90.75-foot (27.66 m) was bored through the

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.^[19]

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.^[20]

The new urban district was formed on 30 September 1904, covering the parish, which had previously been part of the

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.[22]

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

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

First World War when all construction work was halted. It did not resume until 1919.^[24]

Manor Farm and the local woods eventually avoided demolition in January 1930, after the visit by a member of the

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.^[25] 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.^[25]

Copse Wood was later purchased by Middlesex County Council and

High Sheriff of Middlesex in 1937.^[27]

On 19 December 1946 a

crashed into a house

in Angus Drive, Ruislip, fortunately with no serious injuries to anyone, either in the aircraft or on the ground.

On 6 January 1948 a British European Airways Vickers VC.1 Viking flying from Renfrew Airport to RAF Northolt crashed in a ploughed field approximately five miles from the runway. The crew had tried to land the aircraft twice unsuccessfully when the aircraft struck a tree on the third approach attempt. Of the 18 passengers and crew on board, one crew member was killed in the crash.^[28]

In 1961, the

Gordon Lonsdale and were eventually placed under police surveillance. The Krogers were eventually arrested and found to have codes, a microdot reader and film of the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment in Portland Harbour concealed within ordinary household items. A radio transmitter hidden in the garden was not retrieved until 1977.^[29]

Primrose Hill Farm was demolished to make way for housing in 1965. Field End Farm, covering 50 acres (20 ha) at the junction of Wood Lane and West End Road, was demolished in 1966. The farmhouse had been owned by the manor of Northolt under the name of Berrengers. Bishop Winnington Ingram School moved to Southcote Rise in 1968 and the original school building was demolished. In 1976, the war memorial dedicated to those killed during the First World War was moved from the graveyard of St Martin's to the entrance of Manor Farm.[12] Bury Street Farm near the Plough was demolished in 1980.^[30]

In 1984, the Battle of Britain House, built within Copse Wood in 1905, was destroyed by fire and the ruins demolished. The house became a college in 1948 and included plaques with the crests of all Royal Air Force squadrons involved in the Battle of Britain as a memorial.^[31]

In April 2007, restoration work began on the Manor Farm site using funding from the

Heritage Lottery Fund. The work was completed in June the following year,^[32] and included the renovation of the Grade II listed library.^[33] The Duck Pond Market began in the Great Barn in December 2008, following the refurbishment, and runs on the first and third Sunday of every month.^[34] Winston Churchill Hall on the site received a £370,000 grant from Hillingdon Council in March 2011 to enable its refurbishment.^[35]

Demographics

Between 1911 and 1961, Ruislip-Northwood experienced a significant rise in population largely due to the extension of the railway.

Ruislip (parish) population

1881	1,455
1891	1,836
1901	3,566
1911	6,217
1921	9,112
1931	16,042
1941	war*
1951	68,288
1961	72,791
* no census was held due to war
source: UK census[36]

In 2011, the population of five wards which approximate to the Ruislip area was 58,217.[37]

Local government

Ruislip formed an ancient parish of 6,585 acres (26.65 km²) in the

Poor Law Union and it was grouped into the Uxbridge rural sanitary district in 1875.^[38] In 1894 the sanitary district was replaced by Uxbridge Rural District and the parish vestry was replaced with a parish council. Due to increasing population, the parish split off from the rural district and formed the Ruislip-Northwood Urban District, with the parish council replaced by an urban district council.^[38] The urban district was abolished in 1965 and was transferred to Greater London to form part of the newly established London Borough of Hillingdon.^[38]

Within the London Borough of Hillingdon, Ruislip is covered by three electoral wards: Eastcote and East Ruislip, South Ruislip and West Ruislip.[39] Ruislip is part of the Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner and Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituencies within the UK Parliament, represented by David Simmonds and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, respectively.^[40][41]

Education

Primary schools in Ruislip include Bishop Winnington Ingram Church of England Primary School,^[42] Lady Bankes Infant School,^[43] Lady Bankes Junior School,^[44] Warrender Primary School,^[45] Whiteheath Infant School,^[46] and Whiteheath Junior School.^[47]

Secondary schools include Bishop Ramsey School,^[48] and Ruislip High School.^[49]

Sports clubs

Ruislip is represented by the

Wealdstone FC is based at the Grosvenor Vale Stadium, although the club is originally from Harrow

and have been based in Ruislip since 2008.

Grosvenor Vale Stadium also played host to Ruislip Manor F.C. between 1938 and 2008, (when the ground was known by a different name)^[citation needed] before the non-league club folded following a period of financial uncertainty during its latter two trading years.

Ruislip Rugby Club is based in West End Road and was formed in 1954, succeeding an earlier club from around 1950.^[50] The club's ground is at West End Road in Ruislip.

Ruislip Golf Course, on Ickenham Road, was opened in 1922, and is operated by a private company on behalf of the London Borough of Hillingdon.^[51] Ruislip is also the home of Eastcote Hockey Club, based at Kings College playing fields. The club was originally based in Eastcote, from where it took its name, but moved to the present location in 1964.^[52]

Transport

London Underground

Stations in the area:

• South Ruislip station (Central line and Chiltern Railways)
• Ruislip station (Metropolitan line & Piccadilly line)
• Ruislip Manor station
  (Metropolitan line & Piccadilly line)
• Ruislip Gardens station (Central line)
• West Ruislip station (Central line & Chiltern Railways)

Buses

London Buses serving Ruislip are:

Route	Start	End	Operator
114	Mill Hill Broadway station	Ruislip	Metroline
278	Ruislip station	Heathrow Central bus station	Transport UK London Bus
331	Ruislip	Uxbridge	Metroline
398	Ruislip	Wood End	London Sovereign
696	Bishop Ramsey School	Hayes	London United
E7	Ruislip	Ealing Broadway	Transport UK London Bus
H13	Ruislip Lido	Northwood Hills	Metroline
U1	Ruislip	West Drayton	Metroline
U10	Uxbridge	Ruislip	Metroline

Landmarks

Village square

The buildings at the north end of Ruislip High Street, Nos 1 to 15, the Duck House restaurant and the Swan public house, which has since been operated as Cafe Rouge, form the core of the original village and are Grade II listed.^[13] This area formed the village square,^[53] at the junction of the High Street, Bury Street and Eastcote Road. The village water pump was sunk in the centre of the square in 1864, to a depth of 105 feet (32 m) 9 inches (230 mm), though was moved to be beside the Manor Farm Lodge in the 1970s. It was moved again in 1982 to sit outside 7–15 High Street.^[54]

Manor Farm

Main article: Manor Farm, Ruislip

To the north of Ruislip High Street, the 22 acres (8.9 ha) Manor Farm site incorporates the remains of settlements dating back to the 9th century, as well as buildings including the Great Barn, dated by

Heritage Lottery Fund.^[32]

Ruislip Lido

Main article: Ruislip Lido

Ruislip Lido is a nineteenth century reservoir with an artificial sand beach, surrounded by woodlands through which runs the

gauge railway with diesel and steam locomotives. The Lido was established as a reservoir to feed the Grand Union Canal by damming and flooding the lower part of the valley between Park Wood and Copse Wood, including the hamlet of Park Hearn. Work began in 1811; the consulting engineer John Rennie announced completion of the project to the Grand Junction Waterworks Company on 5 December that year.^[57]

Unsuccessful as a canal feeder lake, it was reconstructed as a pleasure resort in 1933.

Orchard Hotel

Following the extension of the Metropolitan Railway to Ruislip, and the resulting influx of visitors to the area, Albert Cross built a bungalow from where teas were served to day-trippers. This became a success and Cross had the building expanded, which soon became the Orchard Hotel. Between 1933 and 1971 it became an

No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron stationed at RAF Northolt, who celebrated many of their successes in battle there. The owner was known to open a bottle of champagne for each German aircraft shot down by the squadron.^[58]

Notable people

Main article:

List of people from Hillingdon

• Optical mineralogist Stuart Olof Agrell (1913–1996) was born in Ruislip.^[59]
• Mary Bankes (c. 1598–1661), Royalist figure of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, lived in Ruislip.^[60] Lady Bankes Infant and Junior School is named after her.^[61]
• Experimental musician Paul Burwell (1949–2007) was born in Ruislip.^[62]
• Conn Iggulden, author, attended Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary.^[63]
• Poet Peter Levi (1931–2000) was born in Ruislip.^[64]
• Actress Lana Morris (1930–1998) was born in Ruislip.^[65]
• Author Leslie Thomas alluded to Ruislip in a novel entitled Tropic of Ruislip.
• Choral director and television song composer Fred Tomlinson lived in Walnut Way.
• Actress Jessie Matthews (1907-1981) is buried in St Martins graveyard.
• Actor Simon Fisher-Becker was born in Ruislip in 1961.

In popular culture

Ruislip was the setting for the 1967 film Poor Cow. In one scene, a title card states "When Tom was in the money, the world was our oyster, and we chose Ruislip" before cutting to an aerial view of a large council estate.^[66][67]

The now demolished Punch and Judy cafe on Ducks Hill Road was the location for Dave Allen's bank note under a car sketch.^[68]

Alvin Stardust filmed a Green Cross Code advert on Ruislip High Street. This safety film dates from circa 1976.^[69]

The children's TV programme Come Outside features Ruislip Manor library in the edition called Buses.^[70]

Episode 7 of series 7 of The Two Ronnies featured a sketch titled "Home Rule for Ruislip". The sketch features Ronnie Barker dressed as a Viking taking on the role of chief spokesmen.^[71]

See also

• List of schools in Hillingdon

References

Notes

a ^{^} A hide was originally an amount of land suitable for supporting a household, but became a measure for assessing land for tax in Anglo-Saxon England.

b ^{^} A virgate was a unit of land area measurement used in medieval England, and was held to be the amount of land that a team of two oxen could plough in a single annual season.

Citations

1. ^ Ruislip is made up of 5 wards in the London Borough of Hillingdon: Cavendish, Eastcote and East Ruislip, Manor, South Ruislip, and West Ruislip. "2011 Census Ward Population Estimates | London DataStore". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Ruislip | Domesday Book". opendomesday.org. Anna Powell-Smith. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
3. ^ Bowlt 1994, p.8
4. ^ Bowlt 1994, p.11
5. ^ Mills 2001, p.196
6. ^ "Key to English Place-names".
7. ^ Morris 1975, p.10
8. ^ ^{a b} Bowlt 1994, p.12
9. ^ Bowlt 2007, p.10
10. ^ Bowlt 2007, p.11
11. ^ Bowlt 1994, p.17
12. ^ ^{a b} Newbery et al 1996, p.28
13. ^ ^{a b} "Listed buildings" (PDF). London Borough of Hillingdon. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
14. ^ ^{a b} Bowlt 1994, p.25
15. ^ Newbery et al 1996, p.49
16. ^ Newbery 1996, p.35
17. ^ Newbery et al 1996, p.43
18. ^ Bowlt 1994, p.79
19. ^ Bowlt 1994, p.90
20. ^ ^{a b} Newbery et al 1996, p.44
21. ^ ^{a b} Bowlt 1994, p.93
22. ^ Newbery et al 1996, p.42
23. ISBN 978-0-419-22400-6
    .
24. ^ Bowlt 1994, p.115
25. ^ ^{a b} Bowlt 2007, p.35
26. ^ Bowlt 1994, p.119
27. ^ "No. 34381". The London Gazette. 19 March 1937. p. 1819.
28. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
29. ^ Bowlt 1994, p.138
30. ^ Newbery et al 1996, p.48
31. ^ Bowlt 1994, p.136
32. ^ ^{a b} "Manor Farm, Ruislip". Ruislip, Northwood & Eastcote Local History Society. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
33. ^ "Speak up! Libraries turn new page". BBC News. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
34. ^ "Artisan Food & Craft Market". Duck Pond Market. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
35. ^ Cracknell, James (14 March 2011). "Churchill's theatre shows fighting spirit". Uxbridge Gazette. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
36. ^ ^{a b} Great Britain Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, Ruislip parish (historic map) population (area ). Retrieved {{{accessdate}}}.
37. ^ "2011 Census Ward Population Estimates | London DataStore". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
38. ^
    ISBN 0-901050-67-9
    .
39. ^ "Your Councillors by Ward". London Borough of Hillingdon. 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
40. ^ "Ruislip, Northwood & Pinner parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
41. ^ "Uxbridge & Ruislip South parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
42. ^ "Contact details for Bishop Winnington Ingram CofE Primary School". London Borough of Hillingdon. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
43. ^ "Contact details for Lady Bankes Infant School". London Borough of Hillingdon. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
44. ^ "Contact details for Lady Bankes Junior School". London Borough of Hillingdon. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
45. ^ "Home | Warrender Primary School". www.warrender.hillingdon.sch.uk.
46. ^ "Contact details for Whiteheath Infant School". London Borough of Hillingdon. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
47. ^ "Contact details for Whiteheath Junior School". London Borough of Hillingdon. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
48. ^ "Bishop Ramsey Church of England School". London Borough of Hillingdon. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
49. ^ "Contact details for Ruislip High School". London Borough of Hillingdon. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
50. ^ "History". Ruislip Rugby Club. 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
51. ^ "Ruislip Golf Course". London Borough of Hillingdon. 12 January 2011. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
52. ^ "The History". Eastcote Hockey Club. 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
53. ^ Newbery 1996, p.29
54. ^ Bowlt 2007, p.150
55. ^ McBean, K. J. (21 March 2011). "A history of the Manor Farm site". London Borough of Hillingdon. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
56. ^ Bowlt 1994, p.16
57. ^ Bowlt 1994, p.125
58. ^ Bristow 2005, p.69
59. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1996.tb02127.x
    .
60. ^ Bowlt 2007, p.24420
61. ^ "History of the School | Lady Bankes Junior School". www.ladybankes-jun.hillingdon.sch.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
62. ^ "Paul Burwell". The Independent. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
63. ^ Sale, Jonathan (14 October 2009). "Passed/Failed: An education in the life of author Conn Iggulden". The Independent. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
64. ^ Forbes, Peter (3 February 2000). "Peter Levi". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
65. ^ Vallance, Tom (30 May 1998). "Obituary: Lana Morris". The Independent. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
66. ^ Muir, Kate (24 June 2016). "Poor Cow (1967)". The Times. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
67. ^ Roud, Richard (8 December 1967). "Ken Loach's Poor Cow reviewed - archive, 1967". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
68. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Dave Allen Show 1976.
69. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Green Cross Code advert circa 1976.
70. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Series 2 Programme 4 Buses 13 October 1994.
71. ^ "the two ronnies - ruislip spokesman sketch - video Dailymotion". Dailymotion. 16 July 2009.

Bibliography

• Bowlt, Eileen. M. (1994) Ruislip Past. London: Historical Publications
  ISBN 0-948667-29-X
• Bowlt, Eileen. M. (2007) Around Ruislip, Eastcote, Northwood, Ickenham & Harefield. Stroud: Sutton Publishing
  ISBN 978-0-7509-4796-1
• Bristow, Mark. (2005) A History of Royal Air Force Northolt. RAF Northolt: No. 1 AIDU
• Mills, A. D. (2001) Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names.
  ISBN 0-19-280106-6
• Morris, John. (1975) Domesday Book 11: Middlesex. Chichester: Phillimore
  ISBN 0-85033-131-5
• Newbery, Maria; Cotton, Carolynne; Packham, Julie Ann; Jones, Gwyn. (1996) Around Ruislip. Stroud: The Chalfont Publishing Company
  ISBN 0-7524-0688-4

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ruislip.

• Ruislip Online
• Ruislip Residents Association
• Ruislip, Northwood & Eastcote Local History Society
• Photograph of the village square, circa 1950 – Francis Frith