ruislip, northwood and eastcote local...

RUISLIP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTELocal History Society

Journal 2001

CONTENTS

Re! Author Page

Committee Members 2

Lecture Programme 2001-2002 2

Editorial 3

01/1 Catlins Lane, Eastcote (Part 2) Karen Spink 4

01/2 A Gainsborough Painting at Eastcote Lodge Eileen M Bowlt 10

01/3 The Grange at Well Green, Eastcote Eileen M Bowlt 15

01/4 A 'Pedigree' of the Arms of Hillingdon KayHolmes 19

01/5 The Arms of Middlesex KayHolmes 21

01/6 Munitions in Ruislip during the First World War Eileen M Bowlt 24

01/7 The Roads of Eastcote RonEdwards 27

Cover picture: The arms of the Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council

Designed and edited by Simon Morgan.

Copyright © November 2001 individual authors and RNELHS.

Membership of the Ruislip, Northwood and Eastcote Local History Society is open to all who areinterested in local history. For further information please enquire at a meeting of the Society orcontact the Membership Secretary. Meetings are held on the third Monday of each month fromSeptember to April and are open to visitors. (Advance booking is requiredfor the Christmas social.)

An active Research Group supports those who are enquiring into or wishing to increase ourunderstanding of the history of the ancient parish of Ruislip (the present Ruislip, Northwood andEastcote). Its members are largely responsible for the papers in this Journal, and for other Societypublications which are produced from time to time.

RUISLIP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE

Local History SocietyRegistered Charity no. 288234

www.RNELHS.flyer.co.uk

COMMITTEE 2001-2002President Leonard Krause 01923836074

Secretary Susan Toms 018956371343 Elmbridge Close, Ruislip HA4 7XA

Treasurer Jess Eastwood 020 8621 537968 Nibthwaite Road, Harrow HAl 1TG

Membership Secretary Delia Montlake 01895 67666334b Eastcote Road, Ruislip HA4 8DQ

Programme Secretary Alison Ferguson 01895635628

Editor Simon Morgan 01923 827188

Outings Organiser Sylvia Ladyman 01895 673305

Minutes Carol Butler 01895632939

Eileen M Bowlt 01895638060

Eric Spanier 01895636026

Karen Spink 02088667279

LECTURE PROGRAMME 2001-2002

2001September 17 Photography in London

October 15 Kathleen Pearce's Album (& AGM)

November 19 Recent excavations in Spitalfields

December 17 Seasonal ceremonies

David Webb

KenPearce

Chris Thomas

Jim Golland

2002January 21 London: world city 1789 - 1914

February 18 Harrowing experiences

March 18 Research Group presentations

April 15 Commons and village greens

AlexWemer

JohnIngram

Mrs M Smith

Meetings are on Mondays at 8.15 pm and are held at St Martins Church Hall, Ruislip.

RUISLlP, NORTIiWOOD AND EASTCOTE

Local History Society 2 Journal 2001

EDITORIALThe Manor of Ruislip has a long anddistinguished history. Circumstances during thecourse of this year have led members of theSociety to take interest in the two distinctaspects of this record: the physical remains andthe written evidence.

In July, we were concerned with thedocumentary legacy of manorial administration.King's College, Cambridge very kindly playedhost to a group of nearly 50 members andfriends. We were invited into their archivecentre where many items pertinent to Ruislipwere laid out, having been selected by EileenBowlt and Colleen Cox on a previous visit.

There was much evidence of King's College'sownership of the Manor of Ruislip from 1451,including the famous Terrier of 1565, containingthe names of copyholders and tenants for thewhole manor. This grand leather-bound tomehad been helpfully bookmarked at pagesanticipated to be of particular interest tomembers of the party, such as Roger Arnolde'sentry for his cottages in Northwood. Theimportance of this one volume is demonstratedby its being the most frequently quoted primarysource for articles in this Joumal. There aretwo references to it in the current issue.

Even more fortuitous is the survival of a mucholder set of papers, dating back to the early 13thcentury when the Abbey of Bee was owner ofRuislip. Considering the turmoil of the time,and the three different lordships through whichRuislip passed between the 'Suppression of theAlien Priories' and the granting of the manor toKing's College, it seems almost miraculous thatso much has been preserved.

More recent items of interest included a largeand detailed artist's impression of how Ruislipwould have looked under an early version of thetown planning proposal of 1910. It shows anattractive and spacious town, but one of entirelynew construction with no sense of its past.

Had this plan gone ahead as proposed, therewould have been no ancient buildings orarchaeology to preserve. These physicalremains of Ruislip's past were the other focus ofactivity during the year. Eight years' work bythe Manor Farm Working Party, aimed at

promoting this heritage to a wider audience, atlast seems to be bearing fruit.

Following concern during the Hillingdon 'AssetManagement Review' that the Manor Farm sitemight be treated as individual properties, withsome being let for office accommodation or evendemolished, there is now optimism that aheritage centre unifying and interpreting thewhole area might soon be achieved. Lotterymoney became available for two detailedconsultants' reports and a public consultationexercise that included an exhibition attended by300 people.

The variety of surviving archaeology makes theManor Farm site unique in this part of England.The village earthwork is thought to be part ofthe boundary of the 'park for woodland beasts'mentioned in the Domesday Survey, andtherefore Saxon in date. The moat and mottedate from an 11th century castle. The Abbey ofBee period is represented by the Great Barn(c1300) and the foundations discovered underManor Farm in 1997, which are probably 13thcentury. The Little Barn (now the library) andManor Farm House itself, are of the late 16thand early 17th centuries, with other former farmbuildings dating from every century since.

The plans are exciting. Not only would the areabe properly landscaped, with the municipalambience swept away, but some recentalterations could be undone. Manor Farm mayonce again be nearly surrounded by a moat ifthe northern section, filled in 1888, is re-excavated. The Great Barn could have its eastwagon door replaced, but protected by a glassscreen. This would demonstrate the throughroute for carts, and the means of providing adraught for winnowing, present in almost all oldbarns. The proposals include an exhibition andinterpretation area in Manor Farm House. Thiswould require staffmg and therefore acontinuous source of funding, so is perhaps themost problematic suggestion.

Further lottery funding is needed before any ofthis can happen, but Ruislip's rich history maysoon become apparent to all when presented inits most advantageous context.

RUISLlP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE

Local History Society Journal 20013

CATLINS LANE, EASTCOTE (Part 2)by Karen Spink

The Catlins Lane article which appeared in the1999 RNELHS Journal (pages 4-6) looked atthe houses that were built between 1900 and1913 on the west side of Catlins Lane. Someof these, along with St Catherine's Farm, formpart of the Eastcote Village Conservation Area.This article looks at St Catherine's Farm, fromwhich Catlins Lane takes its name, and someof the land that historically belonged to thefarm.

Until the beginning of the nineteenth century,the only known dwelling to the south ofCatlins Lane was St Catherine's Farm.According to a survey made by CharmianBaker in 1984, the oldest part of the house, thewest end, closest to the lane, is probably thecross-wing of a fifteenth century hall house.This is timber-framed with two bays of twostoreys. The main wing was most likelyrebuilt in the early seventeenth century and isalso timber-framed with two bays and twostoreys. The main chimney stack on thenorthern flank wall was probably inserted atthe same time. A new roof was also put onwhich would have unified the roof height.There were additions in the eighteenth centuryon the north side to create space for a straight

staircase and in the nineteenth century thehouse was re-fronted and had its windowsreplaced. Considerable restoration work tookplace in the 1980s and, while renewing thedining-room floor, stones from the fireplace ofthe original hall house were discovered. StCatherine's Farm is now a grade II listedbuilding.

The earliest known owner, recorded in the1565 Terrier, was John Walleston who owneda dwelling house and 6 closes of 21 acresknown as Hawe Denes at Popes End. He alsoowned 1 close of 2 acres, known as Stonecroft,opposite the house, on the west side of thelane. At this time John Walleston was thelargest landowner in the parish of Ruislip. Heowned approximately 287 acres.

At the Enclosure in 1806 Nicholas Robinsonowned the farm (Old Enclosure 679) and OldEnclosures 651, 654, 655, 657, 678 & 680totalling over 16 acres. OE 678 and 680 wereadjacent to the farm buildings, OE 651 wasacross the lane, the same area that wasformerly known as Stonecroft (see above) andOE 654, 655 and 657 were further up CatlinsLane in the area known as Raisins Hill or

Catlins Lane and St Catherine's Farm in the mid 20th century

RUISlIP. NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE


Reasons Hill. Robinson was the owner till themiddle of the nineteenth century when he wassucceeded (in about 1855) by John Wilchin,The occupier at the time of the Enclosure wasJames Fisher. By 1825 the Long family werein residence, farming about 20 acres.According to the Rate books they were hereuntil at least 1863, though the 1861 Censusrecords Thomas Ewer living at the farm (hewas probably helping out on the farm becausethe Longs also farmed 34 acres at CheneyStreet Farm). From 1874 William Barber ofPinner was the owner. He became a QC and ajudge and is best remembered locally for hisviews on temperance and establishing theCocoa Tree Coffee Tavern next to the parishchurch of Pinner.

After the death of Judge Barber's widow, StCatherine's Farm came up for sale. It was partof a sale of 7 lots for auction by MessrsFarebrother, Ellis & Co. on 15 July 1913. Lot5 was made up of 3 parcels of 'well-timberedland', described as 'A Compact FreeholdProperty of Nine Acres' forming a 'SmallBuilding Estate Ripe for Development' .

1806. Based on Enclosure Map

Parcel no. 320 (OE 679) of just over an acrecomprised 'The Farm House, Farm Buildings,Orchard & Gardens'. The farm was a 5-bedroomed property with entrance hall, largedrawing and dining rooms, kitchen, sculleryand dairy. The garden had a lawn, shrubbery,kitchen garden and small orchard. The farmbuildings comprised a tiled chaff house madeof timber, flint and brick; a two-stall stable

Nurseryman's Cottage, c. 1955,before Rushmoor Close was built

with a barn and loft; and a building attached tothe house for four cows; and two pigsties. Theproperty had 'valuable Building Frontages of1170 feet' in a 'rapidly improvingneighbourhood' .

The other two parcels: no. 313 (OE 678) andno. 322 (OE 680) were pastureland totallingnearly 8 acres. Lot 5 was let to Mr WilliamHenry Nichols.

Also let to William Nichols was Lot 7, an areaof la 3r 2Op, across the road from thefarmhouse. This was parcel no. 316 (OE 651)situated 'North of newly-built Residences' (seeearlier article) and was 'Suitable for theErection of Superior Villa Residences'. Thiswas the close known in the sixteenth centuryas Stonecroft.

Lot 6, further up the lane at Raisin's Hill(mentioned above but not covered in detail inthis article) was also let to Mr Nichols with theexception of a cottage occupied by MrGardener. R.H. Deane, who owned adjoiningland on Catlins Lane, paid a rate for the rightto use the well at Raisins Hill.

Lots 5, 6 and 7 were all included in the RuislipTown Planning Scheme of 1910. Lot 6 wasdescribed as only 'a quarter of a-mile from theproposed Railway Halt at Pinner Green'. Aportion of the land 'is scheduled for thepurpose of extending their 80ft communicationroad which will form the main thoroughfarefrom the Railway at Pinner Green to Ruislip

RUISLlP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTELocal History Society Journal 20016

St Catherine's Farm with barn, c.1938

Orchard House, which they moved into inabout 1957.

St Catherine's Farm barn was demolished atthe beginning of the 1960s and was replacedby a new house called The Ramblers, and hassince then been occupied by Robert V. Galley,a member of the building family whodeveloped Rushmoor Close (mentioned later).

Mr Frank Welch bought over 4 acres of land(most of OE 678) and built a house called HighMeadow (see RNELHS Journal 1992, pages14-17). Frank Welch was a benevolent manwho helped the Wesleyan Mission in Londonto run boys' clubs. He invited these boys outto his Eastcote home where they were able tocamp in his grounds, play tennis, and use thepavilion and other amenities. During theSecond World War homeless people, as wellas refugees, were welcomed to his house.When he died, aged nearly 90 years, he wasliving in a house called Daymer nearer to theroad at Catlins Lane just north of the farm. Inhis will he left part of his land to the Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council to bedeveloped for old people's flats which becameknown as Frank Welch Court. This was builtabout 1969 and is now run as sheltered

accommodation for the elderly by the LondonBorough of Hillingdon.

Daymer, High Meadow, Myrtle Cottage andOrchard House were demolished for thedevelopment of Daymer Gardens, which wasbuilt around Frank Welch Court in 1970.

St Catherine's Farm itself was bought after theFirst World War by Charles Jaques (sometimesspelt Jacques). He was a jobbing builder whohad been responsible for some of the newhouses across the lane (see earlier article). Heused some of his land for a builder's yard.About 2.75 acres were laid out as a nurseryand the nurseryman's cottage was a ratherspecial building. It was one of the showhousesfrom the 1924 British Empire Exhibition thathad been dismantled and rebuilt on thefarmland. It came with roof tiles bearingevidence of large display lettering, remnants ofwhich stayed visible for some time. Thishouse, now much altered, is 3 RushmoorClose. From 1928 to 1936 the nursery was runby Stanley Reuben Warren. He was succeededby Geoffrey Wilson who stayed until 1939.

In 1930, Councillor T.G. Cross who had beenliving across the lane at The Bungalow (now

RUISLlP, NQRTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE


The Moorings) leased the farmhouse from MrJaques. At the beginning of the Second WorldWar, the nursery became vacant so Mr Jaquesasked Mr Cross, a keen amateur gardener, if hewould be interested in taking over the nursery.It was out of the question for Mr Cross tomanage this himself, as he had a responsiblejob in the city. However he was able to engagea nurseryman to work under his supervision.Fuel was very precious during the war, but MrCross was granted an allowance, on conditionhe grew tomatoes for public sale. There wereseveral thousand plants. As a concession, MrCross was allowed to over-winter his prizechrysanthemum plants after the tomato cropwas finished.

At the end of the war these greenhouses weresold to Woodmans ofPinner, who had them re-erected at the top of Cuckoo Hill where theyremained until the Woodman's business wassold in the 1960s. According to Mr Cross, thedismantling and rebuilding was done byprisoners-of-war. They marched to workunder supervision and Mr Cross said he hadnever seen men work so hard.

In 1959 Mr Cross bought the freehold of StCatherine's Farm with 1 acre of land fromCharles Jaques. The remaining land, where thenursery had been, was developed by C.v.Galley. Four new houses were built by 1961in a close which included the originalnurseryman's cottage. The name RushmoorClose may be an allusion to the abundance ofrushes that grew in the dell at St Catherine'sFarm. Additional houses were built in theclose in 1966, and another was built in the1980s on a piece of land belonging to StCatherine's Farm that had to be sold in order tohelp pay for renovation work on thefarmhouse.

On the west side of Catlins Lane was a plot ofland, Lot 7, formerly known as Stonecroft.Three houses were built: Beaufort (now knownas The Cottage) and The Willows near to theroadside, and Quantocks to the rear.Quantocks which has survived, was home toErnest Roland Hole during the 1930s to 50s.Mr Hole donated a cup for the EastcoteHorticultural Society Summer Show (fornovices in the flower section) which he namedthe Quantocks Cup. Mr and Mrs A. A. Gaytonlived at The Willows in the 1950s through to

the 70s. Mrs Gayton taught music andelocution and her pupils took part in theRuislip-Northwood Festival with great success.After her death The Willows was replaced byfour new houses. Brendon next to Quantockswas built in 1966.

Catlins Lane is one of the Eastcote roads thatstill retains its rural feel despite the changesand nearby developments that have takenplace. St Catherine's Farm is today acharming private residence set in delightfulgardens.

AcknowledgementI am very grateful to Mrs T.G. Cross forinformation and photographs, and for her kindassistance with this article.

SourcesRuislip Terrier, 1565. Ruislip LibraryRuislip Enclosure Map and Schedule, 1806. Ruislip

LibraryRate books, Census returns, Street directories. Ruislip

LibraryElectoral Roll books. Uxbridge Library1910,1940,1960 25-inch OS maps. Harrow Central

Reference Library1913 Sale document: Sale of properties in Pinner and

Eastcote by trustees of the late Judge Barber. HarrowCentral Reference Library

Notes on William Barber. Harrow Central ReferenceLibrary

St Catherine's Farm Survey by Charmian Baker,Directorate of Technical Services, London Boroughof Barnet

Bowlt, E.M. The Goodliest Place in Middlesex,Hillingdon Borough Libraries, 1989

Catlins Lane: Winter of 1955-56



A GAINSBOROUGH PAINTING AT EASTCOTE LODGEby Eileen M. Bowlt

Browsing through the National Art CollectionsFund '2000 Review' recently, the words'Eastcote Lodge' leapt out at me. Theillustration accompanying an article on page73 showed an eighteenth century gentleman inclerical bands, the Reverend Robert Hingeston.His portrait had been painted between 1752-9by Thomas Gainsborough and had passed to adescendant, Dr John Hingeston of EastcoteLodge in 1811.

The name, Hingeston, had a certain resonancefor me as I remembered that a John Hingestonhad been the owner of Eastcote Lodge, situatedon the west side of the Black Horse in EastcoteHigh Road, at the time of the RuislipEnclosure 1804-14.

The provenance of the pamtmg from JohnHingeston was given as John CreuzeHingeston Ogier by descent and thence in theHingeston Ogier family to Edward MillesNelson who died in 1938. Col Bruce Nelsonsold it at Christie's, 16 June 1961 after whichit entered a private collection. It was sold atSotheby's, London, 30 November 2000, whenit was purchased for £61,145 by IpswichBorough Council Museums and Galleries witha contribution of £12,371 from the NationalArt Collections Fund and other support.

The subject of the paintingThe sitter, the Reverend Robert Hingeston(1699-1776) was a Suffolk man, being the sonof Peter Hingeston, the Ipswich Boroughorganist. After graduating from PembrokeCollege, Cambridge, Robert Hingeston taughtat Ipswich School, where he had been a pupiland was headmaster there from 1743 until thetime of his death.

Thomas Gainsborough moved into FoundationStreet, Ipswich, where Mr Hingeston lived, in1752, and received several commissions fromhis neighbour. A painting of Gainsborough'sdaughters chasing a butterfly, which is now inthe National Gallery, was executed onpanelling in Mr Hingeston's house.

Revd. Robert Hingeston (1699-1776)by Thomas Gainsborough

One wonders what strange quirk of fatebrought this painting to Eastcote. It is not atall clear whether Dr John Hingeston was a son,grandson, or more distant descendant, or evenwhether he was medically qualified. Havinglooked at the IGI (International GenealogicalIndex), 'Wallis eighteenth century medics',Alumni Cantabrigensis and lists of themembers of the Royal College of Physiciansand Royal College of Surgeons (so far as theseare available), I have established that severalmembers of the Hingeston family weresurgeons in Ipswich. There were two JohnHingestons who embraced that profession: oneborn in 1698 and therefore contemporary withthe Robert Hingeston of the portrait; the otherborn in 1753. Another John Hingeston, bornin 1740 was an Apothecary in Cheap side in theCity of London and died in 1808. None ofthese fit in with the John Hingeston of EastcoteLodge, but may have been relatives.

Robert Hingeston of the portrait had sons atCambridge, Samuel 1729-1807 and James1733-66, who like his father was a master ofIpswich School. Was the John Hingeston ofEastcote Lodge the son of one of these? Sincehe inherited the Gainsborough it seems likely.

10RUISLlP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE


John Hingeston of Eastcote LodgeMost of my knowledge of John Hingestoncomes from his will (with three codicils) in thePublic Record Office. 1 Otherwise his nameappears in the Ruislip parish rate books2 from1805 to 1811 as the proprietor of EastcoteLodge. From May 1800 the same property.valued at £25 per annum, had been owned by aMr Hingeston." Whether or not JohnHingeston Esq is the same person is unclear.The fact that he is always referred to as JohnHingeston, Esquire does not preclude him fromhaving been medically qualified, as doctorsfigured lower in the social scale than esquiresand he may have preferred to use that title.

John Hingeston died in 1811. The last codicilwas added on 1 July of that year and probatewas granted to his widow on 31 October. Inhis will4 he expressed a desire to be buried: inthe same manner as my late sister was buriedin the family vault at Ipswich. Thispresumably accounts for the fact that his namedoes not appear in the Ruislip burial registers,although his hatchment hangs on the wallabove the north door in St Martin's church.After being carried in the funeral procession atIpswich, it would have hung outside EastcoteLodge during the period of mourning and havebeen laid up in the parish church afterwards.

The hatchment bears the arms of Hingeston onthe dexter (male) side, and Milles on thesinister (female) side of the shield. TheHingeston arms are against a black backgroundand the Milles arms on a white ground.showing that the man had died and his wifesurvived. John Hingeston's wife was MaryAnne Milles. What is slightly puzzling is thatwhen she died 35 years later, she asks in herown willS to be buried: in the vault made by mylate husband under the pew in Ruislip church.So it would seem that he had at one timeintended to be buried in Ruislip.

Property mentioned in the willHe described himself as: John Hingeston ofHatton Garden, in the county of Middlesex,Esquire. He owned two adjoining housesthere, living in one himself and letting theother to his friend. Jonathan Rashleigh,Esquire. These were freehold. Hatton Gardentoday runs north from Holborn Circus inLondon. It was first laid out as a street in themid-seventeenth century on the old garden of

Hatton House, once the home of QueenElizabeth's favourite, Sir Christopher Hatton.It was still a gentlemanly residential part oftown in the early nineteenth century.

He had an estate in Hampshire near Andover,called Little. Antill, which was also freeholdand was leased out.

In Eastcote he had a copyhold estate, EastcoteLodge, which was obviously his rural retreat.

Apart from references to householdfurnishings, linen and plate and farming stockat Eastcote, he mentions music books and theworks of Handel, suggesting a musical bent,perhaps inherited from the Ipswich Boroughorganist who may have been his great -grandfather. There is nothing in the will tosuggest that he had any professional interest inmedicine or surgery.

FamilyThe most interesting finding from the will wasthat John Hingeston's marriage was apparentlychildless, but that he had a natural daughter,Elizabeth Davison, whose mother, MaryDavison, was commonly called Mrs Hale.

He made careful provision for his daughter,leaving her £110 a year during the lifetime ofhis wife and a legacy of £11,000 invested infive per cent annuities, payable to her at hiswife's death. He continued: It is my wish thatthe said Elizabeth Davison shall constantlylive with my dear Wife & be boarded by herfree from every expense as if she were her owndaughter so long as they shall so live infriendship.

His wife was to have the rents and propertiesof all his properties during her lifetime, butafterwards Eastcote Lodge was to go upontrust for his daughter for the term of her naturallife: wishing that she may reside upon the saidcopyhold premises and enjoy health andhappiness, the effects often of a Godly life,formany years ... The estate was then to descendto her eldest son if she should have children.

The houses in Hatton Garden were similarly tobe held in trust and go to great nephews,Samuel and Robert Hingeston after MaryAnne's death and Little Antill to another great-nephew, John Hingeston, the son of a London

RUISLlP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTEJournal 200111

apothecary. It is possible that this great-nephew's father had been the John Hingeston,apothecary of Cheapside who died in 1808.

His 'dear wife' already had £6,000 in three percent bank annuities and in addition he left herall her rings and jewels and paraphanalia and£800 in South Sea Stock. At the time of herfather's death Elizabeth Davison was 23 yearsold. Mary Anne Hingeston was 49. The affairwith Mary Davison/Hale could have been overbefore he married, but the date of the marriagehas not been found.

The will refers to his dear Wife, Mary Ann. As'Mrs Hingeston' she appeared in the rate booksas owner and occupier of Eastcote Lodge until1847. She was presumably the Mary AnnHingeston who was buried at St Martin's in1848, aged 846

•

The OgiersElizabeth Davison married Peter Ogier, abarrister of Lincoln's Inn, in October 1818when she was 31 years old. He was thesixteenth child of Lewis Ogier and his wife,Katherine Creuze. The Ogiers and Creuzeswere both Huguenot families and lived aroundClapton in Hackney in the eighteenth century.

Where the newly-married couple lived is notknown. Their only son, John CreuzeHingeston Ogier, was born at Stoke byGuildford and baptised there 17 March 18207

•

There was a family connection with the area asPeter Ogier's uncle, John Ogier who was HighSheriff of Surrey, lived at Woodbridge House,StokeS.

By 1827 the Ruislip rate books9 show thatPeter Ogier Esq was the owner and occupier ofa house and premises at Eastcote. It was ratedat £6 per annum, but another £4 had beenadded for improvements. This house was theone now known as Flag Cottage on EastcoteRoad, and would have been next door toEastcote Lodge in the nineteenth century.

Sadly Elizabeth died at the age of 45 in 1832and was buried in the Creuze family vault inthe burial ground at St John's, Hackney amongher husband's forbears. There were two tombsdedicated to them in the old burial ground of StJohn's, Hackney. It was turned into a gardenand recreation ground in the 1890s and the

monuments moved, but the inscriptions weretranscribed by Mrs Ogier Ward: 10

This vault was first made for FrancisCreuze, Esq in 1743. He was a FrenchProtestant and escaped from France onlywith his life in the reign of Queen Anne.By the blessing of Providence, withindustry and integrity, he acquired anample fortune and for many years residedat Clapton in this parish where he died 24January 1758, aged 64.

Peter Ogier, one of his grandsons, ofLincolns Inn, Barrister-at-Law, had thistomb erected over the vault in the year1833.

The above-named Peter Ogier died 18November 1847 aged 77.

Presumably he erected the tomb shortly afterhis wife's burial.

Elizabeth, the beloved and affectionatewife of Peter Ogier of Lincolns Inn,Barrister-at-Law, and of Eastcott,Middlesex, Esq, youngest son of the aboveLewis and Katherine Ogier. She died 4December 1832, aged 45, leaving an onlyson and husband to lament the best ofwives and kindest of mothers.

Peter Ogier's mother was also there, but hisfather had been buried in America.

Interred in this vault are the remains ofKatherine, widow of Lewis Ogier ofClapton, Esq who died in South Carolina8 October 1780, second daughter ofFrancis and Elizabeth Creuze. She died17 July 1808 in her 78th year.

Peter Ogier had been admitted to Lincoln's Inn4 November 1815 at the late age of 46. Hisson, John Creuze Hingeston Ogier was only 16when he was admitted in his turn on 18November 1836, but he had already been atTrinity College, Cambridge 11.

Peter Ogier owned Flag Cottage until 1838,when it passed to Thomas Newman12. PeterOgier of 46 Carey Street, Lincoln's Inn, died18 November 1847, aged 77 and Letters of



Administration were granted to his son on 22January 1848.

Throughout this period Mary Anne Hingestonhad been living at Eastcote Lodge. South HillCottage in Southill Lane, (where Findon nowstands) belonged to a John Mills Esq fromabout 1825 and to Miss Mills in 183713. It ispossible that these were relatives of MrsHingeston, although her maiden name wasnormally spelt 'Milles', especially as thecottage had passed into her hands by 1845. Itwas let to William Durbridge by Miss Mills in1840.14 By 1845 Captain Thompson wasliving there.

After Mary Anne Hingeston's death in 1848,Eastcote Lodge, according to the terms of herhusband's will passed to John CreuzeHingeston Ogier, as the eldest son of ElizabethOgier (nee Davison). He was living there onthe night of the 1851 census. He was 31 yearsold, a barrister-at-law and landed proprietorand was unmarried.

John Creuze Hingeston Ogier's secondoccupation, given in the Census, 'landedproprietor' did not depend solely upon theEastcote Lodge estate. Several memorials inthe Middlesex Deeds Registry between 1851-70 show him to have owned property inLondon - in Holborn, Hatton Garden andHanover Square. They also reveal that he leftEngland for Australia, where he settled first atRutherglen in the colony of Victoria'", later atBallarat16 and he was living in Melbourne in1869.17

Mary Anne HingestonWhatever her relationship with her husband'sillegitimate daughter had been, there was noreason for Mary Anne Hingeston to mentionJohn Creuze Hingeston Ogier in her will as hewas amply provided for. Instead she left SouthHill Cottage and any other estates of which sheshould die possessed to be divided equallyamong her nieces and nephews: Mary AnneMilles, John Milles, Mary, the wife of JohnWhitehead, the Revd Thomas Milles andElizabeth Anne Milles. She had a brotherThomas, to whom she left her carriage, horseand harness. Money was to be divided in thesame way.

John Whitehead of Barn Hill, Barning, Kent,Esquire, John Milles of Tonbridge, Kent,grazier and the Revd Thomas Milles ofTenterden, Kent, Clerk, were appointedtrustees and executors."

John Whitehead appears in the Rate Books asthe owner of South Hill Cottage until c1860. Itwas let to someone called Davis. JamesPatrickson, a retired schoolmaster owned it in1860 and Mrs Anne Patrickson was still thereat the time of the 1871 census. Soon after thatit became part of the Haydon Hall estate andwas replaced by the three cottages now unitedas Findon.

Eastcote LodgeThis house stood in Eastcote High Road, setback from the road, between The Black Horseand Flag Cottage. For many years after JohnCreuze Hingeston Ogier had gone to Australia,it was leased to strangers. Was theGainsborough painting removed at this time?Was it taken to Australia? Perhaps not, as theprovenance of the painting suggests that itpassed into the hands of the Milles familysomewhere along the line.

W. Wright Esq was the tenant in 1855 whenthe rental was £107 per annum for just over 18acres and the rateable value was £89, as shownin the parish rate books.i" David Lilley hadarrived by September 1859, but he seems tohave had a very short stay in Eastcote as SirH.C. Maddox was named as the occupier in the

20rate book of February 1860 . He was not athome on the night of the 1861 census, althougha gardener and his wife and a groom were onthe premises. He had left altogether by August1862, when William Creasor was in

. 21occupation.

At this point the same rate book gives adifferent owner, C.J. Ogier instead of J.C.H.Ogier. After 1866 there are a number of yearsfor which the rate books have been lost, but MrCreasor, a Commission Salesman, was stillliving at Eastcote Lodge at the time of the1871 census. Ten years later the property hadbeen purchased by John Law Baker, father ofLawrence James Baker of Haydon Hall and helived at the house until his death in 1886.

A rather grand neo-Georgian mansion,designed by the architects George & Peto for



Lawrence Ingham Baker (grandson of JohnLaw Baker) and his bride, Agnes Peto,replaced the old house in 1888. It wasdemolished in 1963 to make way for FlagWalk, but the imposing architrave and otherquality features such as elegant door-knobsand finger plates, were removed to FlagCottage, where they may still be seen. The redbrick wall between The Black Horse and FlagCottage may well date from the time of theearlier Eastcote Lodge.

Work to be doneThe reader will have noticed one or two gapsin this account of John Hingeston and othersassociated with Eastcote Lodge in the earlynineteenth century:• Where was John Hingeston baptised and

where was he married? Who were hisparents?

• Where was Mary Anne Milles baptised?Who were her parents?

• Where were Elizabeth Davison and PeterOgier married?

• Did John Creuze Hingeston Ogier returnfrom Australia? Was he ever married?

The list of queries seems endless. SallyDummer of Ipswich Museums Service, whowrote the article in 2000 Review, does notknow the answers. However, I was givensome leads to follow. These will take time. Inthe meantime, does anyone else know anythingabout these families?

AcknowledgementI should like to acknowledge the help of KarenSpink and Jim Golland who gave me somebackground on the Ogier / Creuze family tree.

ReferencesPRO: Probate 11 1526LMA: DRO 19 E2/21-22LMA: DRO 19 E2/21PRO: Prob 11 1526PRO:Prob 11 264Manor Farm Library: transcript of St Martin'sregistersFamily Centre, C1erkenwell: IGIMonument to John Ogier's wife in Stoke church:information from Jim Golland

9 LMA: DRO 19 E2/2310 Guildhall Library; Notes on Hackney churchyard;

Proceedings of the Huguenot Society, Volume 411 Guildhall Library: Records of Lincoln's Inn, Vol2

1800-7312 LMA: DRO 19 E2/26

2

3

4

6

13 LMA: DRO 19 E2/23 and DRO 19 E3/214 LMA; DRO 19 E2/2615 LMA: MDR 186623 54416 LMA: MDR 1867131717 LMA: MDR 1870 15 10918 PRO: Probate 11 26419 LMA: DRO 19/E2/39-4020 LMA:DRO 19/E2/4221 LMA:DRO 19/E2/46

14RUISLlP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE


Walleston owned St Catherine's Farm inCatlin's Lane and had land on the oppositeside of the lane as well. It was 2 acres in sizeand was called Stone Croft and abutted west,north and south against the close of JamesFeme and east against Popes End Lane. StoneCroft abutted north against Hodskyns, anotherof James Feme's pieces of land that isseparately listed in the Terrier.

The entry for Hodskyns reads: James Ferneholds one close of6 acres called Hodskyns andit abbuts north upon the close of WilliamNicholas and south upon the close of JohnWalleston. It lies east against Popes EndLane.

The Femes (sometimes spelt Fern, Fearn orFearne) were a prolific family, members ofwhich owned some 10 houses in Eastcote inthe sixteenth century.' They seem to havebeen independent small to middlinglandowners, although at least one, John Feme,was described as a miller in 1565.

Sale to the Merydales 1675-6The Femes continued to own the Grange formore than a century after 1565. At a ManorCourt held on the 6th May 1672 ThomasFearne of Well Green surrendered to his son,John, a 3 acre meadow called Snapes (seemap) on condition that he should pay hisfather's daughter, Martha Grimsdlell, L30within a year and a half of his father's death.4

Thomas Fearne died in 1673, leaving a willwritten on 5 July 1671.5

Describing himself as a yeoman 'aged and ill'he stipulated:

First I give and bequeath my long tablewith the two forms to be standards and toremain there in my now dwelling house atWell Green.Item .... unto my daughter, ElizabethFearne the bedstead with all the beddingthereto belonging and all other my goodsand implements of household stuffwhatsoever they be that are now standingand being in her chamber in my nowdwelling house at Well Green, called bythe name of the Bakehouse Chamber.'

He had five grandchildren, unnamed, to whomhe left 10 shillings apiece and five children,Thomas, Hannah, Mary, John and Elizabeth to

whom he left 10 shillings each as well.Susannah, his wife, was named as his executrixand received the residue of his goods. She alsohad possession of the house for life, but afterher death it was to revert to her son, JohnFearn as set out in the Court Book quotedabove.

John Fearne proceeded to sell off portions ofhis inheritance to John Merydale during hismother's lifetime. He sold his reversion in thehouse in 1675, the transaction being recordedat the Manor Court held on the 4th May16756

•

The house was described as a cottage at WellGreen with two closes of meadow adjoining,amounting to 4 acres. At the same court JohnFearne surrendered Snapes to John Meridaleand in 1676 John Merydale received 14 landsin the common fields of Eastcote from him.

A survey made in 16857 by which timeSusannah Fearne had died, shows MaryMerydale, as owner, which would suggest thatshe was a widow. This entry is puzzling as theinformation does not tie in with an Abstract ofTitle to the property, written in 1765, whichseems to show that John Merydale was stillalive in 16948

•

The Merydale familyThe Abstract of Title shows that the Merydaleswere making provision for their eldest son,William, who was about to be married to AnnTheed. When their possession of The Grangewas ratified at a manor court held at RuislipCourt (now Manor Farm, Ruislip) on 10 May1694, the terms were set out. John and MaryMerydale were to have the use of the propertyfor their lives and the life of the longer liver.Afterwards it was to pass to William and to theheirs of him and Ann Theed, 'his intendedwife,9.

In the event Mary Merydale survived herhusband, son and daughter-in-law, and whenshe died in 1710 her grandson, John, who wasstill under age, inherited the farm. He leased itin 1717 to Ralph Bugbeard'", for a term of 18years. Mr Bugbeard was a farmer who took ona parish apprentice, 12-year-old CharlesLong'", whose father had nine children andwas described as a 'very poor' labourer in thebaptismal registers of St Martin's church.Poor children apprenticed at the expense of theparish were bound until they were 24 years



old, regardless of their age at the start, whichmeant that Charles, who would have been alabourer on the farm and would not have learnta trade, was tied to Ralph Bugbeard for 12years.

Conditional Sale to Edward Bowles1734By 1724 John Merydale had a wife, Elizabeth,and he arranged that the property shoulddescend to their male heirs and in default tofemale heirs. Ten years later, still childless, hesold The Grange and its land to EdwardBowles for £240, on condition that Mr Bowleswould not have possession until after thedeaths of himself and Elizabeth and anychildren they might yet have. 12 Thisarrangement provided the Merydales withready cash and Edward Bowles had aninvestment as he or his heirs would eventuallycome into possession. Elizabeth, who neverhad children, survived her husband by manyyears and died in 1752.13

Edward Bowles enjoyed his possession for avery short time, for he died in May 1753 andhis son, another Edward Bowles becameowner 14. Edward Bowles the elder made hisson responsible for paying an annuity to hismother and legacies to his four siblings afterher death. His eldest sister was 'incapable oftaking care of her affairs through a disorder inher mind'. However, there was property inWorcestershire as well as Eastcote.

The farm continued to be leased. John Seamorseems to have followed Ralph Bugbeard andJohn Evans was there from 1746. He was stillin occupation in 1765, when Edward Bowlessold The Grange to the Revd Thomas Clarke,

15Rector of Ickenham and owner of Swakeleys .

Part of the Swakeleys estate1764 - cl845Thomas Truesdale Clarke, son of the rector,succeeded his father who died in 1796. TheRate Books show that William Douglas was inoccupation of The Grange by 1805 andcontinued to live there until the 1830s when hewas succeeded by Henry Douglas.

Charles Churchill had taken over by 183i6

and John Churchill by 1840.

Thomas Truesdale Clarke died in ratherstrange circumstances in the summer of 1840(he was drowned in the River Pinn) and theEastcote portion of the Swakeleys estatechanged hands within a year or two of hisdeath.

Private ResidenceAfter the demise of Mr Clarke, the houseseems to have become a private residence.Several members of the Watts family owned itin turn from 184517. Richard Watts was a cornmerchant and had a daughter, Elizabeth. Helived at the house, rather than let it, but by1860 he had perhaps died, as A. B Watts wasthen owner. A Mrs Smith, a widow fromYorkshire, was renting it by 1863 and was stillthere at the time of the 1871 census. However,Henry P. Thomas, a farmer, was in occupationin 1881. The census says that he had only 10acres, but as he was employing two men hemay have been renting land elsewhere. MissCharity Watts was there in 1886.18

J. Stansfield Grimshaw Esq had come by 1891and the house has continued ever since as aprivate residence.

The DoresThe house, which is timber framed andunusually for this area, covered on the outsidewith weather boarding, was restored by Mr &Mrs C.N.G. Dore who bought it in the 1920s19

•

They caused the barn on the western side ofthe house to be joined on to the main house, sothat it now presents a long and serene facade toWell Green. The small cottage in the frontgarden was once a stable. Photographs and adescription of the work appeared in the IdealHome magazine in August 1925.

Mr and Mrs Dore's daughter, Noeline and herhusband, T.P. WUIT,who were both architectslived at the modem house called Butts Mead(another old field name). In the late 1960sthey converted the barn standing end on to theroad into offices and developed Pike End.Kemp's Ruislip-Northwood Directory 1968-9shows numbers 1 and 2 Pike End as occupiedand number 3 as being built. All eightproperties were occupied by 1970-1.

The houseThe structure of the very interesting timber-framed building has been discussed by PatClarke in an article in this journal 1994. This


was written after she was able to examine thebuilding when a new owner, Nicholas Hall,was repairing and decorating the house. Thearticle is well worth re-reading. She identifiesfives phases of building and suggests that thepresent house would not have been erectedbefore 1550 The original simple house withthree rooms downstairs and three above, wasextended to the east before 1600. A northernextension between 1600 and 1680 addedadditional space. During the Merydalesownership a new staircase was built 1700-30.After that there seem to have been no majorchanges until the Dores came.

ReferencesCopy at Manor Farm Library

2 King's College Muniments: RLTl/182 - formerlyR36Terrier 1565

4 British Library Add MS 9367, folio 190/2Transcript of Guildhall MS: 9171/34 to 446, by K.I.McBean at Manor Farm Library

6 British Library Add MS 9367 folio 197British Library: Add MS 9368LMA: Ace 85/262LMA: Ace 85/296

10 LMA: Ace 85/29611 LMA: DRO 19/EG/1O12 to 15 LMA: Ace 85/29616

LMA: DRO 19/E3/217

Ruislip Parish Rate Books, LMA: DRO 19 E2/1-45,some transcripts at Manor Farm Library

18 Rate Books19

Kemp, W.AG .. History of Eastcote'



A 'PEDIGREE' OF THE ARMS OF HILLINGDONby Kay Holmes

The London Borough of Hillingdon wasformed by the amalgamation of the Borough ofUxbridge, and the urban districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Hayes & Harlington, andYiewsley & West Drayton. All these localauthorities had been granted arms in their ownright, Ruislip-Northwood in 1937, Uxbridge in1948 with the addition of supporters in 1955,Hayes & Harlington in 1950, and Yiewsley &West Drayton in 1953.

Three of the former arms included chargesderived from more ancient sources. TheUxbridge pile came from the Basset arms, inrecognition of the granting of the town's firstcharter by Gilbert Basset, the eagle and theheraldic tyger supporter came from the arms ofPaget, one of whose titles is Earl of Uxbridge,the red cross on the shoulder of the Pegasuscame from the City of London arms, and theseaxe held by the demi-lion crest came fromthe arms of Middlesex.

Yiewsley & West Dray ton also had the Pageteagle, and the red cross from the City ofLondon. Hayes & Harlington had the pallfrom the arms of the see of Canterbury, and theseaxe and Saxon crown from the arms ofMiddlesex. Ruislip-Northwood's fleur-de-lys,almost fortuitously, relates to the arms of theAbbey of Bee, although it does not appear thatthe connection was recorded at the time of thegrant.

The arms granted to Hillingdon in 1965attempted to give all the constituent authoritiesrepresentation in all the main parts of theachievement, the shield, crest and supporters.This laudable aim may have been achievedmathematically, as there is an item from eachof the four coats-of-arms in each of theelements. However it cannot be claimed thateach has equal prominence.

From the Uxbridge arms came half of theeagle, the main charge on the shield, the demi-lion which is the main feature of the crest, andthe dexter supporter, the heraldic tyger.

Yiewsley & West Drayton, the last of the fourto be granted its own arms, contributed theother half of the eagle on the shield, the crosson the wing in the crest, the Tudor rose on thedexter supporter, and an extra element, themotto 'Forward'.

From Hayes & Harlington came the cogwheelin the sinister claw of the eagle, the wreath ofbrushwood, the 'hesa', in the crest, and thestag supporter collared with brushwood.

Ruislip-Northwood, whose grant of armsantedated all the others, has the fleur-de-lys inthe dexter claw of the eagle, the North Starwith colours reversed in the crest, and the slipsof rye on the shoulder of the stag supporter. Ifthese very insignificant items can be seen atall, they might almost be interpreted as theeagle seizing the fleur-de-lys, the lion grabbingthe North Star, and the stag about to eat theslips of rye.

The four wreaths, described as civic crowns inthe official blazon, and representing the fourlocal authorities becoming one, mightotherwise be interpreted as commemoratingtheir demise.

Regrettably the Hillingdon arms include noreference to the former County of Middlesex,no seaxe or Saxon crown. Perhaps if there hadbeen a Middlesex Heraldry Society in 1965alternative suggestions might have been made,but alas there is not likely to be anotheropportunity. We must accept the faitaccompli, and try to console our heraldicinterests with the fact that at least we do have acoat-of-arms in addition to the indignity of acostly and meaningless Borough logo.





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Z•...o:tgoa:sscz9

THE ARMS OF MIDDLESEXby Kay Hol mes

Medieval heraldists ascribed to both the ancientkingdoms of the Middle and the East Saxons thethree seaxes on a red field (Fig. 1). It has beensuggested that the Saxon name derives from theweapon, though the more widely accepted view isthat it comes from Saxony, their presumed place oforigin. In the large west window of WestminsterAbbey, erected in 1735, were the same arms,attributed to Saebehrt, king of the East Saxons.

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Both Middlesex and Essex used these arms formany years without authority from the College ofArms. This dual use could not be officiallyacceptable to the College, and when MiddlesexCounty Council applied for a Grant in 1910 thearms were differenced by the addition of a goldSaxon crown in chief (Fig. 2). It is perhaps ironicthat, when Essex sought a Grant in 1932, theywere, allowed to continue the use of the old,unofficial arms, without change. Even sadder is thefact that, with the abolition of the MiddlesexCounty Council, the arms of Middlesex no longerhave a viable owner.

The seaxeThe seaxe is almost always shown as a curvedweapon, similar to a falchion or a scimitar, but witha semi-circular notch cut out of the back of theblade. It is a described as a short sword or knife,similar to the duelling knife of a Roman gladiator(Fig. 3). In A Restitution of Decayed Intelligence,published in Antwerp in 1605, the author,Verstegan says the short sword was worn by Saxonwarriors: privately hanging under their long skirtedcotes.

Fig. 3

In the field of archaeology the term used is'scramasax'. There seems to have been only asingle example, found at Sittingbourne, which is inthe British Museum (Fig. 5). However, it has astraight blade and no notch. The blade is about 10inches long and the tang for the handle about 3Yzinches; this would probably have been encased inhorn or wood. This is much shorter than one mighthave expected from heraldic illustrations. It bearsthe name of the maker, Biorhtelm, on one side andthat of the owner, Gebereht or Sigebereht, on theother and is dated from 9th or 10th centuries. It isthought that the scramasax remained in use fromthe 6th to the 14th centuries; they are shown inQueen Mary's Psalter of the latter period (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4

One can only guess at the reason for the notch. Ona hedge-cutting implement it could be used to pulldown a branch within reach of the other hand forchopping, but there seems no similar purpose in afighting weapon.

The heraldic seaxe is usually shown curved, despitelack of concrete evidence, with an angling of theback edge of the blade which provides a sharppoint, and the notch. It has appeared in a variety offorms over the last 250 years. Perhaps it is bestshown as a weapon in its own right, clearlydistinguishable from falchion, scimitar or cutlass.It can still be seen in the arms of former andpresent local authorities; long may it continue to doso.



eightpointed star surmounted by an imperial crown,bearing the royal cypher and the motto.

The uniform, still based on that of Light Dragoons,consisted of a broad-topped shako in green cloth,the jacket dark green with black facings, theoveralls dark blue with red welts (gold for officers)and gold button with the initials DYC. Onemember of the force described the shako as heavyand an abomination with its horsehair plume, antithe thickly padded coat as uncomfortable. Helmetsreplaced the shako in 1855. Weapons wereoriginally swords and flint-and-steel pistols, laterreplaced by carbines.

Although the unit achieved a high reputationlocally, it also had the distinction of escorting theKing, William IV, into a field where a complicatedmanoeuvre was needed to turn the King's coachround without overturning it.

In 1871 the regiment was renamed the MiddlesexYeomanry Cavalry (Uxbridge), and shortlyafterwards its headquarters were moved fromChequers in Uxbridge to Edgware Road. In 1884 itbecame the Middlesex (Duke of Cambridge'sHussars) Yeomanry Cavalry. The initials MDCHwere added to the motto circle, and the royalcypher has changed to that of the reigning monarch(Fig. 9).

The Regiment served with distinction in the BoerWar and the First World War. From 1920 the Unithas formed part of the Royal Corps of Signals as 47(Middlesex Yeomanry) Signals Squadron(Volunteers). It gave valiant service in the SecondWorld War. It is a very satisfactory to know that itis once again based in Uxbridge.

Fig. 9

RUISLlP, NORTHWOOO AND EASTCOTE


MUNITIONS IN RUISLIP DURING THE FIRST WORLD WARA PUZZLE SOLVED

by Eileen M. Bowlt

A short article, with a similar name to thatabove, appeared in the RNELHS Journal 1998,but the sub-title was: Something of a puzzle.The conundrum was whether or not there hadbeen a munitions factory in South Ruislipduring the First World War. Happily thepuzzle is now solved.

I mentioned the possibility of a mumtionsfactory in my local history column in theGazette on 1 November 2000 and wasdelighted to have a response from Peter Norrisof Uxbridge, who directed me to a map that hehad seen at the Public Record Office which hehad come across while doing research into thehistory of Northolt Aerodrome.

Armed with a PRO reference, AIR 64, I set offfor Kew and fmally discovered severaldocuments, relating to South Ruislip'scontribution to the war effort, 1916-18.

National Filling Station No 7, atHayes, MiddlesexA number of munitions factories were openedin 1915-16 to provide ammunition for theBritish Expeditionary Force in France. Somewere sited in north west London where femaleworkers were available, and boys could supplythe places of men who were away at the war.One was situated at Twyford Abbey andanother was at Hayes.

The Hayes factory, known as National FillingStation No 7, was being erected in September1915 as a temporary factory for compressingexplosives.

Magazine Accommodation at NortholtA year later, in September 1916, a separatemagazine belonging to National Filling StationNo 7 was under construction near NortholtAerodrome. Higgs and Hill of Crown Works,South Lambeth, were the contractors.Between 26 August and 8 September 1916costs amounted to £7000 17s 11d andcontinued to rise, £4680 7s 4d being paid outat the end of October/beginning of November.One of the payments was to T. Boyles, jun.

The Boyles were at Priors Farm and the moneywas for the use of carts.

According to a map entitled Ministry ofMunitions National Filling Factory No 7,Northolt Magazines, Water Service, it wassituated on the east side of West End Road,roughly between what are now BessingbyRoad and Angus Drive and set about a fieldand a half back from the road. This wouldhelp account for people like the late Mrs AliceHood, who was in her late teens at the time,not being fully aware of it (as recorded in my1998 article). As the magazines were apotential danger in the neighbourhood, eventhough there were very few habitations around,the factory's presence may have been keptquiet. On the other hand, its position fits inwith the recollections of Mrs Payne, alsomentioned in my former piece.

The magazine consisted of 20 huts well spacedout and connected by a railway line from theGreat Western Railway near Northolt Junction(now South Ruislip Station). There were twodressing rooms, a guard room, mess, boilerhouse, mess, general stores and a forge.

Fire was the gravest danger in such a place anda water supply was stored in a reservoir fedfrom what was described as a ditch, butappears to have been the Yeading Brook. Thereservoir also supplied Northolt Aerodromewith water for fire fighting, although there wasdrinking water from the Colne Valley WaterCompany's mains there as well.

When the war was over and the magazineswere no longer needed, a Major Legg wrote tothe Resident Engineer at Northolt on 23 April1919: The Ministry of Munitions have notifiedus that the National Filling Factory is to bedismantled and that they will no longer be ableto provide the water supply to Northolt.

The map in the Public Record Office actuallywas produced to show the water supply layout.


Local History SOciety Journal 200124

\

\:>/.r::./

Details of the Filling Station superimposed upon the 0.S.1:10560 Map of 1916The names of two roads built subsequently have also been added

Munitions Workers' rail ticketsApparently it was the practice of the Ministryof Munitions to issue railway passes toworkers which may account for the 'MunitionsWorker' ticket from Ruislip to Harrow-on-the-Hill, mentioned in the February 1995 Journalof the Transport Ticket Society, which firstsparked off my interest three or four years ago.Such tickets may indicate that workers cameinto Ruislip from elsewhere, rather than beingrecruited from people living locally, anotherpossible reason why we have heard so littleabout the factory when talking to olderresidents.

Future workNow that we know for certain that there was afilling factory at Northolt, it would perhapsmake an attractive project for someone topursue its history. By going through the MUN

archive at the PRO it may be possible to findmore about the costs of the buildings and thepersonnel who worked at the factory.


THE ROADS OF EASTCOTEby Ron Edwards

In the present age, when there is an awakeningof interest in our history and surroundings, it isinevitable that both individuals and societieswill look to the naming of roads with either asense of curiosity or a hope that the name maycontain some clue as to the past of an area. Inan historical sense clues as to the past are morelikely to be found in the case of old establishedhighways, such as. Watling Street or IcknieldWay, or in older urban areas of which Londonis a prime example with its Cheapside, MilkStreet and Strand, where names have beenderived from redundant language forms, tradesor descriptions of earlier surroundings. Whenexamining an area, such as Eastcote, which haschanged its make up from a rural communityto a high-density suburban area over the last 80years the problem is somewhat different.There has been a massive increase in housingand population over a comparatively shortperiod and we are faced with an overlay ofnewly created roads submerging an originalroad system, which has resulted, to someextent, in a change of function for roads.

In earlier times, as outlined above, roads tooktheir names from places and people or werefunctional in being a route from A to B.Alternatively, they were descriptive of theirimmediate locality. Developers of the 20thcentury, however, were faced with a problemof identification whereby their new housesneeded addresses. This sometimes meantdevelopers using the names of their new roadsto advertise, or create a mental picture inprospective purchasers' minds. Due to thisthinking we fmd ourselves surrounded with avariety of names, which, however picturesque,depart radically from traditional forms ofnaming, and, indeed, give rise to the mostfascinating misuse of the English language.For example, the most common ending forroad names in Eastcote is 'Close' (nearly 30%of all roads). Historically, the word 'close'indicates an enclosure from the earlier openfield system, or, if you care to check yourdictionary you may find the followingdefinitions: enclosure; quadrangle enclosed bybuildings; precincts of a cathedral; alleyleading from a street to an inner courtyard. Itwould be difficult to apply any of thesedefinitions to the 39 'Closes' in Eastcote.

Again, there are 17 'Avenues' . You will findyour dictionary defines this word: roadway orapproach to a house bordered by regular rowsof trees; wide street in a town. We also have15 'Gardens' and here the mind must startboggling!

Developers did face a difficulty when they hadto think up a large number of names in a shortperiod of time, and who will deny that namessuch as Lime Grove, Meadow Way orBroadhurst Gardens produced delightfulmental pictures to those who might have beenliving in some of the gloomier areas of Northor East London! Again, if you were of anhistorical frame of mind, names such asAragon Drive, Boleyn Drive or Cardinal Roadmight have an appeal. There are somemysteries from the 1930s: who was Ivy of IvyClose and what did North View 'view' to theNorth?

There are, however, roads in our localitywhose names have an historical content, eitherbecause they are of much earlier origin orbecause they commemorate local notabilities.It is encouraging to note that some developershave made a specific point of doing this, inparticular the London Borough of Hillingdon.A selection of road names with somesuggested backgrounds follow.

Pre 1900 roadsBridle Road Although a track way hadexisted earlier, a 20 feet wide bridle road wasset out under the 1804 Enclosure Act. WAGKemp records that in 1865 F H Deane ofEastcote House proposed to gravel this waybetween Cheney Street and the Ruislip/Pinnerparish boundary in exchange for permission toclose a footpath which ran from close by theMethodist Chapel to Cheney Farm.

Catlins Lane Probably a corruption ofCatherine's. St Catherine's Farm is in thislane. It is known that the Abbey of HolyTrinity, Rouen who was in possession of theManor of St Catherine (to the West of BuryStreet, Ruislip) up to 1391 leased land in theManor of Ruislip and it may have been in thisarea.

RUISLlP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTGOTE


Cheney Street Interesting for name andterminology of 'street'. This latter term is notuncommon for lanes in Middlesex. There arethree in Eastcote. A Chayharnstreet isrecorded in 1365 (possibly a family name) anda Chaynye Street in 1565. Until this centurythis lane ran to the junction with Field EndRoad, but this section has been renamed BridleRoad. The latter previously only ran to thecorner of the present Cheney Street.

Cuckoo Hill Origin of name unknown butthought to be recent. There is evidence toshow that the name Cheney Street also coveredthis section of road. Note the flattened top,which Edwin Ware records, was lowered bythe Surveyors of Pinner and Ruislip jointly in1827 to make work for the unemployed.(Mistletoe Farm in Cuckoo Hill may have beencorruption of Myls Tye - the path to the mill -mentioned in the 1565 Survey. The mill mayhave been that at Pinner Green)

Field End Road Described in the 1804Enclosure Act as a public carriage way anddraft way 30 feet wide. Named after an openarable field or hamlet. Known as NortholtRoad for part of the 19th and early 20thcenturies. The part by Eastcote Village wascommonly known well into the present centuryas Chapel Hill because of the WesleyanChapel, which had been opened in 1848 -nearly opposite to the present MethodistChurch in Pamela Gardens.

Fore Street A common name in many townsin England - normally the road in front of thetown wall or other ancient or prominentfeature. Suggested by the late L E Morris toget its name from its position in relation toPark Wood but uncertain. Known as FrogLane during part of the 19th and 20thcenturies.

High Road Again, a very common roadname. Often a name given to a through trackway raised above flooding level. Note itsposition relative to the River Pinn.

Joel Street_ Could be named after the Joelfamily. The family name was fairlywidespread in the district.

Southill Lane L E Morris suggests that thisname may arise from Thomas Suthill who was

Vicar of Ruislip during Henry VI's reign. Hewas also Rector of St Stephen, Walbrook but itis conjectural whether he would have lived in abackwater rural parish although he may havehad a land holding here. Alternatively,geographically it is on higher land but is not tothe South of Eastcote or Ruislip. Has had avariety of local names in the past, including'Cut Throat Alley'.

Wiltshire Lane Some confusion arises here.Mr Kemp believed the name to derive from theWilshin family who lived and farmed bothlocally, at Pinner and other nearby areas.However, L E Morris saw a connection withthe Wilcher family who mayor may not havebeen the same as the Wilshins. A Survey ofthe Manor of Ruislip in 1565 does record aWylchers Street. Extremely doubtful whetherthe name has any connection with the countyof the same name unless either of thesefamilies originated there.

1900 to 1914 RoadsAcacia Avenue, Beech Avenue, Elm Avenue,Hawthorne Avenue, Lime Grove, LindenAvenue, Myrtle Avenue, Oak Grove

The first 'artificially' created roads in Eastcotefor development purposes came from theBritish Freehold Investments Syndicate in thefirst decade of this century. The Syndicatewere also endeavouring to develop near toNortholt Junction Station (now South Ruislip).These were rather attractive 'sylvan'advertising type names.

1914 to 1939 RoadsAbbotsbury Gardens A memory of a Dorsetholiday?

Aragon Drive - on the 'Tudor' estate off FieldEnd Road.

Arden Mohr Named after the house whichwas demolished for this development.

Azalea Walk Prowting's development onEastcote Place. Inspiration may have comefrom the picturesque gardens around the olderhouse.

Birchmead Avenue A field in old Eastcotewas known as Birchmead before 1914, andmay have been named after a local family.


Boleyn Drive On the 'Tudor' estate

Boundary Road Either the last road beforeRuislip-Northwood Urban District Councilboundary or possibly marking the boundary ofthe Rotherham Estates development.

Cardinal Road, Castleton Road'Tudor' names

More

Chandos Road Possibly named after theChandos family (from Harefield) who lived atHaydon Hall. Lady Chandos was daughter ofAlice, Countess of Derby who built the firstHaydon Hall circa 1630

Cleves Way, Cranmer Close 'Tudor' again.

Deane Way, Deane Croft Road The first-named laid out by Rotherham Estates Ltd. TheHawtrey Deanes, formerly of Eastcote House,originally owned the land developed. BothRotherham Estates Ltd and T F Nash calledtheir developments 'The Deane Estate'.

Devonshire Road Also developed by T FNash. The road backed on to DevonshireLodge, an early 20th century house whichstood on the site of Woolworth Stores oppositethe former Ideal Cinema (now Steel House).

Egerton Place Probably named after SirThomas Egerton of Harefield who was marriedto Alice, Countess of Derby developer of thefirst Haydon Hall.

Essex Close - 'Tudor'

Highgrove Way After Highgrove House,which stands on land originally known asHale's End.

Hoylake Gardens Golf association

Morford Close, Morford Way Mr Morfordwas an earlier owner of the land

North View Possibly named by theMetropolitan Railway Estates who built thefirst houses on the south side after enteringfrom Field End Road. It will be noted thatthese are angled from the line of the road andprobably look directly to the north, which

would have presented an open view whendeveloped in the 1920s.

Pamela Gardens Pamela was the daughter ofone of the Wakeling family who, with theComben family, were developers of part of theEastcote Park Estate.

Pavilion Way A road developed by DavisEstates Ltd roughly on the site of 'ThePavilion' whose proprietor was Albert Bayly.The Pavilion was an amusement centre duringthe 1920s and early 1930s catering for theneeds of many thousands of children whocame in organised parties from the innersuburbs of London for a day's enjoyment incountry air. Special trains were laid on forthese occasions and the amusements were ofmany kinds, helter-skelter, donkey rides, races,etc. There are residents living in Eastcote whorecall coming on such outings, probably littlerealising that they would eventually live in thearea.

Rodney Gardens Rodney was the brother ofPamela Wakeling mentioned above.

St Lawrence Drive_ From its proximity to StLawrence Church, Bridle Road

Seymour Gardens - 'Tudor'

Post 1945 RoadsChippenham Close, Malmesbury Close,Salisbury Road, Somerford Close One ofthe major developments of the Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council after theSecond World War to help alleviate the acutehousing shortage. It would appear that thenames were to be associated with WiltshireLane as all of these names are places inWiltshire, but as we have already noted it ismost unlikely that Wiltshire Lane has anyconnection with that county.

Camp bell Close, Hale End Close, HumeWay A very good example of a developer'sappreciation of historical place names. Thisarea, just by High Grove was called Hale Endfrom probably as early as the 13th century andcertainly up to the 18th century. High Groveitself was owned by Sir Hugh HumeCampbell's wife and lived in up to LadyCampbell's death in 1886. Sir Hugh inheritedthe property although he ceased to live there.


In 1894 Sir Hugh died and left the property tohis grandchildren Eleanor, George, Alice andHugh Warrender. They were the children ofHelen, the daughter of his first marriage whohad married Sir George Warrender in 1854.George, who part inherited High Grove,married Lady Maude Ashley, youngerdaughter of the 8th Earl of Shaftesbury, andled a career in the Navy eventually becoming aVice Admiral.

Curzon Place Alongside 'Horn End' inCheney Street, the home of George Curzonwho was Vicar's Churchwarden at St Martins,Ruislip from 1887 to 1892.

Eastfields East Field was one of the originalopen fields pre-Enclosure,

Everett Close In the 1970s redevelopment offWiltshire Lane, this road commemorates RevThomas Marsh Everett, Vicar of Ruislip from1878 to 1900. Educated and gifted, heexhibited all of the finer qualities of theVictorian social conscience. Chairman of theold Vestry and Vice Chairman of the laterParish Council, he was the guiding handbehind the schools in Eastcote Road, Ruislip.He was deeply religious but not bigoted, hewas only too aware of the hardship among somany of the villagers. Funds to alleviatehardship were organised and administered byhim, and with the aid of his brother-in-law,Laurence Baker who lived in Eastcote Lodge(the site of which is now covered by FlagWalk) he pioneered the first Men's Institute inEastcote Village.

Farthings Close Originally to be called WhiteChapel Close, but it is understood thatresidents around were not enthusiastic aboutpossible East London connotation!

Flag Walk Built in 1960s on the site of thedemolished Eastcote Lodge, alongside FlagCottage.

Haydon Drive Association with nearby, nowdemolished, Haydon Hall.

Park Farm Close Association with theneighbouring 'Park Farm'

Raisins Hill There was a tenant in Ruislipcalled Raisin in 1248. More recently in the

19th and early 20th centuries there was a smallcommunity called Raisins Hill at the end ofCatlins Lane. The 'White Cottage' to the rearof Harlyn Drive is the sole remnant of thatcommunity.

St Andrew's Close St Andrew's LutheranChurch is nearby

The Sigers Taking its name from the house ofthat name which stood, until the early 1930s,opposite to the Catholic Church of St ThomasMore. A close called Sigares existed in FieldEnd as recorded in the 1565 Survey. One ofthe later owners of the house in this centurywas Kenneth Goschen who at one time wasGovernor of the Bank of England.

Woodrise After the cottage, which stood onthe corner of this road

I have shown some possible explanations ofthe road-names of Eastcote. Any furtherinformation which is known to readers will begratefully received, but in the meantime Iwould acknowledge my debt to the works ofthe late L E Morris, the late WAG Kemp andto David Massey in the compilation of thepresent article.



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