RUISLIP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE Local …btckstorage.blob.core.windows.net/site8867/Journals...15 January Hampstead Heath: People & Places Colin Bowlt 19 February Images of London

RUISLIP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTELocal History Society

Journal 2000

CONTENTS

Re! Author Page

Committee Members 2

Lecture Programme 2000-2001 2

Editorial 3

00/1 Field End Revisited Colleen A Cox and Karen Spink 4

00/2 Domesday Park Bank & Ditch at Ruislip Colin Bowlt 18

00/3 The Holdford Family Colleen A Cox 22

Exhibition: 1000 Years of Manor Farm Colleen A Cox 2600/4 St Martin's Chancel North-east Window Valery Cowley 270015 The Defence of the Realm Eileen M Bowlt 28

0016 The Northwood Chapel of Ease Simon Morgan 34

Cover picture: Field End Farm, Eastcote.

Designed and edited by Simon Morgan.

Line drawings (cover and page 27) by Denise Shackell.

Copyright © November 2000 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 required for 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 producedfrom time to time.

RUISLlP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE

Local History SocietyRegistered Charity no. 288234

COMMITTEE 2000-2001President Leonard Krause 01923 836074Chairman Colleen A Cox 01895478927Secretary Susan Toms 01895637134

3 Elmbridge Close, Ruislip HA4 7XATreasurer Jess Eastwood 0208621 5379

68 Nibthwaite Road, Harrow HAl 1TG

Membership Secretary Delia Montlake 0189567666334b Eastcote Road, Ruislip HA4 8DQ

Programme Secretary Alison Ferguson 01895 635628Editor Simon Morgan 01923 827188Outings Organiser Sylvia Ladyman 01895 673305Minutes Carol Butler 01895632939

Eileen M Bowlt 01895638060Eric Spanier 01895636026

LECTURE PROGRAMME 2000-20012000

18 September The Romans in Southwark Harvey Sheldon

16 October AGM followed by:Harrow Weald: Past Glories Eileen M Bowlt

20 November Samuel Johnson's London Natasha McEnroe

18 December A Good Night Out Patricia Melville

2001

15 January Hampstead Heath: People & Places Colin Bowlt

19 February Images of London Cathy Ross

19 March Research Group presentations

23 April Hanworth Park Andrea Cameron

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


Local History Society 2 Journal 2000

EDITORIAL1have always thought of the 20th century as notreally history. Well, it was only a few yearsago and much of it is .within living memory.The facts are well established, so the mainchallenge for 20th century historians is in re-interpretation and revisionism - using thebenefit of hindsight and distance to re-evaluatethe established wisdom. Perhaps my antipathyto modem history stems from my schooldayswhen we were rushed from the feudal system tothe Industrial Revolution in order to commencethe '0' levelsyllabus, leaving unexplored theevents of the interveningcenturies.

Another objectionto 20th century history is thatit is far too easy to research and therefore ratherdull. It doesn't require the dedication neededforearlier periods: the long hours spent in librariesand record offices, the deciphering of faint hand-written documents. And where is the intellectualchallenge? Research on earlier periods requirespiecing together a jigsaw of sketchy andintermittent information. From the mid-19thcentury, records become much more numerousand complete. Civil registration of births,marriages and deaths was introduced in 1837,with the first detailed census following fouryears later. Property transactions and thelevying of the poor rate became better recordedat much the same time, giving us a wide rangeof sources to track people and places.

However, mysteries do remain and people dostill slip through· the net of bureaucracy.Censuses were only decennial and the occupantscould be away and therefore unrecorded on therelevant date. Other records are strong on landand property owners but weaker on tenants.Some of these documents are hopelessly vagueand were clearly not written for the benefit ofposterity; they require a lot of cross-referencingand intelligent guesswork. In the 19th centurycensuses, hundreds of people were recorded asliving simply at 'Field End' or at 'Northwood'with no further address.

With the turn of the 20th century, whilst the firstcensus return is not available for another month,we do have street and trade directories, electoralregisters, much more comprehensive local newscoverage, and a higher likelihood of good localauthority and institutional records. Withdetailed Ordnance Survey mapping, updatedevery twenty years or so, every building, hedge,

path and railway siding is documented.Considering also the increasing photographicarchiveof the 20th century, what is there left toknow?

The 20th century is no longer 'our' century andthus immediatelybecomes a more appealing andserious subject for study. In any case, whilstevents of national and global importance arewell documented, locally this period has beenneglected. This is a significant omissionbecause the 20th century encompasses the 1110Stmonumental .change that Ruislip has everexperienced: the transition from a quiescentfarming community to a populous Londonsuburb. Whilst Northwood had started thisprocess in the 1880s when the MetropolitanRailway opened, its developmentstill had a longway to go when the 20th century dawned. Tolook at this another way, the early 20th centuryis our last link with the rural way of life thatstretched back many centuries before.

Can we use the good documentary sources ofthe 20th century better to understand how ourarea functioned as an agricultural community?While information remains in the heads of oldermembers of the community, now is the time torecord it. Details that were once commonknowledgecan easily be lost, as I explore in thisJournal in relation to the location of theNorthwood chapel of ease. A more recentexample is: where exactly was the Ruislip-Northwood council chamber, last used in 1965?The former council headquarters in Northwoodremain largely intact in the form of the librarycomplex and the house, Oaklands (now part ofthe Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue).The photograph of the 'Council Chamber firstused in 1950' in Ruislip Northwood - TheDevelopment of an Urban District 1904-1965shows a large modem room with leaded-lightwindows which do not match the presentexternal fenestration of either of these buildings.Does anyone know the answer, or is this amodem mystery?

There is still much to learn about our locality inthe 20th century and much of what is nowknown might not be passed on to the nextgeneration. Modem local history is a worthysubject and one that will always be welcomedfor publication in this Journal.

When can westart on the 21st century?

RUISUP. NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTELocal History Society Journal 20003

FIELD END REVISITEDby Colleen A. Cox and Karen Spink

There were two areas called Field End in theancient manor of Ruislip, one just south ofRuislip Station and the other near the presentlibrary in Eastcote. Both, as their namesuggests, were on the boundary of the formeropen fields but it is the Eastcote one which isthe subject of this article.

Both authors have written about the area in thepast and have been equally frustrated by theproblems of trying to locate individualhouseholders when most were described onlyas living at 'Field End'. For the purposes ofthe article, Field End has been defined as thepart of Field End Road from Field End Farmnorth to Field End Villas. Neither EastcoteHouse nor Eastcote Cottage has been includedboth of which border on the area but whichhave been dealt with elsewhere. Theseproperties belonged to the influential Deanefamily who also owned Park Farm and Sigersand gradually acquired more land in Field Endduring the 19th century.

In 1565, a terrier, or survey, was made byKing's College, Cambridge, the Lords of theManor of Ruislip, of their demesne lands,which gave tenants' names with a descriptionof their holdings. From this, it can be seen thatin 1565 there were several messuages andcottages, about nine in number, scattered alongwhat was then known as Field End and ClayStreet. Today there are five buildings datingfrom the 16th century in Field End: Field EndFarm, Tudor Lodge Hotel, Park Farm, aremnant of Field End House Farm calledRetreat Cottage and Eastcote Cottage. It ismost likely that something of these samebuildings existed in 1565. Certainly therewere buildings on these sites. The otherimportant messuage from that date, of whichnothing has survived, is Sigers which was nextto Park Farm.

More detailed information about the area isobtained from the map drawn up by theEnclosure Commissioners in 1806 (see fig. 2)and the accompanying schedule which lists theold enclosure numbers, their size andownership (see fig. 1). Information from therate books, the censuses and street directorieshas also been used. In addition extracts have

been taken from articles in The Aerial,published by the Eastcote Residents'Association from 1936 to the 1970s, from localnewspapers and from personal communication.

The rate books are an important source ofinformation for local historians. Unfortunatelythe early ones for the area give few details ofthe properties and a number are missingaltogether. However there is a copy of a terriercarried out in 1837 which lists the old and newenclosure numbers as well as the owners,occupiers, area and rateable value whichmeans that the various holdings can bepinpointed at this date.

The article is written in the form of a walkfollowing the route taken by some of the earlycensus enumerators. Field End wasapproached from the south along what is nowField End Road but which used to be calledNortholt Road when it was a narrow countrylane with open farmland on either side. Thefirst building reached was Field End Farm(photo. 1) with its large barn and other farmbuildings.

Field End Farm OE 589In 1806 a man called John Stiles ownedseveral small plots, amounting to some 14 acresnear his farm at Field End and 6 acres nearPark Farm. They were OE 588, 589, 590, 592,595, 596, 597, 599, 700 and 704. The 19thcentury rate books indicated that he still ownedthis land in 1820, but by 1827 a Mr Allesonhad bought Field End Farm and someadjoining land previously in the ownership ofJohn Stiles. In 1837 the Allesons still ownedOE 588, 589, 590, 592 and 595. In 1847 theseenclosures were held by the Deanes in whosehands they remained until the 1930s.

One of the earliest occupiers of the farm in the19th century was WilIiam Durbridge,sometimes written as Durbidge, who was therein 1820. Durbridge was born in Wheatley,Oxfordshire. He settled in this area andaccording to the census was still at the farm in1851. There were various occupiers in the1850s and '60s and the size of the farmincreased from 85 to over 200 acres, almost

RUISLIP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE

Local History Society Journal 20004

certainly because it included more of theDeane land.

In 1871 a man called John Somers was there.He was a 47-year-old man from Somerset whogained certain notoriety in the local press in] 873. In October, his wife Mary Ann Somerswas summonsed for assaulting WilIiam HenryHone, a bailiff's man, who was a broker atNotting Hill. Hone had 'entered intopossession of Field End Farm, Eastcott, keptby Mrs Somers' husband, where he tookpossession under a Bill of Sale for a money-lender, Mr Page, also of Notting Hill. MrHone was recognised by both Mr and MrsSomers as he slept at the Lodge where theywere themselves living, and took his meals atField End Farm. He was instructed to remainin possess ionfor a Mr Moore, an auctioneer ofWatford,'

Then in November there was a notice ofliquidation of John Barnes Somers of FieldEnd Lodge and Field End Farm, Eastcote,Middlesex, farmer and grazier and theannouncement of the date of the first meetingof creditors to be held on 15 December.However, in the meantime, Uxbridge benchintervened and ordered that John BarnesSomers of Eastcote be committed to theDebtors' Prison, Holloway, for one calendarmonth, for not paying the poor rate to theparish of Ruislip - an amount of about £31.Police Sergeant Bromfield of Ruislip caughtup with Somers in Gray's Inn, London, andconveyed him to prison. Then the followingmonth, the two Somers' daughters appeared incomi to reclaim their property worth £436,which had been wrongfully seized by theauctioneers. This is the last time the Somerswere heard of in Eastcote.

The newspaper reports suggested that Somerswas living at Field End Lodge while farmingField End Farm. It was assumed that this wasthe house currently known as Tudor Lodge,however, further research has proved this to beincorrect. Somers was succeeded by WilliamPage for a short time, but a street directory of1877 indicated that Field End Farm wasoccupied by George Bodsworth fromBedfordshire, followed by William Woodlandfrom Ickenham and by 1902 the farm was adairy-farm run by John Westacott. He was

succeeded by his wife, Mary, who wasrecorded in the rate book as late as 1928.

George Joce of 4 Field End Villas, writing inthe 1930s, recalls 1901 when: 'Field End Farmwas occupied by a burly North Devon farmernamed Westacott, whose voice could call hisdogs from twofields away. Coming home on asummer's evening, Westacotts usuallyprovided something of interest.

'Opposite the farm was a large triangularpiece of roadside waste, containing a cattlepond, where Westacotts' cows went to drink.This has now been filled in and the warmemorial (removed from the crossroadsfurther down) erected on its site. HarrowSchool art class sat here to sketch thefarm andthe wonderful old barn, which happily hasbeen saved. Thefarm has been reconditioned,and the old farmyard made into a beautifulgarden. But one misses the cows, the geese,the annual sheep shearing in the yard, theswallows skimming the surface and the waterseagulls busy around its edge. '

The 'saved barn' had become very derelict bythe 1970s but was finally restored andconverted into offices in 1977.

Orchard Farm OE 591 & 593The next property visited by the enumeratorwas the cottage on OE 591 on which OrchardFarm now stands. The owner at the time of theenclosure was Mrs Elizabeth White, describedin the 1806 rate book as the 'late Mrs White'.She also owned the adjacent plot OE 593.Both enclosures were purchased by RalphDeane some time before 1827 and theybelonged to his family for the next 100 years.Joseph Ambridge occupied Mrs White'scottage and the two small pieces of meadow in1806 and he was still there in 1851.

The Ambridges are an old Eastcote family whocan be traced back to the 18th century. In themiddle of the 19th century there were alsoAmbridges in Fore Street and at HighgroveLodge, and Mary Ambridge was working as acook at Haydon Hall. There were stillAmbridges living in neighbouring Harrow,Watford and Hendon at the end of the 20thcentury as was revealed by an interesting storytold by the Pinner History Society.

RUISLlP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTELocal History Society Journal 20007

One of the great grandsons of JosephAmbridge of Orchard Farm whose name wasalso Joseph had six children. He died in 1913,and Ada, his widow, unable to cope with theirlarge family gave up the three eldest childrento Dr Barnardo's Homes from where they weresent to Canada. The third child Alfred, whohad been born in Cambridge Villas in HighRoad, Eastcote, ran away to the United Stateswhere he took an assumed name. It was onlyafter his death that his daughter discovered hisreal name and where he came from, and shecontacted the Pinner History Society. Jim

1891 census we learn that he was a 37-year-oldman born in Suffolk, married to a woman fromNorthamptonshire with successive childrenborn in Cambridgeshire, Warwickshire andthen Northamptonshire. The electoral rollindicated that in 1891 he had recently movedfrom a cottage near The Firs in Harefield. Heseems to have settled in Field End as,according to the 1914 rate book, he occupied ahouse and 6 acres of land called Field EndGardens, presumably because it was still amarket garden.

Photo 1: Field End Farmrear view, May 2000

Golland looked up the name Ambridge in thephone book and the first person he rang wasone of Alfred's brothers. He had had no newsof Alfred since they were children.

A plaque on the present building indicates thatit was built in the 1860s so this cannot be thecottage occupied by the Ambridges. It wasdifficult to identify the occupiers after 1851but by 1891 it appears to have been DavidCrack who ran a market garden there. Crackseems to have been a rolling stone. From the

Orchard Farm was bought by William Murcharound 1928. The cottage itself was acquiredby Edwin Hartley in 1931. He was thearchitect for the Rotherham Estates who builtMeadow Way, Deane Way, Crescent Gardens,etc., on land behind Field End Farm that hadbelonged to the Deanes. Hartley was keen onexploring the area and wrote a series of articleson West Middlesex and Buckinghamshireentitled 'In and around Eastcote'. Hartleyaltered the simple three-bedroom cottage. Headded an extension on the back and bay

RUISLlP. NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE


windows at the front and transformed it into amodern 1930s pebble-dashed four-bedroomhouse.

In ]970, his daughter, Madeline Hartley, wrote'L lived in Eastcote from 1932 to 1957. My

father bought the old cottage and converted itinto a modern house. Previous occupiers hadsold apples and "did Teas", for we found anold notice board in the front gardenadvertising thefact and we had many would-becustomers calling on us in the early days ofour residence. Also in those days many peoplewould stand at the gate staring and pointingout to their companions where and how thealterations had taken place.' There was an oldwell in the garden, which is still there. Thewater was very cold and hard wrote Madeline,but as there were no refrigerators in those days,the Hartleys found it very useful for storingfood. They packed the food in a bucket andlowered it carefully to just above the water-level.

OE592The enumerator would next have passed OE592, a plot of meadow-land just under twoacres in area. This was another of the smallplots owned by John Stiles at the beginning ofthe 19th century and purchased by the Allesonsby I837 when the tenant was WilliamDurbridge of Field End Farm. It was ownedand occupied by the Deanes in 1857 and itremained as meadow until purchased byWilliam Murch.

WilIiam James Murch was born in Pinner, theson of William Murch who was variouslydescribed as grocer, farmer and fruiterer. Afterhis marriage in 1882 to Marion Wilshin-Pugh,also from Pinner, William junior and his wifemoved to 3 Field End Villas. It is said that hewalked every morning to Hatch End station tocatch the train to his office at the London andWestern Railway in Euston where he wasemployed as an accountant. By 1885 thingswere made slightly easier with the opening ofPinner Station, and by the time Eastcote Halthad opened in 1906, William Murch was livingin his newly-built house, Ruislip House. Thiswas made from local red bricks from theCheney Street brickworks, probably built bythe builders Gallop, who were based in the OldBarn in Eastcote High Road.

Wi lIiam had several daughters and two sons,Guy and Kenneth. In 1914, in the electoral rollbook, Guy was shown as' a paying lodger atRuislip House, entitling him to a vote. Hisfather was charging him 10 shillings a weekfor a first floor bedroom. William served onthe parish council and was a churchwarden atRuislip where he helped raise funds for the twowindows in the north chancel depicting StMartin, and the oak litany desk, all in memoryof the late Rev. Thomas Marsh Everett.

Ken Murch lived in Ruislip House after hisfather's death in 1938. By this time there wasa verandah running the length of the back ofthe house and several large glass houses in thegarden where he grew grapes. Ruislip Housewas demolished in the 1960s when the newhousing development called The Sigers wasbuilt.

Field End Cottages OE 595The land on which Field End Cottages nowstand was yet another of the plots owned byJohn Stiles, purchased by the Allesons andthen the Deanes. In 1837 there was a smallcottage on it occupied by Henry Douglas whowas succeeded by his widow Mary. In 1851she was recorded as a charwoman. It seemslikely that Joseph Ambridge left the cottagenear Orchard Farm in the 1850s and was livingin this cottage in 1861 when he was describedin the census as a 71-year-old carrier ofparcels. He may have stayed there until hisdeath in 1865. The cottage either fell down orwas demolished soon after this and the existingones were built by the Deanes in about 1888.In 1891 the new cottages were occupied byWiIliam Lees, a gamekeeper, and Henry Gadd,a gardener, possibly both employees of theDeane family. In the 1914 rate book FredAyres and Harry Hawkins were recorded as thetenants.

Fred Ayres worked for the Deanes as headgardener at Eastcote House. His children Fred,born in 1906, and Dorothy were born in theleft-hand cottage of this pair of cottages (now54 Field End Road). They both attended thePinner Road School in Northwood followed byBishop Winnington Ingram in Ruislip. Fredjunior became the head gardener of Horn Endin 1930 and lived in Horn End Cottage inCheney Street. His son lives just off CheneyStreet today.

RUISLlP. NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTELocal History Society Journal 20009

In 1932 the Deanes sold Field End Cottages toWaiter Tapping.

Tudor Lodge OE 596 & 599The next enclosure visited by the enumeratorwas that on which the Tudor Lodge Hotel nowstands (OE 596). This building has had itsname changed several times during the last twocenturies but to avoid further confusion, it willbe referred to here as Tudor Lodge.

This is a very old site which may have beenoccupied as early as the 16th century. The twoenclosures, OE 596 and 599, were linkedtogether and both were owned by John Stiles atthe enclosure. By 1827, however, they wereowned and occupied by William White. In1841 he was a farmer of about 70 years oldwho was still at Tudor Lodge in 1847. He wassucceeded by Richard Watts who was admittedto the property on 14 January 1850.

Richard Watts was a corn chandler who alsoowned The Grange in Eastcote High Roadwhere he and his family were living in 1851.At this time, Tudor Lodge was leased toThomas Axtill, a landed proprietor fromLondon. By 1861 Mrs Watts, now widowedand described as a retired corn chandler, hadmoved from The Grange to Tudor Lodge. Theoccupier could not be identified in the 1871census but in a street directory of 1875, thehouse, called Field End Cottage, was occupiedby Mrs Watts. In 1881 the head of thehousehold was Mrs Susannah Willcox, aproprietor of houses living with her sister,Miss Charity Watts. The 1886 rate book andthe 1891 census both record Miss CharityWatts as the occupier.

By 1902 the house was occupied by BenjaminPhillip Richard and owned by HenryPerryman. Richard was still there in 1908 butit is thought that the property was then boughtby Benjamin J. Hall, an engineer. He certainlyowned and occupied the house at Field End by1914. On the 1913 map (see fig. 3), the housewas known as Field End Villa but in the 1914Rate Book it was referred to as Field EndLodge. According to the 1956 Kemp'sdirectory there were two residences on the site:Field End Lodge and 50 Field End Road. MrJ.K. Landless had moved there by 1973 and by1976 occupied both houses, converting them to

the Tudor Lodge Hotel. There have beenmany alterations and it is now quite hard toidentify the original buildings. Mr Landlessran the hotel until the autumn of 1999.

The house was enlarged when the Halls ownedit, and during the First World War it was put atthe disposal of the military for use as aVoluntary Aid Detachment Hospital. Manylocal girls became VADs including GertrudeLavender and Gladys Gregory. 'After thewar,' wrote Mr Joce, 'Mr and Mrs Hallobtained permission to erect a small warshrine on the patch of grass which thenoccupied the centre of the crossroads at FieldEnd. This bore the names of Eastcote menkilled; it was later placed in the temporarychurch of St Lawrence, and is now in thepermanent church.' The whereabouts of thiscross now is not known. Its place was takenby a stone memorial cross in 1922, but the siteproved to be quite unsuitable as the cross wascontinually damaged or knocked down by thetraffic. It was finally re-erected in 1929 in itspresent position in a permanent memorialgarden opposite Field End Farm.

Mount Pleasant OE 597Next to Tudor Lodge was a small plot of land,OE 597, of just under a quarter of an acre.This was yet another of the plots owned byJohn Stiles which had been bought by theDeanes by 1837 when there were two cottageson it occupied by Thomas White and JohnRose. The latter was described in the 1841census as a 75-year-old carpenter and livingwith him was John Cox, a 35-year-oldcarpenter from Amersham. Ten years laterCox was still living in the same place, althoughby 1861 he had moved to a cottage near Raminin Eastcote High Road and with his sonsbecame the local builders.

The 1865 OS map shows two pairs of cottageson this plot and it is thought that the ones at theback are the earlier ones occupied by ThomasWhite and John Rose. It is interesting to notethat almost all the occupiers of this plot hadconnections with the building trade. The oldcottages were still there in 1925 whenBenjamin Hall bought the land from theDeanes but had gone by 1928 when four flatswere built almost adjacent to them. Thesewere occupied from 1929 and are still in



occupation today, though at the time of writingare threatened with demolition.

The pair of cottages at the front of the plot,known as Mount Pleasant Cottages, are said todate from the 1840s and may have been builton roadside waste (photo 2). It has not yetproved possible to establish who the occupierswere until the beginning of the 20th century.The first record of them by name was in the1915 street directory when the occupier wasEdwin Lavender. The 1929 rate book revealedthat they were owned by B.J. Hall and theoccupiers were John Hill and Thomas Beck.The cottages were in occupation until theywere demolished in 1968.

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The Nightingale family was continually upbefore the magistrates' court and theirmisdemeanours were colourfully reported inthe local press between 1868 and 1875. TheWesleyan Chapel, further down the road,seems to have been the place where the localyouth congregated to cause a nuisance.

By 1902, Nightingale's land and cottages hadbeen purchased by George Barter of HopeCottage, Pinner. He kept them until 1925when they were bought by B.J. Hall. At somestage the cottages were demolished andreplaced by White Cottage, set well back fromthe road and a bungalow built to the left infront.

Photo 2: Field End 1950s.Left (behind trees): Tudor Lodge, centre: Mount Pleasant,

right: flats (38-44 Field End Road), far right: White Cottage.

Nightingale Cottages OE 598The next plot was even smaller with an area ofapproximately an eighth of an acre. In 1806 itbelonged to Richard Bugberd and the cottageon it was occupied by James Nightingale. Hehad purchased the plot by 1827 and theNightingale family lived there for the rest ofthe 19th century. By 1837 James Nightingalehad built four small cottages there which he letout to his S011 and to labourers and theirfamilies.

White Cottage was occupied in 1928 by WaIterLappage who ran a nursery on the land. Thisseems to have continued until the war, whenthe occupier was Len Clark who had kennelsthere. He was followed by a dealer in animals,Reg Barney, who kept horses and cows. And,just like the Nightingale family before him, hewas continually being called up before theUxbridge magistrates for letting his animalsroam the streets.



In 1928, the Bungalow was used by theEastcote Child Welfare Association, and in thefollowing year by Vincent Hill. Before theSecond World War, William Thompson wasthere. He was apparently a chef by trade, butwas also the local bookie. He had a tendencyto disappear for long periods at a time and thensuddenly reappear again. During the war, abomb hit a paving slab in front of theBungalow, and this flew up in the air andlanded on the pillow of Mr Thompson's bed.Fortunately for him, he was in the air raidshelter at the time. After this incident theBungalow seems not to have been repaired andis not mentioned in the 1950s street directories.By 1966 the White Cottage had also gone.The land was taken into the development ofThe Sigers, and a pair of maisonettes was built(34 and 34A Field End Road).

Sigers OE 701At some stage the enumerators crossed FieldEnd Road to Sigers. This was one of the farmsof about 130 acres that had always belonged tothe Deanes. The first occupier to be identifiedin the 19th century was Richard Eales who wasthere in 1837 and was still there in 1857. Theoccupier could not be identified either in 1861or 1871 censuses, however in 1871 JohnSomers of Field End Farm had 220 acres ofland and it is possible that this consisted of the85 acres of Field End Farm and the 130 acresof Sigers. It was also reported that Somerslived at Field End Lodge which could not beTudor Lodge, as had previously been thought,as this was owned and occupied by the Wattsfamily at the time. A search of variousdocuments was undertaken to see if at any timeSigers had been known as Field End Lodge.The link was established when it was foundthat a street directory of 1901 recorded F.Jackson living at The Sigers and a rate book of1902 had H. Fielden Jackson at Field EndLodge, a property belonging to the Deanes.

It seems that after Somers left the area, Sigerswas converted into a private house occupied bya solicitor at the time of the 1881 census and10 years later by a stockbroker's agent, HenryBarnes, who according to the 1899 directorylived at 'Seizers'. He seems to have beenfollowed by Mr Jackson,

Kenneth Goschen, a member of an illustriousbanking family and himself a director of the

Bank of England, moved to the area before theFirst World War. He leased both Sigers andPark Farm with 57 acres of land on which hebred pedigree cattle.

Sigers was famous for it garden fetes. In the1890s, Mr and Mrs Barnes raised money for StMartin's Church, and then later the Goschensdid the same for the new Eastcote church, StLawrence, holding annual garden fetes.

After the Goschens, Sigers was occupied byGeneral Sir Henry W.G. Cole. In 1930 theland was sold by the Deanes to Comben andWakeling for the development known asEastcote Park Estate. The house, lookingrather forlorn, survived probably till the end ofthe 1930s.

Park Farm OE 698Park Farm was the home farm of the DeaneEastcote House Estate. The acreage varied butwas usually about 57 acres. It was occupiedby Wi lliam Lawson from 1837 but by 1851 hehad been replaced by the farm bailiff, HenryPowel!. He was still there in 1861 but thenmoved to run Fore Street Farm, another of theDeanes' properties. Sixty-two-year-oldWiIliam Barter, from Hampshire, was there in1871, but a newspaper report of 1876 gavedetails of the sale of his goods on leaving. Hewas followed by lames Foxley, there until hisdeath in January 1892. S. Hunt, a dairyman,followed him and Herbert Jackson was there in1901.

On 30 March 190 I it was reported in the localpress from the Uxbridge Petty Sessions that:'Herbert Jackson of Piccadilly and Eastcotewas fined £2 5s Od [£2.25] for keeping twoservants without a license and £J 1s Od [£ 1.05]for keeping two dogs without a license. '

The 1914 rate book shows that KennethGoschen was leasing Park Farm with Sigers.In 1928 Frederick Cradock was farming itwhile at the same time owning one of the FieldEnd Villas across the road. Most of the ParkFarm land was also sold by the Deanes for theEastcote Park Estate, but some in theimmediate vicinity of the farmhouse wasretained along with the barns. Park Farmbecame one private residence, and next door alarger piece of land with the barns on it had a


detached house built on it and became aseparate residence (see Fig. 4).

It was there that from the 1950s NormanRobarts, the dairy farmer from Northwood,was living. It was still a rural corner in theearly 1980s. The Robarts kept hens, geese andducks and some rather noisy peacocks. It wassaid that Mr Robarts had his shotgunpermanently aimed out of an upstairs windowin case the fox strolled by. Certainly, the gun'sretorts were heard from time to time. And onat least one occasion, a brood of ducklings wasseen wandering across Field End Road.

Field End House FarmOE 600, 601 & 602Across the road from Park Farm was Field EndHouse estate. The boundary was adjacent to afootpath which has been a public right of wayfor at least 150 years. In the m id-19th centurythis path went past the field used by EastcoteCricket Club and along the boundary ofHighgrove Estate until it came out at thebottom of Eastcote High Road. Today the exitis next to the American Base.

At the beginning of the 19th century, ThomasTruesdale Clarke of Swakeleys in Ickenhamowned a considerable amount of land inRuislip and Eastcote. He drowned in rathermysterious circumstances in shallow water onhis Swakeleys estate in 1840 and his holdingsin Field End (OE 600, 601 and 602) weresubsequently sold. The new owner MissCordelia Winter took a keen interest in localaffairs and in 1847 she built a Wesleyan chapelon a piece of her land and the road alongsidebecame known as Chapel Hill. The chapelbecame the centre for many enjoyable villageactivities.

William Lawrence inherited Field End HouseFarm and its 100 acres of land from MissWinter and was formally admitted on 1 August1851 although he must have been living therebefore this as he was recorded in the censustaken that year on 3 1 March. InitiallyLawrence lived in the old farmhouse near theline of barns, the only survivor of which isRetreat Cottage at the entrance to FarthingsClose. By around 1856 he had built himself anew house on an adjoining piece of land andmoved in with his new wife, Sarah, formerly

his housekeeper. This house was known asField End House.

Like their predecessor, the Lawrences werestaunch Methodists and supported the SundaySchool and its activities. Mrs Lawrence gavethe children a copy ofthe New Testament afteran anniversary party and on another occasionchildren and friends of the chapel wereentertained to tea at Field End House Farmwhen the garden 'was beautifully illuminatedby a variety of coloured lamps'. These lampswere obviously a speciality of the Lawrencesand appear in descriptions of other events.

WilIiam Lawrence died in 1880 and the estatepassed to his brother Henry and to MarkCoakes, a corn dealer from Hayes, Middlesexon condition that it was not sold until after thedeath of Mrs Lawrence. In 1901, the year inwhich Sarah Lawrence died, a strip of land wassold to the Railway Company and in 1902 theremainder of the estate was sold to WaIterMorford for £6200. Morford lived in TheWhite House in Sharp's Lane, Ruislip and fouryears later he also boughtRuislip Park estateas a speculative venture. He died in 1915 buthis executors still owned most of the Field EndHouse estate in 1928.

From 1902, Field End House was occupied byA.C. Cross, followed a few years later byLillian Minnie Carmen. She ran a Joy Club,what would be called a youth club today.C.W. Benson, writing in The Aerial explained'The activities of the Club comprised the usualgames, Maypole dancing, boxing andtheatricals, and for this she had a large hut inthe back garden. At Easter time a specialfeature was always an Easter Egg hunt in thegrounds. ' Mr Benson described the house in1911 as 'a fine old house standing partiallyhidden by a large Monkey Puzzle tree'.

Field End House was occupied from 1909 andduring the first World War by Henry KiellAyliff, an actor, producer and stage manager.

By 1934 the house was being used by theGrail, a Catholic organisation. Then in 1936Ruislip-Northwood Council grantedpermission for the erection of a RomanCatholic church and church hall on land atField End House. One of the conditions was



that 'there shall be no public ringing, pealingor chiming of bells. ,

The consecration of the new Eastcote CatholicChurch of St Thomas More was on Sunday 23May 1937. This report was in The Aerial:

'The Architect of the new church, Mr L.HShattock, FRIBA, has given us a simple,pleasing brick building delightfully shelteredunder old trees. Quietly, unassumingly almostlike a violet on a river bank, it has arisen inthe grounds of Field End House, enrichingrather than disturbing the rural serenity of theold world estate. After the orgy of destructionto be witnessed almost everywhere it isdelightfully refreshing to see a modern churchgrow - as it were - in a beautiful old setting.Its pleasing architectural lines, its mellowtinted bricks and woodwork blendharmoniously with surrounding scenery ofmoss-bearded trees and ancient buildings. Forall that it is modest, the new sanctuary is aworthy addition to the amenities of Eastcote. '

The original church is now rather hiddenbehind the new church which was built onto itin 1978. The first church was down-graded foruse as a church hall. The new church is themost striking new building in Field End. FieldEnd House itself was used as a presbytery till anew one was built in 1966 and was thendemolished.

The old farmhouse, vacated by Lawrence inthe mid-1850s, was occupied by the bailiffJohn Whiting. He came from Kent and wasoriginally a police constable living at FieldEnd Cottage nearby but things had not gonetoo well as was learned from a newspaperreport in 1874.

, The Secretary of State, on therecommendation of the Commissioner ofPolice, has been pleased to grant a fullpension to Acting Sergeant Whiting who isincapacitated from further duty through ill-health. Whiting joined the force in 1858, andfor the past 13 years has faithfully dischargedhis duties in the Parish of Ruislip. He leavesthe force without a stain on his character, andwe hope he will live long to enjoy the pensionhe has well earned.' It seems that he did. In1874 he became the farm bailiff for WilliamLawrence, occupying the old farmhouse by the

1881 census. He lived there until the estatewas sold to WaIter Morford in 1902.

After that, the old farmhouse with its line ofbarns, became known as The Barns. Theoccupants included Edith Phillips and G.H.Edwards and by 1914 Mrs Charles Maude wasthere. She was the famous actress NancyPrice, best known for her roles as Calypso inStephen Phillips's 'Ulysses' and AdelineWhiteoaks in Mano de la Roche's 'Whiteoaks'in the 1930s. It was probably no coincidencethat she was living next door to another actor,Henry Ayliff. Nancy Price, as well as being anactress, was also a theatre manager who in1930 founded the People's National Theatre.She produced more than 50 plays for thecompany at the Little Theatre in John AdamStreet near The Strand in London. This theatrewas unfortunately destroyed in the SecondWorld War. In 1950 Nancy Price received theCBE. Her husband Charles Maude was also anactor and had a famous grandmother, thesinger Jenny Lind.

By 1928, The Barns had been bought byWerner Glur who also owned The Retreat anda gardener's cottage, which was probably thepresent Retreat Cottage, a former barn turnedinto a residence. The 90 acres of farmland stillbelonged to Morford's Executors.

During the 1930s The Barns was occupied byF.W. Barlow and in the 1950s by StephenHaywood Statham. The house, barns andgarden were sold off in about 1966. Thebuildings were demolished and the site wasdeveloped as White Chapel Close, now calledFarthings Close. The only building that wasretained was Retreat Cottage.

Retreat House Part of OE 602The Retreat House was built in an orchard onland which had been part of Field End HouseFarm. At the entrance to the drive was acovered way with a small square barn on theright hand-side. The house was built after theland had been sold to Waiter Morford in 1902and it was occupied by James FrederickGannaway Atkins from 1911 until 1916. By1924 Werner Glur was living in the house, andhe purchased it along with the old Field EndHouse Farm and outbuildings. Mr and MrsBrealy were there in the 1930s. He was one oftwo brothers, directors of Rotherham Estates.

RUISlIP. NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE


After the Second World War it belonged toMiddlesex County Council and in the 1950swas run by Harrow Borough as an old ladies'home. It was subsequently acquired byHillingdon Borough and used by socialservices. It now belongs to West HampsteadHousing Association and during renovationwork in 1998 the house went up in flames. Atthe time of writing plans for development havenot been agreed.

Field End Cottage Part of OE 602Field End Cottage between the CatholicChurch and Field End Villas was built in 1857when it was occupied by Richard Eales, Juniordescribed as a beer seller. In 1871 JohnWhiting, still a police constable, lived there,followed by Reuben Lavender and WilliamHatchley.

The cottage had been bought by Morford in1902 but by 1914 it belonged to the Nealfamily who still owned it in 1928 when theoccupier was Frederick Charles Sudbury.

Field End Villas OE 602William Lawrence was not slow to exploit thepotential of his land for development. Therailway had reached Hatch End in 1842 and itwas only a three-mile walk to the station. Hehad plots laid out for four pairs of villas andstarted building them in 1856. The first pairnext to the chapel was occupied in 1857, twomore by 1861 and all eight houses by 1862.The villas were described as six- to eight-roomed houses with large, productive gardensand aimed to attract professional people fromLondon such as bankers, the military, doctorsand people with private incomes. Examinationof the census data up to 1881 suggests that hewas successful in attracting such people.

As the 20th century approached, severalcreative people joined the more professionalclasses. Just as actors and actresses weremoving in up the road, so artists came to thearea too. In 1889 to 1893, Hesketh Bell wasliving at 6 Field End Villas. He was alandscape artist, though in the 1891 Census hewas described as a retired artist living on hisown means. Next door though, lived WaiterKemp, a 39-year-old sculptor, who describedhimself as employed. He was born in Cam denTown, but moved to Eastcote in 1888 fromSurbiton. He exhibited at the Walker Gallery,

Liverpool, and the Royal Academy. He rented5 Field End Villas as well as the 3-stall stableand coach-house at no. 8 which he used as astudio. His wife died at the early age of 47 in1906, and only two years later WaIter Kemphimself died, aged only 53.

No. 8 itself became home to an artist in 1938.This was Ervin Bossanyi, a painter and stainedglass artist. Hungarian by birth, as a refugeehe moved first to Germany and then toEngland where he arrived with his wife Wilmain 1934. He had Hungarian friends inNorthwood whom he had known whilestudying at Camden Art School and they fixedhim up in a rented bungalow nearby. AtSouthampton Quay he was watching as all hiscrated possessions were being unloaded at thequayside, when some ropes broke and severalof the crates crashed to the ground smashing alot of his glass.

Through mutual friends he made some usefulcontacts, notably a Hungarian, the HonourableRozsike Rothschild, and also the architectCharles Holden. Holden designed the newLondon University buildings and many of the'Metroland' stations such as Eastcote.Bossanyi designed some windows for theUniversity and for the new Uxbridge Station.He was always disappointed that his designsfor these were confined to heraldry.

According to an exhibition catalogue of theAshmolean Museum, Oxford, it was on thestrength of two commissions: a window for theTate Gallery and windows for the State Galleryof Aundh, Maharashtra in India, that 'In 1938Bossanyi bought a modest house in the villageof Eastcote not far from London. A largestudio was built in the garden, rare plantswere nurtured, this was to be his oasis ofpeace until he died. '

After visiting the villas and passing theWesleyan Chapel the census enumerator's visitto Field End was complete.

No longer an oasis of peace, it is still possibleto find reminders of an earlier age along whatis now a busy road. With constant demand fornew development, local residents need to bevigilant and maintain pressure on planners sothat the surviving historic character of FieldEnd is not lost.

RUISLlP, NORTHWOOO AND EASTCOTE

Local History SOCiety Journal 200015

Field End. Owners

OE Location 1806 1837 1847 1857 1863 1886 1962 1914 1928

602 Field End Villas T.T.Oarke T.T.Oarke C.Winter W.Lawrence W.Lawrence S.Lawrence various various various601 FE House Farm ditto diuo ditto ditto ditto ditto W.Morford W.Morford W.Morrord600 Field End House ditto ditto ditto ditto ditto ditto ditto ditto ditto

598 N'gale Cotts R.Bugberd J.Nightingale J.Nightingale J.Nightingale J .Nightingale J .Nightingale Geo.Barter Geo.Barter BJ.Hall

597 Cotts John Stiles R.Deane R.Deane F.H.Deane F.H.Deane F.H.Deane R.Deane R.Deane BJ.Hall

596 Tudor Lodge John Stiles WmWhite not known Richard Walls MrsWalls WallsExecs H.Perryman BJ.Hall BJ.Hall599 ditto ditto not known ditto ditto diuo ditto ditto ditto

595 Cotts John Stiles Rev. J Alleson R.Deane F.H.Deane F.H.Deane F.H.Deane RDeane R.Deane R.Deane

592 Meadow John Stiles Rev J Alleson not known FR.Deane F.H.Deane F.H.Deane .R.Deane part W.Murch part W.Murch

591 Orchard Fann Eliz.White RiDeane R.Deane F.H.Deane F.H.Deane F.H.Deane R.Oeane R.Deane W.MUlch

589 F••ld End Fann John Stiles Rev. JAlleson F.Deane F.H.Deane F.H.Deane F.H.Deane R.Deane R.Deane R.Deane

701 Sigers R.Deane R.Deane R.Deane F.H.Deane F:H.Deane F.H.Deane R.Deane R.Deane R.Deane

698 Park Fm R.Deane R.Deane R.Deane F.H.Deane F.H.Deane FR.Deane R.Deane R.Deane R.Deane

Table 1

Field End. 19th Century Occupiers

OE Location 1837 1851 1857 1861 1871 1881 1891

602 FEVillas 1 - Jas. Mitchel! Mary Watson - Julia IvingedillD 2 - Mrs Francis S. Francis Geo. Fairbank W. Michelson W. MichelsondillD 3 - V. Holmes John Williams Rev.A. Ward Wm. JamesdillD 4 - WiJkinson 1. Y. Wilkinson Rev. Roumieu Wm.Ellioll Ed. PowelldiJto 5 - - - S.F.Longbotlom Waiter KempdiJto 6 - - - Franeis McEvoy Eliz.Bult Hesketb BelldiJto 7 - - - Eliz. Marshall Thos.lnglis Thos. Inglisditto 8 - James Sayers not known Geo. KerrystFECottage - R. Eales Jun. R. Eales Jun. John Whiting R. Lavender Wm. Hatchley

601 The Retreat - - - - - -Retreat Cottage - - - - -FE House Fann Thos.White W.Lawrence W.Lawrence W.Lawrence W.Lawrence John Whiting John Whiting

600 Field End House H.Douglas Douglas/BigneU W.Lawrence W.Lawrence W.Lawrence S. Lawrence S. Lawrence

598 N'gaJe cotts 1 J. Nightingale I.Nightingale J.Nightingale J.Nightingale J. Nightingale J. Nightingale J. NightingaledillD 2 W. Peveral W.Peveral W. Peveral W. Peveral R.Moore Hatchley E.MooredillD 3 T.Edmonds John Hawse Button John Cox Jun. H. Nash Mary Hill F. Barkerdi1ID 4 T.Eales Henry King Eales Townsend Townsend J. N'gale Jun. J. NightingaledillD 5 - Job Wise not known not known D.Gregory not known not known

597 Cottages T.White John Cox Lawrence C. Lawrence P. Lawrence A.Shackell A. Shackel!John Rose - Russell T. Pearce not known F.lvinge Chas. Baker

Mount Pleasant - - -

596 Tudor Lodge WmWhite Thos.Axtill Richard Walls Eliz. Walls not known S. WilIcox MissC. Watts

595 Cottages Henry Joel Mary Joel Ambridge (late) J.Ambridge not known not known WiIliamLeesnot known not known Henry Gadd

592 Ruislip House - - - - -

591 Orchard Fann J.Ambridge J.Ambridge Late Ambridge not known not known not known David Crack

589 Field Ead Fann W.Durbridge W.Durbridge J. WatsonJun. not known John Somers Geo. Bodswotth W. Woodland

701 Slgers R. Eales R. Eales R. Eales nol known John Somers Henry Fox Henry Barns

698 ParkFann W.Lawson H.Powell not known H. Powell Wm. Barter James Foxley James Foxley

Table 2



Field End. 20th Century Occupiers

Field End Road 1902 Sale doe. & 19130 & 1914 PollNo. 1902 Rale book & 1914 Rate book 1929 Rate book 1938 Direclory 1966/67 Directory

Methodist Church8 Field End Villa 1 MrF.Curtis F.Curtis Fred Curtis Frederick Curtis E. Curtis

10 Lawrence Villa 2 Mr F.B. Weller not known Reuben Lavender Misses Lavender E. G. & R. Lavender12 ROSenealh 3 WJ.Murch R. Husbands. Junior Robt Roberts Robt Hughes Roberts A.E. Clements14 Elmlield 4 J.Baucolt George Albert Joce Geo. Alb. Joce MrsJoce T. O'Mahoney16 Meadow View S W.M.Kernp Frank Wm aulow Fred. Wm Cradock Mrs F. Cradock I H. Sheppard H.Sheppard18 IvyCot 6 A.W.Cross T. Noble (St aeer) Rupert M. Berry RupertBerry G. Franck20 Daydawu 7 Miss Selchell J.H. Aramadale Wm Horace Hall Edw. P. Warner M.CA. Shepardly22 Twynbolm 8 MrsPoole RJ.G. Levien Laurence H. Worrell (Erwin Bossanyi) E.Bossanyi24 Field End Cottage WilIiam Halchley Alfred Nash Fred Chas Sudbury WiIliam Frank Gilham E.O'Connor

26 The Retreat. not built J .F. Gannaway Atkins WernerGlur Mrs EA. Brealy Old Ladies Home, MCC28 Retreat Cottage not converted not converted WemerGlur William Rowe W.RoweThe Barns John Whiting G.H. Edwards J.W.Barlow Fred Barlow S.H. Statham

32 Field End House A.C. Cross H.K. Aliff Hcrbert Wm C. Lister Rom. Cath. Chapel of Ease I Father E. LangdaleWomen of Nazareth I Catholic ChurchBlessed Thos More House

Footpath ---------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

34 5 cottages EmmaMoore J. Whiting Grace Skead (The Nurseries) Chas E. Moore (White COli) Yacant plot36 Henry Frost Edw Lavender Vincent Hill Wm Thompson (F.E. Bungalow) Yacant plot

Thomas Whiting F. TurnerJane Ni~lingale J .R. Cooper (Fams)unoccupied George Hook

38 4 Fred Hart 4 Mrs A. Hart WJ.Davies40 3 Hezekial Norcull 3 Harry Norcut! GADay42 Shackell A.Shackell 2- 2 Mrs E.L. Abbot! JAWard44 Baker C.Baker 1 Bertie Boydon 1 Horace Pepperrell E. Reeves

46 Mount Pleasant not known T.Whiting John Wm Hill - S.Giddings48 Mount Pleasant not known J. Nightingale Thos Beck Robt John Macormac A. Carruthers

Field End Ladge H.Perryman Benjamin James Hall John Gower Saunders John Gower Saunders EL. Ford50 W. von·Koettlitz

52 Pair cottages Charles Tilbury H.Hawkins Alb. Horwood Harald Tranl (Romany CoU) W.Tapping54 James Lord Fred Ayres Fred Ayres G.A.Stoncr

56 Ruisllp House not built WJ. Murch + lodger son Wm J.Murch Wm James Murch K.MurchDavid Crack D. Crack (F. E. Gardens) F. Linney (Ea Nursery)

58 - - EJ. Eden70·78 (5 new houses)

80 Orchard Farm Dr D.W. Jones (Carmalt, - Edwin Hartley LRIBA L.C.F. JonesOrchard Cottage) 82-84 (2 new houses ) Maj. WA.Baldwin

86 Field End Farm John Westacaot! Mary Westacot! Stedman Haywood

31 Sigers H.F. Jackson K.Goschen U-CoI H. W. G. Cole CM. Robarts & Son NJ. RobartsM.Benjamin

2S Park Farm H.F. Jackson A.W. Johnson I Fred Wm Cradock Jack lohnson I.M.TyrerK. GoschenC.Lord

Table 3

SourcesL2.

5. Censuses 1841- 1891. Photocopies in RuislipLibrary.

6. Local street directories. Uxbridge Library.7. The AeriaL Eastcote Residents Association.8. Local newspapers. Uxbridge Library.9. Electoral Rolls. Uxbridge Library.10. Personal communication. (KS.)1L The Urban District of Ruislip-Northwood 1904-54

(photo 2)

Ruislip Terrier 1565. King's College Muniments.Ruislip Enclosure Map and Schedule 1806. Copiesin Local History Room, Ruislip Library.

3. Ruislip Terrier and Valuation 1837. Copy in LocalHistory Room, Ruislip Library.Ruislip Rate Books. Uxbridge Library andtranscripts in RuisIip Library.

4.

RUISLlP,NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE


DOMESDAY PARK BANK & DITCH AT RUISLIPby Colin Bowlt

IntroductionThe Ruislip, Northwood & Eastcote LocalHistory Society has made an application toEnglish Heritage to have the earthworkrunning through Park Wood (figure 1) listed asan Ancient Monument. Until the 1930s theearthwork still continued out of the wood andalong Eastcote Road enclosing an extensiveoval area with Manor Farm in the south-westcorner. Hugh Brau\l! suggested that this was

RUISLIP. It answersfor 30 hides Pasturefor the village livestock; a park [Parcus] forwoodland beasts; woodland, 1500 pigs and20d too .... "

In the whole of England, the DomesdaySurvey lists about 35 parks.' Only one otherwas listed for Middlesex (at Enfield). Howmany of these date to pre-Conquest times isunknown, but Rackham claims that

~ •.........•Figure 1

Ancient earthwork in Park Woodto.s. 1:10,000)

the bank, with ditch on the outside, whichsurrounded the park listed in the DomesdaySurvey. Since then nothing has caused thisview to be changed. The loss of the southernhalf to the building of houses along EastcoteRoad makes it important that the remainingsection of this ancient monument berecognised and given proper legal protection.The following is based on part of theapplication to English Heritage.

The Domesday Survey (1086) entry for Ruislip(figure 2) includes: "Arnulf of Hesdin holds

\,

documentary evidence supports the existenceof Ongar Great Park, Essex before theConquest (it was largely destroyed c.1950).

Later references to the park at Ruislip includean order in 1270 to Richard de Cliffe, receiverof the Archbishopric of Canterbury, to deliverfive live does from Harrow Wood to the priorof Ruislip to stock his Park. In 1436 the repairof the palings was ordered.3

Ruislip and the surrounding district remainedsomething of a backwater until the beginning



Figure 2Domesday entry for Ruislip

of the 20th century as shown by the large area for it being the boundary of the Domesdayof farm and woodlands on maps, with little Park is compelling, and that this rare survivaldevelopment until the 1930s. Braun reported should be listed as an Ancient Monument.in 1934 on the extensive earthworks stillremaining at Ruislip. In particular he drewattention to a large oval extending north of thevillage centre and church, but including withinits south-west corner the Manor Farm, whichwas the administrative centre for the manor ofRuislip from the time of its gift to the Abbeyof Bee in 1087. Braun reported that "until thewidening of Bury Street and the Eastcote Roada few years ago, it was complete except for asmall portion on its western side, shown with abroken line on the plan" (figure 3b). "It is awork of quite considerable scale apart fromthe area which it encloses, for, although theearthwork has never been properly sectioned,it is clear in some portions that the bank andditch are at this day each six feet or more inheight." Braum also observed that "the onlyclue as to the possible significance of this ovalenclosure would seem to be the reference, inthe Domesday survey of 1086, to the existenceat that time, of an unusual feature connectedwith the Ruislip manor, that of a 'a park ofwild beasts of the forest '."

It is the purpose of this document to drawattention to the fact that about half theearthwork still remains, and that the evidence

The EarthworkSince Braun's report, the southern half of theearthwork has disappeared under development,but the northern portion has survived withinPark Wood. Reasons for concluding that theearthwork is the Domesday Park boundary are:i) The curved boundary enclosed an oval

area of 340 acres - a typical shape andarea ofa medieval park",

ii) The bank and ditch, although eroded andwith indistinct edges, was clearly massivewith a width of c.30 feet, dimensionswhich are typical of medievalembankments and which contrasts withother banks of later date within andaround the Ruislip Woods.

iii) The roads on the east, west andparticularly the south sides of the parkdeviate around the boundary indicatingthat they post-date the enclosed area.These roads are of early date. Those onthe west and south cross at the old villagecentre and can be presumed to date to thebeginnings of the village.

iv) Other earth works were recorded byBraun. Some are still present, but none issuggestive of a park boundary.



THE HOlDFORD FAMilYWorking Together: the Role of local & Family Historians

by Colleen A. Cox

The study of family history is extremelypopular at the present time. Often starting withaccounts passed down from previousgenerations, people become fascinated by thetask of tracing their ancestors, many doubtlesswith the hope of finding someone famousamongst them. Such a study is frequently ofinterest only to other family members butwhen there is collaboration with localhistorians, the family can be seen in a widercontext and assumes more general interest.

The sources most used by family historians arethe parish records of baptisms, marriages andburials. The earliest records date back to aMandate of 1538 formulated by ThomasCromwell who ordered that every parishshould have a chest with two locks with onekey to be held by the vicar and the other by thechurch warden. In the chest was to be kept abook in which every marriage, christening andburial performed by the minister during theprevious week was to be recorded by him afterthe service on Sunday and witnessed by thechurch warden. Not all the parishes kept therecords in a proper manner. Many werewritten on loose sheets of paper that were lostbefore they could be transferred to a book.From 1597 it was ordered that they should bewritten in parchment books and that allprevious entries should be copied into the newbooks. It is not surprising that this did notalways happen. The minister was alsosupposed to ensure that a copy of the registerwas sent each year to the Bishop but not allthese Bishop's transcripts have survived. Inaddition a third lock was to be added to thechest at this time. In 1645 there were furtherinstructions that the date of birth and deathwere to be recorded as well as the date ofbaptism and burial.

During the Commonwealth Period (1653-1660) records were poorly kept. Althoughparish registrars were specially appointed theywere frequently illiterate. There was someimprovement after the Restoration but otherdifficulties arose in recording deaths duringepidemics and with marriages that did not takeplace in church. In some parishes the records

were all kept in one book although afterHardwicke's Marriage Act of 1754, marriageshad to be kept in a separate book and afterRose's Act of I 812, three separate registerswere kept.

Many people trying to trace their ancestorshave great difficulty in obtaining informationbefore the mid- 18th century and it is often amatter of luck whether' or not there arecomplete surviving records of the parish inwhich they lived. In Ruislip, registers areavailable from the 1690s with some yearsmissing in the 18th century. This has notdeterred one keen researcher, Arthur Holdford,whose aim is to write a history of his familyand who has compiled a list of 162 linealdescendants dating from the mid-18th centuryand spanning eight generations.

Until the 20th century Ruislip was a smallrural parish with a population of little morethan 1000. There were three natural divisionswith Ruislip village centred round the parishchurch of St. Martin, Northwood, a hamletnorth of the woods and Eastcote with its threelarge houses and cottages along its ancientlanes. Most of the men in the village wereagricultural workers living with their familiesin these cottages. Agricultural work wasseasonal and many families were dependent onpoor relief at certain times of the year. Familyevents such as illness, disability or the arrivalof a new baby in an already large family alsoresulted in periods of poverty. It is notsurprising therefore to find that some of theearliest references other than those in theparish records are to be found in the accountbooks of the overseers of the poor.

The earliest descendant of the Holdford familyso far identified is Robert Holdford who wasborn in Ruislip in 1763. By 1789 he wasmarried to Elizabeth and the first of their fivechildren was born (Fig. 1). This is probably theRobert Holtfoot (sic) who received poor reliefin 1792 and 1799, highlighting anotherproblem for all researchers, the differentspellings of names in the various records.Robert died in 1811 and his widow is probably

RUISlIP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTELocal History Society Journal 200022

Fig. 3. Old Cheyne Cottage(National Monuments Record. 1945)

Sherman family who moved to Ruislip in themid-19th century. Thomas Sherman was bornin Driffield, Gloucestershire, in 1809. In the1851 RuisIip census he is recorded as the farmbailiff at the lodge at the entrance to ManorFarm. It is perhaps more than coincidence thatManor Farm at this time was leased by SamuelPierce also a Gloucestershire man. Also in the1851 census was William Sherman, born inDriffield, living in Fore Street and possiblybrother to Thomas. Thomas's son Robertmarried Elizabeth, daughter of William andAnn Holdford, in Bushey in 1856 and theirdaughter Fanny, married her cousin WilliamTG Holdford in Pinner in 1881. This coupleran The Starling public house at Pinner Greenand it is their grandson Arthur, who hasundertaken so much research (Fig. 1b).

It has not been possible to trace ThomasSherman after 1851 but William Shermanstayed in Eastcote recorded as an agriculturallabourer in Fore Street in 1851, a grocer inWiltshire Lane in 1861 and 1871 and asWilliam Stunner (sic), a fly proprietor inEastcote High Road in 1891.

By supplementing the information from thefamily researcher with knowledge of thevillage locally, the Holdford family seems tohave been fairly typical of the period. Most of

the men were agricultural labourers butadapted to other labouring work as thedemands changed. Several members of thefamily lived in cottages rented from the Deanefamily, the largest landowners in the area andit is possible that they were employed by themtoo. The Deanes also leased Park Wood whichalso provided employment for local men and ithas already been noted that Charles was awood dealer and John a woodcutter. It is mostlikely that Herbert, the labourer in the gasworks, was employed at the nearby Pinner GasCompany.

After the 1830 Beerhouse Act, anyhouseholder assessed to pay the poor ratecould sell beer from his or her house onpayment of a fee of two guineas and a numberdid. Most villages had one or two suchbeershops some of which later became fullylicensed premises but others, such as that runby William Holdford in the 1830s, existed onlyfor a few years.

Like others in the 19th century, the Holdfordstended to marry young, usually into localfamilies and had a large number of children.They lived in small cottages that were oftenovercrowded, although not all the childrenlived at home at anyone time. In commonwith many other Eastcote families of the



period, few of the Holdford children wererecorded as scholars in the censuses, probablyunwilling to make the walk four times a day tothe school in Ruislip next to St. Martin'sChurch.

The Holdfords appear to have been a relativelylaw-abiding family and they were not amongthose summonsed for various crimes andmisdemeanours. Their name only appeared inthe local newspaper when they played cricketfor the Eastcote team, founded in 1864.During the first half of the 19th century theirsocial life would almost certainly havedepended on family, neighbours and village. Itis interesting to speculate how much theirboundaries would have been widened by thecoming of the railway to nearby Hatch End in

1855 and to Pinner in 1885. Certainly thesebrought changes to Eastcote itself with thebuilding of new houses such as Field EndVillas, which were to be occupied by middleclass people from outside the area. Althoughthe lives of the Holdford family seemunremarkable in themselves, they are ofinterest when seen in the context of the timesand village in which they lived.

SourcesHoldford, Arthur, The Descendants of Robert Holdford

(1763-1811) & Elizabeth (1756-1826) of East cote.Middlesex, April 1998 (copy in Local History Room,Ruislip Library)

Ruislip Parish RegistersRuisIip Rate BooksEastcote Censuses 184 I- I89 I

A PLACE IN TIME1000 YEARS OF MANOR FARM

by Colleen A. Cox

This was the title of the exhibition at the CowByre, Manor Farm, Ruislip mounted bymembers of the Society from July 2-15, 2000as part of Ruislip's celebrations for themillennium. Almost 1250 people visited theCow Byre during these two weeks with highestattendances being on July 8 and 9, the days onwhich Ruislip Pageant was held.

Despite the rain, there was a festiveatmosphere in the Manor Farm area on Pageantdays with stalls and various activities includingperformances of "Time Tells Tales" at theWinston Churchill Hall. This was a musicaldrama relating the history of Ruislip andperformed by a local drama group and pupilsfrom Bishop Ramsey C ofE School.

The society's exhibition described the historyof Manor Farm during the last millennium andthe changes that had taken place over thecenturies using maps, charts, drawings andphotographs. The highlights were the threemodels made by Freddie Shackell illustratingthe buildings at various times.

The exhibition demonstrated clearly thehistoric importance of the area and thecomments made by members of the publicindicated their full support for efforts to retainthis important group of buildings and furtherdevelop the site as a Heritage Centre.



ST MARTINS CHURCH CHANCEL NORTH-EAST WINDOWby Valery Cowley

This stained glass window, completed in 1962,is by Laurence Lee. It was installed inmemory of a churchwarden, Dansie Carter. Afaculty for it was obtained in 1955, and in1957 one for the aumbry below, which housesthe Blessed Sacrament.

The top light depicts the life-giving sun(signifying Christ the Son) which, in the wordsof Zechariah, guides our feet in the way ofpeace. Below are four lights with angelswhose haloes are golden, like solar light, andsignify the divine intelligence. The angel onthe right, in purple - the colour of penitencecarries the scales of judgement, as does theArchangel Michael in our rood-stairs wall-painting. The next angel, in gold -symbolising purity and divinity - carries a rod,to indicate divine authority. The angel in redholds a scroll signifying knowledge andwisdom; the angel in green holds a white lily,symbol of purity and emblem of Christ'smother.

In the westernmost main light, MaryMagdalene - with flowing, light brown hair -kneels, hands upheld in awe at the figure shesees. She is in penitential purple, lining acloak of gold, which reflects the splendour andjoy of the Resurrection. The daisies on theGreensward symbolise innocence, the 'day'seye' or sun, and so Jesus, 'the Sun ofRighteousness'

In the eastern light stands the risen Christ, halfhidden by a red cloak reflecting the blood hehas shed during his Passion. The aureole,irradiating supernatural power, with its redcross, identifies Christ's sacrifice and glory.His cruciform sceptre is the emblem of thepower of the resurrected guide and shepherd.He welcomes and offers salvation to Mary ofMagdala.

Laurence Lee was also responsible for some ofthe nave windows in Coventry Cathedral.These use colours to symbolise the five stagesof existence, Lee's red windows depictingman's struggle in life.

RUISLlP. NORTHWQOD AND EASTCOTE

Local History Society Joumal200027

THE DEFENCE OF THE REALMby Eileen M. Bowlt

The Anglo-Saxon FyrdFrom earliest recorded times landownershad a duty to perform military service indefence of the country or to keep thepeace. In Saxon times the force wasknown as the Fyrd and was levied on acounty basis, usually fighting only withinits own boundaries. Alfred the Great (871-899) divided the Fyrd into two alternatingparts, one ready to fight and the otherresting. A glance at the Anglo-SaxonChronicle shows that fighting in one partof the country or another was almostcontinuous in late Saxon times because ofthe Viking raids. The only known Saxonowner of Ruislip, Wlward Wit, was athegn of King Edward the Confessor(1042-65). A king's thegn was a memberof the royal household and the militaryelite.

Knight ServiceAfter the introduction of the feudal systemby the Normans, tenants-in-chief held theirlands directly from the king in return formilitary service, usually the provision of aspecified number of knights equipped andready for action. They were normally onduty for forty days a year in peacetime andas needed in time of war. This came to beknown as Knight Service and greatlandowners such as the Abbey of StAlbans, for example, passed on theirobligation to their own tenants. TheAignel family who leased the Manor of theMore (Moor Park) from the Abbot of StAlbans in the thirteenth and fourteenthcentury owed Knight Service. Henry I(1100-35) permitted landowners to payScutage (a Latin word meaning 'shield') toavoid military service. The money wasused to hire mercenaries. These feudallevies served with the king in foreigncountries and were separate from theancient fyrd which was a national militia,fighting only locally.

Assize of Arms 1181Henry II (1152-89) organised the defencesystem in a business-like way in the Assizeof Arms of 1181. The Sheriff of eachcounty was made responsible for raising alevy of fighting men and the strength wasagreed by justices and juries in each townand hundred (division of a county).Ruislip was in the Hundred of Elthorne.The Assize also stipulated the equipmentnecessary for each knight, freeman orburgess (a landowner in a town such asUxbridge). Knights were to have ahauberk (coat-of-mail) and helmet and asmany shields and lances as he had soldiersunder him. Freemen should havechattels/cattle or money to the value of 16marks (£10 13s 4d), hauberk and helmet,shield and lance, or chattels/cattle to thevalue of 10 marks (£6 13s 4d) and an ironcap and lance. The burgesses neededgreaves (leg armour), an iron cap and alance.

The Assize of Arms, in effect, recreatedand rearmed the ancient force, whichwould have been more reliable than themercenaries bought with scutage money.The Assize of Arms was renewed andexpanded by succeeding sovereigns andadministered the Militia.

In the thirteenth century unfree menbecame liable for military service as wellas freemen. The distinction was that theunfree had to perform labour services forthe Lord of the Manor and the free did not.The unfree, however, were not necessarilypoor. The Customal of Ruislip datedc1245, which tells us the names andamount of property that tenants held fromthe Abbey of Bee, shows that only sevenpeople were free and that theirlandholdings were smaller than those of

Isome of the unfree. However, two of thefree tenants, Roger de la Done and Rogerde Southcote certainly had land outside theManor of Ruislip and the others may alsohave been larger landowners elsewhere.

RUISLIP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE


Sir Roger de la Done was Constable of theTower and Lord of the Manor of DownBarns. The Customal mentions JohnBradefer, an unfree man, who owned acroft of land for which he paid 1s 012d ayear rent and was liable to work on thelord's demesne three days a week 'beforehis military service'. Maybe John, whosesurname means 'arm of iron', wasRuislip's representative in the levy raisedin Elthorne.

The town of Uxbridge was liable forsupplying 60 footmen under three officersin the year 13352

•

The Militia in Tudor & Stuart timesThe Militia was run by the Lord Lieutenantof each county and his deputies, with localconstables raising the levy from all able-bodied men aged between 16 and 60 whowere recorded in the Muster Rolls,compiled by officials known asCommissioners of Array. In 1595 RalphHawtrey (1570-1638) of Eastcote Housewas ordered: "to put in redynes one goodand sufficient trotting or rackinge geldingeor horse for a light horseman ... and a meetand sufficient person to ride upon him ... todefend the Queen and realm against theforeign invader ...at the musters at BednallGreen [Bethnal Green] on Friday the 17thOctober 'by eight of the clock in theforenoon '. 'Whereof fayle you not as youwill answer to the contraye at your perillthis iii day of October 1595,,3, The horse's'furniture' was specified as a lightMorocco saddle, three girths, a holster withleather and a buckle to stop the daggerhurting the horse, a staff with a socket, aFrench pistol, a sword one yard long, acuirass (body armour) and mail sleeves.

Depending upon their position in the socialscale, men on the muster could be requiredto provide anything from a coat of armour,helmet and longbow, to 16 horses, 80 suitsof armour and pikes and weapons. Generalmusters were held at least every threeyears so that weapons and equipment couldbe inspected. The Lieutenancy of a countywas a temporary appointment in time of

emergency, but became more frequent inthe turbulent sixteenth century andLieutenants were made responsible fortraining bands to defend the locality incase of invasion or local unrest. Acts ofParliament, passed soon after therestoration of Charles Il, gave each countya permanent Lord Lieutenant from 1662,with powers not only to raise a force, butalso to levy a rate to provide arms. Theaccounts were certified by the Justices ofthe county, meeting in Quarter Sessions.

Militia Act 1757Under the terms of the Militia Act of 1757Lords Lieutenant received theircommissions from the king and had fullauthority to assemble, arm and commandthe Militia. They could appoint 20 or moreDeputy-Lieutenants, each of whom mustown property valued at £400 or more perannum. Estates of lesser value weresufficient for officers. Lists, surviving atthe London Metropolitan Archive, of thenames of applicants, include locallandowners. The Revd Thomas Clarkegave his 'Mansion at lckenham in whichhe lives' (Swakeleys) which was worth£100 and upwards and 'Chisleton Farm[later Ivy House Farm] at Ickenham in theoccupation of William Poole as tenant', ashis qualification for being DeputyLieutenant c17904

• Godfrey de Burgh wasqualified to act as Deputy-Lieutenant 'byreason of his estates of Colham, Phi/potBridge with the Manor of Colham in theparish of Hillingdon' in Aug 6 18035•

Baker John Sellon of Gt Stanmore,Sergeant at Law, who owned Pinner HillHouse and land on the Ruislip side ofPotter Street Hill, also qualified as aDeputy Lieutenant by virtue of' a dwellinghouse and 95 acres meadow, all but 8acres freehold situate in parishes of Pinnerand Ruislip'",

Stephen Ford, who was seeking tocommand a company in 1813, had onehundred a year landed property nearUxbridge, and two houses in CravenStreet, Strand which were rented out at£120 per annum each. He had been twelve



years a Lieutenant in the Royal WestMiddlesex and had served as a Captain inthe Line.7

Members of the Hilliard family, who weregreat property owners in north-westMiddlesex, were prominent in the Militia.In 1787 Edward Hilliard of Cowley Houseput forward farms in South Mimms andWhetstone as his qualification for beingDeputy Lieutenants. He had gainedCowley House through his marriage toElizabeth Stafford Crosier in 1779. ByJune 1807, their second son, EdwardHilliard jun Esq was applying to be LtColonel in the Eastern Regiment of theMiddlesex Militia on the basis of farmswhich he owned in Ickenham, valued at

9£600 and upwards. He actually ownedthree farms in Ruislip: Wilkins Farm(Woolworth's now on site), Woodman'sFarm in Bury Street and South Hill Farm,Eastcote, as well as Home Farm and HillFarm and other property in Ickenham, allof which he had inherited from his great-uncle, John Crosier of Ickenham Hall (nowthe Compass Theatre) in 1801. The thirdson of Edward and Elizabeth, GeorgeHilliard Esq, cited farms in Ruislip, valuedat £200 in July 1807, in support of his rightto be a Captain in the same regiment. 10

The Lord Lieutenant and the Deputiesformed a General Meeting, which wasserved by a Clerk. The meeting issuedorders to High Constables of the county toprovide lists, which had to be renewedevery three years, of all men aged between18 and 50, from whom recruits could bedrawn to bring the Militia up to strength intime of peril. The quota for the MiddlesexMilitia was 1,160, rising to 1,600 early inGeorge Ill's reign. When numbers werelow the Deputy Lieutenants allocated aquota to be provided by each parish. Thenames on the lists were put into a ballotand the number needed was drawn out.The General Meeting was divided intoDivisional Meetings corresponding withPetty Sessions areas over which DeputyLieutenants presided. The business of theDivisional Meeting included hearing

appeals from men claiming exemptionfrom service. Not until 1848 didmembership of the Militia becomevoluntary.

Exemption and substitutionExemption could be granted on grounds ofphysical disability, or if a man weremarried with five or more dependentchildren. Men who had no legitimatereason for exemption sometimes paidpoorer men to substitute for them. Therates varied wildly from £3 to £30 or more,depending upon whether or not call outwere imminent. Militia Clubs wereformed where members contributed to afund to cover the cost of a substitute if oneof their number were drawn.

In times of peace members of the Militiasimply had to train for one or two dayseach month, but absentees were reported tothe Justices and fined. When dangerthreatened it was embodied and called outinto actual service anywhere in thekingdom in case of riot or fear of foreigninvasion. At such times the men were paidin the same way as regular soldiers.Justices could order carriages to formbaggage trains for them and parish officershad to provide billets.

Among Ruislip parish records there is a listpeople living on the Eastcott side of theparish who had paid the Militia Rate of 1din the £1 based on the rateable valuealready assessed for the poor rate in178011

• The rate was not paid by thosewho had already served three years in theMilitia either in person or by substitute,nor by those actually serving.

Financial benefitsFrom 1803 families of men who wereaway in the Militia, could automaticallyreceive an allowance from the poor rates ofthe parish for which the man was serving.If he were substituting for a man in anotherparish or a different county, the money hadto be transferred. His commanding officergave him a certificate to say that he was onduty and his wife got an order from a



Justice for payment of relief. The twodocuments were given to the Overseers ofthe Poor who paid the relief to the family,then sent the certificate and order to theCounty Treasurer, who refunded themoney and claimed it from the Overseersof the parish for which the man wasserving.

Examples of the system at work appear inRuislip parish records. On 22 March 1811Charlotte Long was examined by ThomasTruesdale Clarke (of Swakeleys), a localJustice. Her husband, Daniel Long, aprivate Militiaman, was serving in theSurrey Militia as substitute for JosephStevens of Lambeth and was 'now orderedto march'. Mr Clarke ordered theOverseers of the Poor of Ruislip to pay her2 shillings a week, 'the said weekly sum tobe reimbursed to the parish of Ruislip bythe Treasurer of the County ofMiddlesex' 12. She had a copy of acertificate which said that her husband hadbeen enrolled at Horsemonger Lane on 24August 1810 and that he had joined theRegiment on the 29 August at PlaydonBarracks.

Sarah Chilton's husband had enrolled inthe West Middlesex Regiment of Militia inOctober 1804 as a substitute for JosephWheeler of St Pancras. In November 1805the Militia was embodied and called outinto actual service and ordered to march.She was living in Ruislip with her twochildren, William who was 'about 2' andJohn who was 11 weeks, and was too poorto provide for them. William Perry theexamining magistrate ordered theOverseers of the Poor of Ruislip to pay her4s 6d a week backdated to the 20

13September. The St Pancras Overseerswere to reimburse Ruislip Overseersquarterly. In 1812 she was examinedagain, this time by George Woodroffe (ofHaydon Hall), and again received help. Bythat time William and John had a babybrother, Phillip, who was seven weeks01d14

•

From 1807 clerks to the meetings,constables and officers were paid expensesauthorised by Justices.

The French wars 1793-1815During the long period of war withRevolutionary France and Napoleon, extraMilitia Regiments were raised, known asSupplementary Militia, and additionallocal groups of Provisional Cavalry, andFencibles, which were generally short

Edward Baylis as a member ofthe Duke of Cumberland's Sharpshooters

1785-1867 of Hedgerley

lived. In September 1803 the WestMiddlesex and Westminster Battalionswere below strength, and had not recruiteda single man for the SupplementaryMilitia. Noting that the East MiddlesexBattalion had been successful in gatheringmen by sending recruiting parties toNorwich, the Westminster commandingofficer decided to send recruiting officersto Birmingham on the excuse of roundingup deserters. At this time Middlesex with

RUISlIP. NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTELocal History Society Journal 200031

its Supplement should have had 4,500men. Apparently all but a single man weresubstitutes. The Middlesex quota wasraised to 12,162 by 1812, when the war inthe Peninsular was taking its toll.

An Act of Parliament of 1795 provided forthe raising of men to serve in the navy.The county of Middlesex had to supply451 men divided between the hundreds. Inthe Hundred of Elthome Ruislip andHarefield together had to supply one man.John Crosby, a stay-maker, volunteeredand received a bounty of £21, which camefrom the parish rate 15 •

VolunteersVolunteer regiments did not come underthe Lords Lieutenant, but were raised byenthusiastic amateurs in times ofemergency, who formed committees ofsubscribers to organise them. However, atthe time of the American War ofIndependence (1775-83) rather moreofficial Middlesex Volunteers (in additionto the Militia) were raised by a committeeof Deputy Lieutenants and Justices under

the chairmanship of the Lord Lieutenant.From 1794 volunteers were exempted fromservice in the Militia.

Local volunteer forces were formed inUxbridge, led by the local gentry andgenerally did their training in UxbridgeMoor and Uxbridge Common. SirChristopher Baynes of Harefield Place(where the Australian War Cemetery isnow) formed the Uxbridge VolunteerYeomanry and Cavalry in 1797, withGregory Way, son of Benjamin Way ofDenham Place as his lieutenant and atimber merchant, Thomas Osbome, ascomet I 6. It was disbanded after only fouryears during the short-lived cessation infighting brought about by the Peace ofLuneville and Treaty of Amiens. Whenwar broke out again in 1803 the LoyalUxbridge Infantry Volunteers was raisedwith J.G. de Burgh of West Drayton ascaptain. This force also disbanded beforethe end of the Napoleonic Wars.

But both were to be called into existenceagain in 1830, not to repel a foreign


Local History Society

Uxbridge Yeomanry Cavalry uniform 1879

Journal 200032

invader, but to be available to prevent orput down any rioting that might be causedby the general depression in farming.Tenant farmers found it difficult to paytheir rents and agricultural labourers faceda winter of short commons and in somecases near starvation. No rising occurredlocally, but food and money had beendemanded with menaces at Iver inBuckinghamshire, which was near enoughto alarm the tradesmen and gentry ofUxbridge. The revived UxbridgeYeomanry Cavalry consisted of 80horsemen and 18 officers. They wore along double breasted coat of dark greenwith large gilt buttons emblazoned withUY and heavy brass epaulettes. Blacktrousers with a red seam were worn inwinter and white duck trousers in summer.The hat was a chaco of heavy leather andfelt with a horsehair plume fitted in front.Giles Hutson declared that 'nothing couldhave been designed more hideous as a

'1' iform' 17mi itary unz arm .

Although the corps was put on stand by atthe time of the presentation of the greatChartist Petition in 1848, there was notrouble locally. The Yeomanry seems tohave been a pleasant social gathering, withevening drills and annual training, its mostonerous duties being to escort royalprocessions as they passed throughUxbridge. On the pretext of exercising thehorses, an annual race-meeting was held,first at Harefield place, then on HarefieldMoor and later at West Dray ton. It wassaid to have attracted a crowd of 10,000 in1846.18 Their Headquarters was at theChequers at Uxbridge.

From 1859 Volunteer Companies weremore tightly controlled and from 1863 hadto be part of a body such as The MiddlesexRifle Volunteers, (which had been raised

References

in 1803 as the Duke of Cambridge's SharpShooters). The whole corps wassupervised by the Lord Lieutenant and herecommended officers for appointment.The Crown took over control of Militiaand Volunteers in 1871 and the UxbridgeYeomanry Cavalry became the MiddlesexYeomanry Cavalry with four companiesinstead of two. This change was inresponse to the Franco-Prussian War. Theheadquarters moved from The Chequers toLondon in 1878.

The later militiaThe West Middlesex Militia was lost in areorganisation of 1848, but the RoyalElthome Light Infantry was raised inUxbridge in 1853. The barracks were nearthe Greenway in Enfield Place, which maytake its name from the rifles used. Thereare several other reminders of the troopnearby: the public house called the MilitiaCanteen, Villiers Street (named after thefirst colonel), and the Drill Hall inWhitehall Road. The headquarters movedto Hounslow in 1879. The Royal ElthorneLight Infantry Militia became a battalionof the Duke of Cambridge's OwnMiddlesex Regiment, which was formed in1881.

Whenever the line regiments were onactive service, at such times as theCrimean War (1854-6) and the IndianMutiny (1857) the Militia Regiments wereembodied to provide home defence. In1908 the Territorial and Reserve ForcesAct formed a special reserve after whichtime the Militia was not called out in theUnited Kingdom, although the Militia Actswere not repealed. When local men joinedthe Home Guard during the Second WorldWar, they were following a long andhonourable tradition.

Bowlt, Eileen M. The Goodliest Place inMiddlesex, Hillingdon Borough Libraries1989Victoria County History, Middlesex Vol IVLMA, Ace 249/148Ibid MR MLQ/37Ibid MR MLQ/43/19

lbid MR MLQ/43a/32lbid MR MLQ/43f/2Ibid MR MLQ/37Ibid

10 lbid11 Ibid DRO 19/Flll12 Ibid DRO 19/Cl1713 Ibid

14 lbid15 lbid Militia Bundle 97/6,c.I(l Heannon, Carolynne, Uxbridge: a concise

history, Hillingdon Borough Libraries 198217 Giles Hutson, Recollections of Uxbridge,

Uxbridge Local History and ArchivesSociety 1985.

18 Victoria County History, Middlesex: Vol IV

RUISLlP, NORTHWQOD AND EASTCOTE


THE CHAPEL OF EASE AT NORTHWOODby Simon Morgan

Holy Trinity Church was consecrated inJanuary 1854, creating the new parish ofNorthwood. Previously, most of Northwoodhad been in the parish of Ruislip, and thereforeserved by St Martin's Church, 3 miles away.For the previous 15 years, however,Northwood residents had been spared the walkto Ruislip on Sundays by the provision of alocal 'chapel of ease'.

Such chapels were not parish churches, butwere run as outposts by the parish clergy. Amore famous local example is that ofUxbridge, which was not a parish in its ownright until 1842. Before then the church of StMargaret's (also known as The Nave) was achapel of ease of the parish of Hillingdon.'

Very little is now known of this Northwoodchapel. Its exact location is subject toconjecture, so it is not certain whether it stillstands. We do know that it was situated on theestate surrounding The Grange.

The Grange stands on a site with a longhistory. TIle present structure has been datedto the 15th century, but habitation of this site isthought to go back to the earliest records ofNorthwood. The most noteworthy of the 19thcentury occupants was undoubtedly NathanielSoames the younger of Gravely, Hertfordshire,who married his cousin, Rebecca in 18312

•

Over the years he built up a major landholdingof some 220 acres. He was very active in localchurch and civic affairs being both achurchwarden and overseer of the poor atvarious times from 183i.

Soames was the main proponent for a chapelfor Northwood. He first offered a one-acreplot of land and £ 100 for a chapel to be erectedin 1837.4 Two years later Soames submitted apetition to the Bishop of London for a licenceto perform divine service in a building he hadpurchased and converted at his expense.' It isin the formal clerical language of the day andwas probably drawn up by a professional clerk.Other petitions give the name of the priestinvolved, but this one refers to the Rector ofthe Parish of Ruislip, with Rector crossed outand Vicar substituted. Clearly neither Soames

nor the clerk were sure of his correctdesignation. Intriguingly, the actual locationof the chapel had been left blank by the clerk.There is one description in pencil, overwrittenby another in ink, but in different handwritingfrom the copper plate of the remainder of thedocument. This section has been analysedboth under ultra-violet lighting, and by acomputer technique that attempts to removethe overwritten text. Neither procedure gave adefinite interpretation of the pencil, but it mayinclude the words "near to the property and?of Nathaniel Soames Esqr." The overwrittenink text, probably in Soames' own hand, givesthe location as "near to Northwood House inthe occupation of Nathaniel Soames Esqr."(Appendix 1).

The petition is undated, but on 7 June 1839 thelicence was granted and recorded in the VicarGeneral's book6 (Appendix 2).

The Two HousesThe estate contained two houses of significantsize, whose lands had been amalgamated byprevious owners in the early 19th century.There is some doubt as to which houseNathaniel Soames actually lived in. When hefirst purchased the estate (in separate landparcels between 1830 and 32), both houses hadtenants: The Grange (known then as Grace'sFarm) was occupied by John (or Jonathan)Grace and The Fells (known as Northwood

7House) by Edward Empey. By 1832 Empeywas stilI in residence, but Grace had movedout, leaving Soames as both owner andoccupier of The Grange. Empey did not leaveThe Fells until late 1836. Soames becameregistered in the rate books as owner andoccupier of both houses from early 1837.Soames could not therefore have lived at TheFells when he first moved to Northwood in1831. Did he move house within his estate andifso when?

A complicating factor is that the nameNorthwood House could refer to eitherbuilding, or indeed to the whole estate. A

8conveyance of 1864 uses the name'Northwood House' for The Fells, but is alsorefers The Grange as Grace's Farm. John



Grace had occupied The Grange for only 15years, and by 1864 he had been away for 35years. Names do persist but it seems unlikelythat Grace's Farm was still the current name in1864. It is the nature of conveyances to recitepast transactions to establish historical title, sothese names were probably simply copied fromearlier documents. It is therefore unlikely thatthese were the current names for the twobuildings in 1864.

Also in 1864, Ordnance Survey was surveyingthe first edition of its 1:2500 scale map. Whenthis was published the following year, itshowed Northwood House as the only namefor both properties, but with the text placed

by 1864 The Grange was considered the moreimportant house, so why might he not havealways lived there? Firstly, there is a stronglocal tradition that Soames lived in The Fells.This probably emanates from Gladys Nash'srecollections of local talk in the 1890's9 - amere 30 years after Nathaniel Soames left theestate and probably within the living memoryof the Nashes' neighbours. Pechc'", whorefers to the Nash letters, says that Soameslived in The Fells for 'most of the time' -thus implying that he had access to anadditional source of information. Secondly,we have the 1861 census in which Soames'address is given as Northwood House, a namewhich we know was earlier applied to The

The Grange (left) and Green Close (right) in 1998The party wall is at the centre of the four dormer windows.

The bay behind and to the left of the beech treewas added in the early 19th century to join two earlier structures.

next to The Grange. This may have indicatedthe more important of the two houses, or maysimply have been the most convenient positioncartographically.

The most likely conclusion is that afterSoames' acquisition and occupation of theestate, the name Grace's Farm was droppedand Northwood House gradually becameaccepted to mean the whole estate. Byimplication whichever of the two houses wasthe principal one would also be calledNorthwood House.

We know that Soames must have started hisNorthwood residency in The Grange, and that

Fells. As discussed above, however, this tellsus only that whichever of the two housesSoames occupied in 1861 was given the nameNorthwood House.

Does it really matter where Soames and hiswife lived? It is important for two reasons.The first is to help understand and date 19thcentury building works carried out on bothhouses. Changes to the main residence wouldhave been to enhance and possibly enlarge;changes to the lesser property would have beento simplify and convert. The second reason isto help establish the location of the chapel,which could not have been in the same housethat Soames occupied.

RUISLlP, NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTELocal History SOCiety Journal 200035

Where was the Chapel?There are three main candidates for the chapel:The Grange (including Green Close which wasthen probably part of the same building), TheFells, and the small outbuilding north of TheGrange. The Nash family, who owned TheGrange in the late 19th century, referred to thisoutbuilding as the 'monks'chapel'. Accordingto Gladys Nash, it was the location of afoliated cross.

The chapel of ease can be traced in the poorrate books at various dates between 1842 and1855. ill February 1855, one of the twoseparately rated properties on the estate isdescribed at Cottage, barn and sheds with apencil note: Building late a chapel. Twomonths later a similar entry is partially erasedbut appears to say the late chapel next rate ascottage. Prior to 1855 the same property wasalso described as Barn & sheds - it. seemsthat the chapel element did not incur a poorrate, although the rateable value remained £7throughout even after cottage had been addedto the description. This same building wasdescribed as a house or cottage both before andafter its period as a chapel. An outbuilding or

I The Fells

stable was not separately rated from itsassociated house, so this entry refers either tothe whole of The Fells or to the whole of TheGrange. This is confirmed by the fact thatthere is only one other entry for a house ownedby Soames which could be on this site. Thechapel was therefore the main use for one ofthe two houses: whichever one was not lived inby Soames. .Since The Fells was definitelycalled Northwood House in 1832 and sevenyears later we are told that the chapel is closeto Northwood House, this seems to rule outThe Fells itself as the chapel and leave onlyThe Grange and its associated buildings.

It would solve the mystery completely if theproperty referred to in the rate books as thechapel could be traced either backwards intime to a terrier taken in 1837, or forwards intime to the particularly helpful rate book ofFebruary 1857. Both these documents list theowners and occupiers of each dwelling andfarm by reference to the field numbers of theEnclosure, thereby forming a defmite link withthe plots ofland on the ground. Unfortunately,there are discontinuities in the way theproperties are rated and subdivided in both

. . '.... ..•..~ i........ , \

" • I'

Outbuildingknown as the ~.

:;;: 'Monk's Chapel' '

Ordnance Survey map of 1865 with author's annotations


Detail from the Sudbury to Rickmansworth Turnpike Road map of 1823 15

The Grange is next to the 'd' of 'Norwood' and The Fells is below the 'w '.

1837 and 1857. This prevents the correlationof properties across these years, despiteextensive work trying to apportion the totalrateable value and total land area of Soames'Northwood estate.

Examination of the order of the census recordsfor 1841 to 1861 has also failed to yielddefinite evidence of Soames' choice ofresidence during this period. Unfortunatelythere are very few addresses or descriptions ofproperties - over 95% of entries for this areasimply give the address as 'Northwood'. Theenumerator did not always enter the propertiesin the same order at each census. The analysisdid show that no tenant lived in either TheGrange or The Fells, although small cottageswith low rateable values were occupied bytenants. There is an indication, but nothingmore, that Soames may have moved from TheFells to The Grange between 1851 and 1861,judging by the changing number of entriesbetween his and that for Kewferry Farm to thenorth and the Vanderplank's farm in GreenLane tothe east The Fells had its entrance onRickmansworth Road, but The Grange wasapproached from Green Lane.

Further evidence for the location of the chapelcomes from the demolition of The Fells andthe outbuildings of The Grange in 1933-34 andfrom the correspondence this redevelopmentgenerated in the local paper. A foliated crosswas found embedded in an ivy-coveredbuttress and a belfry was 'discovered' havingpresumably been hidden previously". Boththese embellishments suggest an ecclesiasticalflavour to one or more of the demolished

structures, thereby detracting from The Grangeitself (which was left undisturbed) as thelocation of the chapel. The foliated crossappears to .have come from the long, narrow'monks' chapel' outbuilding.

Mr George Beckford of Edmonton had workedas a carpenter at The Grange for Dr Nash. Herecalled that, during the 1890s, "the chapelbell, which bore some sort of inscription, wasmysteriously stolen and never heard ofagain,,12

In 1932, the local paper interviewed 79-year-old Mc E Brill of 157 High Street,Northwood". He stated that he was born atThe Grange. He may have meant the actualbuilding or .somewhere on the estate. Hisfather had been coachman to NathanielSoames, and "his mother used to look after theprivate Chapel in the house. Services wereheld there on Sundays and the public wereallowed to bepresent. "

The following week Mr .G.A. Sanford. 14responded with a letter to the paper . Hehad

purchased The Firs in Green Lane in 1889when The Grange was unoccupied, MrThacker having recently vacated it and DrNash having not yet arrived. He rememberedthat the chapel "had a flight of wooden stepsleading up to it from an outbuilding" and hiswife recalled "a stoop just inside the roomused as a chapel." He had been told by severalof the older inhabitants that "an occasionalservice was held there." Both thesetestimonies imply a private, rather than apublic, chapel. Were there perhaps two

RUISLIP. NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE

Local History Society Joumal200037

The Grange

Diagram showing the difficulty of fitting a chapel seating 150into the ground plan of Green Close

chapels at different times: the' public chapel ofease and a private chapel for the houseoccupants? This might explain the numerousornaments of ecclesiastical flavour.

If the chapel was up some steps from anoutbuilding, the 'monks' chapel' seems toosmall (only 3.5 metres wide) to have had anupper story, and certainly not one capable ofholding 150 people. It remains, perhaps, thebest contender for the conjectured separateprivate chapel.

Until now, the Green Close (east) end of TheGrange has been assumed to be the location ofthe chapel. This was on account of theecclesiastical appearance of Green Close'sporch and the adjacent matching entrancearchway, which seem to have been added inthe mid-19th century. It is material to thisdiscussion whether Green Close was a separatebuilding at the' time in question. TheEnclosure plan of 1809 and the planaccompanying the 1864 conveyance both showThe 'Grange and Green Close as two separatebuildings.' The first 1:2500 scale O.S. map,which was surveyed in 1864-5, shows onecontinuous ,range, apparently dating thealteration to 1864. However, the map of theSudbury-Rickmansworth turnpike road15,

which is undated but, can be tied from otherevidence to 182316

, also shows one range. Ihave argued previously" that the 1864 planwas based upon a considerably earlier survey,as it has much more in common with the

Enclosure map of 1809 than with the followingyear's O.S. map. It cannot therefore be takenas indicative of the building outlines in 1864.We may therefore conclude that the buildingswere joined between 1810 and 1823, duringthe occupancy ofJohn and John Paul Rowe.

Even when the two structures were separate,they did not merit individual entries in the ratebooks, one being considered the outbuildingsof the other. The rate book entries whichmention the chapel seem to imply that thewhole of one of the two dwellings was used assuch, except for one in March 1842 whichrefers to House & Sheds adjoining the chapelwith the rateable vale of £10.

If Green Close and The Grange were alreadyjoined, the Green Close embellishments maysimply have created an entrance, with thechapel itself lying in the main (west) range ofThe Grange.

The' evidence against Green Close alone beingthe chapel does not rest solely on whether ornot it was joined to The Grange at the relevantdate. We know that the chapel held 150people,but even the whole of the presentGreen Close would be somewhat cramped forsuch a congregation. The Grange itself was asubstantial and recently inhabited property. Ifit was not used as the chapel, why was it notlet to a tenant? (Or alternatively, if Soameslived in The Grange, why was The Fells notlet?)

RUISLIP. NORTHWOOD AND EASTCOTE


Finally, we have the evidence of Mrs MayGarrett (nee Rowland Brown) who purchasedmost of The Grange for church and communityuse. She and her husband had undertakensome local historical research. In her speech atthe opening and dedication ceremony in 1934,she alluded to church services having beenheld there before 1854 and how she was gladthat the property had reverted to its religioususe." She was clearly referring to the part ofThe Grange she had purchased, i.e. the westend which excluded Green Close. Was therestill certain knowledge of the location of thischapel 80 years after it had closed, or was thisassumption on Mrs Garrett's part?

ConclusionNo one theory fits all the evidence, but TheGrange itself seems by far the most promisingcandidate for the chapel. The discovery of anyfurther source material or the accurate datingof the 19th century structural changes mightone day help to confirm this.

This implies that Soames lived first in TheGrange and moved to The Fells in 1837. Withthe opening of Holy Trinity Church in 1854the chapel was no longer needed. It is likelythat the Soames family moved back to TheGrange between 1855 and 1861, taking thename 'Northwood House' with them, andperhaps creating their own private chapel inthe outbuilding to the north of the house.

Appendix 1

The Petition for the ChapelTo the Right Honorable and Right ReverendFather in God Charles James by DivinePermission Lord Bishop of London &c &c.

The humble petition of the ~ Vicar of theParish of Ruislip in the County of Middlesexand Diocese of London and also of NathanielSoames Esquire of the same Parish.

Sheweth,That in the Hamlet of Northwood in the saidParish there are upwards of Two hundredpersons residentfour Milesfrom any parochialChurch or Chapel and by reason thereof greatinconvenience is experienced by them.

That in order to remedy such inconvenienceyour Petitioner the said Nathaniel Soames hasat his own expense purchased a buildingsituate near to Northwood House in theoccupation of Nathaniel Soames Esqr in thesaid Hamlet capable of holding One hundredand fifty persons and has converted the sameinto a Chapel which he has fitted up as suchand furnished with all things necessary andproper for the performance of Divine Serviceaccording to the Rites and Ceremonies of theUnited Church of England and Ireland and itis proposed with the sanction of your Lordshipthat the same should be used by theInhabitants of the said Hamlet as appears for

Divine Worship according to such rites andceremonies and also that the Sacrament of theLords Supper should be administered therein.

Signed C Packe MA VicarN Soames

Appendix 2

The Licence for the ChapelCharles James by Divine permission Bishop ofLondon to the Vicar of the parish andparishioners of Ruislip in the County ofMiddlesex and within our Diocese andJurisdiction or to the curate or ministerofficiating for him as such and to all others towhom it may concern Greeting.

Whereas it hath been represented unto us by aPetition under the hands of you the said vicarand of Nathaniel Soames Esquire of the saidParish.

That in this Hamlet of Northwood ...[the text of the petition is restated here]

And whereas the Petitioners have humblybesought us to grant our Licence accordinglyas by the said Petition now remaining in theRegistry of our Consistorial and EpiscopalCourt of London (more fully and at lengthappears). We therefore taking the Premisesinto our consideration and being willing tocomply with the prayer of the said Petition so



by these Presents and in virtue of our authorityordinary and Episcopal and as far as by Lawwe may or can Give and Grant unto you thevicar of the said Parish and to your curate orthe Minister officiating for you as such OurLicence and Authority for the performance ofDivine Service according to the Rites andCeremonies of the united Church of Englandand Ireland and also for the Administration ofthe Lords Supper according to the usage of thesaid united Church in the said Building in theHamlet of Northwood aforesaid during ourwill and pleasure. In Testimony whereof wehave caused the seal which we use in thisbehalf to be affixed to these Presents. Datedthis seventh day of June in the year of our Lordone thousand eight hundred and thirty nine inthe eleventh year of our Translation.

References

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Hearmon, Carolynne, Uxbridge A Concise History,Hillingdon Borough Libraries 1982Cox, Colleen A, A Quiet and Secluded Spot,RNELHS 1991McBean, Jim, The Hogs Back and Hundred AcreFarm, RNELHS Journal 1983Bowlt, Eileen M, The Goodliest Place in Middx,Hillingdon Borough Libraries 1989Original petition, Guildhall MS 19224-405Guildhall MS 9532- 11Rate books, LMA DRO 19/E2Abstract of title ofFMMH Carew to the EastburyEstate, Ruislip LibraryNash, Gladys E, letter (to Mrs Garrett) 28 September1934, Ruislip Library

IQ Peche, George, From Hamlet to Town, The RuislipPress Ltd 1952

1I Middlesex Advertiser & Gazette, 20 July 193412 Ibid, 27 July 193413 Ibid, 16 September 1932 .14 Ibid, 23 September 193215 Hertfordshire Record Office 509.510 PC 1-11 room 316 McBean, Jim, The Rickmansworth-Pinner Turnpike,

RNELHS Journal 199317 Morgan, Simon, The Changing Shape a/The Fells,

RNELHS Journal 199718 Middlesex Advertiser & Gazette, 12 October 1934

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