Ruislip-Northwood Urban District
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Ruislip-Northwood was an
urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
in west
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, from 1904 to 1965. From its inception Ruislip-Northwood fell within the
Metropolitan Police District The Metropolitan Police District (MPD) is the police area which is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service in London. It currently consists of the Greater London region, excluding the City of London. The Metropolitan Police District was create ...
and from 1933 it was part of the
London Passenger Transport Area The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passe ...
. The urban district council presided over a huge increase in population as the
Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...
gave rise to many new development opportunities. This created many challenges to improve public services and housing while preserving the area's heritage sites. In 1931
King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
sold their final plots of land to the council, having been owners of much of the land in the manor of Ruislip since the mid-15th century. The urban district was abolished in 1965 and its former area was incorporated into the newly established
London Borough of Hillingdon The London Borough of Hillingdon () is the largest and westernmost borough in West London, England. It was formed from the districts of Hayes and Harlington, Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the ceremonial county ...
, as part of
Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...
.


History


Creation

The urban district was created on 30 September 1904, covering the parish of
Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London, and in the historic county of Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...
, which had previously been part of
Uxbridge Rural District Uxbridge Rural District was, from 1894 to 1929, a local government district in Middlesex, England. Prior sanitary and poor law bodies This entity amounted to a widening of the functions and powers of Uxbridge rural sanitary district formed in 1 ...
. The parish of Ruislip included
Ruislip Manor Ruislip Manor is an area of Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London. It is located approximately west north west of Charing Cross. The construction of a halt on the Metropolitan Railway in the area in 1912 led to the develop ...
,
South Ruislip South Ruislip is an area of west London in the London Borough of Hillingdon, south-east of Ruislip, south of Eastcote, north-west of Northolt, and west of South Harrow. A 2017 estimation put the population of South Ruislip ward as 13,150 resident ...
,
Eastcote Eastcote is a suburban area in the London Borough of Hillingdon, in northwest London. In the Middle Ages, Eastcote was one of the three areas that made up the parish of Ruislip, under the name of Ascot. The name came from its position to the e ...
, and Northwood. The new urban district council held its first meeting at Northwood School on 1 October, the day after the district's formation.Bowlt 1994, p.90 An urban district council had been considered a year previously, in light of the expansion of areas within the parish, particularly Northwood. A report was prepared in 1903 which noted the population in Northwood—2,700 by that time, with 530 houses—compared with the largely rural character of the rest of Ruislip parish. The
Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...
extension from Harrow to
Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...
was also discussed at the meeting on 28 October 1903, as a station was to be opened in Ruislip on the line. King's College, Cambridge, owners of much of the land in the parish, were planning to sell some for development in light of the new line. As a result of these events, the Ruislip Parish Council voted in favour of becoming an urban district.


Governance and developments

The urban district council consisted of nine councillors in 1904: the Chairman William Page Edwards; F. M. Elgood; H. J. Brewer; H. Ewer; William Gregory; S. Matheson; Rev. Harvey Roe; J. Westacott, and A. M. Hooper. A clerk was appointed, E. R. Abbot, for £100 per year. He remained in the position until 1931. By 1920 the number of councillors had reached 15. The expansion of the Metropolitan Railway caused the district to experience a sharp rise in population—from 6,217 in 1911 to 72,791 in 1961—and an increase in suburban housebuilding, especially in the area termed ''
Metro-land Metro-land (or Metroland) is a name given to the suburban areas that were built to the north-west of London in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Middlesex in the early part of the 20th century that were served by the Metropolita ...
''. Consequentially, the district was one of the first in England to devise a statutory planning scheme in 1914, following the Housing and Town Planning Act 1909.Delafons 1997, p.93 The council had been prompted to follow this new act by the Chairman of the council, Mr. Elgood, an architect, and the Clerk to the council, Mr. Abbot. Members of the council had already raised concerns over some of the new building work around Eastcote and South Ruislip and the new development near
Northwood station Northwood is a station on the Watford branch of the Metropolitan line, in Travelcard Zone 6. The station is located just off the main road through the town, Green Lane. The line serves as the sole continuous link between the town of Northwood a ...
, which they described as "badly arranged and packed".Bowlt 1994, p.93 Three divisions were established within the new council: Finance and General Purposes; Public Health, Buildings and Sewerage; and Highways. The council sought to save money from the outset; reducing the number of workmen employed on the highways from ten to seven and cancelling the cleaning of ditches beside the roads. The lowest-paid man working on the sewers was informed he would need to move within the district and take a pay cut from £1:6 s to £1:3s or be made redundant. He accepted. The urban district council worked with King's College, Cambridge, to establish plots of land for development around Ruislip and
Ruislip Manor Ruislip Manor is an area of Ruislip in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London. It is located approximately west north west of Charing Cross. The construction of a halt on the Metropolitan Railway in the area in 1912 led to the develop ...
. A town planning competition was held, won by A & J Soutar, town planners from
Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...
, who sought to create a symmetrical design spreading across Ruislip parish. Many of the woods and historic sites including Manor Farm were to be demolished and cleared as part of the plan, making way for a projected total of 7,642 homes, enough for 35,000 residents. Only the church in Ruislip, St. Martin's, would have been spared. An outline map was made public on 30 November 1910 with few objections. A local board inquiry followed on 17 February 1911, which required negotiations with landowners to allow for a full planning scheme to be compiled. This was presented in February 1913 with an adaptation of the original Soutars plan and received approval from the Local Government Board in September 1914.Bowlt 1994, p.96 Three roads with residential housing—Manor Way, Windmill Way, and Park Way—were completed before the outbreak of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. All construction work was halted, and did not resume until 1919. The Ruislip Manor Cottage Society had been set up in 1911 to facilitate the construction of cottages and small housing in the area, though it did not manage to build as much as had been planned. As the council took on several plots in Eastcote, only four houses could be built by the society there. In Northwood, eighteen cottages were later built in 1926.


Development after the First World War

Manor Farm and the local woods were eventually saved from new developments in January 1930, after a member of the
Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
visited to choose the buildings that should be conserved. The Great Barn and Little Barn were singled out, together with the old Post Office, the Old Bell
public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
, and the Priest's House of the local church. The woods were included in a sale by King's College, Cambridge, to the district in February 1931. Park Wood was sold for £27,300, with Manor Farm and the old Post Office included as a gift to the people of Ruislip. King's had wished to also present the wood as a gift but was required by the university and College's Act to receive payment, as it was the trustee of the land.
Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the coun ...
contributed 75 per cent of the cost, as the urban district council argued that many of those who would make use of the land would be recreational
day-tripper A day trip is a visit to a tourist destination or visitor attraction from a person's home, hotel, or hostel in the morning, returning to the same lodging in the evening. The day trip is a form of recreational travel and leisure to a location tha ...
s from outside the district. Under a 999-year lease, the council agreed to maintain the wood and ensure no new building was constructed without the permission of the county council. An area of the wood to the south was not included in the lease agreement and three residential roads were later constructed on it. Copse Wood was purchased by Middlesex County Council and
London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
in 1936 for £23,250, joined by Mad Bess Wood in the same year. The urban district council purchased the wood together with Middlesex and London County Councils for £28,000 in a
compulsory purchase Compulsion may refer to: * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by ...
from Sir Howard Stransom Button.Bowlt 1994, p.119 Sir Howard became
High Sheriff of Middlesex This is a list of sheriffs of Middlesex. History of the office From c. 1131 to 1889 there was no separate sheriff for the county. By a charter of Henry I the livery of the City of London were given the right to elect two sheriffs of "London and ...
in 1937. The council purchased Haydon Hall and its of ground in 1936, planning to build a civic centre there. The outbreak of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in 1939 caused the plan to be suspended, and it was never continued. During the war, the urban district saw a high number of bombing raids by the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
during
The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
, between 8 September 1940 and 9 May 1941. A total of 57 raids were recorded with 241 high explosive bombs, 2000 incendiary bombs and 4 parachuted landmines falling on the area; 27 people were killed and a further 231 were injured. A public hall was built on part of the Manor Farm site in 1965 and named
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
Hall. The land upon which it was built had been Barn Close and was bought by Councillor T. R. Parker in 1932 from King's College. He presented the land to the Ruislip Village Trust as the site of a future public hall and the Trust gave it to the urban district council in 1964 stipulating that that would be the sole use.


Abolition

The urban district was abolished in 1965 and its area formed part of the
London Borough of Hillingdon The London Borough of Hillingdon () is the largest and westernmost borough in West London, England. It was formed from the districts of Hayes and Harlington, Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the ceremonial county ...
in
Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...
. By this time the population within the district had reached 75,000. The Ruislip-Northwood name survived in the Ruislip-Northwood parliamentary constituency until 2010, when it was incorporated into the
Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by David Simmonds, a Conservative. History Parliament accepted the Boundary Commission's Fifth Periodic Revi ...
constituency.


Coat of arms

A
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
was granted in 1937. It is described as "''
argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
, a hurst of oak-trees proper growing out of a grassy mount, and above them a
roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...
azure charged with a
star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
of five points or; on a chief
gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...
a silver
mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
between two
fleurs-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...
or''". It also had a
crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
, described as "''on a wreath or the colours in front of two ears of rye slipped in saltire proper a
boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...
passant sable armed and unguled.''" The hurst of trees with a representation of the
Pole Star A pole star or polar star is a star, preferably bright, nearly aligned with the axis of a rotating astronomical body. Currently, Earth's pole stars are Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris), a bright magnitude-2 star aligned approximately with its ...
above are a play on the name Northwood. The mitre and fleurs-de-lys refer to the Abbey of Bec Herlewin in
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, to whom the Lordship of Ruislip was granted, where there was a cell of the Order. The Manor was later seized by
Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...
and granted as part of the endowment of King's College, Cambridge. The Abbey and the college were dedicated to St. Mary, one of whose symbols is a fleur-de-lis. The 'rye slips' are a play on the name Ruislip. The wild boar shows that the Lordship was an ancient one, granted when the land was forest roamed by wild boars. The present coat of arms of the London Borough of Hillingdon use the Pole Star, fleur-de-lis, and rye stalks from the coat of arms of the former Ruislip-Northwood Urban District on its coat of arms.


References

;Citations ;Bibliography * Bowlt, Eileen. M. (1994) ''Ruislip Past''. London: Historical Publications * Edwards, Ron. (1987) ''Eastcote: From Village to Suburb''. Uxbridge: London Borough of Hillingdon * Delafons, John. (1997) ''Politics and Preservation: A Policy History of the Built Heritage, 1882–1996''. London: E & FN Spon {{London Government Act 1963 Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963 History of the London Borough of Hillingdon Urban districts of England History of local government in Middlesex Eastcote