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Eastcote

Eastcote was originally ’Ascot’, one of the three medieval tithings of the parish of Ruislip - along with Westcot and Norwood.

The Hawtrey family moved to Eastcote around 1525 when Ralph Hawtrey married Winifred Walleston and the couple moved into Eastcote House. Their only daughter became Lady Mary Bankes when she married Sir John Bankes, Chief Justice to Charles I. As a Royalist at the time of the English Civil War, she defended their home in Dorset against the Roundheads in 1643. Lady Bankes had also lived in Eastcote at Haydon Hall and her name is remembered by a school in Northwood Hills.

Highgrove House was rebuilt in 1879 after being destroyed by fire. Winston Churchill stayed there during his honeymoon and the Queen of Sweden was resident during the First World War.

Eastcote station was originally built as a halt in 1906. At the turn of the 20th century, the recorded population was only around 600 people. This had reached over 12 000, one hundred years later.

The arrival of the railway brought a substantial number of visitors seeking a day out in the countryside. The tea garden of the Old Barn House became popular, as were cottages including The Rosery and Orchard Farm which served refreshments. In 1914, the Cavendish Pavilion was built as a private sports ground.

In 1930, developers Comben & Wakeling purchased the Hawtrey family land, including Eastcote House and its grounds, and built the new Eastcote Park Estate. The estate - comprising Pamela Gardens, St Lawrence Drive, Rodney Gardens, Burwood Avenue and The Glen - would have necessitated the demolition of Eastcote House until this was purchased by the Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council in 1937 for public use. In 1964, Eastcote House was demolished after it was declared structurally unsafe though its grounds including the walled garden, coach house and dovecote were retained for public use.

Haydon Hall was also purchased by the council in 1936 after the death of its owner, Mrs Bennett-Edwards. Haydon Hall also fell into a state of disrepair and was demolished in 1967.

The railway halt was rebuilt as a station in 1939.

The British government built a military hospital on land near Highgrove House during the war. Bletchley Park also established an outpost in surplus buildings on the site, which became known to staff as HMS Pembroke V. A total of 100 Bombe codebreaker machines were used to decode German Enigma messages. Operations continued on the site, including the use of two Colossus codebreaking machines. GCHQ moved to a new purpose-built site in Cheltenham in 1954.

In 1952, a number of new houses were built by Wimpeys Ltd in Newnham Avenue for the Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council.

The RAF Eastcote site was sold for development to Taylor Wimpey in 2007. 385 new homes were built on the renamed Pembroke Park.

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