River Pinn Uxbridge Common

River Pinn
The Pinn flows south and south-westwards

Post to the west Uxbridge
Post to the south RAF Uxbridge

Blossom Lane
16 Court Farmhouse


Celandine Route
Walking route along the River Pinn

Dowding Road
Defence personnel housing managed by Annington Properties.


Gatting Way,
Middlesex Showground – site for County shows, and other major events
Uxbridge Lido. Built in 1935 in a nautical moderne style with a unique 12-sided "star" shaped pool. It has two fountains in a line, north and south of the pool.  A grandstand on the eastern side is built of reinforced concrete with three levels including the open flat roofed viewing terrace. The architect was G. Percy Trentham.  Hillingdon Council closed the pool in 1982 season and it was then reopened by Uxbridge Pool Action Group in 1984. They installed solar heating panels and a water slide. The Council took the pool back in 1989.
New sports complex opened 2010 includes: Astroturf pitches for 5 a side football; running track. There is a 400m running track with 8 lanes and a 10 lane home straight. It has hurdles and a steeplechase pit; Exercise Studios with semi-sprung floors; conference suite overlooking the stadium track; cafe; gym with cardiovascular machines, resistance machines and weights and stretching areas; indoor basketball courts; Indoor cycling studio; petanque terrain with five pistes; an indoor Olympic sized 50 metre pool and an outdoor Olympic sized 50metre pool; long jump pit; badminton courts
Hillingdon House athletics grounds. As part of the new development, the track was refurbished as part of the new complex
Artificial ski slope this dry ski slope closed in 2002 following a fire and is now derelict.

Hercies Road
The origins of Hercies Manor are obscure. It is first mentioned in 1386 and in the same ownership as Swakeleys, with which it remained.

Honeycroft Hill
Hillingdon House Farm, in the 1930s this was at the junction with Hercies Road
Chestnuts. Humanist Housing Association. The house was rebuilt in the early 1980's because of the state of decay of the original house, which was replaced with an exact replica of the original. William Wilberforce lived here from 1824 to 1826 after he retired from Parliament and was waiting for his new house at Mill Hill to be ready.
Territorial army 47 (Middlesex Yeomanry) Signal Squadron (Uxbridge)


Park Road
Uxbridge College. The College dates to 1935 when Uxbridge Urban District Council called for a technical school. Approval was given by Middlesex County Council in 1937 for land at Hillingdon Farm Estate to be used for a Technical Institute. This was however held up by the Second World War and the land was used for growing vegetables. Uxbridge Technical College was on the reserve list for the Ministry of Education’s 1952/53 building programme and work eventually began in 1961 to be opened in 1966, In 2006 The Mall opens at the Uxbridge Campus and 10,000 students were enrolled on courses there and at a site in Hayes. Expansion continued with new sports areas.
57 Uxbridge Early Years Centre
Park Road Ponds.  This consists of three ponds two of which are managed by London Wildlife Trust.  The main pond is surrounded by crack, goat and grey willows young oaks and alder. It has water invertebrates - snails, snails, pond skaters, whirligig beetles, damsel and dragonflies. Together with Uxbridge College Pond and the other pond it is managed for populations of amphibians, including great crested newts.
Cottage Hospital. Laura Cox, daughter of a local banker and landowner, campaigned for the establishment of a hospital for Uxbridge. In 1869 her family donated two cottages in Park Road for a Cottage Hospital. In 1879 the Hospital moved to larger premises in Park Road and in 1914 it moved to Harefield Road.  Red Leys housing is now on the site.
119 Gardeners Arms. This was a Courage Pub but is now owned by Enterprise Inns.
Housing on the east side behind walls is (or was) Ministry of Defence housing managed by Annington Properties


St Andrews Road
RAF Sports stadium and athletics track, within the Ministry of Defence Estate.  The stadium was set up in the 1920s when the RAF took over the site and was used by Uxbridge Football Club and open to the public. It was closed at the outbreak of the Second World War.


Sweetcroft Lane
Private building here from the time of the A40 opening in the 1920s.
Hercies Farm stood near the junction with Sweetcroft Lane. In 1922 it was acquired by the local authority.
117 Perseverance Scout Hut. Now used as a day nursery and as the guide headquarters

Uxbridge Common
Uxbridge Common. What remains are five-acres. It was part of Northolt and Uxbridge Common.  The Enclosure of Hillingdon Parish in 1819 had reduced the Common, which had been 4 miles in circumference and covered both sides of Park Road. In 1898 the land was transferred to Uxbridge District Council from Ralf Leycester and this was 5 acres and it was to remain as unenclosed public open space. It is an important wildlife area dominated by Gorse and other heath land species.  There are beetles, flies, moths and butterflies and many birds are found there. There is a pond with Great Crested Newts,


Sources
British History. Online. Uxbridge
English Heritage. Web site
Fusion. Hillingdon Sports Centre Complex. Web site
Hillingdon Sports Centre. Wikipedia. Web site
Humanist Housing Association. Web site
Lidos in London. Web site
London Borough of Hillingdon. Web site
London Wildlife Trust Website
Lost Hospitals of London. Web sit
Middlesex Show Ground. Web site
Middlesex Yeomanry. Web site
Uxbridge College. Web site

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bromley by Bow

South Norwood

River Lea/Bow Creek Canning Town