Hillingdon
Encyclopedia
Hillingdon is a suburban area within the London Borough of Hillingdon
, situated 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross
.
Much of Hillingdon is represented as the Hillingdon East ward within the local authority, Hillingdon Council. In November 2010, the ward had a recorded population of 12,403.
(1086) as Hillendone, possibly meaning "hill of a man named Hille".
, and had within it the chapelry
of Uxbridge
, which became a separate civil parish in 1866. Under the Local Government Act 1894
, Hillingdon parish was divided in two. Hillingdon West became, with Uxbridge
, part of the Uxbridge Urban District
; Hillingdon East became part of the Uxbridge Rural District
.
, as the name of the western-most borough of Greater London
.
The A40
(Western Avenue) was rerouted in the early 1990s to run slightly north of its original route, thereby allowing traffic to flow without interruption at the junction of Hillingdon Circus. Hillingdon tube station was required to be demolished in order for the new road to be constructed, and a new station was opened further south along the line in 1994, winning the Underground Station of the Year award for that year.
is served by the Metropolitan
and Piccadily lines of the London Underground
.
Bus route U2 serves Hillingdon, operating between Uxbridge station and Brunel University
.
, Bishopshalt School
, Ruislip High and Swakeleys School for Girls.
was asked to design an extension, after the increasing population meant the church was becoming too cramped. This extension was completed between 1847 and 1848 by the Fassnidge builders from Uxbridge. The barrel roof of the chancel
was renovated in 1953 to commemorate the coronation
of Elizabeth II. In 1964, a vestry was built on the north-eastern side of the church. On 8 November 1940, a bomb fell on the south side of the church, damaging many of the windows on the south and east sides of the church. The windows were repaired following the end of the Second World War.
as his family home, after he had bought separate adjacent properties in Vine Lane. Both buildings were demolished and the plots combined to allow for the construction of the new property. The mansion remained in the family's ownership until the death of the Second Baron Hillingdon, Charles Mills
in 1919. Part of the estate was bought by the local authority, while the mansion was bought by the Roman Catholic Order of the Sacred Heart and became a nursing home in 1920. After the Second World War, the mansion became a girls' school, and in 1978 was bought by ACS International Schools
to become ACS Hillingdon. Under the ownership of ACS International Schools, the mansion has been extended and converted in parts to meet the needs of a school. The area of land bought by the local authority remains today as Hillingdon Court Park.
London Borough of Hillingdon
The London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England. The borough's population was recorded as 243,006 in the 2001 Census. The borough incorporates the former districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the...
, situated 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
.
Much of Hillingdon is represented as the Hillingdon East ward within the local authority, Hillingdon Council. In November 2010, the ward had a recorded population of 12,403.
Toponymy
The name Hillingdon appears in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
(1086) as Hillendone, possibly meaning "hill of a man named Hille".
Early developments
Hillingdon was an ancient parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
, and had within it the chapelry
Chapelry
A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England, and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church...
of Uxbridge
Uxbridge
Uxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...
, which became a separate civil parish in 1866. Under the Local Government Act 1894
Local Government Act 1894
The Local Government Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888...
, Hillingdon parish was divided in two. Hillingdon West became, with Uxbridge
Uxbridge
Uxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...
, part of the Uxbridge Urban District
Municipal Borough of Uxbridge
Uxbridge was a local government district in north west Middlesex, England, from 1849 to 1965, based around the town of Uxbridge.Uxbridge was one of the first towns in England to adopt the Public Health Act 1848 in 1849 and form a local board of health. Under the Local Government Act 1894 the local...
; Hillingdon East became part of the Uxbridge Rural District
Uxbridge Rural District
Uxbridge was, from 1875 to 1925, a local government district in Middlesex, England.The district was formed as a rural sanitary district in 1875. It was based on the existing poor Uxbridge Poor Law Union, except for Uxbridge, to the west, which was an urban sanitary district. Part of the Hillingdon...
.
Urban development
Uxbridge Rural District was abolished in 1928, with the East parish being added to Uxbridge Urban District. Both East and West parishes were abolished in 1938 and added to Uxbridge parish. The name was revived in 1965, consequent upon the London Government Act 1963London Government Act 1963
The London Government Act 1963 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which recognised officially the conurbation known as Greater London and created a new local government structure for the capital. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the area,...
, as the name of the western-most borough of Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
.
The A40
A40 road
The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...
(Western Avenue) was rerouted in the early 1990s to run slightly north of its original route, thereby allowing traffic to flow without interruption at the junction of Hillingdon Circus. Hillingdon tube station was required to be demolished in order for the new road to be constructed, and a new station was opened further south along the line in 1994, winning the Underground Station of the Year award for that year.
Transport
Hillingdon tube stationHillingdon tube station
Hillingdon tube station is a London Underground station in North Hillingdon in the London Borough of Hillingdon, west London.The station is on the Uxbridge branch of both the Metropolitan line and Piccadilly line, between Ickenham and Uxbridge stations and in Travelcard Zone 6.-History:The...
is served by the Metropolitan
Metropolitan Line
The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in Transport for London's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening as the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863...
and Piccadily lines of the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
.
Bus route U2 serves Hillingdon, operating between Uxbridge station and Brunel University
Brunel University
Brunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
.
Education
Primary schools in Hillingdon include Oak Farm Juniors, Hillingdon Primary and Ryefield Primary. Secondary schools include Abbotsfield School for Boys, ACS HillingdonACS International Schools
ACS International Schools is a group of three schools based in England and one in Qatar. Until 2005, the organisation was known as American Community Schools. The four campuses are located in Cobham and Egham in Surrey and in the London Borough of Hillingdon and Doha, Qatar which is due to open in...
, Bishopshalt School
Bishopshalt School
Bishopshalt School is a comprehensive secondary school based in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It has been awarded Arts College status.-History:...
, Ruislip High and Swakeleys School for Girls.
Church of St John the Baptist
The church of St John the Baptist stands at the top of Hillingdon Hill, at its junction with Royal Lane. It was built in 1629, replacing an earlier building deemed to have become unsafe. In 1846, the architect George Gilbert ScottGeorge Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
was asked to design an extension, after the increasing population meant the church was becoming too cramped. This extension was completed between 1847 and 1848 by the Fassnidge builders from Uxbridge. The barrel roof of the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
was renovated in 1953 to commemorate the coronation
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was the ceremony in which the newly ascended monarch, Elizabeth II, was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon, and Pakistan, as well as taking on the role of Head of the Commonwealth...
of Elizabeth II. In 1964, a vestry was built on the north-eastern side of the church. On 8 November 1940, a bomb fell on the south side of the church, damaging many of the windows on the south and east sides of the church. The windows were repaired following the end of the Second World War.
Hillingdon Court
Hillingdon Court was built in 1858 by Sir Charles MillsSir Charles Mills, 1st Baronet
Sir Charles Mills, 1st Baronet was a British banker and member of the Council of India.Born at Popes, Hatfield, he was the third son of William Mills, a director of the Honourable East India Company, and the younger brother of John Mills.Like his father, he was connected with the banking firm of...
as his family home, after he had bought separate adjacent properties in Vine Lane. Both buildings were demolished and the plots combined to allow for the construction of the new property. The mansion remained in the family's ownership until the death of the Second Baron Hillingdon, Charles Mills
Charles Mills, 2nd Baron Hillingdon
Charles William Mills, 2nd Baron Hillingdon , was a British banker and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892....
in 1919. Part of the estate was bought by the local authority, while the mansion was bought by the Roman Catholic Order of the Sacred Heart and became a nursing home in 1920. After the Second World War, the mansion became a girls' school, and in 1978 was bought by ACS International Schools
ACS International Schools
ACS International Schools is a group of three schools based in England and one in Qatar. Until 2005, the organisation was known as American Community Schools. The four campuses are located in Cobham and Egham in Surrey and in the London Borough of Hillingdon and Doha, Qatar which is due to open in...
to become ACS Hillingdon. Under the ownership of ACS International Schools, the mansion has been extended and converted in parts to meet the needs of a school. The area of land bought by the local authority remains today as Hillingdon Court Park.
Notable people
- Actor Michael Anderson, Jr.Michael Anderson, Jr.Michael Joseph Anderson, Jr. is an English actor.He was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex, into a theatrical family. His grandparents and great-great-aunt were acclaimed actors. His father is the film director Michael Anderson, Sr. He is the stepson of actress Adrienne Ellis, and stepbrother of...
was born in Hillingdon
- Horror fictionHorror fictionHorror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
writer A. M. BurrageA. M. BurrageAlfred McLelland Burrage was a British writer.He was noted in his time as an author of fiction for boys which he published under the pseudonym Frank Lelland, including a popular series called "Tufty"....
(1889-1956) was born in Hillingdon
- Actor James CordenJames CordenJames Kimberley Corden is an English actor, television writer, producer and presenter. He is co-creator and star of BBC comedy shows Gavin & Stacey and Horne & Corden, and acted in the 2009 film Lesbian Vampire Killers....
, best known for BBC comedy Gavin & StaceyGavin & StaceyGavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...
, was born in Hillingdon
- Actress Lynne FrederickLynne FrederickLynne Maria Frederick was an English film actress. In a career spanning ten years she made about thirty films or television drama appearances, but she is best remembered as the last wife of Peter Sellers. She was married twice after his death.-Early life:Frederick was born in Hillingdon,...
(1954-94), probably best known for her marriages to Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
and David FrostDavid FrostSir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
, was born in Hillingdon
- Actor Denis Gilmore, best known for 1971 cult horror film PsychomaniaPsychomaniaPsychomania is a British horror film and cult film starring Nicky Henson as a devil worshipping gang leader and Robert Hardy as the detective in charge of bringing them in.It is also known as Death Wheelers Are.....
, was born in Hillingdon
- Conductor and composer Eugene GoossensEugène Aynsley GoossensSir Eugene Aynsley Goossens was an English conductor and composer.-Biography:He was born in Camden Town, London, the son of the Belgian conductor and violinist Eugène Goossens and the grandson of the conductor Eugène Goossens...
(1893-1962), whose career was ruined by the Rosaleen NortonRosaleen NortonRosaleen "Roie" Norton , who used the craft name of Thorn, was an Australian artist and occultist, in the latter capacity adhering to a form of pantheistic Neopagan Witchcraft or Wicca which was devoted to the god Pan...
affair, lived in Hillingdon
- Actor Huw HigginsonHuw HigginsonHuw Higginson is an English actor. He is most famous for playing PC George Garfield in The Bill from 1989 to 1999. He has appeared in Heartbeat, EastEnders, Casualty and Jessica...
was born in Hillingdon
- Musician Stephen Luscombe, of 1980s pop-group BlancmangeBlancmange (band)Blancmange are a British synthpop band who came to prominence with a string of hits in the early to mid 1980s.-Biography:Blancmange was formed in Harrow, Middlesex in 1979 by singer Neil Arthur and instrumentalists Stephen Luscombe and Laurence Stevens...
, was born in Hillingdon
- Actress Elspeth MarchElspeth March-Early years:She was born as Jean Elspeth Mackenzie in Kensington, London, England, the daughter of Harry Malcolm and Elfreda Mackenzie.-Career & marriage:...
(1911-1999), married to actor Stewart GrangerStewart GrangerStewart Granger was an English-American film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas.-Early life:He was born James Lablache Stewart in Old...
from 1938 to 1948, lived in Hillingdon
- Comic actor and comedian Alfred MarksAlfred MarksAlfred Edward Marks OBE was a comic actor and comedian.-Biography:Marks was born as Ruchel Kutchinsky in Holborn, London. He left Bell Lane School at 14 and started in entertainment at the Windmill Theatre. He then served in the RAF as a Flight Sergeant in the Middle East where he arranged...
(1921-1996) lived in Hillingdon
- Screenwriter and film director Simon MonjackSimon MonjackSimon Mark Monjack was an English screenwriter, film director, film producer and make-up artist. He was the widower of American actress Brittany Murphy.- Early life :...
(1970-2010) was born in Hillingdon
- Claire RichardsClaire RichardsClaire Ann Richards is an English singer best known for being the lead singer of Steps from 1997 to 2001. She was a contestant on the second series of Popstar to Operastar before being voted off in the Semi Finals...
, singer in 1990s pop-group Steps, was born in Hillingdon and attended Bishopshalt SchoolBishopshalt SchoolBishopshalt School is a comprehensive secondary school based in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It has been awarded Arts College status.-History:...
- Meinhardt SchombergMeinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of SchombergMeinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, 1st Duke of Leinster, KG was a general in the service of Prince William of Orange, later King William III of England.-Military career:...
(1641-1719), general in the service of Prince William of OrangeWilliam III of EnglandWilliam III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, built and lived in Hillingdon HouseHillingdon HouseHillingdon House is a Grade II listed mansion in Hillingdon, Greater London. The original house was built in 1717 as a hunting lodge for the Duke of Schomberg. It was destroyed by fire and the present house was built in its place in 1844....
- Actor and director Tony TannerTony TannerPaul Antony Tanner , known as Tony Tanner, was a British literary critic of the mid-twentieth century, and a pioneering figure in the study of American literature...
was born in Hillingdon
- Actress Heather ThatcherHeather ThatcherHeather Thatcher was an English actress in theatre and motion pictures. She was from London.-Dancer:By 1922 Thatcher was a dancer. She was especially noted for her interpretation of an Egyptian harem dance. Her exotic clothes were designed in Russia. They featured stencil slits in the waist,...
(1896-1987), signed by MGM in 1930s Hollywood, lived in Hillingdon at the time of her death