Manor Farm, Ruislip
Encyclopedia
Manor Farm is a 22 acres (8.9 ha) historic site in Ruislip
, Greater London
. It incorporates an old barn
dating from the 13th century and the remains of a motte-and-bailey
castle believed to date from shortly after the Norman conquest of England
. Original groundwork on the site has been dated to the 9th century.
Ownership of the site passed to the King's College, Cambridge
in the 15th century, with whom it retained until 1931. At this point Manor Farm was included in the sale of Park Wood as a gift to the people of Ruislip. The Great Barn and Little Barn were recognised by a member of the Royal Society of Arts
in 1930 as in need of conservation. The site continued as a working farm until 1933.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, the site was restored with National Lottery funding, and has become a heritage area for the London Borough of Hillingdon. Manor Farm is within the Ruislip Village Conservation Area. Events are regularly held within the 13th-century Great Barn and around the rest of the site.
and so could have been demolished or changed significantly.
Ruislip parish was owned by the Benedictine
Bec Abbey
of Normandy
between 1096 and 1404 during which time the prior
built a home for himself on the site, surrounded by a moat. During the 16th century, the remains of the motte-and-bailey site were used as the gardens of the Manor Farm House when it was built. In 1888 the moat extension was filled in by Henry James Ewer, who farmed on the site. The moat's shape and the presence of traces of a fortified building have allowed this part of the site to be dated to the 11th century. However, the castle is believed to have been built around 1066 then either demolished or changed significantly as it does not appear as a castle in Domesday Book.
The farm buildings date back to the 13th century with the Great Barn the most prominent. The barn is the second largest such structure in Middlesex after another in Harmondsworth
. The Great Barn is constructed of English oak from the nearby Ruislip Woods
. It was built to a design known as an aisled barn, whereby smaller out-shoots run alongside the main supports underneath one main roof.
have found that the site originally functioned not only as the manorial court hall for Ruislip, but also as a working farm. The main building was built over two existing structures, possibly to accommodate the new lessee of the manor, Robert Drury, a former Speaker of the House of Commons. The study concluded this was most likely achieved by a team of masons and carpenters. Manor Farm was also known as Ruislip Court until the 19th century.
In 1451, ownership of the farm passed with the rest of Ruislip to King's College, Cambridge
who remain titular Lords of the Manor. King's completed two surveys of the manor during their ownership, in 1565 and 1750.
The Farm House was built from locally produced bricks, tiles and timber in the 16th century, and served as the manorial court until 1925 when the last court was held. Work in the 18th and 19th centuries saw the windows and doorways replaced, while an extended kitchen was installed. The kitchen extension was replaced in 1958 as part of a general refurbishment of the house.
Manor Farm and Park Wood were nearly demolished in the early 1900s to make way for a new development planned in partnership with King's College and the Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council
. A town planning competition was won by A & J Soutar from Wandsworth
, who suggested a symmetrical design across the parish which would have seen a total of 7,642 new homes built. St. Martin's church would have been the only example of historical architecture left in Ruislip. An outline map of the new development proposal 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. Three roads with residential housing, Manor Way, Windmill Way and Park Way were completed before the outbreak of the First World War when all construction work was halted. It was not resumed until 1919, though the plan was substantially scaled back as work slowed throughout the next decade.
The protection of Manor Farm and the local woods from redevelopment was eventually confirmed in January 1930, after a visit by a member of the Royal Society of Arts
to choose buildings that should be conserved. The Great Barn and Little Barn were selected, along with the old Post Office, the Old Bell public house
and the Priest's House of the local church. The woods, part of the centre of the manor of Ruislip along with Ruislip village square, were included when King's College sold the land to the district in February 1931. Park Wood was sold for £28,100 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
contributed 75% of the cost as the urban district council argued that many of those who would make use of the land would be recreational day trippers from outside the district. Under a 999 year lease, the council agreed to maintain the wood and ensure no new buildings were 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.
In 1932, the two cart sheds on either side of the lane leading into the farm were removed. That year, Councillor T. R. Parker purchased a plot of land on the site from King's College. Manor Farm continued as a working farm until the following year, when the local council began to sell off much of the land surrounding the buildings for housing developments. Councillor Parker presented his land to the Ruislip Village Trust as the site of a future public hall, and the Trust passed it to the urban district council in 1964 stipulating that that would be the sole use. The council obliged and the Winston Churchill
Hall was built in 1965.
A smaller barn built in the 16th century, the Little Barn, was converted to a library and opened on 2 November 1937. The original cowbyre was destroyed by fire in 1979 and was rebuilt as an exhibition centre. An archaeological excavation was carried out by the Museum of London Archaeological Service
in 1997 around the Farm House. This discovered the remains of the old priory were beneath the house, as this had been the bailey, surrounded by the motte.
in April 2007 with the work completed in June the following year. This included the renovation of the Grade II listed Manor Farm library as part of a borough-wide programme by the London Borough of Hillingdon
. The Duck Pond Market began in the Great Barn in December 2008, following the refurbishment, and runs once a month. Winston Churchill Hall, not included in the original restoration work, received a £370,000 grant from Hillingdon Council in March 2011 to enable its refurbishment.
Ruislip
Ruislip is a suburban area, centred on an old village in Greater London, and is part of the London Borough of Hillingdon.It was formerly also a parish covering the neighbouring areas of Eastcote, Northwood, Ruislip Manor and South Ruislip in the area. The parish appears in the Domesday Book, and...
, 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...
. It incorporates an old barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
dating from the 13th century and the remains of a motte-and-bailey
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
castle believed to date from shortly after the Norman conquest of England
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
. Original groundwork on the site has been dated to the 9th century.
Ownership of the site passed to the King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
in the 15th century, with whom it retained until 1931. At this point Manor Farm was included in the sale of Park Wood as a gift to the people of Ruislip. The Great Barn and Little Barn were recognised by a member of the Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
in 1930 as in need of conservation. The site continued as a working farm until 1933.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, the site was restored with National Lottery funding, and has become a heritage area for the London Borough of Hillingdon. Manor Farm is within the Ruislip Village Conservation Area. Events are regularly held within the 13th-century Great Barn and around the rest of the site.
Origins
What remains of the motte-and-bailey castle can be seen today in part of the moat and bank on the site. Today, the moat on the site is a scheduled monument, believed to have been extended to create an oval area upon which a wooden castle covering 350 feet (106.7 m) by 200 feet (61 m) was built, presumably for the landowner, Ernulf de Hesdin. He was given control of the manor of Ruislip shortly after the Norman conquest, in recognition of his loyalty to William the Conqueror. The castle is believed to have been built between 1066 and 1087, but does not appear in the 1086 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...
and so could have been demolished or changed significantly.
Ruislip parish was owned by the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Bec Abbey
Bec Abbey
Bec Abbey in Le Bec Hellouin, Normandy, France, once the most influential abbey in the Anglo-Norman kingdom of the twelfth century, is a Benedictine monastic foundation in the Eure département, in the Bec valley midway between the cities of Rouen and Bernay.Like all abbeys, Bec maintained annals...
of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
between 1096 and 1404 during which time the prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
built a home for himself on the site, surrounded by a moat. During the 16th century, the remains of the motte-and-bailey site were used as the gardens of the Manor Farm House when it was built. In 1888 the moat extension was filled in by Henry James Ewer, who farmed on the site. The moat's shape and the presence of traces of a fortified building have allowed this part of the site to be dated to the 11th century. However, the castle is believed to have been built around 1066 then either demolished or changed significantly as it does not appear as a castle in Domesday Book.
The farm buildings date back to the 13th century with the Great Barn the most prominent. The barn is the second largest such structure in Middlesex after another in Harmondsworth
Harmondsworth
Harmondsworth is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon, close to London Heathrow Airport. The village is situated south of West Drayton.The nearest places are: Hayes, Harlington, Heathrow Airport, Longford, London, Sipson, West Drayton and Yiewsley....
. The Great Barn is constructed of English oak from the nearby Ruislip Woods
Ruislip Woods
Ruislip Woods is a wooded area and National Nature Reserve covering in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The woods became the first National Nature Reserve in an urban area of England in May 1997, receiving the Green Flag Award in 2006....
. It was built to a design known as an aisled barn, whereby smaller out-shoots run alongside the main supports underneath one main roof.
Ownership
Studies by English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
have found that the site originally functioned not only as the manorial court hall for Ruislip, but also as a working farm. The main building was built over two existing structures, possibly to accommodate the new lessee of the manor, Robert Drury, a former Speaker of the House of Commons. The study concluded this was most likely achieved by a team of masons and carpenters. Manor Farm was also known as Ruislip Court until the 19th century.
In 1451, ownership of the farm passed with the rest of Ruislip to King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
who remain titular Lords of the Manor. King's completed two surveys of the manor during their ownership, in 1565 and 1750.
The Farm House was built from locally produced bricks, tiles and timber in the 16th century, and served as the manorial court until 1925 when the last court was held. Work in the 18th and 19th centuries saw the windows and doorways replaced, while an extended kitchen was installed. The kitchen extension was replaced in 1958 as part of a general refurbishment of the house.
Manor Farm and Park Wood were nearly demolished in the early 1900s to make way for a new development planned in partnership with King's College and the Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council
Ruislip-Northwood Urban District
Ruislip-Northwood was an urban district in west Middlesex, England, from 1904 to 1965. From its inception Ruislip-Northwood fell within the Metropolitan Police District and from 1933 it was part of the London Passenger Transport Area....
. A town planning competition was won by A & J Soutar from Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
, who suggested a symmetrical design across the parish which would have seen a total of 7,642 new homes built. St. Martin's church would have been the only example of historical architecture left in Ruislip. An outline map of the new development proposal 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. Three roads with residential housing, Manor Way, Windmill Way and Park Way were completed before the outbreak of the First World War when all construction work was halted. It was not resumed until 1919, though the plan was substantially scaled back as work slowed throughout the next decade.
The protection of Manor Farm and the local woods from redevelopment was eventually confirmed in January 1930, after a visit by a member of the Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
to choose buildings that should be conserved. The Great Barn and Little Barn were selected, along with the old Post Office, the Old Bell public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
and the Priest's House of the local church. The woods, part of the centre of the manor of Ruislip along with Ruislip village square, were included when King's College sold the land to the district in February 1931. Park Wood was sold for £28,100 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
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 county to constitute the County of London...
contributed 75% of the cost as the urban district council argued that many of those who would make use of the land would be recreational day trippers from outside the district. Under a 999 year lease, the council agreed to maintain the wood and ensure no new buildings were 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.
In 1932, the two cart sheds on either side of the lane leading into the farm were removed. That year, Councillor T. R. Parker purchased a plot of land on the site from King's College. Manor Farm continued as a working farm until the following year, when the local council began to sell off much of the land surrounding the buildings for housing developments. Councillor Parker presented his land to the Ruislip Village Trust as the site of a future public hall, and the Trust passed it to the urban district council in 1964 stipulating that that would be the sole use. The council obliged and the Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
Hall was built in 1965.
A smaller barn built in the 16th century, the Little Barn, was converted to a library and opened on 2 November 1937. The original cowbyre was destroyed by fire in 1979 and was rebuilt as an exhibition centre. An archaeological excavation was carried out by the Museum of London Archaeological Service
Museum of London
The Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day. The museum is located close to the Barbican Centre, as part of the striking Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960s and 70s as an innovative approach to re-development within a bomb damaged...
in 1997 around the Farm House. This discovered the remains of the old priory were beneath the house, as this had been the bailey, surrounded by the motte.
Restoration
The site was refurbished with funding from the Heritage Lottery FundHeritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
in April 2007 with the work completed in June the following year. This included the renovation of the Grade II listed Manor Farm library as part of a borough-wide programme by the London Borough of Hillingdon
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...
. The Duck Pond Market began in the Great Barn in December 2008, following the refurbishment, and runs once a month. Winston Churchill Hall, not included in the original restoration work, received a £370,000 grant from Hillingdon Council in March 2011 to enable its refurbishment.
External links
- Timeline of the site — Ruislip, Northwood & Eastcote Local History Society
- Manor Farm - Ruislip — Great Barns
- Bibliography of sources related to the castle