This neighbourhood sits within the pleasant and leafy neighbourhood between Ruislip Manor and Eastcote in the London borough of Hillingdon. The area itself is of a predominantly residential makeup, but has significant green spaces interspersed throughout, which mostly follow the flow of the River Pinn and the Yeading Brook, which cuts through the wider Ruislip area. The locality is in close proximity to a number of popular local attractions, including the Ruislip Woods National Nature Reserve, but has a number of its own popular amenities such as Cavendish Recreation Grounds, Pine Gardens, and Bessingby Playing Fields which lie in the middle of the neighbourhood and add to the fantastic provision for green space. In terms of transport, the nearest stations to the Ruislip Manor and Eastcote underground stations to the north of the area. Overall, the area proves popular with locals for its predominantly quiet, residential suburban streets.

The Eastcote and Ruislip Manor area, like much of the surrounding areas, has a limited history of development prior to the 20th century. Whilst this is true, however, there is still great deal of history in the area. The name Eastcote most likely referred to ‘Eastern Cottages’ dating back to the 13th century but potentially earlier, and implies that there was also a South and Westcote as well. In the middle ages, this area had been cleared of its thick forest in order to make way for farming land and cattle grazing. Whilst a number of homes were built between the medieval period and the 19th century, predominantly by the gentry, relatively little existed in Eastcote aside from the scattered farms and cottages which lined the River Pinn. Following the opening of the Metropolitan railway, both Eastcote and Ruislip Manor saw an upshot in development, leading to the suburban character known today.

One famous local resident who lived – and is buried – in this area is Lady Mary Bankes, who was a Royalist during the English Civil War and is honoured for her strong defence of Corfe Castle in Dorset from parliamentarian forces. Born ‘Mary Hawtry’ in Ruislip, she became known as Lady Bankes when she married Sir John Bankes in 1618, upon which the couple moved to Corfe Castle and had ten children. The Lady Bankes is so fondly remembered, a local primary school is named after her!

Another key local attraction in the Ruislip Manor area is the Wealdstone Football Club. The club was the first to ever win the non-League ‘double’ – meaning they claimed the FA Trophy and the Alliance Premier League in 1984-5? Wealdstone FC currently play in the National League South which is in the sixth tier of English football, and have a strong local support base.

Ruislip Manor Underground station, which sits on the Metropolitan and Piccadilly line, was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe during World War Two due to its close proximity to RAF Northolt.

Unfortunately, in recent years there’s been an increase in the number of burglaries in the Ruislip Manor and Eastcote area, which has raised concern regarding the safety of the neighbourhood. Despite this, there is a very strong sense of community in the area, with many people grouping together to work on community issues.

A good example of this is a campaign in support of a local pub called ‘The Case is Altered’, which gathered over a thousand signees to a petition against changing the name of this historic pub.

This neighbourhood has seen a number of minor changes in recent years, but the opening of nearby RAF Northolt to commercial flights in 2019 has been the biggest in terms of its impact on noise and traffic. As the number of yearly flights has risen over 10,000 many locals have complained, arguing that they were unaware of these changes despite the council promising in 2017 to “ensure that no changes occur at RAF Northolt without the consent of local communities”. Closer to home, the The Quadrate development at 106 Pembroke Road was recently completed. The apartment block comprises 23 affordable homes with outdoor space as well as a large ground floor commercial unit.