This neighbourhood rests on Stanmore Hill and is delightfully green and leafy. Stanmore Park, Heriot’s Wood and Bentley Priory to the north dominate the rolling suburb. Uxbridge Road marks the foot of the hill, and where the more conventional Stanmore neighbourhood begins. The houses are a mix of terraces, detached and semi-detached stock, all of high quality. To the south there is the Stanmore Golf Club. All in all, this neighbourhood gives off a coherent community feel, with the houses not being too spread out, unlike other parts of suburban London, while at the same time retaining open spaces in the housing communities. All houses are a short walk away to the town centre, which itself is a hop away from the jewel of the area – Bentley Priory Nature Reserve. Being this far from central London means transport links are slightly lacking, but Stanmore Station, the northern terminus of the Jubilee line, is just a short bus ride away.

Bentley Priory Open Space, as its name suggests, derives its name from a priory house; the original priory was actually built further down the hill, and started as an Augustinian house attached to the Priory of St. Gregory Canterbury, dating back even further than the Domesday Book. The name Bentley derives not from the car but rather the Anglo-Saxon word Boenet, meaning a place covered in coarse grass, implying a traditional grassland – features the area still retains today. Since then, the area has gone through many uses – including the lands of noblemen, a hotel, a girls’ school, and an air force training ground - the headquarters of the fighter command during the Second World War.

Andrew Drummond was the founder of Drummond’s Bank at Charing Cross; he grew so successful that he was able to purchase a country house in Stanmore, situated around where Uxbridge Road is today (then called Collier’s Lane). The property was recorded to have had gardens, orchards, and various buildings, where he lived with his family, who are now buried in the parish churchyard of St. John the Evangelist. He would continue to enlarge the estate until his death – the curved nature of Uxbridge Road at one point today stems from this repeated addition of land.

Bentley Priory Open Space covers 70 hectares of land, with Summerhouse Lake being the highlight – formed from damming a small stream. As its name suggests a summerhouse used to stand by its banks, with Queen Adelaide, widow of King William IV, said to have spent the last years of her life here.

There are many uncommon birds in the area, including the buzzard, spotted flycatcher, bullfinch, whitethroats, garden warblers, blackcap, chiffchaff and willow warbler can also be heard during the summer.

This neighbourhood has faced similar pressures to other London suburbs, with independent stores slowly disappearing from the high streets, and there is a dearth of pubs near the hill. However, apart from certain areas in along the hill, the area has thus far avoided the change in character which has transformed other well-linked neighbourhoods, with residents and the local council ensuring that developments are done tastefully, and the area’s architectural heritage is still preserved.

The fact that the majority of the area is occupied by protected open space means that any large scale urban development opportunities are in short supply. That said, at 65 Stanmore Hill a recent residential scheme opened with nine new apartments set above a ground floor synagogue. The area will also see the changes that are happening to more central Stanmore, including Harrow Council’s plans for a six-storey development on nearby Coverdale Close.