Description
Hillingdon Court was built in 1854-8 by P C Hardwick for the banker Charles Mills, later Lord Hillingdon. Since 1978 it has been the American Community School and although the grounds are much reduced, formal gardens remain to south and east, the latter with an open prospect to Hillingdon Court Park.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Hillingdon Court; ACS Hillingdon International School |
|---|---|
| Site location | Vine Lane, Hillingdon |
| Postcode | UB10 0BH |
| What3Words | ///voted.nearly.kept |
| Type of Site | Institutional Grounds |
| Borough | Hillingdon |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private |
| Public Transport | Tube: Uxbridge, Hillingdon (Piccadilly, Metropolitan) then bus. Bus U2. |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2005 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Hillingdon Court has been described as 'the most impressive of Hillingdon's surviving major houses' (Nikolaus Pevsner). The gardens include large tazzas, stone-edged beds, baulstrades and steps, although the layout is simplified. There is a parterre to the east down to grass, a bed occupies what was possibly a circular basin, and the lowest terrace is now a tennis court. South of the house, south of Court Drive, the gardens of C20th private houses contain some notable exotic trees, including Wellingtonias and Cedars. The C19th lodge on Vine Lane is also possibly by Hardwick.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ068838 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | American Community School |
| Site Management | American Community School |
| Dates | 1854-58 |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: Hillingdon Court. LBII: lodge on Vine Lane |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Hillingdon |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes - on most of trees |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | Yes |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
The public park was made out of former parkland of Hillingdon Court, the house and gardens of which are now the American Community School. The park has a fine spread of early/mid-C19th parkland oaks, with one or two older trees, some quite massive, plus one large clump of oak creating a woodland area, and another smaller clump. A fairly recent plantation has mixed tree species including oak, silver birch, poplar, aspen, sycamore and other species. Near tennis courts are ornamental rose gardens and a hedged garden with conifers, shrub beds and specimen trees.
Hillingdon House was the former manor house of West Hillingdon, an old settlement on the way to Uxbridge. The house was rebuilt in 1717 by the Duke of Schomberg but largely destroyed by a fire in 1844 and rebuilt by architect George Mair. It has been an RAF Officers' Mess since 1915 when the RAF bought the estate. There is a serpentine lake in the grounds, which still stretch down to the River Pinn, although the character has been eroded by RAF use.
Hillingdon was a large medieval parish with the church of St John the Baptist at the centre of the village. There are two areas of the churchyard divided by a path, that around the church having many fine tombs and a number of good trees, including cedar, with an avenue of lime along one path. In the other area of the burial ground is the war memorial.