Description
Cavendish Pavilion was built in 1914 for Debenhams store as a staff recreation centre in what was then open countryside. It is now Cavendish Recreation Ground with formal rose gardens to the south of the building. An area of hillocky, semi-natural ground separates the recreation ground from the adjacent Bessingby Park and Pine Gardens, which were laid out in the mid-C20th.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Bessingby Park Complex |
|---|---|
| Site location | Bessingby Road/Springfield Gardens/Field End Road, Ruislip Manor |
| Postcode | HA4 |
| What3Words | ///crush.never.twig |
| Type of Site | Public Park |
| Borough | Hillingdon |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Facilities | playgrounds, tennis courts, bowling green |
| Public Transport | Tube: Eastcote, Ruislip Manor then bus (Metropolitan, Piccadilly). Bus: 114 |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2005 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Bessingby Park to the south was laid out as part of mid-C20th council housing development and is dominated by playing fields, but includes modern planting of flowering trees and a straight east-west walk lined with pink hawthorns from the entrance on Bessingby Road. There are 2 flowerbeds along the walk and some willows that may predate the municipal layout; the entrance has iron gate piers and gates and a bungalow lodge. There is another wildlife area is near the playground of Bessingby Park. Cavendish Pavilion on Field End Road has half-timbered detail, the house now leased. To the front it has a lawn to the road, and to the rear a central covered terrace looks onto rose gardens with geometric beds and paths.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ110870 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Hillingdon |
| Site Management | Green Spaces Team |
| Dates | 1914; mid-C20th |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Cavendish Pavilion |
| 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 | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| 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
Roxbourne Park was created in 1936 on an old landfill site. In 1939-45 the park was used as a campsite for prisoners of war. The Yeading Brook runs along the eastern boundary of the park, which has a wooded walk along the stream. In the south of the park is a miniature railway.
Roxbourne Park was created in 1936 and in 1939-45 the park was used as a campsite for prisoners of war. The Yeading Brook runs along the eastern boundary of the park, which has a wooded walk along the stream. In the south of the park is a miniature railway run by the Harrow and Wembley Society of Model Engineers.
Warrender Park was created on a fragment of the landscape park of High Grove. The Highgrove Estate was inherited by the Warrender family in 1894. In 1935 Miss Eleanor Warrender sold the 4.35-hectare site to Ruislip-Northwood UDP for a recreation area, which was initially named Eastcote Recreation Ground. By the late 1970s it was called Warrender Park after the family. High Grove Nature Reserve has woodland with parkland trees and a pond, possibly a relic from the former garden.