Description
Harefield Hospital was built in the 1930s as the county sanatorium for sufferers of TB in the grounds of the early-mid C18th Harefield Park, whose vestigial garden and fragment of parkland remain. The house is now used as the hospital's staff centre. There is a good cedar on the lawn and holm oak. Intrusive tennis courts have been built between the house and two formal ponds; the Lakeside Garden was restored in 1994. The Ha-ha remains, albeit in poor condition and there are remnants of deer park boundary bank and ditch. The walled garden has remains of old glasshouses.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Harefield Park; Belhammonds |
|---|---|
| Site location | Harefield Hospital, Hill End Road, Harefield |
| Postcode | UB9 6JH |
| What3Words | ///cities.hedge.books |
| Type of Site | Institutional Grounds |
| Borough | Hillingdon |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | publicly accessible hospital grounds |
| Public Transport | Tube: Uxbridge (Metropolitan, Piccadilly); Rickmansworth (Metropolitan) then bus. Bus: U9, 331 |
| Research Updated | 1 February 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Harefield Park was formerly known as Belhammonds, and was built for Sir George Cooke in c.1710-1718, according to dates on rainwater heads, but was much altered in the C18th and C19th. It was once owned by Bertie Wentworth Vernon, but he did not live here; from 1845-56 the social and medical reformer and pioneer of 'The Lancet', Thomas Wakley, lived at Harefield Park. In the early C20th it was owned by the Billyard-Leake family from Australia and in 1915 they offered part of their estate to the Australian government in order to provide a convalescent home for injured Australian and New Zealand soldiers. The first hospital buildings were wooden shacks, but it gradually expanded to a larger area of the Harefield Park estate and on 16 August 1915 was visited by King George V and Queen Mary. The early connection with Australia and New Zealand is commemorated by the ANZAC Centre that opened at Harefield Hospital in 2003. St Mary's Parish Churchyard (q.v.) has a designated ANZAC graveyard where an annual memorial service is held.
After the war the Billyard-Leakes sold their estate to Middlesex County Council who were looking for a site to establish a county sanatorium for the treatment of TB, a serious health problem at that time. Harefield was a good location given its high position, since the treatment of TB in the open-air was favoured. Designed by MCC architect W T Curtis, the new hospital was built in 1933-37 as an isolation hospital for sufferers of TB. In the late 1940s Harefield Hospital became part of the new National Health Service and became known for its work related to heart conditions. Sir Thomas Holmes Sellors pioneered cardiac surgery from the late 1940s and it was later renowned for the heart transplants carried out by Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, with the first heart and lung transplant taking place in 1983. In 1998 it merged with the Royal Brompton Hospital to become the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust.
Various areas of landscaping have been laid out as part of the hospital grounds including the Philip Hunter Garden with shrubberies, which was dedicated on 26 June 1993. An area of landscaping in front of the 1930s building is dedicated to Ken Pinfield (1931-1994) who was founder and Chair of the Harefield Club known as 'The Hamsters', the planting sponsored by The Ruislip Central Horticultural Society in 1997. Elsewhere in the hospital grounds are sports facilities such as cricket pitches. The C19th Lodge on Rickmansworth Road is now an annexe to Harefield Hospital.
After the war the Billyard-Leakes sold their estate to Middlesex County Council who were looking for a site to establish a county sanatorium for the treatment of TB, a serious health problem at that time. Harefield was a good location given its high position, since the treatment of TB in the open-air was favoured. Designed by MCC architect W T Curtis, the new hospital was built in 1933-37 as an isolation hospital for sufferers of TB. In the late 1940s Harefield Hospital became part of the new National Health Service and became known for its work related to heart conditions. Sir Thomas Holmes Sellors pioneered cardiac surgery from the late 1940s and it was later renowned for the heart transplants carried out by Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, with the first heart and lung transplant taking place in 1983. In 1998 it merged with the Royal Brompton Hospital to become the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust.
Various areas of landscaping have been laid out as part of the hospital grounds including the Philip Hunter Garden with shrubberies, which was dedicated on 26 June 1993. An area of landscaping in front of the 1930s building is dedicated to Ken Pinfield (1931-1994) who was founder and Chair of the Harefield Club known as 'The Hamsters', the planting sponsored by The Ruislip Central Horticultural Society in 1997. Elsewhere in the hospital grounds are sports facilities such as cricket pitches. The C19th Lodge on Rickmansworth Road is now an annexe to Harefield Hospital.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ052908 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust |
| Site Management | Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust |
| Dates | C18th; 1933-37 |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: Harefield House. LBII: early C18th garden walls to north, C18th stable blocks to north-east and south-east of house; C19th Lodge on Rickmansworth Road |
| 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 | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Harefield (part) |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes |
| 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
Old Park Wood is ancient woodland with records dating back to the Domesday Book. It was once within the boundaries of Harefield Park, an old estate whose early-mid C18th house later became the site of Harefield Hospital. The entrance on Hill End Road has remnants of the former gates and driveway, now ending in fields. The wood contains a large area of ancient woodland with mature oaks, birch and other species, and has good displays of bluebells in spring.
Harefield existed as an early settlement and its village green is one of 11 registered commons and former village greens in Hillingdon. The land was part of the Manor of Harefield, which remained in the ownership of the Newdigate family from C16th-C20th. Following the Enclosures Act of 1813, the 4-acre site was provided for the recreation of the inhabitants of the village. Harefield Village Green is largely open grass with perimeter trees and a pond on the south-east corner, near which is the War Memorial. In the north corner is the Harefield 2000 Memorial showing a hare within a globe that depicts the British Isles and Australia, with which Harefield has strong links.
Harefield House is a C17th house with a plain stuccoed front dating from the early C19th. The former estate grounds were largely built over with housing. In the 1920s it was owned by country house historian Avray Tipping, who laid out gardens and built some houses in the grounds, including 3 houses near the pond on Harefield Green, which date from c.1934. Harefield House was later occupied by the Ministry of Defence and remains in private ownership. A magnificent cedar tree behind the house is visible from the main road.