Description
The Manor Farm Site contains much of historical interest centred around remains of a Norman Motte and Bailey fort. It remained in use as a farm until 1932, when it was given to Ruislip-Northwood UDC. The historic buildings include the Great Barn, Cow Byre, and the Little Barn, which have been converted for public use in a pedestrianised area with some landscaping, including a scented garden for the blind. The Manor House now provides an interpretation centre.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Ruislip Manor |
|---|---|
| Site location | Bury Street/St Martin's Approach, Ruislip |
| Postcode | HA4 7QL |
| What3Words | ///habit.roofs.lung |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Hillingdon |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted to grounds. Manor Farm: 9am-5pm Mon-Fri |
| Facilities | Interpretation Centre, Cow Byre art gallery and tea rooms, Manor Farm Library |
| Events | Exhibitions and other activities, craft workshops, education programme |
| Public Transport | Tube: Ruislip (Metropolitan, Piccadilly). Bus: 331, H13, U10. |
| Research Updated | 1 October 2016 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The C16th Manor Farm was restored in 1958, and was sited on a mound where there appears to have been a 'Motte and Bailey' fort in Norman times when the Manor was held by Ernulf de Hesdin. The Manor was given to Abbey de Bec in c.1087 who held it until 1404, and it became a cell of Ogbourne Priory in Wiltshire. As it was the administrative centre of Ruislip Manor, the manorial courts were held here from early days until 1925. From the C15th the Manor Farmhouse was in the ownership of King's College Cambridge who, as the Lords of the Manor, gave it to Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council in 1932, up to which point farming had taken place here. The farmyard remains to the west and the farm was still moated in the C18th; the northern side was infilled in 1888 by Henry James Ewer, then tenant of Manor Farm.
The Manor Farm buildings have now been converted for public use in a pedestrianized area with some landscaping including a scented garden for the blind. Within the complex is the Great Barn, the oldest in Middlesex and the second largest, dating from late C13th/early C14th with its original framework. The C16th Little Barn was converted to a public library in 1937. The Cow Byre at the eastern side of the yard was replaced in 1981 after the original burnt down in 1976, now an art gallery and tea room. The Bowling Green is on the former site of the Rickyard, which dated from at least 1750, and the Farm Pond was called Horse Pond in the C16th. The C19th Lodge to the southern entrance is now a toilet and the car park is on a site that once housed a Dovecote. Set along the internal wall at the entrance from Bury Street are a number of gravestones that were salvaged from the former dog cemetery at St Catherine's Farm in Howletts Lane. The Winston Churchill Hall was built in 1965 on land originally given by the former Chairman of the then Ruislip-Northwood UDC to the Ruislip Village Trust in 1948, later conveyed to the LB Hillingdon. Near Manor Farm is the historic Ruislip parish church of St Martin's and Churchfield Gardens (q.q.v.). Adjacent is the War Memorial.
Following a successful application for funding from the HLF, restoration work began in March 2007 to fully restore the Manor House, which now includes a new interpretation centre. Other works included enhancing the Great Barn, provision of artists' studios in the cart sheds, and also landscaping works.
The Manor Farm buildings have now been converted for public use in a pedestrianized area with some landscaping including a scented garden for the blind. Within the complex is the Great Barn, the oldest in Middlesex and the second largest, dating from late C13th/early C14th with its original framework. The C16th Little Barn was converted to a public library in 1937. The Cow Byre at the eastern side of the yard was replaced in 1981 after the original burnt down in 1976, now an art gallery and tea room. The Bowling Green is on the former site of the Rickyard, which dated from at least 1750, and the Farm Pond was called Horse Pond in the C16th. The C19th Lodge to the southern entrance is now a toilet and the car park is on a site that once housed a Dovecote. Set along the internal wall at the entrance from Bury Street are a number of gravestones that were salvaged from the former dog cemetery at St Catherine's Farm in Howletts Lane. The Winston Churchill Hall was built in 1965 on land originally given by the former Chairman of the then Ruislip-Northwood UDC to the Ruislip Village Trust in 1948, later conveyed to the LB Hillingdon. Near Manor Farm is the historic Ruislip parish church of St Martin's and Churchfield Gardens (q.q.v.). Adjacent is the War Memorial.
Following a successful application for funding from the HLF, restoration work began in March 2007 to fully restore the Manor House, which now includes a new interpretation centre. Other works included enhancing the Great Barn, provision of artists' studios in the cart sheds, and also landscaping works.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ089878 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 8.9 |
| Site Ownership | LB Hillingdon |
| Site Management | Green Spaces Team |
| Dates | medieval |
| Listed Structures | Motte & Bailey: SAM. LBII: Great Barn, Cowsheds and sties to east and south of farmyards, Little Barn |
| 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 | Ruislip Village |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | north part: Green Chain |
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
A church is recorded here as early as 1190 and Ruislip is mentioned in Domesday Survey. The village, which centred around St Martin's Church and Manor Farm, remained undeveloped until the early C20th, the railway reaching Ruislip in 1904. In the churchyard are a couple of long wooden graveboards, one that of Olive White of Southill Farm Eastcote. Relatively rare now, wooden graveboards were once a common sight in Middlesex churchyards, generally used due to the expense of stone and granite. The churchyard has a number of railed chest tombs, a fine old yew and other trees, and two lych-gates. Near the church is Ruislip War Memorial.
Churchfield Gardens were formerly fields next to the old Ruislip parish church of St Martin's. The land was passed over to Ruislip and Northwood UDC by Harold George Dyke on 16 November 1927, the land transfer document dictating that it was to be preserved for use as a public open space in perpetuity. It was laid out as a recreation ground, with a formal rose garden in the north part, which is still in place today with a central ornamental feature. The park opens out to a grassed area, with various trees including a grove of horse chestnuts.
Pretty Corner is a small triangular area of public garden at the junction of Fore Street and Eastcote High Road. It was once the site of Guts or Gutt's Pond, and was laid out in the 1930s as a public garden. It has trimmed hedges on the two roadside boundaries and a central flagstone path; the rear of the site has shrubbery and trees. It is overlooked by the picturesque New Cottages, built for estate workers in 1879 and designed by Ernest George and Harold Peto. Peto's father, Sir Samuel Morton Peto, was a teant of Eastcote Hall.