Description
St John's School is located in the grounds of a spectacularly-sited villa, Potter Hill House, which was built in 1924 and had ornamental gardens. The school moved here from Pinner in 1970 and although part of the original Arts & Crafts-style garden remains near the main building, some of the earlier landscaping has been lost to playing fields and school buildings and there is some encroachment by residential development on the north-west. The school acquired additional land in 1990, used for environmental study as well as sports, and is planting a Jubilee Wood in 2012.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Potter Hill House |
|---|---|
| Site location | Potter Street Hill, Northwood |
| Postcode | HA6 3QY |
| What3Words | ///voted.herb.ramp |
| Type of Site | Institutional Grounds |
| Borough | Hillingdon |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private |
| Public Transport | Tube: Northwood, Northwood Hills (Metropolitan). Bus: 347, 348, H13 (walk) |
| Research Updated | 1 March 2012 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
St John's School, an independent preparatory school for boys, was founded in Pinner in 1920 by Claude Norman, when just 5 boys were taught and the school room was in the vicarage of St John's Church Pinner (q.v.). From 1927-1970 the school was at Barrow Point House in Paines Lane, but the site was too small to allow development, particularly for outdoor activities. The then headmaster, Peter Norman, son of the school's founder, learnt that Potter Hill House was up for auction with 30 acres of land and successfully negotiated to buy this before the auction took place. The school moved here in 1970, the main school building facing south with fine views over London. Various facilities were added in the 1970s and '80s, including a gym, science building and new hall, with ground levelled for rugby fields and the lower terrace of the earlier gardens levelled for a cricket pitch.
In 1984 St John's School was taken over by the Merchant Taylors' Company Educational Trust and since then numerous developments have taken place to provide new school facilities. In 1990 an area of grass and woodland to the north was acquired that now provides opportunities for ecological and environmental study. A Nature Trail has been laid out and there are a number of ponds in the school grounds, and also bee-hives, and the school has a Gardening Club. As part of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in 2012 St John's is planting a Jubilee Wood on the western boundary of the school grounds, to include rowan, silver birch, hazel and blackthorn, and in all 400 trees are being planted, one for each pupil. In 2006 an all-weather playing surface was laid out on what had been the top terrace and in 2007 the school playing fields were improved.
Although the lower part of the earlier garden was levelled for the cricket pitch, some formal gardens remain near the main building, consisting of an upper terrace of Arts and Crafts-style enclosures in yew with paved walks, pools and steps. Ornamental arches in the form of simple lintels on columns look relatively recent, but paving and hedging is 1920s; a paved path leads south to ponds joined by a cascade and through the remains of a wild garden, with laurel, rhododendron etc. to a tennis court.
In 1984 St John's School was taken over by the Merchant Taylors' Company Educational Trust and since then numerous developments have taken place to provide new school facilities. In 1990 an area of grass and woodland to the north was acquired that now provides opportunities for ecological and environmental study. A Nature Trail has been laid out and there are a number of ponds in the school grounds, and also bee-hives, and the school has a Gardening Club. As part of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in 2012 St John's is planting a Jubilee Wood on the western boundary of the school grounds, to include rowan, silver birch, hazel and blackthorn, and in all 400 trees are being planted, one for each pupil. In 2006 an all-weather playing surface was laid out on what had been the top terrace and in 2007 the school playing fields were improved.
Although the lower part of the earlier garden was levelled for the cricket pitch, some formal gardens remain near the main building, consisting of an upper terrace of Arts and Crafts-style enclosures in yew with paved walks, pools and steps. Ornamental arches in the form of simple lintels on columns look relatively recent, but paving and hedging is 1920s; a paved path leads south to ponds joined by a cascade and through the remains of a wild garden, with laurel, rhododendron etc. to a tennis court.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ105915 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 14.2 |
| Site Ownership | Merchant Taylors' Educational Trust |
| Site Management | St John's School |
| Dates | 1924; 1970s |
| 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 | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes (part) |
| 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
Pinner Hill Golf Course was laid out in 1927 on the landscaped parkland of Pinner Hill House, the C18th house now the Clubhouse for Pinner Hill Golf Club, which was founded in 1928. There was an earlier house on the site in the 1630s, and among its owners were Lady Jane Brydges and A W Tooke. The estate was broken up for residential development after its sale in 1919. The pre-golf landscape character is predominantly C19th, but there are some remnants from the earlier period, including an icehouse near the house, as well as an old yew tree and C18th trees in the parkland.
Northwood Cemetery opened in 1915 as a consequence of the growth of population in the Northwood area. The land was once part of the former Ruislip Common, by then in municipal ownership. It is a neat municipal cemetery with shrub beds and ornamental grasses either side of the entrance, which is through gates with brick piers. There are numerous conifers throughout with various avenues of ornamental and evergreen trees. At the entrance is a small rustic pavilion. The land slopes uphill with a belt of trees at the cemetery boundary.
Named after E B Montesole, a Councillor and resident of Pinner, Montesoles Playing Field or Recreation Ground is on land acquired by the local Council for recreational use in 1935. A wooded area to the north contains a section of the ancient Grim's Dyke as well as remains of C19th chalk pits. Chalk extraction took place in Pinner from medieval times.