Ruislip Manor was originally owned by
King's College, Cambridge, as a part of the Manor of
Ruislip. At the
turn of the 20th century, Ruislip Manor was undeveloped rural land until a
halt was constructed in 1912 as part of the
Metropolitan Railway running between
Harrow and
Uxbridge. George Ball later purchased 186 acres to the south of the railway line from King's College with construction of the new estate taking place between 1933 and 1939. Ball hoped the new housing would be available to the working man who wished to purchase his own home. The original plan under the "Manor Homes" name had been for 2,322 homes which Ball agreed would not number more than 14 per acre. The total number of houses was gradually reduced by 50 in 1934, then a further 35 in 1935, to allow the inclusion of Lady Bankes Primary School, St. Paul's Church and the Black Bull
public house. The school was designed by the
Middlesex County architect W.T. Curtis and the assistant architect for educational buildings, H. W. Burchett. A temporary school was opened by the
Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council on 17 October 1934 in the Victoria Hall. Lady Bankes school opened on 7 January 1936, named after
Mary, Lady Bankes who had defended
Corfe Castle from the
Roundheads in the
English Civil War. The railway halt was later rebuilt as a station in 1938 and became
Ruislip Manor tube station. In 1972, a new school, Warrender Primary, was built on Windmill Hill. In 2007, the London Borough of Hillingdon sold Ruislip Manor Library for redevelopment and rebuilt on the site of the Victoria Hall, as part of an investment programme for the borough's libraries. The new library opened in October 2007. == Politics ==