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Eastcote
Eastcote maps
Historic maps of Eastcote and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Eastcote maps
Eastcote area books
Displaying 1 of 13 books about Eastcote and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Eastcote
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memories of Eastcote.
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Whitethorn Morris Return to The Case is Altered in 2007
On March 3rd 2007 Whitethorn Morris danced at The Case is Altered at Eastcote again. Although my wife Elizabeth and I had retired from the morris "side" to live in Devon in 2006, the dancers invited us both to come out of retirement and join them for a day of dancing in both Harrow and then this nice pub.
The sun shone, the sky was blue, the pub served good beer and hot food and we gathered a small (very small) group of onlookers to watch and listen to our dancing and music. One of our dancers - Mary - performed in her Whitethorn red, white and blue kit for the very first time.
For me, having been the bandleader for more than 25 years, it was a strange experience to play my piano accordian for the dancers once again. Not having attended any of the weekly practice evenings for almost a year I thought I would have trouble with the tunes but it is... Read more
Whitethorn Morris Dance at The Case is Altered Pub in 1980
In the 1980's and 1990's morris dancers and their musicians often entertained at weekends in the pub garden at the front of "The Case is Altered". The Whitethorn Morris dancers and their Whitethorn Band performed at this popular venue on summer Saturdays many times. Passers-by would stop and join the pub regulars to form a large crowd to stand and watch.
It was great fun and I can remember much of this quite clearly as I was the band leader at the time with my Hohner piano accordian. One Saturday lunchtime, an old gent - probably in his eighties - persuaded his family to carry his double bass from his home nearby so that he could join in with our band in the pub garden!
I sometimes wonder what my music teacher Mr Stoupe at nearby Pinner Grammar School would have made of it as he didn't want me to do music O Level in school back in 1959! Whilst playing my accordian (and drinking... Read more
Caretaker..
My name is Rachel Page and my grandmother was known as Betty Tapping. She was caretaker at Haydon Hall for many years.I remember her looking after me while she would do her job. I used to watch her wax the floors. I remember the green cups that were in the kitchen. I remember the W.I. meetings. I remeber the art group. I rememer the storeroom tht had a ventriloquist dummy in that gave me the creeps! I was in the ballet classes there with Mrs Reece. There was a prefab bungalow that my Grandma used to live in which was in the right hand side of the Hall. I remember staying there on Saturdays. I remember playing with plastic soldiers in the rose bushes surrounding the Hall. These are just memories I have right this moment..
Church Fete at St Lawrence Parish Church Eastcote
Morris dancers were often asked to provide entertainment at church fetes in the Harrow area in the 1980's. On one occasion the Whitethorn Morris dancers and their Whitethorn Band were booked to entertain at a fete run by St Lawrence Church in Eastcote. I remember this occasion well as at that time I was the band leader and our noisy drumming spooked the pony and trap rides at their fete.
Every summer we would have half a dozen or so village or church fete bookings but this particular event at St Lawrence Church was one of the best attended. Usually fete organisers made a donation to cover our expenses but on this occasion the lovely people at the church also provided our dancers and musicians with a strawberry and cream tea!
I remember playing my 48 button red Hohner piano accordian and really enjoyed performing lively dance tunes including jigs and polkas for the Whitethorn Morris dancers.
Back in the 1950's I went... Read more
Middlesex memories
A Traditional English Pub!
The Queen's Head is little changed - maybe a horse trough on the pavement but the front of the building is pure English village pub! It was the starting point for many a village pub crawl and some fun times pushing wheelbarrows of tipsy teenage friends on charity fundraising days in the 1960's. Some of the black and white photographs of these adventures can still be seen hanging on the wall in the gents at the back of the pub to this day! Little did I realise back in 1966 that forty years later I would still be calling at the Queen's Head but instead of pushing a wheelbarrow I would be playing an accordian for the Whitethorn Morris Dancers! It has been a popular venue for morris dancers and mummers - particularly on St George's Day - April 23rd.
183 Bus to The Pinner Red Lion
All buses going to Pinner in the 1950's had the destination "Pinner Red Lion" as there was an old pub of that name on the corner of Love Lane and Bridge Street. The bus in this photo has continued its journey having passed The Red Lion and is lumbering up Bridge Street towards The Langham Cinema at the top of the hill (the photographer is probably standing on the pavement in front of either the cinema or the adjacent post office). Perhaps it was a 183 going to Pinner Green (destination "The Bell") or to Northwood - or maybe a 98 or a 209 going to Hatch End and on to Wealdstone bus garage (209) or North Harrow (98)? The Red Lion is no more, having fallen victim to developers, and the only remaining clue to its existence is that the modern row of shops at the bottom of Bridge Street is named Red Lion Parade. If you now get on a bus and ask for Pinner Red Lion all... Read more
Pinner Sorting Office
The photographer is standing on the road just outside Pinner sorting office. I worked for this post office as a "Christmas Casual" in 1962 and the crafty regular postmen dumped all the unpopular rounds on the young students doing a couple of weeks casual work. Although the sorting office was at the top of Bridge Street in Pinner village itself, my round was in Northwood Hills delivering to Alandale Drive, Lyndhurst Gardens and Avenue, and Dale Close. This was a good two miles away - and uphill too! I rode my ropey old post office bike which in those days had no front pannier so you carried your letters in satchels over your shoulder. At Christmas this needed two satchels! I fell off my bike cycling past the traffic lights in Pinner Green as my load was so heavy it overbalanced me as I turned the corner! Folks rushed from the nearby bus stop to pick me up! Gosh I was tired that week. The day started early with... Read more
