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• • • Click each image for a larger version • • •Tooke's Green is situated in Church Lane at the junction with Nower Hill, and is now surrounded by houses on all sides. The granite fountain memorial was given by the inhabitants of Pinner in memory of Mr William Arthur Tooke in 1886. His son A.W.Tooke was responsible for building a small number of buildings in the area, Woodhall Towers was built in 1864 to the east of what is now Woodhall Drive, this was demolished in 1965. Known locally as Tooke's Folly, it was an ornate almost grotesque structure, of multicoloured brick with gothic features. The clock tower, built by Tooke in a similar style stands at the former Pinner Hill Farm
Tudor Cottage is an irregular shaped cottage on the site of Readings head tenement, with the date 1592 on its chimney. Much of this house consists of genuine pieces brought from elsewhere in the 20th century, though whether any of it was from Pinner is open to debate.
East End House hides behind a tall hedge, a house of mixed dates
and appearance. Its most notable resident was the poet laureate Henry
James Pye who bought it in 1811. Pye also bought East End Farm and Tudor
Cottage, which remained with his heirs until 1917. Pye is chiefly
remembered in connection with 'Sing a song of sixpence'. 'When the Pye
was opened, the birds began to sing', is said to refer to the
extravagant expressions about birds used in his poems.
East End Farm Cottage, was built by Roger of Eastend head tenant owner 1450-1497 and is probably the oldest house in Pinner, and according to tradition was the home of the Arch-Bishop's Bailiff who had the care of the manor of Pinner. The cottage situated in Moss Lane was in the hands of generations of the Hedges family until 1935. The cottage is a two-story timber framed building, now three bays in length. The fourth demolished before the end of the 16th century. The ground floor was originally open to the roof and was heated by a centrally placed hearth, where the smoke found its way out through a hole or similar opening in the roof.
Moss Cottage stands at the junction of Paines Lane and Moss Lane. It was enlarged by its owner William Barber Q.C. in 1887, in the style, appropriately of the vernacular revival. A Yew tree in the garden is reputed to be over 300 years old. The original entrance to the house now faces the garden at the rear. Where the porch over it is decorated with the only example of old pargetting in Pinner. West House, replaced one of the old yeomen's houses at the hamlet of West End. Nelson's grandson Nelson Ward lived here in the 1870's. It was also the home of John Zephaniah Holwell of Black Hole of Calcutta fame. It was rebuilt in the early 19th century and improved until it was a mansion in large ornamental grounds. West House was purchased by public subscription in 1947. It is now the only such estate to survive in Pinner, saved by the people of Pinner as a war memorial and renamed Centennial Gardens.
Sweetman's Hall, situated in West End Lane. It is 16th century,
with the south wing added at a later date. The building was renovated in
1926. Old ships timbers, and old timber from a belfry were thought to
have been used although the actual source is not known. Origin of the
name Sweetman is obscure, but it may have came from a John Swetman who
was cited back in the Manorial Court as far back as 1336, and who
probably occupied an older house on the same site. Waxwell Lane, Orchard Cottage, is a well preserved 16th century cottage that was once three dwellings. It has a semi-spiral staircase and multi-paned windows. A fire sign on the outside was put up when William Gladstone was Prime Minister, after an Act of Parliament which stated that every house must be covered by fire insurance. It bears a crest of a crown over two interlocked hands and the insurance number. Bee Cottage is thought to be 16th century, with additions made in the 18th and 19th centuries. The original L shape plan can still be seen, this type of post medieval plan is rare in Middlesex. The roof is of a type that pre-dominated throughout Middlesex from the end of the sixteenth century. Waxwell Farm (The Grail) is a timber framed house dating from around 1600. The flint plinth on which it was built can easily be seen. It was was originally a farmhouse but was converted into a gentlemen's residence around 1894. The house is now the national headquarters of the Catholic Grail Movement. The old Waxwell is now sealed off, but was in use up to 1870. The well was the most important water supply in the district and in the dry seasons supplied people for miles around. The water was said to be a valuable remedy for eye ailments and there was an old saying that any person drinking from the well would always remain in Pinner. There was another tradition that if the water was given to a person at the point of death, they would recover.
The Oddfellows Arms was built in 1853 by Thomas Element. He was a leading members of the local lodge of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows, and used their name for his new public house. Hatchend Station is a very attractive and compact neo-Georgian building designed for the London & North Western Railway in 1911, as shown by the carved tablet on the front of the building. The contrasting colours of the bricks and dressings, and the round headed windows are typical of the period. The first station was opened here in 1844 where it was called Pinner Station. Further information can be obtained from Pinner's local history society web pages.
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