Hillingdon Council is seeking feedback on whether to list a Ruislip building as a site of architectural and historic importance.
Located on Ickenham Road, the building has stood empty since December 2023 but has had a colourful past.
Most likely known to residents as the former Beefeater, The Orchard Bungalow, as it was originally called, was built in the early 1900s to provide a stop for visitors who were travelling on the Metropolitan line from London.
In its life, it has been rumoured to be a brothel, the home of a royal mistress, and an accommodation for Polish airmen during the Second World War.
Squadron Leader Franciszek Kornicki recalled the Orchard in his memoir: “The Orchard Hotel was the jewel of Ruislip.
“It had a good-sized bar, and a dining room where a small orchestra played every night and where you could eat and dance, or drink and dance, or just drink and watch the dancers, according to the state of your finances and luck.”
A Hillingdon Council proposal document sets out The Orchard’s suitability to be a locally listed building.
It reads: “The Orchard is a good surviving example of the facilities development that took place during the first half of the 20th century, thus helping understand the development of Ruislip and in particular military links with RAF Northolt during the Second World War.
“The Orchard contributes to local character, in particular the Fiveways Roundabout and Ruislip Village Conservation Area.”
The deadline for feedback is Thursday, February 13. To find out more, please visit www.hillingdon.gov.uk/listed-buildings-consultation
Photo credit – Des Blenkinsop
To replace such a distinguished and beautiful building, which has been such an important part of Ruislip’s modern history, with an inevitably characterless and architecturally dull building as a supermarket, is a blot on the record of the planning authorities.
To replace such a distinguished and beautiful building, which has been such an important part of Ruislip’s modern history, with an inevitably characterless and architecturally dull building as a supermarket, is a blot on the record of the planning authorities.