Pinner - History

History

Pinner was originally a hamlet, first recorded in 1231 as Pinnora, although the already archaic -ora (meaning 'hill') suggests its origins lie no later than c.900.

The area was in the county of Middlesex until 1965, when it was absorbed by the London Government Act 1963 into Greater London.

The oldest part of the village lies around the fourteenth-century parish church of St John the Baptist, at the junction of the present day Grange Gardens, The High Street and Church Lane. The earliest surviving private dwelling, East End Farm Cottage, dates from the late fifteenth-century.

The village expanded rapidly between 1923 and 1939 when a series of garden estates – encouraged by the Metropolitan Railway – grew around its historic core, and it was largely from this time onwards that the area (including Hatch End, which forms the northeastern part of Pinner) assumed much of its present-day suburban character. The area is now continuous with neighbouring suburban districts including Rayners Lane and Eastcote.

Pinner contains a large number of homes built in the 1930s Art Deco style, the most grand of which is the Grade II listed Elm Park Court at the junction of West End Lane and Elm Park Road. Pinner has had an annual street fair since 1336, when it was granted by Royal Charter by Edward III; it remains popular today.

The majority of the older houses in Pinner were built by the Ellement family who were the local company of builders and joiners, with a road in Pinner still named after that family.