Description

Imagine, if you will, a house with more history than an episode of ‘Downton Abbey.’ A former Prince of Wales, the father of Queen Victoria, Sir Frederick Weatherall, and a motley crew of other notable figures, including Benedictine monks, have all left their mark on this property. Let’s not forget the Socialist housing cooperative that went pear-shaped but blessed us with a plethora of beautiful homes, one of which was even graced by tennis legend Fred Perry. Then there was a Rector, whose parish consisted of a mere 34 souls. He fell from grace after flogging grave plots for his personal piggy bank. Charles Jones, the Ealing borough surveyor from 1863 to 1913, was a poacher-turned-Council gamekeeper, though he may have dipped back into his old habits now and then. Henry de Bruno Austin was a dedicated poacher who managed to go bankrupt in spectacular fashion. These characters all played their part, however big or small, in the tapestry of this house’s history — and that’s without even mentioning its various occupants and owners.

This narrative weaves through 102 years in North Ealing’s Pitshanger village, sketching the lives of its inhabitants and owners, the surrounding square mile, and its peculiar royal, religious, and republican ties. There’s also the chap who built it, lost a fortune in property development, but thanks to his wife, still died with a healthy bank balance.

The stories of this house’s occupants read like a who’s who of intriguing characters: a Polish refugee orphan and his family, a humble carpenter, a colonial merchant dabbling in the Burma rice trade, a Swiss-descended trader of condensed milk and starch, and an Irish family who were neck-deep in debt and narrowly dodged the bombs of World War II. An ex-RAF architect, who later received a knighthood, redesigned the house, and a nationally acclaimed writer on social and political issues added to its storied legacy, leading to the era of its current residents, the Pack family.

This house’s history is a microcosm of the transformations that have unfolded over the past century, both locally and nationally, making it into a book that anyone can enjoy, although it will have particular appeal to anyone familiar with Ealing.

The text is accompanied by many modern and vintage monochrome and colour photographs of the houses in Pitshanger Village and its surrounding area.