Events - 2024

Tree-Dressing - Saturday 30th November 2024

After a damp and gloomy start to the day, the sun broke through just in time to shine down on our festive community event. This year we hosted children from three local schools: Warrender Primary, Coteford Infants and Lady Bankes Primary School. Each school brought a choir and entertained us with festive songs. Our three guests of honour – the Worshipful the Mayor of Hillingdon, Cllr Colleen Sullivan; the Mayoress, Anne Robinson; the President of the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens, Catherine Dann – led the dressing of the tree. 

In the Stables, there were beautiful crafts and also tea and cakes for sale. Other activities, including a raffle, a Teddy Bear Hunt and a “Name the Snowboy and Snowgirl” competition, made sure there was plenty for everyone to do. We owe a huge thank you to everyone who helped before, during and after the event to make it such a success: our tea stall helpers, our very talented craft team, raffle sellers, Teddy Hunt organisers and outdoor stewards – plus Audrey on the baubles and table decorations!

Each year we present the Hinman Shield – named for George and Margaret Hinman, who saved Eastcote House Gardens and Long Meadow from development in the 1930s – to celebrate young people’s involvement in community work. This year, the shield was awarded to Lady Bankes Primary School.

Our historic yew tree is now adorned with hundreds of Christmas decorations – but there is still room for many more. We invite all our visitors to add another bauble whenever you visit the Gardens!

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The Lesley Crowcroft Walled Garden
On Friday 31st May, the Mayor of Hillingdon, Cllr Colleen Sullivan, joined the family and friends of the late Lesley Crowcroft for the official renaming of the Walled Garden. Guests enjoyed afternoon tea in the Stables after the unveiling, at which the Mayor read the following dedication.

TRIBUTE TO LESLEY CROWCROFT
Lesley, a founding member and long-time Chairman of the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens, passed away on 30th October 2023 after a long illness. From the Friends’ earliest days 15 years ago, Lesley led by example and tirelessly promoted the Gardens at every opportunity. She oversaw the initial brief to renovate the planted areas of what was then a run down and overgrown walled garden. 
Between 2010 and 2011, Lesley led the introduction of our main annual events – Summer Picnic, Heritage Day and Tree-Dressing. In 2012 she began a long and arduous application process to fund a complete refurbishment of the park and buildings. Her tireless efforts resulted in the award of £1.8million, which created all the facilities we enjoy today. 
Lesley took responsibility for our annual London in Bloom applications, for which we have received the top awards in all classes of entry every year. She led the planning and creation of new flower beds, nature walks and tree trails. She introduced a range of leaflets and information sheets aimed at families, schools and children to encourage all members of the local community to enjoy and appreciate the Gardens.

Perhaps her crowning glory was in 2016 with the award to the Friends of The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award for Voluntary Service, the highest possible award for volunteer groups.

Today, regular visitors to the Gardens include health walkers, local schools, playgroups, community organisations, Beavers and Scout groups. The Friends currently number over 40 active gardeners, with more than 70 volunteers helping at last year’s Summer Fete and Picnic. It is also visited by various groups seeking advice on how to establish their own community gardens – and so Lesley’s vision continues to spread.

People from near and far visit the Gardens and frequently comment on how lucky we are to have such a beautiful park in our community. We are all so lucky to have had such a powerful, determined and visionary leader to drive the projects forward and to create the magnificent Gardens that we enjoy today. 
After Lesley’s passing, we felt very strongly that it was important for visitors to the Gardens – both now and in the years to come – to realise how influential she had been in rescuing these Gardens for the community. She was determined, and worked tirelessly to ensure that the Gardens would be preserved for all to enjoy.

As the Walled Garden was her first challenge, it seemed fitting that this should be renamed in her honour. And so Lesley’s family, friends and colleagues have come together today to celebrate her success and honour her memory by naming this beautiful area “The Lesley Crowcroft Walled Garden”.

MP Visit - 3rd October 2024
David Simmonds, MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, visited the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens on Thursday 3rd October.

David has regularly visited the Gardens in the past, including the Summer Fair and Heritage Open Day. On this particular occasion, he came to meet the gardeners, have a tour of the Gardens and learn about the history of the Gardens, the Friends and the people involved. After his tour he joined us for morning tea and biscuits and chatted at length with the volunteers. He was clearly impressed by what he saw and posed for a photo with some of the volunteers.

Chris Groom

London in Bloom - 2024
Once again The Friends of Eastcote House Gardens have hit the jackpot, achieving top marks in all categories!


Congratulations to the Friends for their unstinting devotion to the Gardens, which makes them a delight to explore for visitors of all ages. Here are details of the awards, with a quotation from each report.

A bumper crop of top awards!

Heritage Day and Classic Car Event - 15th September 2024
We were fortunate with the weather, which encouraged a good turnout of visitors for a very successful day.

We were treated to a great display of seventy classic cars – ranging from sleek American Cadillacs to more modest British Austins. We also enjoyed two sessions of live music from Simply Gray, refreshments from the tea tent and treats from the raffle, craft, plants and second-hand book stalls. In the afternoon, there was storytelling by Pippa in the Old Orchard. An unexpected bonus was an unplanned visit by a London Fire Brigade engine, which proved very popular with children and adults alike. 
 
The historic Grade II-listed dovecote was busy throughout the day with a stream of visitors. The volunteers logged 260 visitors, but the true number was higher, as sometimes it was too hectic to keep an accurate record!

Inside the Grade II-listed stables, there was a display by the Ruislip, Northwood and Eastcote Local History Society on the development of local shopping centres. Local history publications and cards were also on sale, from both the Society and the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens. The Hillingdon Borough Museum Service provided a display of archaeological finds from digs at Eastcote House Gardens.

During the day, there was a presentation of the Community Shield by the Deputy Mayor Philip Corthorne to this year’s winners Margaret and Keith Archer in recognition of all their work in maintaining the gardens at Eastcote Station. 

As with all our events, the day would not have been such a success without the hard work of the many volunteers who were busy all day preparing the site in the morning, stewarding the car park, helping on the stalls and tables and clearing the site at the end of the day.

Susan Toms

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Eastcote Horticultural Society Autumn Show - Saturday 7th September 2024
The Autumn show this year followed a week of mixed weather. The Friends’ team managed 36 entries, and we were able to include apples from the Jubilee Orchard. We entered five varieties: Spartan, Ellison’s Orange, Lord Lambourn e, Egremont Russet and Bramley seedlings. For the very first time, we also entered some medlars.

12 x 1st Awards 
13 x 2nd Awards 
7 x 3rd Awards 

For the first time since 2009, we won the Tingay Cup for the highest points score in Section A – fruit.

In addition, we were awarded two Gold Medal diploma certificates: one for the highest points score in Apples, and the other for the highest points score in Other flowers Section B (excluding chrysanthemums and dahlias).

I would like to thank Jane Neave and Janet Green for their help in picking, staging and clearing up at the end of the show. I would also like to thank Steve Place, who assisted me in picking the apples.

Sue Place

NEC Europe Ltd - Tuesday 2nd July 2024  
Today we hosted a group of volunteers from NEC Europe Ltd., which is based at Odyssey Business Park in South Ruislip. They completed a number of tasks: watering, mulching and hedge trimming. We hope they enjoyed their visit – we certainly appreciated their help and enthusiasm!

Eastcote Horticultural Society Summer Show – Saturday 15th June 2024
For this year’s Summer Show, the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens entered 33 exhibits and were awarded the following:
 
We were awarded the following :

A big thank you to the team who picked the flowers on Friday and staged them on Saturday morning: Jane Neave, Linda Wells and Janet Green, who were joined by Linda Furnell as I was away for this show.

Sue Place

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Photographs by Jane Neave

Summer Fete and Picnic – Saturday 1st June 2024
This year’s Fete was another great success for the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens. Our fantastic team of volunteers worked hard from the early hours to make sure that everything was ready in good time. 

There was plenty for visitors to do at the Fete – stalls run by the Friends of Eastcote House Gardens included a Tea Garden, a tombola, sales of plants and pre-loved books, raffles and a sale of home-made items from our weekly Craft Group. Visitors also had the opportunity to visit the historic Dovecote. This is very much a local community event, so there were also stalls from a wide range of voluntary groups. The Dog Show in the park celebrated breeds of all shapes and sizes, and more physical challenges were provided by the Tug of War and the Scouts’ climbing wall.

Musical entertainment from Simply Grey and traditional dancing from Phoenix Morris kept the crowds entertained. Children were also able to listen to a storyteller in the Old Orchard, and the Woodman pub provided a Pimm’s and Prosecco bar for the grown-ups. We were delighted to welcome the Mayor of Hillingdon, Cllr Colleen Sullivan. 
The Fete was a great success: not only did people enjoy a fantastic afternoon out in the fresh air, but we also raised much-needed funds – for the Gardens and for a variety of local charities. A very big Thank You is due to everyone – volunteers and visitors – who made this year’s Fete such a great success.

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Eastcote Horticultural Society Spring Show – Saturday 16th March 2024
The Spring Show, with its dazzling array of yellow daffodils and heady scent, was a great start to the year. The Friends of Eastcote House Gardens entered 54 exhibits - which was an impressive total, given all the rain during the previous week.
 
We were awarded the following :

We were also awarded the J.S. Ranger Cup for the highest points in Section A – Daffodils and a Gold Medal Diploma for the highest points in the horticultural classes Section B – Other Plants.

The Spring Show was also attended by the Mayor of Hillingdon, Cllr Shehryar Ahmad-Wallana, who took a great interest in all the exhibits.

At the Spring Show, trophies are awarded for points accumulated over the previous year. We were awarded the T. G. Cross Memorial Cup for the highest points in horticulture. This is a combination of all entries, such as flowering shrubs, ferns, heathers and herbs.

I would like to thank Jane Neave, Janet Green and Linda Wells for their contribution in picking, staging and helping to clear away at the end.

Sue Place

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Eastcote House Gardens, High Road, Eastcote, Middlesex HA5 2FE
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