Eastcote

Eastcote is a suburban area in the London Borough of Hillingdon, in West London. In the Middle Ages, Eastcote was one of the three areas that made up the parish of Ruislip, under the name of Ascot. The name came from its position to the east of the parish. Eastcote housed an outstation of the Bletchley Park codebreaking activities during the Second World War, with several codebreaking computers in use. This operation became the precursor to GCHQ, which remained in Eastcote after the war until the department moved to purpose-built buildings in Cheltenham in 1952. Lady Mary Bankes lived in Eastcote for a time, and led the defence of Corfe Castle in Dorset against the Roundheads during the English Civil War. By the turn of the 20th century, the recorded population was around 600; this had reached 12,142 for the Eastcote and East Ruislip ward in 2007. Part of Eastcote is in the Pinner postal district, despite being in Hillingdon rather than Harrow.