Yeading Brook - Gutteridge Wood

Yeading Brook
The brook flows directly eastwards in a convoluted route and then turns south in convolutions

Post to the west North Hillingdon
Post to the south Charville Lane

Canal feeder
The original line of the canal feeder was south and west of the brook. It ran straight east and parallel to the brook and then made a right angled turn southwards alongside the industrial area and continued south beyond it

Gutteridge Wood
Earlier this was ‘Great Hedge Wood’ and Gutteridge may be a corruption of this. It is now a nature reserve of oak and hazel coppice surrounded by pasture and ancient hedgerows.
Canal feeder – the original line of the feeder crosses the wood and there is at least one possibly original accommodation bridge.

Northolt Aerodrome
Built in 1915 for the Royal Flying Corps and the base for the Polish Air force in the Second World War.  Terminal buildings, and apron on the south side were built at the end of the Second World War for use by RAF Transport Command whose operations were gradually replaced by civil aircraft of the European Division of BOAC, BOAC had formed a British European Airways division in 1946 which took over Transport Command's operations. Its main operating base was moved to Northolt and services to Madrid and Gibraltar were followed by services to Oslo, Athens, Marseille, and Rome and beyond. By 1950 it was the busiest airport in the UK but by 1954 services had transferred to Heathrow. By the 1950s 16 buildings on the South Side were shared by Aer Lingus, BEA, Faireys, Shell Mex, Esso, Mory and Co, LEP Transport, Northern Transport Agency, Airport Club & RAF
No.1 Aeronautical Information Documents Unit (ADIU) moved here in 1956. It produced RAF Flight Information Publications
No.5 Police District moved here in 1959 and renamed the RAF Provost and Security Services (Southern Region). They moved out in 1977
Passenger and Freight Terminal. Terminal buildings and departure lounge built in 1946.  After closure some of this area was used as a workshop where hovercraft, karts and canoes were built and repaired.
Southside Operations Building.  This replaced the Northolt Airport Terminal building. in 1994, the new Southside opened,
Southside access gate onto Western Avenue. This has since been removed
The Queens Flight Hangar.  A new hangar built for The Royal Squadron. It replaced 70 year old buildings with five individual hangars with associated specialist workshops, stores and offices

Western Avenue
Gutteridge Works. Plant hire business and others on a site to the south of the road.   It is either on the site if or adjacent to a pumping station for a sewage works which was on the site.

Sources
Field. London Place Names
London Wild Life. Web site
Norris and Haywood. A short history of RAF Northolt
Regents Canal feeder. Web site

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