HOMES IN METRO-LAND

by the Metropolitan Railway Company 1923

- Published by Norman Lucey -

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Homes in Metro-land

"HOMES IN METRO-LAND" was published by the Metropolitan Railway Company in 1923, printed in quarto size with 56 colour pages and priced at 2/6d.

After a description of Metro-land, it encourages the reader to purchase a new home or building plot. The publication included perspectives and plans of 42 different houses, of varying design and size, including prices, details and size of plot. The designs were by 15 Architects and 12 Contractors. In particular it refers to the new "Cedars Estate". The introduction to this brochure is reproduced below:-

"A few years ago Londoners were offered a new word - Metro-land. They adopted it at once, and though the gazetteers may not recognise it, it is now part of the living speech of men. Metro-land is Middlesex in one part, Herts in another, and Bucks in a third. Those who dwell within its borders pay their rates and taxes in those particular counties, but their homes are in Metro-land.

The precise boundaries of Metro-land are a little elusive. No one quite knows where Metro-land really begins - how far exactly beyond the long tunnel which forms the dark avenue of its approach from Baker Street. Does Metro-land begin at Willesden Green? I should rather guess Neasden or the pleasant slopes of Dollis Hill. But the cross roads by Blackbird Farm, and the old church at Kingsbury above the lake-like reservoir, standing in the square camp which the Romans made, before London was, these certainly belong to Metro-land.

Then take a stretch of country five or six miles wide on either side of the shining rails and follow on past Harrow and Rickmansworth, and through the Chilterns, and out into the vale beyond, and all that lies to right and left beyond Aylesbury to Quainton and the Claydons and Verney Junction, where London is far out of sight, all this is Metro-land. It is a strip of the Home Counties and for charm and beauty, its like is hard, its superior harder still, to find.

What is the particular charm of Metro-land? It is not "violently lovely," as Byron said of one of his early loves, but, like her, it "steals upon the spirit like a May-day breaking," its charms are many and varied. Middlesex, where it still contrives to escape the fast-spreading tide of London, wears a pleasant homely face. The elms grow tall in its fields and pastures and in the broad plain that stretches below Harrow's airy ridge towards Uxbridge.

Harrow-on-the-Hill, crowned by church and school, is the capital of this Riding of Metro-land; Ruislip and Northwood are its lake district; Eastcote and Ickenham, Harefield and Pinner are its rustic townships. London is at your very door, if you needs must keep in touch with London, but it is always pure country at the corner of the lane beyond your garden fence. The town has stained the country less here than in Essex, Kent or Surrey, at the same radius of ten or twenty miles from Charing Cross.

But for many the best of Metro-land begins where the iron road starts to climb in among the Chilterns, which are the very heart of Metro-land - the flinty Chilterns with their tangled ridges, their noble beech woods and shy coppices, their alluring footpaths, their timbered cottages, scattered hamlets and pretty Georgian townships strung out along the high roads.

I know no more dainty group of little country towns that Rickmansworth, Amersham, Chesham, Missenden, and Wendover, leading on to the fine old market town of Aylesbury - English to the core each with its ancient church, its old manor-house, its picturesque inns, and its exquisite setting of hill and wood. I know few more charming villages than the twin Chalfonts, Latimer and Chenies, Little Missenden, Penn, windy Cholesbury, the Hampdens, Great and Little, the Kimbles, and a score of others that might be named. Few streams run a brighter course than the Chess, and where will you find woods more delightful than those of Shardeloes and Penn, Hampden, Chequers and Halton?

Only a narrow tongue of "homely, hearty, loving Hertfordshire" lies in Metro-land, but within its pale are Rickmansworth and its lovely parks, and here is the waters-meet of Chess, Gade and Colne. Rickmansworth is a delightful old-world town, and Chorley Wood Common flames into yellow gold when the gorse is in flower.

Are you in search of views? Then follow the line of the Chilterns where they rise steeply above the vale of Aylesbury on either side of Wendover from Tring to Risborough, and you shall have views that will linger sweet in the memory. Or try the views from Oving and Pitchcott, beyond Aylesbury, or climb to the little town of Brill, which is another Shaftesbury, so cunningly is it set towards all points of the compass. And if there are meadows where the grasses grow richer, and the may-trees throw a sweeter perfume on the air, than those of Aylesbury towards Hartwell and towards Eythrop, I know them not.

Metro-land - the land which the Metropolitan Railway is proud to serve - is a strip of England at its fairest, a gracious district formed by nature for the homes of a healthy, happy race.

The principal Estate in the neighbourhood is the Cedars Estate, comprising some 500 acres, conveniently situated near Rickmansworth station and extending over hill, dale and broad woodland to Chorley Wood. The other Estates embrace Kingsbury Garden Village, Chalk Hill Estate, Wembley Park Estate, Cecil Park Estate and The Grange Estate, Pinner. All these are being developed with the greatest care and the superb position and picturesque lay-out in each case is further enhanced by the skilful blending of the varying type of houses.

Over 400 houses, both large and small, have been built on the various Estates since 1919, and from the fact that all these properties have been disposed of, no better recommendation can be put forward of the many advantages offered to a prospective householder, by the splendid amenities which each Estate possesses.

The Metropolitan Railway Company has through its affiliated Companies propounded a scheme whereby houses or bungalows can be built to the order of a prospective owner and the cost can, after payment of an agreed deposit, be paid over a period of years.

The following pages give a detailed example of this scheme and plans and perspectives of various houses and bungalows are illustrated as a guide and for the selection of those desirous of taking advantage of the scheme."

"The achievement of the Metropolitan Railway Company in linking up those beautiful portions of Middlesex, Herts, and Bucks contiguous to the north-west of the Metropolis, and bringing them thus into near relation with it, is proving a daily boon and blessing to thousands. Charming rural districts which, not very long ago, for all practical purposes, might have been thousands of miles away, are now brought into intimate touch with the very heart of London, and many a jaded town dweller, longing for pure air and rural surroundings in his leisure hours, has been swift to seize the opportunity thus afforded him. He has procured himself a brighter, healthier and more picturesque environment, which possesses also the advantage of being, in point of time, no more distant from the centre of his activities than any suburb; indeed, less so than from some; the "Metro's" splendid service of trains effecting this.

Living in cities and especially in London, becomes more and more expensive and irksome every year. Flats have many disadvantages, while London houses are already a drug in the market, being either too large, or their cellar-like basements rendering them undesirable.

Again, the strain which the London business or professional man has to endure, amidst the turmoil and bustle of town, can only be counteracted by the quiet restfulness and comfort of a residence in pure air and rural surroundings.

The districts, served by the "Metro," are generally conceded as being the most delightful, bracing and health-giving, adjacent to the Metropolis. They are situated throughout on high ground, amid pastoral and woodland scenery, and possess distinctive advantages, the chief of these being accessibility from Town, low Season Ticket rates, splendid Golf Links and efficient Shopping and Education facilities.

Residents have also the advantage of being able to travel to and from the City without change of carriage, whilst Baker Street, with its Escalator connection with the Underground Electric system, provides every facility for expeditiously reaching any part of London.

In addition to the facility with which Metro-land may be reached, and its ideal hygienic qualities, numerous other inducements to the would-be resident obtain. Carefully-timed Theatre trains are regularly run for the convenience of pleasure seekers, Pullman cars are attached to the principal trains, through fast trains are run both morning and evening to and from the City, whilst a punctuality that has become proverbial is always maintained.

The crying need for houses to-day has led the Metropolitan Railway, through its affiliated Companies, to develop several large estates on those portions of the Metropolitan Line nearest to town. They have built, amid charming surroundings, dwelling-houses which combine both beauty and utility, houses scientifically and soundly constructed, fitted with every modern convenience, and all these have been disposed of.

The Houses and Bungalows illustrated in the following pages can be built to order, and the purchase prices will be found to be exceptionally moderate, and the terms for payment of the purchase-money quite exceptional, making the purchase of a house an easy matter, the purchaser obtaining possession on payment of a deposit and the balance being payable in sums that are only slightly in excess of the rental value.

The many advantages of house-ownership must be obvious to every tenant. Secure from the uneasy feeling that his lease is running out and he may receive notice to quit, the owner has the gratification of knowing that, so long as the property belongs to him, all improvements he may make to the house and garden are for the benefit of himself and family - not for the landlord. Moreover he has in his house a tangible security, which, once free from debt, becomes a valuable asset which, as a rule, can be readily realised for cash.

The principal estate now being developed is the Cedars Estate, which is notable for its delightful situation and for its abundance of charming features, and no more delectable spot could be desired as a place of residence.

The Cedars Estate is undulating in character, and possesses a subsoil of gravel, sand and chalk. It is conveniently situated near Rickmansworth Station, and extends from this old-world country town westward over hill, dale and broad woodland to Chorley Wood's breezy common, where it is flanked by trim plantations that provide a perpetual feast for the eye.

Every care is bestowed by Surveyor and Architect on the development of this charming estate in order to retain, as far as possible, its natural beauties, and render it aesthetically delightful from all aspects. It is being laid out to provide open spaces and spacious well-made roads, not too mathematical; and a portion of the splendid woods will be left to add their beauty to the prospect. It is intended that this charming country-side shall permanently maintain the rural character of its vistas, and not suffer disfigurements perpetrated on so many suburban estates, changing their original character gradually with deplorable effect.

An unique opportunity for realizing substantial profits by the purchase of sites on this Estate presents itself to the wise investor, and calls for careful consideration by all in search of a permanent, safe, and remunerative investment.

No Surveyor's charges or legal fees are charged; the only expense in the latter direction being the cost of stamping documents, fees for registration, and out-of-pocket disbursements."