Editing Northwood, London (section)

=== Urban development ===
[[File:Houses in Northgate, Northwood - geograph.org.uk - 111167.jpg|thumb|left|Late 20th-century houses in Northwood]]
A land survey of Northwood conducted in 1565 by [[King's College, Cambridge]], the new lords of the manor of Ruislip, recorded ten houses and several farms.<ref name="Bowlt 60">Bowlt 2007, pp.59–60</ref>

By 1881, the population of Northwood had reached 257, with 62 houses recorded<ref name="Bowlt 65"/> from 41 people in 1841.<ref name=boltonkingwyld/>  David Carnegie owned the large [[Eastbury Park, Northwood|Eastbury Park Estate]] in the north of the area in 1881. In 1887, the [[Metropolitan Railway]] was extended from [[Harrow-on-the-Hill]] to [[Rickmansworth]] and Carnegie sold his land to Frank Carew{{#tag:ref|Frank Murray Maxwell Hallowell Carew|group= n}} for development for £59,422.<ref name="Bowlt 65">Bowlt 2007, p.65</ref> [[Northwood station]] opened in August that year.<ref name="Bowlt 60"/>  Carew stipulated the prices for the new housing he had built, with the cottages along the west side of the High Street priced at £120. He had hoped these would be owned by the staff of the larger houses. The High Street itself had been a track leading on from Rickmansworth Road to Gate Hill Farm.<ref name="Bowlt 69">Bowlt 2007, p.69</ref> The first shops opened in 1895 on the east side of the road, and included a hairdresser, butchers and a fishmongers.<ref name="Bowlt 70">Bowlt 2007, p.70</ref> Carew sold the majority of the estate to George Wieland in 1892.<ref name="Bowlt 60"/>

By 1902, the population had reached 2,500 in 500&nbsp;houses and running 36&nbsp;shops.<ref name="Bowlt 60"/> In 1904, the Emmanuel Church opened in Northwood Hills, designed by Sir [[Frank Elgood]], a local architect. It had been built in 1895, originally to serve as a school.<ref>Bowlt 2007, p.61</ref> Elgood later served as chairman of the [[Ruislip-Northwood Urban District|Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council]].<ref name="Bowlt 70"/>

[[File:Northwood-Pinner Cottage Hospital - geograph.org.uk - 1494380.jpg|thumb|Northwood and Pinner Cottage Hospital, built in 1926]]
[[Northwood and Pinner Cottage Hospital]] was built in 1926 as a memorial to the [[World War I|First World War]], using donations from the Ruislip Cottagers' Allotments Charity.<ref>Bowlt 1994, p.46</ref>

Northwood is home to [[Northwood Headquarters]], in the grounds of Eastbury Park, the estate purchased by David Carnegie in 1857. The [[Royal Air Force]] took over the site in 1939 for the use of [[RAF Coastal Command]] which made use of Eastbury house and also created a network of underground bunkers and operations blocks, at which time the house was used as the leading Officers' Mess, though was subsequently damaged by fire.<ref>Bowlt 1994, p.62</ref> The RAF vacated the site in 1969, and it is now the location of the [[British Armed Forces]] Permanent Joint Headquarters ([[PJHQ]]) for planning and controlling overseas [[military operation]]s, together with the [[NATO]] Maritime Command.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/DoctrineOperationsandDiplomacy/PJHQ/NorthwoodHeadquarters.htm |title=Northwood Headquarters |year=2011 |publisher=Ministry of Defence |access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref>

A new community centre on the town's high street, replacing an older building, was officially opened by the local MP [[Nick Hurd]] in September 2012. The new building was named the Kate Fassnidge Community Centre after the Uxbridge landowner who donated some of her land to the borough, and replaced a derelict dining club that had originally been a Ritz cinema.<ref>{{cite news |title=New community centre opens in Northwood |last=Proctor |first=Ian |url=http://www.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/west-london-news/local-uxbridge-news/2012/09/19/new-community-centre-opens-in-northwood-113046-31860055/ |newspaper=Uxbridge Gazette |date=19 September 2012 |access-date=21 April 2013}}</ref>