Ruislip parish was owned by the Benedictine Bec Abbey of Normandy between 1096 and 1404 during which time the prior built a home for himself on the site, surrounded by a moat.

[3] Studies by English Heritage have found that the site originally functioned not only as the manorial court hall for Ruislip, but also as a working farm.

The main building was built over two existing structures, possibly to accommodate the new lessee of the manor, Robert Drury, a former Speaker of the House of Commons.

[9] In 1451, ownership of the farm passed with the rest of Ruislip to King's College, Cambridge who remain titular Lords of the Manor.

[10] Manor Farm and Park Wood were nearly demolished in the early 1900s to make way for a new development planned in partnership with King's College and the Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council.

A town planning competition was won by A & J Soutar from Wandsworth, who suggested a symmetrical design across the parish which would have seen a total of 7,642 new homes built.

A Local Board inquiry followed on 17 February 1911 which required negotiations with landowners to allow for a full planning scheme to be compiled.

This was presented in February 1913 with an adaptation of the original Soutars plan and received approval from the Local Government Board in September 1914.

[11] Three roads with residential housing, Manor Way, Windmill Way and Park Way were completed before the outbreak of the First World War when all construction work was halted.

[12] The protection of Manor Farm and the local woods from redevelopment was eventually confirmed in January 1930, after a visit by a member of the Royal Society of Arts to choose buildings that should be conserved.

[5] King's had wished to also present the wood as a gift but was required by the University and College's Act to receive payment as it was the trustee of the land.

[15] This included the renovation of the Grade II listed[16] Manor Farm library as part of a borough-wide programme by the London Borough of Hillingdon.

[18] Winston Churchill Theatre, not included in the original restoration work, received a £370,000 grant from Hillingdon Council in March 2011 to enable its refurbishment.