Report - Bedfont Court Estate - Homes and Martinoil Ltd - Feb 2012

[zombizza]

This was the s**thole I spent my afternoon in today.

Bedfont Court Estate was built after world war 1 by middlesex county council. Each of the small houses were built with a small piece of land for farming.
In 2001, due to M25 widening, Heathrow T5, and the digging up of gravel, the area was emptied by compulsory purchase.

Today there is about 10 houses. Each are in a pretty bad state but still have old nicknacks and furniture inside.
The area is quite charming and feels rural, other than the heavy planes grinding overhead.
At the end of the estate sits Martinoil Ltd, a derelict oil disposal and recycling unit.

All pretty done in, but ticked my boxes of closeness and ease. And it was a nice mix of residential/industrial/farming.

I talked to a local on the way out. The last to leave was the granny in number 14. She was stubborn to the end. She was a fond musician despite the noise from the sky and it was in her house that I found the piano.

The Houses-

on the road outside the road of interest was this nice beaten up van-

The first 2 houses

The Piano Players House-

 

[zombizza]

ONTO Martinoil Ltd-

All the medical supplies you would need for any medical emergency-

In the office?!

3 Huge safes, they must have been doing well

Glasshouse farming adjacent to one of the houses-

 

[NickFerguson]

This thread is a real treasure, especially as the houses have now been demolished. Thanks for posting. I am proposing to write a local history of this area and would love to include one or two of your photos of the houses if it gets accepted by a publisher. I have visited recently - in fact camped out there. It is now owned by the airport - the whole place has become a thicket , which is a clever way to keep people out. Please get in touch if you would be interested. Thanks.

 

[mookster]

I don't know how I missed this but then again it was 12 years ago, that Rank Xerox Mk.2 Ford Transit laundry/bread/delivery van is epic.