The Perry Oaks sludge works.
One of the earliest phases of the archaeological work at T5 was the recording and interpretation of the disused sludge works at Perry Oaks. Built in the 1930’s the development of the plant is testament to the unprecedented population growth seen in the late 20th century.
When the plant was constructed in 1934 it was the equal of any of the most advanced plants found in Germany and the USA. By the time of its demolition in 2002 the plant had undergone a series of changes reflecting the development of waste treatment techniques.
The early circular concrete tanks were supplemented in 1952 with large rectangular tanks and later by a series of lagoons. The introduction of centrifuges in the late 1990’s eventually made such features redundant.
In 1965 the manual process of emptying the 72 acre drying beds was mechanised by the installation of mobile shovels and a traveling elevator.
The site also saw changes in the way that sludge was transported. In 1937 a portable 2ft gauge railway was in use on the beds. Dried sewage “cake” was, until 1940, dumped on site but the shortages during WWII created a demand for the material as an agricultural fertilizer. By the 1960s a special dried sludge storage area had been constructed. This was augmented by the installation of a conveyor system in 1965 but again both were made obsolete by the introduction of centrifuges able to discharge directly into parked trailer units.
Both the construction and operation of these works were described in detail in Institution of Civil Engineers papers 5120 and 5599.
My family used to live in no 4 Perry Oaks Drive.
We moved in as a young family after our Great grandparents so the house stayed in the family for along time. I don’t know much about my great grandparents would love to hear any stories.
We lived there until it was purchased by the airport.
Lovely to hear stories about the area
Hi. live in Australia but born in Stanwell-moor in 1943 in southern cottages but moved to
a farm cottage in Spout lane of course the lane extended then to the sewage pits and
the canals over the main road used to go swimming in the canals when I think 1956
banned because thought caused polio I do remember that the Sharp family lived in this part only to see two young older then me die on motorcycles one the first on the scene
when Vulcan bomber crashed on that side of spout lane and of course have fond memories of this time even if the cottage had no toilet /bathroom etc owned by a Tom ROBB next door who later sold most of his land to the airport millions of pounds even
then the old gas chambers which he apples from his land in kent were stored until Xmas still there when last there mom used to wrap and I stored away from 12 years on
on.
of course much more if interested Gordon Stebbing mothers name Lipscome.
GORDON
Fascinating to hear all these comments. I used to go birdwatching there with my mate in the 70s. We were 14 or 15. We got a couple of buses from Ruislip, crawled through a hole in the fence to walk round a couple of large ponds of sewage to look for birds. What a pair of nutters.
A Blast from the past. I didn’t know you lived at Perry Oaks, Malcolm. I visited 2 Perry Oaks Drive the long way, via Stanwell moor road. I think there was a locked gate between that and Perry Oaks. Malcolm’s house was ultra glamorous and modern then to me. I played in the sewage farm.
I’m sure there was a gate between Norman Hays factory opposite Hatch lane/Black and Deckers onto the Perimeter Road which I used to go and catch rabbits for the pot and get mushrooms (some as big as our frying pan). I was a Harmondsworth Primary student from 1955 to 1957. Geoffrey West of Perry Oaks also went there When I first went to London Airport, there was no tunnel so there were traffic lights to stop the bus if a plane was landing. The Vulcan crash was near Speetchley’s yard and caused a large bang. The Fairy Rotodyne was also a regular interruption and I think I saw the Fairy Delta 2.
We all used to raid the Dustbins at London Airport North to collect unwanted Folders off the airliners. That is where I learned most. There were Britannias, Stratocruisers, Constellations, Yorks DC4s, Viking aircraft and we saw many famous people. It was our playground and cinema.
I am just reviewing some pages about the history of Perry Oaks for my Dads upcoming 70th birthday. He worked there for a large part of his career and as a family, we lived there (3 Perry Oaks Drive) whcih was one of 4 houses between the Southern Perimeter Road of the airport and the Stanwell Moor Road. We lived there until the properties were acquired by the airport to build terminal 5.
I would be reallyu interested to hear any stories or to answer any questions anyone has, it s fascinating reading about the history.
Lee S
How can I ask for permission to use the aerial photo of the Perry Oak sludge works in a publication by a natural history charity that is just sent out to members, but will also be accessible online? It’s for a paper about bird watching there before the terminal was built. I’ll need the name of the person or organisation that took the photo for the acknowledgements.
Thanks very much.
It’s amazing to hear about people that lived in this area. I was born at no, 1 Perry oaks cottages in 1947. We moved when I was four to 2 Perry oaks drive about 3km to the west (the other end of the sewage works). These were newly built houses which went with the job at the sewage works, which my dad worked for. We lived there till 1968, lovely memories.
I lived there for about a year in 1956. I remember seeing the hares chasing each other on the airfield four at a time. My twin brother and I started school at Harmondsworth in 1956 and on 1st October, while walking home with some other children from the four ministry houses, we stopped to watch men in the misty distance on a cabbage field retrieving the wheels of an Avro Vulcan that sadly crashed after landing short on a round the world flight. Father was an air traffic control officer. not sure which number we lived in (2 or 3 not at the end). My West lived in one and Mr Appleby lived in another.
Crawling up the bank to peer into the sludge lagoons was an eerie, fascinating and awe inspiring event for five year olds… what mother must have thought I don’t know… no fences or health and safety then.
In the 70s I used to live in one of the four cottages that were located in wessex road directly behinde the sewage works but were part of Heathrow Airport. As my dad used to work for the airport he was offed one of the cottages which were known as PerryOaks Cottages.
My Grandparentd lived at number 2 Perry Oaks until they had to move to make way for Terminal 5. I’m desperately trying to find some pictures to show my children what it used to be like. It was a very unique area, me and my Grandad used to go for walks and there were often port-a-cabins to explore! There was a concrete cutters round the corner I think. If anyone has any photos please share
I was really interested to read that you lived in Perry Oaks until 1964. I had no idea families were living there until then. It sounds very strange (and no doubt even stranger to you) that you lived where Terminal 5 now stands. I admit that I have become slightly obsessed with what Heathrow and the surrounding area was like pre airport and yours is the only first hand account I can find so far. Would love to hear more and see the photograph!
My family lived at number 4, for years has anyome got pictures of Perry oaks?
Between 1957 and 1964 I lived with my family at 1, Perry Oaks. This was one of only four MOD houses sandwiched between the sewerage works and the airport.The planes, very noisy then, went right over our houses to land.Number 4 Perry Oaks had it’s chimney knocked off by one ! I have a photo of the flower-filled front garden ,which as a child I used to play in, now Terminal Five.The airport was superb for mushrooms, I used to hop over the fence and pick some for breakfast.In 1963 we were snowed in for days, the snow right above the doors of the house.
These images shows the T5 construction project in relation to the Treatment Works.
http://www.framearch.co.uk/t5/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/nov-05.jpg