Hollywood in Pinner

There is a slice of glamorous old Hollywood in the West London suburbia of Pinner. Simon Pollock from I Love Suburbia, tells us more.

I bloody love this place, with all its jolly windows and sexy balconies, but it’s never been on my insta till now —why? Well, mostly because it involves me getting up at 4:30 a.m. and driving to the other side of London to get a photo with the dawn sun on that amazing entrance. But, to be honest, Pinner, you’re worth it!

So, what’s such an unusually Latin American-looking building doing in Pinner? Well, I’ll tell you…

From its earliest days in the 13th century all the way up to the 1920s, Pinner was a small sleepy village about a dozen miles outside London in the county of Middlesex. By the mid-’20s, however, new housing developments started going up all around the village to attract families out from the city, and all of a sudden, the village became a suburb. As the place grew in size and confidence through the ’30s, however, some bright spark had an inspired idea: drawing the obvious parallels between Pinner and Hollywood (such as the non-stop sunshine and preponderance of international movie stars filling the pubs), someone decided that what Pinner really needed was some Hacienda-style apartment blocks to give the place that LA vibe.

Three such developments were built in Pinner: the neighbouring blocks of Capel Gardens and Pinner Court, and, about a mile away, this one—Elm Park Court—built in 1936 and designed by H. V. Webb. And in a few short years, Pinner became suburban London’s answer to Hollywood, although with fewer casting couches and more three-piece suites.

Back to 2025, and there are signs that Pinner is fulfilling its LA dreams. Sure, local boy Elton John moved out a long time ago, and the only red carpet I spotted was a rug in a charity shop—but I did see a bloke wearing sunglasses indoors whilst using the self-service checkout at Tesco. Not sure if he had a multi-million-dollar movie deal, but he certainly had a reasonably priced meal deal.

Simon’s love letter to the suburbs of London (and a few other cool places) is out now. Buy it here.