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Pinner Village was originally a hamlet, first recorded in 1231 as Pinnora, although the already archaic -ora (meaning 'hill') suggests its origins lie no later than c.900. The name Pinn is shared with the River Pinn, which runs through the village.
The oldest part of the village lies around the fourteenth-century parish church of St. John the Baptist, at the junction of the present day Grange Gardens, The High Street and Church Lane. The earliest surviving private dwelling, East End Farm Cottage, dates from the late fifteenth-century.
The village expanded rapidly between 1923 and 1939 when a series of garden estates, including the architecturally significant Pinnerwood estate conservation area - encouraged by the Metropolitan Railway - grew around its historic core. It was largely from this time onwards that the area (including Hatch End, which forms the northeastern part of Pinner) assumed much of its present-day suburban character. The area is now continuous with neighbouring suburban districts including Rayners Lane and Eastcote.
Pinner contains a large number of homes built in the 1930s Art Deco style, the most grand of which is the Grade II listed Elm Park Court at the junction of West End Lane and Elm Park Road. Pinner has had an annual street fair held in May since 1336, when it was granted by Royal Charter by Edward III; it remains popular today.
Pinner is considered to be the wealthy side of the London Borough of Harrow, with wide tree-lined streets, large houses and flat conversions in attractive Edwardian buildings. Pinner also boasts the lowest crime rate of the whole of London, and the single-sex schools have a prestigious reputation, making it a popular area for affluent families.
Pinner is both a religiously and culturally diverse area, with the ethnic minority population having grown significantly since the 1970s. Pinner ward nonetheless has the highest concentration of people describing themselves as White in the London Borough of Harrow, at 62 per cent of the population in 2011. Pinner South ward has the next highest proportion of White people at 59.4 per cent. A local synagogue and various churches serve the religious needs of the local community.
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