Churchfield Road,

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

, runs north of and parallel to Acton High Street. At the eastern end is the

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...

of Acton Central railway station after which it becomes East Churchfield Road. The western end forms a junction of which the northern road is Horn Lane, the southern Market Place and the western, the now pedestrianised King Street. St. Mary's Burial Ground lies on the southern side of the centre section of the road. It has its own community association formed in 2001.

Retail

Churchfield road can be divided into two retail sections, the eastern end nearest the station and the western end nearest the mount that merges into the main shopping area. In recent years there has been a slight decline in the number of shops in the road with many of those closed remaining empty. The Sub-Post office at number 24 closed in 2010, after many years. Churchfiled Road has recently seen growth in independent retailers and other business practices such as estate agents, restaurants and cafes. Two new additions are Forbes Waterhouse, Bake Me and Sainsbury.

Public houses

The Station House next to the current Acton Central railway station was formerly the station building itself. It has previously been called The Central Bar and The Churchfield The Albion at number 2, closed down in 2010 having been open since at least 1881. The Rocket, formerly The Station Hotel at 11 & 13 has been open since at least 1881. Foley's at number 115, formerly the Mechanics Arms closed down in 2011 having been open since at least 1889.

Famous residents

Lionel Bart Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical '' Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his work ...

lived at 33/35a Churchfield Road until his death in 1999.

Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...

opened their second branch at 65 Churchfield Road in 1913.

Eric Ravilious Eric William Ravilious (22 July 1903 – 2 September 1942) was a British painter, designer, book illustrator and wood-engraver. He grew up in Sussex, and is particularly known for his watercolours of the South Downs and other English landsca ...

was born at 90 Churchfield Road on 22 July 1903.

In popular culture

This area of West London is a popular location for filming as it is close to the

BBC Television Centre Television Centre (TVC) is a building complex in White City, London, White City, West London, that was the headquarters of BBC Television between 1960 and 2013. After a refurbishment, the complex reopened in 2017 with three studios in use for ...

as well as other studios. Several

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

sketches were filmed on Churchfield Road, and in the later years of

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

, the entrance to the Winchester Club was in Newburgh Road, just off Churchfield Road. The

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

hit song "

Orchard Road Orchard Road, often known colloquially as simply Orchard, is a major –long road in the Central Area of Singapore. Known as a famous tourist attraction, it is an upscale shopping area of Singapore, with numerous internationally renowned depa ...

" referred to Churchfield Road, where Leo Sayer's ex-wife had moved out to after they separated. Sayer changed the name of the road as he felt Churchfield Road "didn't sing very well". Road where

Ajahn Brahm Phra Visuddhisamvarathera ( th, พระวิสุทธิสังวรเถร), known as Ajahn Brahmavaṃso, or simply Ajahn Brahm (born Peter Betts on 7 August 1951), is a British-born Theravada Buddhist monk. Currently, Ajahn Brah ...

's father pulled over and said to him "Son, whatever happens to you in your life. However you turn out, Please know the door my house will always be open to you".

References

{{coord, 51, 30, 30, N, 0, 16, 03, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Streets in the London Borough of Ealing Acton, London