West London
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...
, England, west of
Charing Cross
Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...
in the
London Borough of Ealing
The London Borough of Ealing () is a London borough in West London. It comprises seven major towns: Acton (W3), Ealing (W5, W13, NW10), Greenford (UB6), Hanwell (W7), Northolt (UB5), Perivale (UB6) and Southall (UB1, UB2). With a population ...
. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the
London Plan
The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Greater London area in the United Kingdom that is written by the Mayor of London and published by the Greater London Authority.
The regional planning document was first pu ...
.
Ealing was historically in the county of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
. Until the urban expansion of London in the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, it was a rural village. Improvement in communications with London, culminating with the opening of the railway station in 1838, shifted the local economy to market garden supply and eventually to suburban development. By 1902 Ealing had become known as the "Queen of the Suburbs" due to its greenery, and because it was halfway between city and country.
As part of the growth of London in the 20th century, Ealing significantly expanded and increased in population. It became a
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
in 1901 and part of
Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality
*Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
*Greater (song), "Greate ...
in 1965. It is now a significant commercial and retail centre with a developed night-time economy. Ealing has the characteristics of both leafy suburban and inner-city development. The
Pitshanger
Pitshanger (sometimes referred to as Pitshanger Village) is a small but busy local suburb, centred on the shops in Pitshanger Lane, located about 1 mile north of Ealing Broadway in west London. First mentioned in 1493, possibly meaning an area o ...
neighbourhood and some others retain the lower density, greenery and architecture of suburban
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
s. Ealing's town centre is often referred to as ''Ealing Broadway'', the name of both a railway interchange and a
shopping centre
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre ( Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known colle ...
.
Most of Ealing, including the commercial district, South Ealing,
Ealing Common
Ealing Common is a large open space (approx ) in Ealing, West London.
Boundaries
The Ealing Common Area is bounded by Ealing Town Centre to the west, North Ealing and Hanger Hill to the north, Acton to the east and South Ealing and South ...
Pitshanger
Pitshanger (sometimes referred to as Pitshanger Village) is a small but busy local suburb, centred on the shops in Pitshanger Lane, located about 1 mile north of Ealing Broadway in west London. First mentioned in 1493, possibly meaning an area o ...
and most of
Hanger Hill
Hanger Hill or Haymills Estate is a local area and ward of the London Borough of Ealing around Hanger Lane (A406 road). It was developed in the interwar period when affluent Londoners began to move out of Central London for more green spaces. Th ...
fall under the W5 postcode. Areas to the north-west of the town centre such as Argyle Road and
West Ealing
West Ealing is a district in the London Borough of Ealing, in West London. The district is about west of Ealing Broadway. Although there is a long history of settlement in the area, West Ealing in its present form is less than one hundred years ...
fall under W13 instead.
West Twyford
West Twyford (also known as Twyford Abbey)Vision of Britain West Twyford historic map
north-east of the town centre, near Hanger Hill, falls under the NW10 postcode area. The population of Ealing (including Northfields) was 85,014 at the 2011 census.
Etymology
The Saxon name for Ealing was recorded as ''Gillingas'', which probably originates from the Gylling næs in
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
. The suffix ''-ingas'' is the Latinized version of ''inge,'' an ethnonym for the
Ingaevones
The Ingaevones were a West Germanic cultural group living in the Northern Germania along the North Sea coast in the areas of Jutland, Holstein, and Frisia in classical antiquity. Tribes in this area included the Angles, Frisii, Chauci, S ...
. The name has changed over the centuries and has been known as 'Illing', 1130 AD; 'Gilling', 1243 AD; and 'Ylling', 1254 AD, until 'Ealing' became the standard spelling in the 19th century. Attributions to a personal name ''Gilla'' are examples of non-historical founding myths.
History
Archaeology evinces parts of Ealing have been lived in by neanderthal humans – the
Lower Palaeolithic
The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears ...
Age.'Archaeology: The Lower Palaeolithic Age', in ''A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1'' ed. J S Cockburn, H P F King and K G T McDonnell (London, 1969), pp. 11-21. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol1/pp11-21 The typical stone tool type of neanderthals, the Mousterian, is not found in south-east England, but Levallois type may be consistent with the hand axes found. These primitive hunters span a period of at least 300,000 years in Britain. Of the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, Milne lists six Carthaginian and pre-Roman bronze coins from Middlesex: Ashford and Ealing (Carthage coins); Edmonton (Seleucid (2), Rhegium, Bithynia coins). These are not so significant as for similar and more plentiful finds from
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
, and Milne suggests that some represent parts of imported bronze scrap.
The Church of St. Mary's, the parish church's priest for centuries fell to be appointed by the
Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, earliest known to be so in , when he gave the great tithes to Canon Henry for keeping St. Paul's cathedral school.Diane K Bolton, Patricia E C Croot and M A Hicks, ''Ealing and Brentford: Churches, Ealing', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7'' ed. T F T Baker and C R Elrington (London, 1982), pp. 150-153. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol7/pp150-153 The church required frequent repair in the 1650s and was so ruinous in about 1675 that services were held elsewhere for several years. Worshippers moved to a wooden tabernacle in 1726 and the steeple fell in 1729, destroying the church, before its rebuilding. In the 12th century Ealing was amid a fields- and villages-punctuated forest covering most of the county from the southwest to the north of the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
.
The earliest surviving English census is that for Ealing in January 1599. This list was a tally of all 85 households in Ealing village giving the names of the inhabitants, together with their ages, relationships and occupations. It survives in manuscript form at
The National Archives
National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives.
Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...
(''piece E 163/24/35''), and was transcribed and printed by K J Allison for Ealing Historical Society in 1961.
Settlements were scattered throughout the parish. Many of them were along what is now called St. Mary's Road, near to the church in the centre of the parish. There were also houses at Little Ealing, Ealing Dean, Haven Green, Drayton Green and Castlebar Hill.
The parish of Ealing was far from wholly divided among manors, such as those of Ealing,
Gunnersbury
Gunnersbury is an area of West London, England.
Toponymy
The name "Gunnersbury" means "Manor house of a woman called Gunnhildr", and is from an old Scandinavian personal name + Middle English -''bury'', manor or manor house.
Development
Gunne ...
and
Pitshanger
Pitshanger (sometimes referred to as Pitshanger Village) is a small but busy local suburb, centred on the shops in Pitshanger Lane, located about 1 mile north of Ealing Broadway in west London. First mentioned in 1493, possibly meaning an area o ...
. These when used for crops were mostly wheat, but also
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
and rye, with considerable pasture for cows, draught animals, sheep and recorded poultry keeping. There were five free tenements on Ealing manor in 1423: Absdons in the north, Baldswells at Drayton, Abyndons and Denys at Ealing village, and Sergeaunts at Old Brentford. It is likely that there had once been 32
copyhold
Copyhold was a form of customary land ownership common from the Late Middle Ages into modern times in England. The name for this type of land tenure is derived from the act of giving a copy of the relevant title deed that is recorded in the ma ...
tenements, including at least 19 virgates of 20 rateable acres and 9 half virgates. When created the copyhold land amounted to not more than , a total increased before 1423 by land at Castlebar Hill.Diane K Bolton, Patricia E C Croot and M A Hicks, 'Ealing and Brentford: Economic history', in ''A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7'', ed. T F T Baker and C R Elrington (London, 1982), pp. 131-144. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol7/pp131-144
Ealing had an orchard in 1540 and others in 1577–8 and 1584. Numbers increased, as were orchards often taken out of open fields, by 1616 in Crowchmans field, in 1680–1 in Popes field, and in 1738 in Little North field. Some lay as far north as the centre of the parish. River Long field and adjoining closes at West Ealing contained 1,008 fruit trees in 1767, including 850 apple trees, 63 plum, and 63 cherry.
Ealing demesne in 1318 had a windmill, which was rebuilt in 1363–4. This was destroyed in or before 1409 and may have been repaired by 1431, when it was again broken.
Great Ealing School
Great Ealing School was situated on St Mary's Road, Ealing W5 London and was founded in 1698. In its heyday of the 19th century, it was as famous as Eton or Harrow, being considered ''"the best private school in England"''.
History
The scho ...
was founded in 1698 by the Church of St Mary's. This became the "finest private school in England" and had many famous pupils in the 19th century such as William S. Gilbert, composer and impresario, and Cardinal Newman – since 2019 recognised as a saint. As the zone became built-up, the school declined and closed in April 1908.
The earliest maps of just the parish of Ealing survive from the 18th century; John Speed and others having made maps of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
, more than two centuries before.
At Ealing a fair was held on the green in 1822, when William Cobbett chronicled he was diverted by crowds of Cockneys headed there. The fair, of unknown origin, was held from 24 to 26 June until suppressed in 1880.
The manor included Old Brentford and its extensive Thames fisheries, and in 1423 tenants of Ealing manor rented three fisheries in the Thames. In 1257 the king ordered the Bishop whoever it may be from time to time (sede vacante) to provide 8,000-10,000 lampreys and other fish for owning the manor, impliedly per year, which shows the extent of the local catch.
Ealing as a suburb of London
With the exception of driving animals into London on foot, the transport of heavy goods tended be restricted to those times when the non-metalled roads were passable due to dry weather. However, with the passing of the
Toll Road
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically ...
Act, this highway was gravelled and so the old Oxford Road became an increasingly busy and important thoroughfare running from east to west through the centre of the parish. This road was later renamed as
Uxbridge Road
Uxbridge Road is the name of the A4020 road in West London. The route starts at Shepherd's Bush Green and goes west towards Uxbridge. It passes through Acton, Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, Hayes, and Hillingdon.
Uxbridge Road is a major r ...
. The well-to-do of London began to see Ealing as a place to escape from the smoke and smells. In 1800 the architect
John Soane
Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the R ...
bought Payton Place and renamed it Pitzhanger Manor, not to live but just for somewhere green and pleasant, where he could entertain his friends and guests. Soon after (1801) the
Duke of Kent
Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edwar ...
bought a house at Castlebar. Soon, more affluent Londoners followed but with the intention of taking up a permanent residence which was conveniently close to London. The only British prime minister to be assassinated,
Spencer Perceval
Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. Perceval is the only British prime minister to ...
, made his home at Elm House. Up until that point, Ealing was mostly made up of open countryside and fields where, as in previous centuries, the main occupation was farming.
Old inns and public houses
As London grew in size, more food and materials went in and more finished goods came out. Since dray horses can only haul loads a few miles per day, frequent overnight stops were needed. To satisfy this demand a large number of
inns
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
were situated along the
Uxbridge Road
Uxbridge Road is the name of the A4020 road in West London. The route starts at Shepherd's Bush Green and goes west towards Uxbridge. It passes through Acton, Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, Hayes, and Hillingdon.
Uxbridge Road is a major r ...
, where horses could be changed and travellers refresh themselves, prompting its favour by
highwaymen
A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to fo ...
. Stops in Ealing included The Feathers, The Bell, The Green Man and The Old Hats.
At one point in history there were two pubs called the Old Hat(s) either side of one of the many toll gates on the Uxbridge Road in West Ealing. Following the removal of the
toll
Toll may refer to:
Transportation
* Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway
** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use
** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use
** Shadow toll, ...
gate the more Westernmost pub was renamed The Halfway House.
The expansion of Ealing
As London developed, the area became predominantly
market garden
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to ...
s which required a greater proportion of workers as it was more labour-intensive. In the 1850s, with improved travel (the Great Western Railway and two branches of the
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter ...
), villages began to grow into towns and merged into unbroken residential areas. At this time Ealing began to be called the "Queen of the Suburbs".
Mount Castle Tower, an Elizabethan structure which stood at the top of Hanger Hill, was used as a tea-stop in the 19th century. It was demolished to make way for Fox's Reservoir in 1881. This reservoir, with a capacity of , was erected north of Hill Crest Road, Hanger Hill, in 1888 and a neighbouring reservoir for was constructed c. 1889. This supply of good water helped to make Ealing more attractive than ever.
Mount Castle Tower was also known as Hanger Hill Tower, and as such it was a vital viewing point for the
Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790)
The Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790) was the geodetic survey to measure the relative position of Greenwich Observatory and the Paris Observatory via triangulation. The English operations, executed by William Roy, consisted of the measureme ...
trigonometric
Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and angles of triangles. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies. ...
readings. This survey was led in England by General
William Roy
Major-General William Roy (4 May 17261 July 1790) was a Scottish military engineer, surveyor, and antiquarian. He was an innovator who applied new scientific discoveries and newly emerging technologies to the accurate geodetic mapping of ...
. Hanger Hill Tower was its northernmost observation point, and from it sightings were made to places such as St Ann's Hill in
Chertsey
Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in t ...
,
Banstead
Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, south-west of Croydon, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London.
On the North Downs, it is on three of the four main ...
, Upper Norwood, and the Greenwich Observatory itself.
Ealing as a modern Victorian suburb
The most important changes to Ealing occurred in the 19th century. The building of the Great Western Railway in the 1830s, part of which passed through the centre of Ealing, led to the opening of a railway station on the Broadway in 1879, originally called Haven Green. In the next few decades, much of Ealing was rebuilt, predominantly semi-detached housing designed for the rising middle-class. Gas mains were laid and an electricity generating station was built. Better transport links, including horse buses as well as trains, enabled people to more easily travel to work in London. All this, whilst living in what was still considered to be the countryside. Although much of the countryside was rapidly disappearing during this period of rapid expansion, parts of it were preserved as public parks, such as Lammas Park and
Ealing Common
Ealing Common is a large open space (approx ) in Ealing, West London.
Boundaries
The Ealing Common Area is bounded by Ealing Town Centre to the west, North Ealing and Hanger Hill to the north, Acton to the east and South Ealing and South ...
.
Pitzhanger Manor
Pitzhanger Manor is an English country house famous as the home of neoclassical architect, Sir John Soane. Built between 1800 and 1804 in Walpole Park Ealing, to the west of London), the Regency Manor is a rare and spectacular example of a b ...
and the extensive grounds on which it stands, was sold to the council in 1901 by
Sir Spencer Walpole
Sir Spencer Walpole KCB, FBA (6 February 1839 – 7 July 1907) was an English historian and civil servant.
Background
He came of the younger branch of the ''de facto'' first prime minister, Robert Walpole who revived the Whig Party, bei ...
, which had been bought by his father the Rt. Hon.
Spencer Horatio Walpole
Spencer Horatio Walpole (11 September 1806 – 22 May 1898) was a British Conservative Party politician who served three times as Home Secretary in the administrations of Lord Derby.
Background and education
Walpole was the second son of Tho ...
and thus became
Walpole Park Walpole Park is a Grade II municipal park, situated in Ealing (West London). Currently governed by Ealing Council, it was initially the grounds of Pitzhanger Manor, the early 19th-century country home of Sir John Soane. It was acquired by Ealing ...
.
During the Victorian period, Ealing became a town. This meant that good, well-metalled roads had to be built, and schools and public buildings erected. To protect public health, the newly created Board of Health for Ealing commissioned London's first modern drainage and sewage systems here. Just as importantly,
drinking fountain
A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or water bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and s ...
s providing wholesome and safe water were erected by public prescription. Ealing Broadway became a major shopping centre. The man responsible for much of all this was Charles Jones, Borough Surveyor from 1863 to 1913. He directed the planting of the
horse chestnut
The genus ''Aesculus'' ( or ), with species called buckeye and horse chestnut, comprises 13–19 species of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae. They are trees and shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with six species n ...
trees on
Ealing Common
Ealing Common is a large open space (approx ) in Ealing, West London.
Boundaries
The Ealing Common Area is bounded by Ealing Town Centre to the west, North Ealing and Hanger Hill to the north, Acton to the east and South Ealing and South ...
and designed
Ealing Town Hall
Ealing Town hall is a municipal building in New Broadway, Ealing, London. It is a Grade II listed building.
History
The building was commissioned to replace a mid-19th century town hall in The Mall designed by Charles Jones in the Gothic Revi ...
, both the present one and the older structure which is now a bank (on the Mall). He even oversaw the purchase of the Walpole estate grounds and its conversion into a leisure garden for the general public to enjoy and promenade around on Sundays.
Queen of the Suburbs
In 1901,
Ealing Urban District
Ealing was a local government district from 1863 to 1965 around the town of Ealing which formed part of the built up area of London until 1965, where it became part of Greater London.
History
A local board of health was formed for the southern ...
was incorporated as a
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
, Walpole Park was opened and the first electric trams ran along the
Uxbridge Road
Uxbridge Road is the name of the A4020 road in West London. The route starts at Shepherd's Bush Green and goes west towards Uxbridge. It passes through Acton, Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, Hayes, and Hillingdon.
Uxbridge Road is a major r ...
. As part of its permit to operate, the electric tram company was required to incorporate the latest in modern street lighting into its overhead catenary supply, along the Ealing section of the Uxbridge Road. A municipally-built generating station near Clayponds Avenue supplied power to more street lighting that ran northwards, up and along Mount Park Road and the surrounding streets.
It was of this area centred around Mount Park Road that
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
remarks as ''”epitomising Ealing's reputation as 'Queen of the Suburbs'..”''Pevsner N B L (1991). The buildings of England, London 3: North-West. In a very short time, Ealing had become a modern and fashionable country town, free of the grime, soot and smells of industrialised London, and yet only minutes away from it by modern transport. The Borough Surveyor, Charles Jones, first re-used the term in the preface of his book ''Ealing from Village to Corporate Town'' of 1902, already used for Surbiton and
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
, stressing his view that it was already recognised as of having such an identity. The fairly ornate, many-roomed houses set in "sylvan beauty and floriculture" (civic trees and gardens) stood out to Jones. Mount Park Road and side roads keep much of the original character. Some neighbourhoods have resisted conversions into bed-sits, unlike many of the other original London suburbs.
In the 1900s and 1910s, the
Brentham Garden Suburb
Brentham Garden Suburb near Pitshanger in Ealing was the first garden suburb in London to be built in co-partnership housing movement principles, predating the larger and better-known Hampstead Garden Suburb
Hampstead Garden Suburb is an ...
was built. During the interwar period several garden estates, said to be one of the best examples of classic suburbia in
mock Tudor
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
style, were built near
Hanger Lane
Hanger Lane is a major road in Ealing, London, England. The majority of the road forms the westernmost part of the A406 North Circular Road, running north from the A4020 Uxbridge Road at Ealing Common to the A40 Western Avenue at the Hanger L ...
. Hanger Hill Garden Village adjoining is likewise a conservation area. In the 1930s Ealing Village's mid-rise, green-setting apartment blocks were built, today Grade II (initial, mainstream) category-listed and having gated grounds.
With the amalgamation of the surrounding municipal boroughs in 1965, Ealing Town Hall became the administrative centre for the new
London Borough of Ealing
The London Borough of Ealing () is a London borough in West London. It comprises seven major towns: Acton (W3), Ealing (W5, W13, NW10), Greenford (UB6), Hanwell (W7), Northolt (UB5), Perivale (UB6) and Southall (UB1, UB2). With a population ...
. Today, this also includes its offices at Perceval House just next to it. Later in 1984, the
Ealing Broadway Centre
The Ealing Broadway Centre, currently branded as simply Ealing Broadway, is a shopping centre in Ealing, west London. Located on The Broadway close by Ealing Broadway station, the centre consists of 85 units both indoor and a courtyard part outdo ...
was completed which includes a shopping centre and a
town square
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
.
Geography
Ealing is in the heart of west London. A relatively narrow section of the A406
North Circular Road, London
The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a ring road around Central London in England. It runs from Chiswick in the west to Woolwich in the east via suburban North London, connecting ...
bisects the east of it. The nascent M4 motorway also runs almost adjacent to the south.
It is less than 2 miles from the
Tideway
The Tideway is a part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London.
Tidal activity
Depending on ...
(London's upper estuary of the Thames) at the local apex of
Kew Bridge
Kew Bridge is a wide-span bridge over the Tideway (upper estuary of the Thames) linking the London Boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Hounslow. The present bridge, which was opened in 1903 as King Edward VII Bridge by King Edward VII and Quee ...
Ealing Common
Ealing Common is a large open space (approx ) in Ealing, West London.
Boundaries
The Ealing Common Area is bounded by Ealing Town Centre to the west, North Ealing and Hanger Hill to the north, Acton to the east and South Ealing and South ...
, Walpole, Lammas, Cleveland, Hanger Hill, Montpelier, and Pitshanger Parks. The last of these is flowed through by the Brent.
Demography
The largest ethnic group in the 2011 census for the Ealing Broadway ward was White British, at 45%. The second largest was Other White, at 21%. The most spoken foreign language was
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
. The nearby Hanger Hill ward has the city's largest
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
community.
Transport
Ealing is served by
Ealing Broadway station
Ealing Broadway is a major single-level interchange station in Ealing in London, England. It is in the London Borough of Ealing, West London, and is served by the London Underground and also National Rail on the Great Western Main Line. On the U ...
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
Hanger Lane
Hanger Lane is a major road in Ealing, London, England. The majority of the road forms the westernmost part of the A406 North Circular Road, running north from the A4020 Uxbridge Road at Ealing Common to the A40 Western Avenue at the Hanger L ...
Ealing Common
Ealing Common is a large open space (approx ) in Ealing, West London.
Boundaries
The Ealing Common Area is bounded by Ealing Town Centre to the west, North Ealing and Hanger Hill to the north, Acton to the east and South Ealing and South ...
. The Piccadilly line operates at Park Royal, North Ealing, Ealing Common, South Ealing and Northfields; the Central line at Ealing Broadway and Hanger Lane; and the
District line
The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited serv ...
at Ealing Broadway and Ealing Common. The stations at Ealing Broadway and
West Ealing
West Ealing is a district in the London Borough of Ealing, in West London. The district is about west of Ealing Broadway. Although there is a long history of settlement in the area, West Ealing in its present form is less than one hundred years ...
are served by
National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...
TfL Rail
TfL Rail was the concession which operated commuter services on two separate railway lines in London, England and its environs whilst the Crossrail construction project linking these lines was underway. On 24 May 2022, upon the opening of th ...
.
Early in the 21st century Transport for London (TFL) planned to reintroduce an electric tram line along the Uxbridge Road (the
West London Tram
The West London Tram (also known as West London Transit) was a proposed on-street light rail line that was to run along the Uxbridge Road ( A4020) corridor in West London, England. The scheme was promoted by Transport for London (TfL). It wa ...
scheme), but this was abandoned in August 2007 in the face of fierce local opposition. Ealing Broadway and West Ealing stations became part of the
Elizabeth line
The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of Paddington to and via Whitechapel ...
in 2022. A total of 18 buses (including night buses) serve Ealing Broadway.
Economy and culture
Ealing has a developed night-time economy backed by numerous pubs and restaurants on The Mall, The Broadway and New Broadway (forming part of the greater
Uxbridge Road
Uxbridge Road is the name of the A4020 road in West London. The route starts at Shepherd's Bush Green and goes west towards Uxbridge. It passes through Acton, Ealing, Hanwell, Southall, Hayes, and Hillingdon.
Uxbridge Road is a major r ...
).
Ealing Studios
Ealing is best known for its film studios, which are the oldest in the world and are known especially for the
Ealing comedies
The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the ...
, including ''
Kind Hearts and Coronets
''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime black comedy film. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays nine characters. The plot is loosely based on the novel ''Israel Rank: The Auto ...
'', ''
Passport to Pimlico
''Passport to Pimlico'' is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starring Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and written by T. E. B. Clarke. The story concerns the u ...
The Lavender Hill Mob
''The Lavender Hill Mob'' is a 1951 comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers to Lavend ...
''. The studios were taken over by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1955, with one consequence being that Ealing locations appeared in television programmes including ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' (notably within an iconic 1970 sequence in which deadly shop mannequins menaced local residents) to '' Monty Python's Flying Circus''. Most recently, these studios have again been used for making films, including ''
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...
'' and ''
The Importance of Being Earnest
''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
''. ''
St Trinian's
''St Trinian's'' is a British gag cartoon comic strip series, created and drawn by Ronald Searle from 1946 until 1952. The cartoons all centre on a boarding school for girls, where the teachers are sadists and the girls are juvenile delinquents ...
'', a remake of the classic film, was produced by Ealing Studios; some locations in Ealing can be seen in this film.
Most recently,
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...
was the set for the famous
Downton Abbey
''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...
historical television series, of which the below stairs and servant's hall were filmed there. On 16 March 2015, the workplace received a visit from the
Duchess of Cambridge
Duke of Cambridge, one of several current royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom , is a hereditary title of specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. The title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) is heritable by male de ...
to observe current productions, as well as meet the cast and crew of the series stated.
Ealing now lacks any cinema houses; the Ealing
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
cinema has now been closed since 2008. However, renovation began on the New Broadway street cinema in late 2012. Work is underway as of Spring 2021 fo 'Filmworks' an Art Deco apartment-and-cinema block featuring a Picturehouse cinema. Local group
Pitshanger
Pitshanger (sometimes referred to as Pitshanger Village) is a small but busy local suburb, centred on the shops in Pitshanger Lane, located about 1 mile north of Ealing Broadway in west London. First mentioned in 1493, possibly meaning an area o ...
Pictures shows classic movies in
St Barnabas
Barnabas (; arc, ܒܪܢܒܐ; grc, Βαρνάβας), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Name ...
Millennium Hall on Pitshanger Lane.
Ealing has a theatre on Mattock Lane,
The Questors Theatre
The Questors Theatre is a theatre venue located in the London Borough of Ealing, west London. It is home of The Questors, a large theatre company which hosts a season of around twenty productions a year and is a member of the ''Little Theatre Gu ...
.
Religion
Regarded by many as Ealing's premier architectural work, St Peter's Church, Ealing is on Mount Park Road north of central Ealing. The ancient
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
of Ealing is St Mary's, in St Mary's Road. Standing near Charlbury Grove,
Ealing Abbey
Ealing Abbey is a Catholic Benedictine monastic foundation on Castlebar Hill in Ealing. It is part of the English Benedictine Congregation. As of 2020, the Abbey had 14 monks.
History
The monastery at Ealing was founded in 1897 from Downside ...
was founded by a community of Roman Catholic
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
s in 1897. Twinned with the
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
. There are over fifteen churches in the suburb of Ealing, including Our Lady Mother of the Church, a
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
Roman Catholic church in the Mall, near Ealing Broadway. There are two well-established synagogues, the Ealing
United Synagogue
The United Synagogue (US) is a union of British Orthodox Jewish synagogues, representing the central Orthodox movement in Judaism. With 62 congregations (including 7 affiliates and 1 associate, ), comprising 40,000 members, it is the largest ...
(Orthodox), which celebrated its centenary in November 2019, and the Ealing
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
Synagogue, which was founded in 1943. In surrounding suburbs, there are two mosques in Acton, one in West Ealing, and two in Southall. There are large Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities in Southall.
Music
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
and
Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
of
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
famously first met
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...
in 1962 at the
Ealing Jazz Club
Ealing Jazz Club was a music venue in Ealing, west London, England, which opened in 1959. It became London's first regular blues venue, with performances by the Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies band Blues Incorporated.
History
Ealing Jazz Club ...
, opposite Ealing Broadway station. Other artists who performed at the club include Rod Stewart and
Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London and active between 1962 and 1969. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The band had two diffe ...
. The Jazz Club is now a
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
called the ''Red Room''.
The Beatles alighted at West Ealing station (the old building) in March 1964 to complete the filming of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ at Edgehill Road in West Ealing.
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...
lived in Kent Gardens, West Ealing as a teenager and attended St. Anne's Convent school in Little Ealing Lane.
Brand New Heavies
The Brand New Heavies is an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing in west London. Centered around songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, the core members of the group since its founding, Brand New He ...
core members (drummer Jan Kincaid, guitarist Simon Bartholomew and bassist Andrew Levy) all hail from Ealing, where they formed the group in 1985.
An August 2013 article in the ''
Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' claimed that Ealing could claim to be the home of rock music because of the catalyst effect of the Ealing Club on British musicians.
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
filmed part of her music video Criminal at The Corner Shop, 24 The Avenue.
Two members of the punk band Zatopeks grew up in Ealing, and the group frequently makes nostalgic or ironic references to the borough in its lyrics.
Mitch Mitchell
John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell (9 July 194612 November 2008)In his book about the Experience, Mitchell states he celebrated his 21st birthday while on tour on 9 July 1967, which makes his birth year 1946.Mitchell's obituaries in ''Billboard' ''T ...
of
the Jimi Hendrix Experience
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
was born there in 1947.
White Lies are also from Ealing.
Sport
Ealing is home to
Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club
Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the current champions of the RFU Championship but will remain in that league due to ineligibility for promotion to Premi ...
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
, Ealing lacked its own football team. However, since late 2008 Ealing Town Football Club has been registered with
the Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
and competes. Other football clubs such Old Actonians youth FC, Pitshanger youth FC and Non-League football club
Hanwell Town F.C.
Hanwell Town Football Club are a semi-professional association football, football club representing Hanwell, but currently playing in Perivale in the London Borough of Ealing, England. They were the London Spartan League Senior Division champio ...
play in local leagues.
Gaelic Games have a prominent role in the Irish community in Ealing with successful clubs such as St. Joseph's GAA and Tir Chonaill GAA in neighbouring Perivale and Greenford.
Ealing has a local running club: Ealing, Southall & Middlesex AC, founded in 1920. It counted double Olympic champion
Kelly Holmes
Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete.
Holmes specialised in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres events and won gold medals for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She set British ...
among its several club records to her name. members.
Ealing is home to a cricket club, Ealing Cricket Club, whose home ground is the
Ealing Cricket Club Ground
Ealing Cricket Club Ground, also known as Corfton Road, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
and which has been a leading club in London for a number of years.
ESC D3 Triathlon Club is also based in Ealing. D3 Triathletes compete in
triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...
s both locally and internationally across all distances and formats including Olympic Distance and Ironman. Though an independent club it is supported by the Ealing Swimming Club based at Gurnell Leisure Centre.
Festivals
Ealing is the host to several annual festivals. The first festival to be regularly staged was the Jazz Festival which is held in
Walpole Park Walpole Park is a Grade II municipal park, situated in Ealing (West London). Currently governed by Ealing Council, it was initially the grounds of Pitzhanger Manor, the early 19th-century country home of Sir John Soane. It was acquired by Ealing ...
. An annual
Beer Festival
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
Asia
* Singapore holds an annual Beer Festiva ...
was then started and organised by the
Campaign for Real Ale
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is th ...
and originally held in the Ealing Town Hall. Due to its popularity, it had outgrown the space available at the Town Hall after a few years, so it too then transferred to the park, where they now have room to offer over 200 real ales. Each cask is supplied with individual cooling jackets to maintain the beer at exactly the right temperature. This event is run by keen volunteers. The success of these events encouraged the local council to license a broader range of festivals.
* Ealing Music and Film Valentine Festival Ealing Beer Festival
*
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
Festival
* Comedy Festival
*
Jazz Festival
This is a list of notable jazz festivals around the world.
Historic jazz festivals
Jazz festivals by country
The following is an incomplete list of notable jazz festivals, including both current and defunct festivals of note.
Africa
Angol ...
* Opera in the Park
Ealing in fiction
* The exterior of a suburban house in Hanger Hill was used as the house from which Reggie Perrin sets off for work in episodes of ‘The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin’ in the late 1970s.
* Ealing is the fictional setting based upon Ealing in Propershite's serial epic 'Bike Show'
* Ealing was the setting for children's comedy show ''
Rentaghost
''Rentaghost'' is a British children's television comedy show, originally broadcast by the BBC between 6 January 1976 and 6 November 1984. The show's plot centred on the antics of a number of ghosts who worked for a firm called Rentaghost, whic ...
''.
* Ealing was the setting for part of a book in the ''
Lockwood & Co Lockwood may refer to:
Places Australia
*Lockwood, Victoria
* Lockwood South, Victoria United Kingdom
* Lockwood, North Yorkshire, England
* Lockwood, West Yorkshire, England United States
* Lockwood, Amador County, California
*Lockwood, Monterey C ...
'' book series.
* A blue plaque commemorating the birthplace of Charles Hamilton, creator of
Billy Bunter
William George Bunter is a fictional schoolboy created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards. He features in stories set at Greyfriars School, a fictional English public school in Kent, originally published in the boys' weekly ...
, is in the Ealing Broadway Centre.
* In James Hilton's novel ''
Goodbye, Mr Chips
''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...
'' (1934), Katherine, the lovely young wife of the shy schoolmaster protagonist Mr Chipping, is said to have been living with an aunt in Ealing following the death of her parents.
* Ealing and the surrounding area is mentioned in
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxle ...
's ''
Brave New World
''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hiera ...
'' (1932). Lenina observes a Delta gymnastic display in the Ealing stadium as she flies overhead in a helicopter with Henry Foster.
* In ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' and related media:
** The John Sanders department store (now a branch of
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
) was the location for the scenes of the
Auton
The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and adversaries of the Doctor. They were originally created by scriptwriter Robert Holmes for Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, ' ...
s breaking through the shop window and beginning their killing rampage in the 1970 story ''
Spearhead from Space
''Spearhead from Space'' is the first serial of the seventh season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 January 1970. It was the first ''Doctor Who'' ...
''.
** On returning
Ace
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
home to the adjoining village/district of
Perivale
Perivale () is an area of Greater London, west of Charing Cross. It is the smallest of the seven towns which make up the London Borough of Ealing.
Perivale is mostly residential, with a library, community centre, a number of parks and open ...
in ''
Survival
Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
'' (the final serial of the 1963–1989 series), she and the
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy.
...
ventured into Ealing and visited
The Drayton Court
The Drayton Court is a boutique hotel and one of the oldest pubs in Ealing, west London. The former Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, Hồ Chí Minh, worked in the kitchens in 1914.
History
The pub was conceived as a family and residential ...
.
** In the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off series ''
The Sarah Jane Adventures
''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC ...
'', Sarah Jane and the other regular characters lived in Ealing, and the majority of the stories were set there (although actually filmed in and around
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
).
** Companion
Clara Oswald
Clara Oswald is a fictional character in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. She was created by series producer Steven Moffat and portrayed by Jenna Coleman. Clara was introduced in the Doc ...
and the Maitland family live in South Ealing.
* The main character Kendra Tamale of the book ''Marshmallows for Breakfast'' by
Dorothy Koomson
Dorothy Koomson (born 1971 in London) is a contemporary English novelist, who is of Ghanaian descent. She has been described as "Britain's biggest selling black author of adult fiction".
Biography
Koomson has two degrees in Psychology and Journ ...
, was said to have grown up or lived in Ealing or nearby.
* George Bowling, the protagonist in ''
Coming Up for Air
''Coming Up for Air'' is the seventh book by English writer George Orwell, published in June 1939 by Victor Gollancz. It was written between 1938 and 1939 while Orwell spent time recuperating from illness in French Morocco, mainly in Marrakesh. ...
'' by George Orwell, lived in Ealing before moving to West Bletchley.
* The
police station
A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, ...
of the opening titles of ''
Dixon of Dock Green
''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...
'' is what was Ealing police station, at 5 High Street, just north of Ealing Green.
*
The War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...
'' Ch. 16: "The Exodus from London". The author describing the alien deployment of poisonous, ground hugging, black vapour: "Another bank drove over Ealing, and surrounded a little island of survivors on Castle Hill, alive, but unable to escape." 'Castle Hill' was the name given in the author's time to the Victorian housing estate that sits upon
Castlebar Hill
Castlebar Hill is a hill in Ealing which is high. In the 18th century, it was the location of Castle Beare, a grand mansion or country seat, for the area at this time was but a hamlet, not yet having been built up as part of the London conur ...
and the original name of West Ealing railway station.
* Thomas Merton, in his autobiography '' Seven Story Mountain'', tells of living in Ealing for a time with his Aunt and Uncle.
* Keith Stewart, the protagonist in
Nevil Shute
Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name, in order to protect ...
Sebastian Faulks
Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – ''The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', '' Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also pub ...
Drayton Green
Drayton Green railway station is in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, and is in Travelcard Zone 4. It is on the Greenford branch line north of where it joins the Great Western Main Line at from .
History
It first opened as Drayt ...
, West Ealing.
Language
Ealing has been described by the ''Guardian'' as "the nation's hotspot for Polish speaking."
After English, the most common languages are (in 2017) Polish (8%), Punjabi (8%), Somali (7%), Arabic (6%), Urdu (5%), and Tamil (4%). The biggest increase over the 5 years to April 2017 was Polish and tapering off – 4,363 Polish-speaking children in 2017 was 41 more than in 2016.
Media
Westside 89.6FM is a community station mainly for the borough from studios based in neighbouring
Hanwell
Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing, in the historic County of Middlesex, England. It is about 1.5 miles west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post t ...
University of West London
The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and in Reading, Berkshire.
The university has roots in 1860, when the Lady Byron School was founded, later Ealing C ...
based at
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...
who broadcast across the area on (RSL) in May. A digital local newspaper exists for the borough.
EALING.NEWS is an independent community news website covering all of Ealing’s seven towns and soft-launched in July 2022.
Politics
Ho Chi Minh
(: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as (' Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as P ...
reportedly worked as either a chef or dish washer (reports vary) at the Drayton Court Hotel in West Ealing.
The North Korean Embassy at 73 Gunnersbury Avenue.
List of people from Ealing
Among those who were born in the London Borough of Ealing, or have dwelt within the borders of the modern borough are ''(in alphabetical order)'':
A
* Caroline Aherne, actor, was born in Ealing.
* Asma al-Assad, First Lady of Syria, grew u ...
West Ealing
West Ealing is a district in the London Borough of Ealing, in West London. The district is about west of Ealing Broadway. Although there is a long history of settlement in the area, West Ealing in its present form is less than one hundred years ...