Gunnersbury Park, Brentford, Hounslow, London, England-26Feb2012 (1).jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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

Gunnersbury consists mainly of pre-war housing of a variety of types, including flats, terrace, semi detached, and detached houses, some of which are ex-local authority built. The defining symbol of Gunnersbury is the 18-storey high BSI ( British Standards Institution) building on
Chiswick High Road Chiswick High Road is the principal shopping and dining street of Chiswick, a district in the west of London. It was part of the main Roman road running west out of London, and remained the main road until the 1950s when the A4 was built across ...
. Between 1966 and 1992 the block housed a divisional headquarters of IBM UK. Below this building Gunnersbury station serves the
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, ...
branch of the District line and the London Overground to Stratford. On the north side of the High Road is The Gunnersbury, formerly the John Bull pub, built in 1853, with a billiards saloon built a little later. It became a music venue, visited by bands including The Who. In August 1921, London General Omnibus Company established a bus overhaul facility off Chiswick High Road. It incorporated a Training School with a bus Skid-Pan. In 1989, London Transport closed the works. In 2001 the site was redeveloped as the Chiswick Business Park with 12 medium density office buildings. It houses companies including SBS Broadcasting Networks,
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
, Technicolor,
Discovery Channel Europe Discovery Channel (Europe) is the Pan-European version of the Discovery Channel. Over the years, the Discovery Channel has been split into many different channels for specific regions. Most language regions in Western Europe now have their own v ...
,
Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as In ...
, Singapore Airlines, Qantas,
Foxtons Foxtons Group plc is a British estate agency company dealing with both lettings and sales. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History Foxtons was founded by Jon Hunt in 1981 in Notting Hill, London, as a two-person estate agency. 200 ...
, and a Virgin Active health club. Immediately to the east is Gunnersbury Triangle nature reserve. An area of woodland, it supports many species of birds, plants, and animals. It has free admission and its entrance is on the south of Bollo Lane, a few yards from
Chiswick Park Tube Station Chiswick Park is a London Underground station in the Acton Green district of Chiswick in West London. The station is served by the District line and is between Turnham Green and Acton Town stations. It is located at the junction of Bollo Lane a ...
. Just to the north of Gunnersbury Triangle, Chiswick Park Footbridge connects Gunnersbury's Chiswick Business Park with
Chiswick Park tube station Chiswick Park is a London Underground station in the Acton Green district of Chiswick in West London. The station is served by the District line and is between Turnham Green and Acton Town stations. It is located at the junction of Bollo Lane a ...
. It was designed by
Expedition Engineering Expedition Engineering is a London-based consulting firm, delivering structural engineering services. History Expedition Engineering was founded in 1999 by Professor Chris Wise (engineer for the Millennium Bridge, London) and Seán Walsh, bo ...
and Useful Studios. Gunnersbury lends its name to a nearby secondary school, formerly a Grammar School, in
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
. Gunnersbury Catholic School is a boys-only Catholic comprehensive with co-educational sixth form. It used to be located on Gunnersbury Avenue and it backed on to
Gunnersbury Park Gunnersbury Park is a park in the London Borough of Hounslow between Acton, Brentford, Chiswick and Ealing, West London, England. Purchased for the nation from the Rothschild family, it was opened to the public by Neville Chamberlain, then ...
. Since 1984, it has been located in The Ride, Brentford. In 1886, Gunnersbury was given its own parish church, dedicated to Saint James. The church stood on
Chiswick High Road Chiswick High Road is the principal shopping and dining street of Chiswick, a district in the west of London. It was part of the main Roman road running west out of London, and remained the main road until the 1950s when the A4 was built across ...
, near Chiswick Roundabout. The church was decommissioned just over a century later, in 1987, and demolished soon afterwards. The parish was united with that of St Paul's, Brentford. File:Gunnersbury, Gunnersbury, W4 (4802189047).jpg, ''The Gunnersbury'' pub File:Gunnersbury Baptist Church.jpg, Gunnersbury Baptist Church File:BSI-building--Gunnersbury-312.JPG, BSI building over Gunnersbury station Image:Russian-orthodox-church-Chiswick-314.JPG, Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Harvard Road File:18th Century Temple at Gunnersbury.JPG, 18th-century mock temple in
Gunnersbury Park Gunnersbury Park is a park in the London Borough of Hounslow between Acton, Brentford, Chiswick and Ealing, West London, England. Purchased for the nation from the Rothschild family, it was opened to the public by Neville Chamberlain, then ...
File:Chiswick_Park_-_geograph.org.uk_-_8932.jpg, Chiswick Business Park


Nearest places


Transport


Nearest tube stations

* Acton Town tube station * Gunnersbury station


Nearest railway station

* Gunnersbury station * South Acton railway station


References


External links

{{Areas of London Areas of London Places formerly in Middlesex