Ealing is a suburban area of west
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England and the administrative centre of the
London Borough of EalingThe London Borough of Ealing is a borough in west London.-Location:The London Borough of Ealing borders the London Borough of Hillingdon to the west, the London Borough of Harrow and the London Borough of Brent to the north, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to the east and the London...
. It is located 7.9 miles (12.7 km) west of
Charing CrossCharing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
and around 12 miles (19.3 km) from the
City of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the
London PlanThe London Plan is a planning document written by the Mayor of London, England in the United Kingdom and published by the Greater London Authority. The plan was first published in final form on 10 February 2004 and has since been amended. The current version was published in February 2008...
. It was historically a rural village in the county of
MiddlesexMiddlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
and formed an ancient parish. 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. As part of the growth of London in the 20th century, Ealing significantly expanded and increased in population,
becoming a municipal boroughEaling was a local government district from 1863 to 1965 around the town of Ealing.A local board of health was formed for the southern part of the parish of Ealing, Middlesex, in 1863. In 1873 the board's area was extended to the rest of the parish....
in 1901 and has formed part of
Greater LondonGreater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
since 1965. It now forms a significant commercial and retail centre with a developed night time economy.
Toponymy
The
SaxonAnglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
name for Ealing was recorded c.700 as 'Gillingas', meaning 'place of the people associated with Gilla', from the personal name Gilla and the Old English suffix '-ingas', meaning 'people of'. Over the centuries, the name has changed, and has been known as 'Illing', 1130; 'Gilling', 1243; and 'Ylling', 1254, until 'Ealing' became the standard spelling in the 19th century.
Early history
Archaeological evidence shows that parts of Ealing have been occupied for more than 7,000 years
Iron AgeThe Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
pots have been discovered in the vicinity on
Horsenden HillHorsenden Hill is a hill and open space, located in the Perivale, Sudbury, and Greenford areas of London, UK. It is in the London Borough of Ealing, close to the boundary with the London Borough of Brent. It is one of the higher eminences in the local area, rising to 85m / 276 ft above sea level,...
. A settlement is recorded here in the 12th century amid a great forest that carpeted the area to the west of
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The earliest surviving English
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
is that for Ealing in 1599. This list was a tally of all 85 households in Ealing
villageA village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
giving the names of the inhabitants, together with their ages, relationships and occupations. It survives in manuscript form at The National Archives (piece E 163/24/35), and was transcribed and printed by K J Allison for the Ealing Historical Society in 1961.
Settlements were scattered throughout the
parishA parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
. 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 Church of St. Mary's, the parish church, dates back to the early twelfth century. The parish of Ealing was divided into manors, such as those of
GunnersburyGunnersbury is a place in the London Borough of Hounslow, with its northern edge in the London Borough of Ealing, west London. It has an area of less than half a square kilometre and is within the west area of the Chiswick W4 postal district of London....
and
PitshangerPitshanger Village is a small but busy local centre, centred around the shops in Pitshanger Lane, located about 1 mile north of Ealing Broadway in West London. It contains numerous small shops, several cafes, two pubs, two churches, a school, and a park , and is often taken to also include parts of...
. These were farmed; the crops being mostly
wheatWheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, but also
barleyBarley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
and
ryeRye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
. There were also animals such as cows, sheep and chickens.
Great Ealing SchoolGreat 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:...
was founded in 1698 by the Church of St Mary's. This subsequently became the "
finest private school in England" and had many famous pupils in the 19th century such as William S. Gilbert and Cardinal Newman. As the area became built-up, it declined and closed in 1908.
The first known maps of Ealing were made in the 18th century.
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 RoadA toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
Act, this highway was gravelled and so the old
Oxford RoadOxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
became an increasingly busy and important thoroughfare running from east to west through the centre of the parish. This road was later to be known as the
Uxbridge RoadUxbridge Road is the name of the A4020 road in London. It starts at Shepherd's Bush Green and goes west towards Uxbridge. It passes through Acton, Ealing Broadway and Hanwell....
. 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 SoaneSir John Soane, RA was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. His architectural works are distinguished by their clean lines, massing of simple form, decisive detailing, careful proportions and skilful use of light sources...
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 KentDuke of Kent is a title which has been created various times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of George V.-Pre-history:...
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. A one time prime minister,
Spencer PercevalSpencer Perceval, KC was a British statesman and First Lord of the Treasury, making him de facto Prime Minister. He is the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated...
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 were situated along the
Uxbridge RoadUxbridge Road is the name of the A4020 road in London. It starts at Shepherd's Bush Green and goes west towards Uxbridge. It passes through Acton, Ealing Broadway and Hanwell....
, where horses could be changed and travellers refresh themselves, prompting its favour by
highwaymenA highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
. 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 Half Way House either side of one of the many toll gates on the Uxbridge Road in West Ealing. Following the removal of the
tollA tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road or canal. Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and early 19th centuries...
gate the more easternmost pub was renamed the Olde Hat.
The expansion of Ealing
As
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
developed, the area became predominantly
market gardenA market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. It is distinguishable from other types of farming by the diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically, from under one acre ...
s which required a greater proportion of workers as it was more labour-intensive. In the 1850s, with improved travel (the
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
and two branches of the
Grand Union CanalThe Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
), 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
ReservoirA reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
in 1881. This reservoir, with a capacity of 3 million impgals (13,638.3 m³), was erected north of Hill Crest Road, Hanger Hill, in 1888 and a neighbouring reservoir for 50 million impgals (227,304.5 m³) was constructed c. 1889. This supply of good water helped to make Ealing more attractive than ever.
Ealing as a modern Victorian suburb
The most important changes to Ealing occurred in the 19th century. The building of the
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
in the
1830s- Wars :* The First Opium War between the United Kingdom and the Qing Empire of China started in 1839. It would end three years later with the signing of the Treaty of Nanking on 29 August 1842.- Internal conflicts :* French Revolution of 1830...
, 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 CommonEaling Common is a large open space in Ealing, west London, bounded by Gunnersbury Ave to the east and the Uxbridge Road to the north. A smaller area of the common extends to the east of Gunnersbury Ave, including Leopold Road...
.
Pitzhanger ManorPitzhanger Manor House, in Ealing , was owned from 1800 to 1810 by the architect John Soane, who radically rebuilt it. Soane intended it as a country villa for entertaining and eventually for passing to his elder son. He demolished most of the existing building except the two-storey south wing...
and the extensive 28 acres (113,312.1 m²) grounds on which it stands, was sold to the council in 1901 by Sir Spencer Walpole, which had been bought by his father the Rt. Hon.
Spencer Horatio WalpoleSpencer Horatio Walpole, QC, LLD was a British Conservative politician who served three times as Home Secretary in the administrations of Lord Derby.-Background and education:...
and thus became
Walpole ParkWalpole Park is a municipal urban public open space run by Ealing Borough Council, and its main entrance is situated in Mattock Lane, Ealing, West London....
.
It was during the
VictorianThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
period that 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 EalingLocal Boards or Local Boards of Health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate slaughterhouses and ensure the proper supply of water to their...
commissioned London's first modern drainage and sewage systems here. Just as importantly, drinking fountains 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 JonesCharles Jones was Ealing's first architect, engineer and surveyor. He held these posts for fifty years.He is admired to this day, by both local residents and visitors, for his pleasing, well proportioned and functional civic buildings....
, Borough Surveyor from 1863–1913. He directed the planting of the
horse chestnutThe genus Aesculus comprises 13-19 species of woody trees and shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere, with 6 species native to North America and 7-13 species native to Eurasia; there are also several hybrids. Species are deciduous or evergreen...
trees on
Ealing CommonEaling Common is a large open space in Ealing, west London, bounded by Gunnersbury Ave to the east and the Uxbridge Road to the north. A smaller area of the common extends to the east of Gunnersbury Ave, including Leopold Road...
and designed the Town Hall, 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
It was in 1901 that Ealing Urban District was incorporated as a
municipal boroughMunicipal 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...
, Walpole Park was opened and the first electric
tramA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s ran along the
Uxbridge RoadUxbridge Road is the name of the A4020 road in London. It starts at Shepherd's Bush Green and goes west towards Uxbridge. It passes through Acton, Ealing Broadway and Hanwell....
. 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 PevsnerSir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
remarks as
”epitomising Ealing’s reputation as 'Queen of the Suburbs'..” 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.
Who first coined the term
Queen of the Suburbs is not known, but the name sticks to the present day. The Mount Park Road area still retains much of its original character and is still dominated by grand family homes. For the most part, it has resisted the conversion into dormitory bed-sitters, an effect which has over taken so many of the other London suburbs.
With the amalgamation of the surrounding municipal boroughs in 1965, Ealing Town Hall became the administrative centre for the new
London Borough of EalingThe London Borough of Ealing is a borough in west London.-Location:The London Borough of Ealing borders the London Borough of Hillingdon to the west, the London Borough of Harrow and the London Borough of Brent to the north, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to the east and the London...
. Today, this also includes its offices at Perceval House just next to it.
Geography
Nearest places:
- Hanwell
Hanwell is a town situated in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, between Ealing and Southall. The motto of Hanwell Urban District Council was Nec Aspera Terrent...
- Hanger Hill
- Perivale
Perivale is a small suburb in the London Borough of Ealing, west of Charing Cross, central London. Landmarks in the suburb include the A40, a large road that connects Central London with the M40 motorway, and the large Art Deco Hoover Building, as well as St Mary's Church , the River Brent and...
- Alperton
Alperton is a district in the London Borough of Brent in northwest London.There is a high incidence of Indians living in Alperton . There is also a small Sri Lankan community in Alperton , and 10% stated as others....
- Acton
Acton is a district of west London, England, located in the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross.At the time of the 2001 census, Acton, comprising the wards of East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 53,689 people...
- Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
Ealing Studios
Ealing is best known for its film studios, which are the oldest in the world and are known especially for the
Ealing comediesFor the film Ealing Comedy, see Ealing Comedy .The Ealing Comedies were a series of film comedies produced by Ealing Studios during the period 1947 to 1957....
, including
Kind Hearts and CoronetsKind Hearts and Coronets is a 1949 British black comedy feature film. The plot is loosely based on the 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman, with the screenplay written by Robert Hamer and John Dighton and the film directed by Hamer...
,
Passport to PimlicoPassport to Pimlico is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starred Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford, and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius....
,
The LadykillersThe Ladykillers is a 1955 British black comedy film made by Ealing Studios. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, it stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner and Katie Johnson...
and
The Lavender Hill MobThe 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 studios were taken over by the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in 1955 so Ealing locations appeared in television programmes ranging from
Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
to
Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
. Most recently, these studios have again been used for making films, including
Notting HillNotting Hill is a 1999 British romantic comedy film set in Notting Hill, London, released on 21 May 1999. The screenplay was by Richard Curtis, who had written Four Weddings and a Funeral. It was produced by Duncan Kenworthy and directed by Roger Michell...
and
The Importance of Being EarnestThe Importance of Being Earnest is a 2002 British-American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Oliver Parker, based on Oscar Wilde's classic comedy of manners play of the same name. The original music score is composed by Charlie Mole...
. Most recently,
St Trinian'sSt Trinian's is the sixth in a long-running series of films based on the works of cartoonist Ronald Searle. The first five films form a series, starting with The Belles of St Trinian's in 1954, with sequels in 1957, 1960, 1966 and 1980....
, a remake of the classic film, was produced by Ealing Studios; some locations in Ealing can be seen in this film.
Quite remarkably, Ealing now lacks any
cinemaA movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
houses in which to show these films; the Ealing
EmpireEmpire Cinemas Limited is a multiplex cinema chain in the UK. There are 17 Empire Cinemas with 141 screens in total, including the flagship Empire Cinema in Leicester Square, London which hosts various film premières and first-runs.-Ownership & Management:...
cinema having been closed since 2008 for redevelopment, however local group Pitshanger Pictures shows classic movies in St Barnabas Millennium Hall on Pitshanger Lane.
Transport
Ealing is served by
Ealing Broadway stationEaling Broadway is an east-west National Rail and London Underground station in Ealing in west London. The station is located in Haven Green , at the termination of The Broadway, and is in Travelcard Zone 3.-Services:...
on the
Great Western Main LineThe Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
and the
London UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
in London fare zone 3. It is also served by three other tube stations at
North EalingNorth Ealing is a London Underground station on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly Line between Ealing Common and Park Royal. The station is located on Station Road, a short distance from the junction of Queens Drive and Hanger Lane...
,
South EalingSouth Ealing is a London Underground station in west London. The station is on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly Line, between Acton Town and Northfields stations...
and
Ealing CommonEaling Common is a London Underground station on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly Line, and on the Ealing Broadway branch of the District Line...
. The
Piccadilly lineThe Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...
operates at North Ealing, Ealing Common and South Ealing; the
Central lineThe Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
at Ealing Broadway; and the
District lineThe District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...
at Ealing Broadway and Ealing Common. The station at Ealing Broadway is served by
National RailNational Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...
operators
First Great WesternFirst Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
and
Heathrow ConnectHeathrow Connect is a train operating company in London provided jointly by Heathrow Express and First Great Western, connecting Heathrow Airport with station. The service follows the same route as the Heathrow Express service but serves intermediate stations en route, thus connecting several...
. Early in the 21st century
Transport for LondonTransport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
(TFL) planned to reintroduce an electric tram line along the Uxbridge Road (the
West London TramThe West London Tram was a proposed on-street light rail line which was to run along the Uxbridge Road corridor in west London, England. The scheme was promoted by Transport for London but opposed by the councils of all three London Boroughs through which it would run...
scheme), but this was abandoned in August 2007 in the face of fierce local opposition and a switch in priorities and funding to
CrossrailCrossrail is a project to build a major new railway link under central London. The name refers to the first of two routes which are the responsibility of Crossrail Ltd. It is based on an entirely new east-west tunnel with a central section from to Liverpool Street station...
.
Religion
The ancient parish church of Ealing is St Mary's, in St Mary's Road. Standing near Charlbury Grove,
Ealing AbbeyEaling Abbey is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastic foundation in West London, England, and part of the English Benedictine Congregation.-History:...
was founded by a community of Roman Catholic
BenedictineBenedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s in 1897. Twinned with the
conventA convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
of
St. Augustine's PriorySt Augustine's Priory School is an independent Catholic girls' school situated in Ealing, West London. The school consists of Prep , Junior and Senior departments, with student numbers totalling around 500 girls.-History:...
, the giant abbey is an example of a traditional, working
monasteryMonastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. There are over fifteen churches in the suburb of Ealing, including Our Lady Mother of the Church, a
Polishthumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
Roman Catholic church in The Mall, near Ealing Broadway. There are two well-established
synagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s, The Ealing United Synagogue (Orthodox), which celebrated its 90th anniversary in November 2009, and the Ealing Liberal Synagogue, now in its 67th year. In surrounding suburbs there are two
mosqueA mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s in Acton, one in West Ealing, and two in Southall. Southall also has a large
SikhA Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
community and is famous for being a focal point of London's diverse society.
Music
Mick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and
Keith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
of
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
famously first met
Brian JonesLewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
in 1962 at the
Ealing Jazz ClubThe Ealing Jazz Club at 42 A The Broadway, Ealing W5, opened in January 1959. Situated in a basement below an Aerated Bread Company tea shop, opposite Ealing Broadway station...
, opposite Ealing Broadway station. Other artists who performed at the club include
Rod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
and
Manfred MannManfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
. The Jazz Club is now a
nightclubA nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
called
The Red Room.
Sport
Ealing is home to Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club. Due to the nearby football teams, Brentford Football Club and Queens Park Rangers, Ealing has previously not had its own football team, despite its size. However in late 2008 a team by the name of 'Ealing Town Football Club' had been registered with the Football Association and will therefore start playing competitive matches in the 2008/2009 football season.
Gaelic GamesThe Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
have a prominent role in the Irish community in Ealing with successful clubs such as St. Josephs GAA and Tir Chonaill GAA in neighbouring Perivale and Greenford. Despite not having its own football team, many youth football clubs such Old Actonians FC and Hanwell Town FC play in local leagues and are popular among the children of the borough. Most of these teams compete in the Harrow League or the Hayes and District Sunday Youth League, although some teams compete in other leagues based further away from Ealing itself.
Ealing also boasts a successful local running club in Ealing, Southall & Middlesex AC. The club counts double Olympic champion
Kelly HolmesDame Kelly Holmes, DBE, MBE is a retired British middle distance athlete. She specialised in the 800 metres and 1500 metres events and won a gold medal for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens...
among its members and she has several club records to her name. Ealing is also home to Ealing Cricket Club.
Festivals
Ealing is the host to several annual
festivalA festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
s. The first festival to be regularly staged was the Jazz Festival which is held in
Walpole ParkWalpole Park is a municipal urban public open space run by Ealing Borough Council, and its main entrance is situated in Mattock Lane, Ealing, West London....
. An annual
Beer FestivalA Beer Festival is an organised event during which a variety of beers are available for tasting and purchase. Beer festivals are held in a number of countries...
was then started and organized by the
Campaign for Real AleThe Campaign for Real Ale is an independent voluntary consumer organisation based in St Albans, England, whose main aims are promoting real ale, real cider and the traditional British pub...
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
stillageA stillage is like a pallet or skid but with a cage or sides or some form of support specifically tailored to the material it is intended to carry. Some are designed to be stackable....
is supplied with individual cooling jackets to maintain each barrel at the exactly right temperature. This event is largely run by keen volunteers. The success of these events encouraged the local council to licence a broader range of festivals.
- Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
Festival (6 to 9 July)
- Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
Festival,
- Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
Festival,
- Global Festival,
- Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
Festival.
- Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in the Park,
Ealing in fiction
- Ealing was the setting for children's comedy show Rentaghost
Rentaghost is a British children's television comedy show, 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, which rented out the ghosts for various tasks.-Background:The company,...
.
- In James Hilton
James Hilton was an English novelist who wrote several best-sellers, including Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips.-Biography:...
's novel Goodbye, Mr Chips (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 was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
's Brave New WorldBrave New World is Aldous Huxley's fifth novel, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Set in London of AD 2540 , the novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology and sleep-learning that combine to change society. The future society is an embodiment of the ideals that form the basis of...
(1932). Lenina observes a Delta gymnastic display in the Ealing stadium as she flies overhead in a helicopter with Henry Foster.
- The John Sanders department store (now a branch of Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
) was the location for the scenes of the AutonThe Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and adversaries of the Doctor. First appearing in Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, Spearhead from Space in 1970, they were the first monsters on the show to be presented in colour.Autons...
s breaking through the shop window and beginning their killing rampage in the 1970 Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
story Spearhead from SpaceSpearhead from Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 January to 24 January 1970. The serial opened Series 7 of the show and was the first to be produced in colour. The serial introduced Jon Pertwee as the...
. The Doctor Who spin-offIn media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
series The Sarah Jane AdventuresThe Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series, produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies and starring Elisabeth Sladen...
takes place in Ealing where Sarah JaneSarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....
and the other regular characters happen to live.
- The main character Kendra Tamale of the book Marshmallows for Breakfast by Dorothy Koomson
Dorothy Koomson is a contemporary English novelist.Koomson has two degrees in Psychology and Journalism when she graduated from Leeds University. She has written for a number of women's magazines and newspapers, not to mention writing 7 successful novels being published in the UK and US...
, was said to have grown up or lived in Ealing or nearby.
- The police station
A police station or station 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, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
featured in the opening titles of Dixon of Dock GreenDixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
was the previous Ealing police station, located at number 5 High Street, just north of Ealing Green.
- HG Wells' The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds is an 1898 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells.The War of the Worlds may also refer to:- Radio broadcasts :* The War of the Worlds , the 1938 radio broadcast by Orson Welles...
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 authors time to the Victorian housing estate that sits upon Castlebar HillCastlebar 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 being built up as part of the London conurbation....
and the original name of West Ealing railway station.
- Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O. was a 20th century Anglo-American Catholic writer and mystic. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion...
, in his autobiography Seven Story Mountain, tells of living in Ealing for a time with his Aunt and Uncle.
- Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
's character in the film Bridget Jones's DiaryBridget Jones's Diary is a 2001 British romantic comedy film based on Helen Fielding's novel of the same name. The adaptation stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget, Hugh Grant as the caddish Daniel Cleaver, and Colin Firth as Bridget's "true love", Mark Darcy...
recites a limerick about Ealing.
- Keith Stewart, the main character in Nevil Shute
Nevil Shute Norway was a popular British-Australian novelist and a successful aeronautical engineer. He used his full name in his engineering career, and 'Nevil Shute' as his pen name, in order to protect his engineering career from any potential negative publicity in connection with his novels.-...
's Trustee from the ToolroomTrustee from the Toolroom is a novel written by Nevil Shute. Shute died in January 1960; Trustee was published posthumously later that year.-Plot summary:...
, lives in West Ealing.
See also
- West Ealing
West Ealing is a place in the London Borough of Ealing in west London.-History:West Ealing in its present form is less than 100 years old....
- List of people from Ealing
- 3 August 2001 Ealing bombing
On 3 August 2001 the Real IRA detonated a car bomb containing 45kg of explosives in Ealing Broadway, West London, England, injuring seven people. Debris caused by the bomb spread more than 200m...
- The Questors Theatre, Ealing
- Ealing Jazz Club
The Ealing Jazz Club at 42 A The Broadway, Ealing W5, opened in January 1959. Situated in a basement below an Aerated Bread Company tea shop, opposite Ealing Broadway station...
External links