History of Shepherd's Bush - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Shepherd's Bush is a neighbourhood in West London

London

London 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...

which was largely developed for residential use in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. It was one of the principal sites for the 1908 Summer Olympics and, in the same year, hosted the The Franco-British Exhibition

Franco-British Exhibition (1908)

The Franco-British Exhibition was a large public fair held in London in the early years of the 20th Century. The exhibition attracted 8 million visitors and celebrated the Entente Cordiale signed in 1904 by the United Kingdom and France....

(also known as "The Bush Exhibition", and "The Great White City"), a large public fair, which attracted 8 million visitors and celebrated the Entente Cordiale

Entente Cordiale

The Entente Cordiale was a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom and the French Republic. Beyond the immediate concerns of colonial expansion addressed by the agreement, the signing of the Entente Cordiale marked the end of almost a millennium of intermittent...

signed in 1904 by the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

and France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. In 2008 the Westfield London

Westfield London

Westfield London is a shopping centre in White City in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The centre was developed by the Westfield Group at a cost of £1.6bn,...

shopping centre opened its doors on the former exhibition site, with a retail floor area of 150,000m² (the equivalent of about 30 football pitches) it was reported to be the third largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom.

Origins

The name Shepherds Bush may have originated from the use of the common land

Common land

Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...

here as a resting point for shepherd

Shepherd

A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...

s on their way to Smithfield Market in the City of London

City of London

The 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...

. Alternatively the neighbourhood may simply be named after a local landowner. In 1635 the area was recorded as "Sheppards Bush Green".

Evidence of human habitation can be traced back to the Iron Age

Iron Age

The 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...

. Shepherd's Bush enters the written record in the year 704 when it was bought by Waldhere, Bishop of London

Bishop of London

The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...

as a part of the "Fulanham" estate.

Nineteenth century

A map of London dated 1841 shows Shepherd's Bush to be still largely undeveloped and chiefly rural in character, with much open farmland compared to fast-developing Hammersmith

Hammersmith

Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...

, and several ponds or small lakes. Scattered buildings are shown, mostly lining the main thoroughfares of Wood Lane

Wood Lane

Wood Lane is a street in London. It runs north from Shepherd's Bush, under the Westway past Wormwood Scrubs where it meets Scrubs Lane. The road is wholly in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham...

, Cumberland Road (now the Uxbridge Road

Uxbridge Road

Uxbridge 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....

), and Hawke Road (now the Goldhawk Road).

Coming of the railways

Nineteenth century London was transformed by the coming of the railways. A new network of metropolitan railways allowed for the development of suburbs from which middle-class and wealthy individuals could commute to the centre.

The West London Railway is shown on the 1841 map, travelling on a North South axis, east of Shepherd's Bush Green. In 1836 The Birmingham, Bristol & Thames Junction Railway (as it was then known) was authorised to build a line from a point on the London and Birmingham Railway

London and Birmingham Railway

The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....

(L&BR), near the present Willesden Junction station, across the proposed route of the Great Western

Great Western Railway

The 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...

(GWR) to the Kensington Canal

Kensington Canal

The Kensington Canal was a canal, 1.75 miles long, opened in 1828 in London from the River Thames at Chelsea, along the line of Counter's Creek, to a basin near Warwick Road in Kensington...

Basin. Renamed the West London Railway (WLR), the line officially opened on 27 May 1844, and regular services began on 10 June, but it was not a commercial success - the low number of passengers became such a regular target of Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...

magazine that the line was called Punch's Railway. After only six months it closed entirely on 30 November 1844.

The Metropolitan Railway

Metropolitan railway

Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...

(MR) opened the original Shepherd's Bush station on 13 June 1864 as Shepherd's Bush on its new extension to Hammersmith. It was in the Shepherd's Bush Market area just south of the Uxbridge Road

Uxbridge Road

Uxbridge 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....

. From 1 October 1877 until 31 December 1906 the MR also ran direct services along this line to Richmond

Richmond station (London)

Richmond station is a National Rail and London Underground station in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London which is managed by South West Trains....

via .

Urbanisation

Residential development of the area began in earnest in the late 19th century, as London's population expanded relentlessly, requiring new housing.

In 1895 the Shepherd's Bush Public Library

Shepherd's Bush Public Library

The Shepherd's Bush Public Library was built in 1895 on the Uxbridge Road, Shepherd's Bush, London, funded by the journalist and philanthopist Passmore Edwards, whose name the building bears to this day.-History:...

was built on the Uxbridge Road

Uxbridge Road

Uxbridge 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....

, funded by the journalist and philanthopist Passmore Edwards, whose name the building bears to this day.

In 1898 the DIMCO buildings were constructed, a red brick structure (Now Grade II listed) originally built as a shed for a London Underground

London Underground

The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...

power station, Europe's first electricity generating facility.

Towards the end of the century a number of residential streets were developed, aimed at the urban middle classes. One example is Hopgood Street, a typical Victorian

Victorian

Victorian may mean:*Of or relating to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom*Victorian era , a term derived from the lengthy 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria and particularity various styles, ideas, and trends associated with that era:...

terrace of four storey brick buildings, faced with neo-classical stucco enrichments, completed c1899.

Twentieth century

Building continued rapidly in the early Twentieth Century. In 1904 The Catholic Church of Holy Ghost and St Stephen, built in the Gothic style with a triple-gabled facade of red brick and Portland stone, was completed and opened to the public.

The Underground comes to Shepherd's Bush

In 1900 the Central London Railway

Central London Railway

The Central London Railway , also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railway that opened in London in 1900...

(CLR) opened its Shepherd's Bush station, now the Central line

Central Line

The 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...

station, at the east end of Shepherd's Bush Green. The Central London Railway (CLR), also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railway that opened in London

London

in 1900. Today, the CLR's tunnels and stations form the central section of the London Underground

London Underground

The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...

's Central line

Central Line

.

The railway company was established in 1889, funding for construction was obtained in 1895 through a syndicate of financiers and work took place from 1896 to 1900. When opened, the CLR served 13 stations and ran completely underground in a pair of tunnels for 9.14 kilometres (5.68 mi) between its western terminus at Shepherd's Bush

Shepherd's Bush

-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....

and its eastern terminus at the Bank of England

Bank of England

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...

, with a depot and power station to the north of the western terminus.

For 108 years, until 2008, there were (rather confusingly) two Tube stations of the same name 0.3 miles (482.8 m) apart. Four years later, in 1914, the original Shepherd's Bush station

Shepherd's Bush railway station (L&SWR)

Shepherd's Bush is a closed London and South Western Railway station in Shepherd's Bush, west London. The station was situated on the L&SWR's line between Richmond and the West London Joint Railway...

(built in 1867) closed, replaced by two new stations which opened on 1 April 1914. The new Shepherd's Bush station was re-sited a short distance north across the Uxbridge Road

Uxbridge Road

Uxbridge 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....

, with Goldhawk Road

Goldhawk Road tube station

Goldhawk Road station is a London Underground station located in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the south side of Goldhawk Road, about 250m west of Shepherd's Bush Green...

about half a kilometre to the south. The two stations remain in the same locations today.

1908 Summer Olympics

The Summer Olympics of 1908 was held in Britain, and large scale sporting venues were therefore required to be built. Just to the north of Shepherd's Bush, the Great Stadium

White City Stadium

White City Stadium was built in White City, London, for the 1908 Summer Olympics, often seen as the precursor to the modern seater stadium and noted for hosting the finish of the first modern distance marathon. It also hosted speedway and a match at the 1966 World Cup, before the stadium was...

(later known as The White City Stadium) was constructed for the 1908 Olympics. Opened by King Edward VII on April 27, 1908, this immense technological marvel was the first Olympic Stadium

Olympic Stadium

The Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the big centrepiece stadium of the Summer Olympic Games. Traditionally, the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field competitions are held in the Olympic Stadium. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words Olympic...

built in the United Kingdom. Great Britain led the participating nations with 146 medals, including 56 Gold.

After the Olympics, the stadium continued to be used for athletics until 1914, and was later turned into a greyhound racing

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....

track, although it was also used for short periods by Queens Park Rangers football club, and for other sports. It hosted one match during the 1966 World Cup. The stadium continued to serve as a sporting venue until 1985 when it was demolished and replaced by the BBC White City

BBC White City

BBC White City refers both to a collection of BBC buildings at Wood Lane, White City in west London, and an office building opened in 1990 within that collection of buildings...

Centre.

Franco-British Exhibition - the Great White City

1908 would also witness The Franco-British Exhibition

Franco-British Exhibition (1908)

(also known as "The Bush Exhibition", and as Elite Gardens), a large public fair, which attracted 8 million visitors and celebrated the Entente Cordiale

Entente Cordiale

signed in 1904 by the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

and France

France

. The exhibition buildings were clad in gleaming white marble, and the attraction was soon dubbed the "Great White City

White City, London

White City is a district in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, to the north of Shepherd's Bush. Today, White City is home to the BBC Television Centre and BBC White City, and Loftus Road stadium, the home of football club Queens Park Rangers FC....

". The nickname stuck, and White City is today formal name for the area just to the north of Shepherd's Bush.

The 1908 Summer Olympics

1908 Summer Olympics

The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...

fencing

Fencing at the 1908 Summer Olympics

At the 1908 Summer Olympics, four fencing events were contested.The 1908 Games were the first to lack a foil competition. Foil fencing, "not being in the opinion of the organisers a form of sport which is improved by competition," was held only as a display. The 1908 Olympics did introduce team...

events were held in the district alongside the festivities.

The fair was the largest exhibition of its kind in Britain, and the first international exhibition co-organised and sponsored by two countries. It covered an area of some 140 acre (0.5665604 km²), including an artificial lake, surrounded by an immense network of white buildings in elaborate (often Oriental) styles. One of the main attractions was the Flip Flap, a crane operated cable car with views of the city.

The most popular attractions at the exhibition were the two so-called "colonial villages" - an "Irish village" and a "Senegalese village", which were designed to communicate the success of imperialism. The Irish village ("Ballymaclinton") was inhabited by 150 "colleens" (Irish girls) who demonstrated various forms of domestic industry, as well as displays of manufacturing and even an art gallery. The "Senegalese village" was a so-called "native village" displaying day-to-day life, as well as various artefacts. Press reports commented on the "surprising cleanliness" of the Irish, while readers were reminded that the Senegalese were "cleaner than they looked".

Limericks were used to advertise this event:

A maiden of coy disposition,

Met her fate at the Bush Exhibition,

When his great love he told her,

Placed her head on his shoulder,

And enjoyed the happier position.

In an Anglo-French section one night,

A Youth met a Maiden, gay and bright,

But her idea of pleasure,

Was of such boundless measure,

He left with heart heavy - purse light.

Little sign of the fair remains today. The exhibition site is now occupied by the BBC Television Centre

BBC Television Centre

BBC Television Centre at White City in West London is the headquarters of BBC Television. Officially opened on 29 June 1960, it remains one of the largest to this day; having featured over the years as backdrop to many BBC programmes, it is one of the most readily recognisable such facilities...

, opened in 1960, and the Westfield Shopping Centre

Westfield London

Westfield London is a shopping centre in White City in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The centre was developed by the Westfield Group at a cost of £1.6bn,...

, which opened in late 2008. The last remaining buildings of the 1908 exhibition were demolished to make way for the Westfield development. Frithville Gardens, once part of the Japanese Garden, is the only part of the 1908 exhibition site still visible. A small area of tiling preserved from the Garden can still be seen inside the main Television Centre site adjacent to the Studio 1 Audience Entrance. The White City Stadium

White City Stadium

site, in Wood Lane adjacent to the Westway overpass and once part of the Exhibition, is now occupied by the BBC's Media Village

BBC Media Village

The BBC Media Village was opened in 2004 and is the second phase of development at BBC White City. It was built on the same site as the 1908 Summer Olympics and parts of the swimming pool were discovered when the foundations were laid.-Buildings:...

1910 Japan-British Exhibition

The Japan-British Exhibition of 1910 (日英博覧会, Nichi-Ei Hakuran-kai) took place on the exhibition site from 14 May 1910 to 29 October 1910. It was the largest international exposition that the Empire of Japan had participated in to date, and was driven by a desire of Japan to develop a more favorable public image in Great Britain following the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. It was also hoped that the display of manufactured products would lead to increased Japanese trade with Britain.

Little sign of the exhibition remains, but the Chokushimon (Gateway of the Imperial Messenger, a four-fifths replica of the Karamon of Nishi Hongan-ji in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

) was moved to Kew Gardens a year later, where it still can be seen today.

Two more exhibitions would be held at the Great White City. The final two exhibitions to be held there were the Latin-British Exhibition

Latin-British Exhibition

The Latin-British Exhibition of 1912 was one of the last exhibitions held in Shepherd's Bush, London, in the exhibition space known as the Great White City, and later simply as White City...

of 1912 and the Anglo-American Exhibition

Anglo-American Exhibition

The Anglo American Exhibition of 1914 was one of the last exhibitions held in Shepherd's Bush, London, in the exhibition space known as the Great White City, and later simply as White City...

of 1914, which included a working model of the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

, a replica of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

(complete with skyscrapers), and a scale model of the Colorado Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...

. One popular attraction was the 101 Ranch Wild West show which had been shipped over from Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

. The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

reported that “this is the first time that the Miller Brothers cowboys and cowgirls, who come from the 101 Ranch at Bliss, Oklahoma, have performed out of America.” However, the coming of war in 1914 would put an early end to the Anglo-American Exhibition, which would prove to be the last of the great exhibitions held in Shepherd's Bush.

WWI

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

a pioneering orthopaedic hospital, the Shepherd's Bush Military Hospital (now known as the Hammersmith Hospital

Hammersmith Hospital

Hammersmith Hospital is a major teaching hospital in West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and is associated with the Imperial College Faculty of Medicine...

), was built in Shepherd's Bush to care for wounded soldiers, largely thanks to the efforts of the noted surgeon Robert Jones

Robert Jones (surgeon)

Sir Robert Jones, 1st Baronet, KBE, CB was a British orthopaedic surgeon who helped to establish the modern specialty of orthpaedic surgery in Britain....

.
In 1916 the Joint War Committee awarded the hospital the sum of £1,000 to begin its work, soon followed in 1918 by a further grant of £10,000. The hospital was also supported by donations from the public. Part of the rehabilitation process involved putting the recovering patients to work in local shops, a policy which does not appear to have been entirely popular among the soldiers themselves.

War did not prevent the opening of Lime Grove Studios

Lime Grove Studios

Lime Grove Studios was a film studio complex built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915 situated in a street named Lime Grove, inShepherd's Bush, west London, north of Hammersmith and described by Gaumont as "the finest studio in Great Britain and the first building ever put up in this country...

in 1915, a film studio complex built by the Gaumont Film Company

Gaumont Film Company

Gaumont Film Company is a French film production company founded in 1895 by the engineer-turned-inventor, Léon Gaumont . Gaumont is the oldest continously operating film company in the world....

and situated in a street named Lime Grove, in Shepherd's Bush. It was described by Gaumont as "the finest studio in Great Britain and the first building ever put up in this country solely for the production of films". From 1949 to 1991 the complex was used by the BBC, before its demolition in 1994.

WWII

Like other parts of London, Shepherd's Bush suffered from bomb damage during WWII, especially from V-1 flying bomb

V-1 flying bomb

The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....

attacks (known as "doodlebugs" or "buzzbombs"), which struck randomly and with little warning.

1960s

BBC Television Centre

, the headquarters of BBC Television

BBC Television

BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...

, officially opened on 29 June 1960, remains to this day one of the largest TV studios in the world; having featured over the years as backdrop to many BBC programmes, it is one of the most readily recognisable such facilities anywhere. It is the second oldest television studios in the United Kingdom after Granada Studios

The Manchester Studios

The Manchester Studios is a television studio on Quay Street in Manchester with the facility to broadcast live and film drama programmes. The studios have been home to Granada Television since its inception in 1954...

which was home to the BBC's great commercial rival for many years, Granada Television Manchester.

On the 13th of April 1963 The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

recorded their first ever BBC broadcast at Lime Grove Studios

Lime Grove Studios

in Shepherd's Bush. The group returned in 1964 for a further recording. Lime Grove Studios was demolished in 1994 to make way for residential accommodation.

Many sketches from the BBC comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus

Monty Python's Flying Circus

Monty 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...

were filmed in various locations in Shepherd's Bush, owing primarily to its proximity to BBC Television Centre

BBC Television Centre

.

In 1966 The World Cup

1966 FIFA World Cup

The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...

was held in England, and White City stadium was once again the location for a major sporting event - albeit just a single match. White City was used for a single game from Group 1, between Uruguay and France, won by Uruguay.

1980s

In 1985 the White City sporting venue was finally demolished and replaced by the BBC White City

BBC White City

BBC White City refers both to a collection of BBC buildings at Wood Lane, White City in west London, and an office building opened in 1990 within that collection of buildings...

Centre.

The Shepherd's Bush bus station is housed in the redeveloped Dimco Buildings

Dimco Buildings

The Dimco buildings are a historic structure in White City, London, just north of Shepherd's Bush. Originally built in 1898, they were constructed as a shed for the Central Line London Underground power station.Today the Dimco Buildings house a bus station...

(1898), Grade II listed red brick buildings which were originally built in 1898 as a shed for a London Underground power station.
The Dimco buildings were used as a filming location for the ‘Acme Factory’ in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...

?, and later served as the interior of the British Museum in The Mummy Returns
The Mummy Returns
The Mummy Returns is a 2001 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velásquez and Freddie Boath. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film The Mummy...

.

1990s

In 1990 the BBC opened a new office building on Wood Lane (now known as White City One)

BBC White City

BBC White City refers both to a collection of BBC buildings at Wood Lane, White City in west London, and an office building opened in 1990 within that collection of buildings...

, on part of the former Olympic site. White City One houses most of the BBC's current affairs and factual and learning programmes, such as Panorama, Top Gear, and Watchdog.

In 1994 Lime Grove Studios

Lime Grove Studios

, where the Beatles recorded, was demolished, replaced with residential accommodation.

Twenty First Century

In 2004 The BBC expanded its White City complex, opening the BBC Media Village

BBC Media Village

on part of the former Olympic site.

In late 2008 the Westfield London

Westfield London

Westfield London is a shopping centre in White City in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The centre was developed by the Westfield Group at a cost of £1.6bn,...

shopping centre opened its doors. Its cost was estimated at £1.1bn, built on a site bounded by the West Cross Route

West Cross Route

The West Cross Route is a short, dual carriageway section of the A3220 route in central London in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with a small part being shared with borderlining borough Hammersmith and Fulham. It runs north-south between the northern elevated roundabout junction...

(A3220

A3220 road

The A3220 is a primary A road in London. It runs north from Clapham Common to the A40 Westway at Ladbroke Grove.The road crosses the River Thames at Battersea Bridge and from this point until its end it forms the western boundary of the London Congestion Charge zone...

), the Westway

Westway (London)

The Westway is a long elevated dual carriageway section of the A40 route in west London running from Paddington to North Kensington. The road was constructed between 1964 and 1970 to relieve congestion at Shepherd's Bush caused by traffic from Western Avenue struggling to enter central London on...

(A40

A40 road

The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road in all legal documents and Acts...

) and Wood Lane

Wood Lane

(A219

A219 road

The A219, is a road in West London, England, which connects the A404 Harrow Road in Harlesden to the A24 in South Wimbledon. Running from North to South, it starts near Willesden Junction station, crosses the Grand Union Canal and runs through Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith and Fulham, crossing the...

), and opened on 30 October 2008. The development was on a large brownfield

Brownfield land

Brownfield sites are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations. Cf. Waste...

site part of which was once the location of the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition

Franco-British Exhibition (1908)

; the initial site clearance demolished the set of halls still remaining from the exhibition. The centre is noted for its size: with a retail floor area of 150,000m² (1.615m ft²), the equivalent of about 30 football pitches. At the time of its opening it was reported to be the third largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom.

The DIMCO buildings became a bus station around the same time, having been restored to their former glory under the supervision of English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

.

In October 2011 the Bush Theatre

Bush Theatre

The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...

left its home of nearly forty years on Shepherd's Bush Green and moved to the old Shepherd's Bush Library building on Uxbridge Rd.

Future

The Westfield Group has applied for planning permission to extend the Westfield Centre northwards, greatly enlarging its size and scope. The plans would include 1,700 new homes and around 500,000 sq ft of new retail space. Westfield states that the new extension will create 2,500 permanent jobs, and will represent a £1bn investment.

In addition, plans have been drawn up by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham

The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is a London borough in West London, and forms part of Inner London. Traversed by the east-west main roads of the A4 Great West Road and the A40 Westway, many international corporations have offices in the borough....

to substantially re-develop Shepherd's Bush Green, also known as the Common. The plans include creating two new play areas for children, the planting of further trees and a general improvement to routes across the Green for both cyclists and pedestrians. A proposal to create a new cafe was declined by the planning authorities.

The BBC is considering leaving its White City

White City

-Australia:* White City Woodville, a football club from the South Australian Super League* White City Football Club, a football club from the NSW Conference League South...

home, as a part of general cost-cutting. A number of football clubs are said to be interested in acquiring the land although, as BBC Television Centre

BBC Television Centre

is a listed building, it cannot be easily demolished. The BBC White City

BBC White City

BBC White City refers both to a collection of BBC buildings at Wood Lane, White City in west London, and an office building opened in 1990 within that collection of buildings...

buildings, by contrast, are not protected structures.

External links

Retrieved November 2011 Retrieved November 2011 Retrieved November 2011

Bush Theatre Official website Retrieved November 2011

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Origins

Nineteenth century

Coming of the railways

Urbanisation

Twentieth century

The Underground comes to Shepherd's Bush

1908 Summer Olympics

Franco-British Exhibition - the Great White City

1910 Japan-British Exhibition

WWI

WWII

1960s

1980s

1990s

Twenty First Century

Future

See also

External links