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Ealing is a town in the London Borough of Ealing. It is a suburban development situated 7.7 miles (12.4 km) west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan and is often referred to as the "Queen of the Subu

Ealing is a town in the London Borough of Ealing. It is a suburban development situated 7.7 miles (12.4km) west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan and is often referred to as the "Queen of the Suburbs".

History

Etymology

The Saxon 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 Yealing, Zelling and Eling, until Ealing became the standard spelling in the 19th century.

Early history

Archaeological evidence shows that parts of Ealing have been occupied for at least 7,000 years. Iron Age pots have been discovered in the vicinity on Horsenden Hill. A settlement is recorded here in the 12th century amid a great forest that carpeted the area to the west of London. The earliest surviving English census is that for Ealing in 1599. This list was a tally of all 85 households in Ealing village giving the names of the inhabitants, together with their ages, relationships and occupations. It survives in manuscript form in the Public Record Office (PRO E 163/24/35), and has been transcribed and printed by K J Allison.

Settlements were scattered throughout the parish. Many of them were along what is now called St. Mary's Road, near to the church in the centre of the parish. There were also houses at Little Ealing, Ealing Dean, Haven Green, Drayton Green and Castlebar Hill.

The 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 Gunnersbury and Pitshanger. These were farmed; the crops being mostly wheat, but also barley and rye. There were also animals such as cows, sheep and chickens.

Great Ealing School 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 metaled roads were passable due to dry weather. However, with the passing of the Toll Road Act, this highway was graveled and so the old Oxford Road became an increasingly busy and important thoroughfare running from east to west through the centre of the parish. This road was later to be known as the Uxbridge Road. The well-to-do of London began to see Ealing as a place to escape from the smoke and smells. In 1800 the architect John Soane bought Payton Place and renamed it Pitzhanger Manor, but not to live but just for somewhere green and pleasant, where he could entertain his friends and guests. Soon after (1801) the Duke of Kent bought a house a Castlebar. Soon, more well healed Londoners followed but with the intention of taking up permanent residence which was conveniently close to London. A one time prime minister, Sir Spencer Percival 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 so more food and materials when in and more finished goods came out. Since dray horse can only haul loads a few miles per day, frequent over night stops were needed. To satisfy this demand a large number of inns were situated along the Uxbridge Road, where horses could be changed and travellers refresh themselves, prompting its favour by highwaymen. 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 toll gate the more easternward pub was renamed the Olde Hat.

The expansion of Ealing

As London developed, the area became predominantly market gardens which required a greater proportion of workers as it was more labour intensive. In the 1850s, with improved travel (the Great Western Railway and two branches of the Grand Union Canal), villages began to grow into towns and merged into unbroken residential areas. At this time Ealing began to be called the "Queen of the Suburbs".

Mount Castle Tower, an Elizabethan structure which stood at the top of Hanger Hill, was used as a tea-stop in the 19th century. It was demolished to make way for Fox's Reservoir in 1881. This reservoir, with a capacity of three million gallons, was erected north of Hill Crest Road, Hanger Hill, in 1888 and a neighbouring reservoir for 50 million gallons was constructed c. 1889. This supply of good water help 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 Railway in the 1830s, part of which passed through the centre of Ealing, led to the opening of a railway station on the Broadway in 1879. In the next few decades, much of Ealing was rebuilt, predominantly semi-detached housing designed for the rising middle-class. Gas mains were laid and an electricity generating station was built. Better transport links, including horse buses as well as trains, enabled people to more easily travel to work in London. All this, whilst living in what was still considered to be the countryside. Although much of the countryside was rapidly disappearing during this period of rapid expansion, parts of it were preserved as public parks, such as Lammas Park and Ealing Common. Pitzhanger Manor and the extensive 28 acres 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 Walpole and thus became Walpole Park.

It was during the Victorian period that Ealing became a town. This meant that roads had to be built, drainage provided, and schools & public buildings erected. The man responsible for much of all this was Charles Jones, Borough Surveyor from 1863–1913. He planted the horse chestnut trees on Ealing Common and designed the Town Hall, both the present one and the older structure which is now a bank (on the Mall). Ealing Broadway became a major shopping centre.

It was in 1901 that Ealing Urban District was incorporated as a municipal borough, Walpole Park was opened and the first electric trams ran along the Uxbridge Road — a mode of transport that Transport for London (TFL) tried to reintroduce some 110 years later in the form of the West London Tram scheme. This was abandoned in August 2007 in the face of fierce local opposition and a switch in priorities and funding to Crossrail.

Modern Ealing

The building of a new shopping centre, which opened in 1984, drastically altered the centre of Ealing.

At midnight, Thursday, August 2, 2001 a 40 kg bomb hidden in a vehicle exploded in The Broadway near Ealing Broadway railway station, damaging numerous shops in the immediate vicinity. Seven people suffered mild injuries. The bomb was placed by "Irish dissidents" thought to be members of the Real IRA.

Religion

Standing near Charlbury Grove, Ealing Abbey was founded by a community of Benedictine monks in 1897. Twinned with the convent of St. Augustine's Priory, the giant abbey is a unique example of a traditional, working monastery.

Community

Ealing has a large Polish community. This developed during World War II when Polish pilots fighting in the Battle of Britain flew from the nearby aerodrome, RAF Northolt, where there is a landmark Polish War Memorial. The Polish community has grown considerably since Poland joined the EU and its migrant workers have been able to come to the UK freely.

Ealing Studios

Ealing is best known for its film studios which are the oldest in the world and known especially for the Ealing comedies including Kind Hearts and Coronets, Passport to Pimlico, The Ladykillers and The Lavender Hill Mob. The studios were taken over by the BBC in 1955 so Ealing locations appeared in television programmes ranging from Doctor Who to Monty Python's Flying Circus. Most recently, these studios have been used for movies again, including Notting Hill, The Importance of Being Earnest and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Most recently, St Trinian's, a remake of the classic film, was produced by Ealing Studios; in which some locations in Ealing can be observed.

Famous people and achievements

Pete Townshend lived in Ealing Common with his parents, he attended Ealing Art School.
Arthur Haynes (1914–1966) the comedian, lived in Gunnersbury Avenue (at 74).
Fred Perry (1909–1995) England's greatest tennis player, lived in Brunner Road, Ealing.
Champion athlete Lillian Board MBE (1948–70), a double European gold medallist and an Olympic silver medalist, lived in Ealing from 1956 to 1970. Known as the Golden Girl of British athletics, she died of cancer in 1970. Two streets in the borough of Ealing are named in her honour: Lillian Board Way, in Greenford, and Lillian Avenue (near Acton Town London Underground station).
Andy Picheta, Film and TV director and producer, was raised in Ealing. Picheta briefly worked at Ealing Studios as a director and also had roles in music videos filmed in Ealing.
The political couple, former European commissioner and leader of the Labour Party, Neil Kinnock and his wife, Glenys Kinnock, who is a member of the European Parliament, have their London home in Ealing.
Acclaimed British soul singer Dusty Springfield (1939–99) grew up in Ealing.
Frank Richards (1876–1961) who is most remembered for writing Billy Bunter, lived in a house that once stood in what is now part of Ealing Shopping Centre. The site is marked with a blue plaque.
Henry Fielding (1707-54) the novelist, had from 1752 a country house at Fordhook. He wrote some of Tom Jones there.
Julian Clary went to St Benedict's School, a Catholic school in Ealing, London.
Jay Kay of pop band Jamiroquai is also a former resident. He attended St Benedict's School in West Ealing.
Acid jazz group Brand New Heavies were formed in Ealing.
Lady Noel Byron (Lord Byron's widow) has a 'Blue Plaque' dedicated to her, above the main entrance of Thames Valley University in South Ealing Road. She founded Ealing Grove school in 1834, the first industrial school of its type.Living with her, was her daughter Ada Lovelace who was England's first computer programer and has the programing Language 'ada' named after her.
Nevil Shute (1899–1960) the novelist, remembered for such books as A Town Like Alice and On the Beach, was a past resident (16 Somerset Rd).
Ealing is the cradle of blues-based rock music, notably The Rolling Stones whose roots can be traced back to the Ealing Jazz Club in 1962.
Matt Monro: English ballad singer of the 1960s. He sold more than 100 million records.
England cricketer Andrew Strauss currently lives in Ealing.
Sid James (1913–1976) the actor and comedian, lived in Gunnersbury Avenue (at 35).
Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister from 1809 until 1812 lived at Elm Grove, a large house at the south-west corner of Ealing Common. Perceval was shot dead in the lobby of the house of commons in May 1812 by John Bellingham. Bellingham was tried, found guilty and hanged just seven days later.
Alan Blumlein, Electronics engineer, who made contributions to High-Definition TV, Radar, Sound Reproduction - including stereo sound - and telephony, lived in Ealing between 1933 and 1942. He was killed in 1942 in a 'plane crash testing the H2S radar.
Mitch Mitchell - Drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, was born and grew up in Ealing.
Ellie Harrison (b.1979) - artist, was born and grew up in Ealing. Her famed project "Gold Card Adventures" using Ealing Broadway as its starting point.
Thomas Huxley, Biologist, "Darwin's Bulldog", was born in Ealing in 1825.
Osmond Barnes (1834–1930), as Chief Herald of India proclaimed Queen Victoria Empress of India at Delhi in 1877. In retirement he lived in Ealing at 40, Mount Park Road.
Paul McGrath, former Aston Villa, Manchester United and Republic of Ireland International footballer, was born in Ealing in 1959
Michaela Dennis, of Armand and Michaela Dennis, who made the "On Safari" TV series' of animals in Africa in the late 50s and early 60s, had a retreat in Ealing from the summer heat of her Nairobi home.
Will Barker, a pioneer of British cinema, lived and worked at Ealing Green for many years.
Ealing also boasted London's smallest theatre, Bankside Theatre, in Tring Avenue Ealing Common. It was founded by Beatrice and Mabel Siddons-Downe, great-granddaughters of Sarah Siddons and operated from 1928 to 1956.

Ealing in fiction

Ealing was the setting for children's comedy show Rentaghost.
In James Hilton'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's Brave New World (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) was the location for the scenes of the Autons breaking through the shop window and beginning their killing rampage in the 1970 Doctor Who story Spearhead From Space.
The new Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures, is set in Ealing
The main character Kendra Tamale of the book 'Marshmallows for Breakfast' by Dorothy Koomson, was said to have grown up or lived in Ealing or nearby.
The police station featured in the opening titles of Dixon of Dock Green was the previous Ealing police station, located at number 5 High Street, just north of Ealing Green.
HG Wells' "The War of the Worlds" makes reference to Castle(bar) Hill in Ealing since the alien gas is heavier than air and the residents at the top of the hill are unaffected

Town twinning

The town of Ealing is twinned with:

The district of Bielany, Poland;
The town of Marcq-en-Barœul, France;
The district of Steinfurt, Germany