Gunnersbury | |
---|---|
![]() The Gunnersbury public house | |
Location within Greater London | |
OS grid reference | TQ195785 |
London borough | |
Ceremonial county | Greater London |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LONDON |
Postcode district | W3, W4, W5 |
Post town | BRENTFORD |
Postcode district | TW8 |
Dialling code | 020 |
Police | Metropolitan |
Fire | London |
Ambulance | London |
UK Parliament | |
London Assembly | |
Gunnersbury is an area of West London, England.
The name "Gunnersbury" originally meant "Gunner's (Gunnar's) fort", and is a combination of an old Scandinavian personal name + Middle English -bury, meaning, "fort", or "fortified place" . [1]
Gunnersbury consists mainly of pre-war housing of a variety of types, including flats, terrace, semi detached, and detached houses, some of which are ex-local authority built.
The defining symbol of Gunnersbury is the 18-storey high BSI (British Standards Institution) building on Chiswick High Road. Between 1966 and 1992 the block housed a divisional headquarters of IBM UK. Below this building Gunnersbury station serves the Richmond branch of the District line and the London Overground to Stratford.
On the north side of the High Road is The Gunnersbury, formerly the John Bull pub, built in 1853, with a billiards saloon built a little later. It became a music venue, visited by bands including The Who. [2]
In August 1921, London General Omnibus Company established a bus overhaul facility off Chiswick High Road. [3] It incorporated a Training School with a bus skidpan. [4] In 1989, London Transport closed the works. [5] [6] In 2001 the site was redeveloped as the Chiswick Business Park with 12 medium density office buildings. [7] [8] It houses companies including SBS Broadcasting Networks, CBS News, Technicolor, Discovery Channel Europe, Intelsat, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Foxtons, and a Virgin Active health club.
Immediately to the east is Gunnersbury Triangle nature reserve. An area of woodland, it supports many species of birds, plants, and animals. It has free admission and its entrance is on the south of Bollo Lane, a few yards from Chiswick Park Tube Station. [9] [10]
Just to the north of Gunnersbury Triangle, Chiswick Park Footbridge connects Gunnersbury's Chiswick Business Park with Chiswick Park tube station. It was designed by Expedition Engineering and Useful Studios. [11] [12]
Gunnersbury lends its name to a nearby secondary school, formerly a Grammar School, in Brentford. Gunnersbury Catholic School is a boys-only Catholic comprehensive with co-educational sixth form. It used to be located on Gunnersbury Avenue and it backed on to Gunnersbury Park. Since 1984, it has been located in The Ride, Brentford.
In 1886, Gunnersbury was given its own parish church, dedicated to Saint James. The church stood on Chiswick High Road, near Chiswick Roundabout. The church was decommissioned just over a century later, in 1987, and demolished soon afterwards. The parish was united with that of St Paul's, Brentford. [13]
Hounslow is a large suburban district of West London, England, 10+3⁄4 miles west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 14 metropolitan centres in Greater London.
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, 8 miles (13 km) west of Charing Cross.
Chiswick is a district in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Fuller's Brewery, London's largest and oldest brewery. In a meander of the River Thames used for competitive and recreational rowing, with several rowing clubs on the river bank, the finishing post for the Boat Race is just downstream of Chiswick Bridge.
The London Borough of Hounslow is a London borough in west London, England, forming part of Outer London. It is governed by Hounslow London Borough Council.
Acton Town is a London Underground station in the south-west corner of Acton, West London, in the London Borough of Ealing, close to the border with the London Borough of Hounslow. The station is served by the District and Piccadilly lines and is in Travelcard Zone 3. On the District line, it is between Chiswick Park and Ealing Common stations, and on the Piccadilly line it is between Hammersmith and Ealing Common on the Uxbridge branch & South Ealing on the Heathrow branch. Acton Town station was opened as Mill Hill Park on 1 July 1879 by the District Railway. It remained as a terminus until on 1 May 1883 and 23 June 1903 the DR opened two branches from Acton Town to Hounslow Town and Park Royal & Twyford Abbey respectively. On 4 July 1932 the Piccadilly line was extended to Acton Town. District line services to both the Hounslow and Uxbridge branches were withdrawn completely on 9 and 10 October 1964 after which operations were provided by the Piccadilly line alone.
Turnham Green is a London Underground station in Chiswick of the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. The station is served by the District and Piccadilly lines in a manner of cross-platform interchange although currently Piccadilly line trains normally stop at the station only at the beginning and end of the day, running through non-stop at other times. To the east, District line trains stop at Stamford Brook and Piccadilly line trains stop at Hammersmith. To the west, District line trains run to either Chiswick Park or Gunnersbury and Piccadilly line trains stop at Acton Town. The station is in both Travelcard Zone 2 and Zone 3.
Gunnersbury is a London Overground and London Underground station in Gunnersbury in London, England on the North London line. The station opened on 1 January 1869 and is served by District line trains to and from Richmond, and by Arriva Rail London on the London Overground network. On the District line the station is between Turnham Green and Kew Gardens, and on the North London line it is between South Acton and Kew Gardens.
Chiswick Park is a London Underground station in the Acton Green district of Chiswick in West London. The station is served by the District line and is between Turnham Green and Acton Town stations. It is located at the junction of Bollo Lane and Acton Lane about 150 m north of Chiswick High Road (A315) and is in Travelcard Zone 3. The station is near Acton Green common. The Piccadilly line uses the inside tracks, but, as there are no platforms on these tracks, their trains cannot stop here.
Kew Bridge railway station is a railway station in Brentford, the London Borough of Hounslow, and is in Travelcard Zone 3. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. The station was named after the nearby Kew Bridge.
The London Borough of Ealing, one of the outer London boroughs although not on the periphery, has over 100 parks and open spaces within its boundaries. These include allotments, cemeteries, playgrounds, and golf courses in addition to the larger open spaces such as nature conservation areas.
Gunnersbury Park is a park between Acton, Brentford, Chiswick and Ealing, West London, England. Purchased for the nation from the Rothschild family, it was opened to the public by Neville Chamberlain, then Minister of Health, on 21 May 1926. The park is currently jointly managed by Hounslow and Ealing borough councils. A major restoration project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund was completed in 2018. The park and garden is Grade II listed.
Turnham Green is a public park on Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, London, and the neighbourhood and conservation area around it; historically, it was one of the four medieval villages in the Chiswick area, the others being Old Chiswick, Little Sutton, and Strand-on-the-Green. Christ Church, a neo-Gothic building designed by George Gilbert Scott and built in 1843, stands on the eastern half of the green. A war memorial stands on the eastern corner. On the south side is the old Chiswick Town Hall.
Chiswick Business Park is a business park in Gunnersbury, West London, fronting on to Chiswick High Road.
London United Tramways Company Limited was an operator of trams and trolleybuses in the western and southern suburbs of London, UK, from 1894 to 1933, when it passed to the London Passenger Transport Board.
The North and South Western Junction Railway (NSWJR) was a short railway in west London, England. It opened in 1853, connecting Willesden on the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) with Brentford on the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). After a difficult start it became an important freight route and that usage continues today. A passenger service linked LSWR stations with the North London Railway, and a branch was built to Hammersmith.
Acton Green is a residential neighbourhood in Chiswick and the London Borough of Ealing, in West London, England. It is named for the nearby Acton Green common. It was once home to many small laundries and was accordingly known as "Soapsuds Island".
Gunnersbury Triangle is a 2.57-hectare (6.4-acre) local nature reserve in Chiswick, in the London boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow, immediately to the east of Gunnersbury. It was created in 1983 when, for the first time in Britain, a public inquiry ruled that a planned development of the land could not go ahead because of its value for nature. It opened as a nature reserve in 1985.
Chiswick Park Footbridge is a pedestrian bridge north of Gunnersbury Triangle Nature Reserve in Chiswick, London that connects Chiswick Business Park with Chiswick Park tube station.
Chiswick High Road is the principal shopping and dining street of Chiswick, a district in the west of London. It was part of the main Roman road running west out of London, and remained the main road until the 1950s when the A4 was built across Chiswick. By the 19th century the road through the village of Turnham Green had grand houses beside it. The road developed into a shopping centre when Chiswick became built up with new streets and housing to the north of Old Chiswick, late in the 19th century. There are several listed buildings including public houses, churches, and a former power station, built to supply electricity to the tram network.
The 1886 Church of Our Lady of Grace & St Edward, serving the Roman Catholic parish of Chiswick, stands on the south side of Chiswick High Road, on the corner with Duke's Avenue.
Media related to Gunnersbury at Wikimedia Commons