| Greenford | |
|---|---|
 Greenford Broadway | |
  Greenford Location withinGreater London | |
| Population | 46,787 (2011 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TQ135825 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | GREENFORD |
| Postcode district | UB6 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
| 51°31′48″N0°20′56″W / 51.5299°N 0.3488°W /51.5299; -0.3488 | |
Greenford (/ˈɡriːnfərd/) is a large town in theLondon Borough of Ealing inWest London,London, England, lying 11 miles (18 km) west fromCharing Cross. It has a population of 46,787 inhabitants.
Greenford is served byGreenford Station (London UndergroundCentral Line andGreenford branch of theGreat Western Railway mainline service).South Greenford mainline station (on the A40 Western Avenue, also on the Greenford branch of theGWR) is actually in Perivale.[2] Neither station is in Greenford Town Centre (Greenford Broadway), which instead is served by many local buses.
Nearby places includeYeading,Hanwell,Perivale,Southall,Northolt,Ealing,Sudbury andSudbury Hill. The most prominent landmark in the suburb isHorsenden Hill, 279 feet (85 m) above sea level.
Greenford covers a large area, including the two miles of Greenford Road, giving it three localities: North Greenford, Greenford Green, and Greenford Broadway – this is also reflected in the names of theelectoral wards. Though a separate "town" within the borough ofEaling,[3][4] the Royal Mail includesPerivale within the Greenford post area and as such the two share the UB6 postcode.
The name is first recorded in 848 asGrenan forda. It is formed from theOld English 'grēne' and 'ford' and means 'place at the green ford'. Greenford was known as Great Greenford in order to distinguish it from Little Greenford, which is now known asPerivale (Greenford and Perivale, though different places, still share the UB6 postal code). The affixes 'Magna' and 'Parva' have also been used to denote the difference.[5]
Greenford was an ancient parish in the historicElthorne Hundred, county ofMiddlesex.
Greenford is considered to be birthplace of the modernorganic chemical industry, as it was atWilliam Perkin's chemical factory in North Greenford, by theGrand Union Canal, that the world's firstaniline dye was discovered in March 1856. Perkin called his amazing discovery 'mauveine'. Today there is ablue plaque marking the spot in Oldfield Lane North, just south of the Black Horsepublic house. Local anecdote says that Queen Elizabeth I would only eat bread made from wheat grown in Greenford,[citation needed] and until 2013/14 Greenford was the home to theHovis factory.[6] The formerRockware glassworks on the canal is commemorated by Rockware Avenue. Greenford formed part ofGreenford Urban District from 1894 to 1926 and was then absorbed by theMunicipal Borough of Ealing.
PostFirst World War, tea blender and food manufacturerJ. Lyons and Co. were looking for a secondary site on which to expand production beyondCadby Hall,Hammersmith. In 1921 they bought the first piece of an eventual 63 acres (25 ha) site, due to its location close to good transport links from both theGrand Union Canal and theGreat Western Railway'sGreat Western Main Line, and theWest Coast Main Line and onwards to the Midlands atWillesden Junction.
The factory officially opened in July 1921, with the first single-storey buildings known as "Zig-Zag" due to their northern light-aligned windows allowing maximum light into the production area. There were steam and electrical power plants on site, which powered both the plant as well as the staff canteen and medical facilities, accessible to all plant employees and their dependents.[7] Transport docks and a canal basin had been developed, allowing shipment of tea and coffee directly fromLondon Docks intoHM Customs excise controlledbonded warehouses. The extensive onsite railway infrastructure allowed precise positioning of heavy raw goods into the factory, as well as the extraction of finished product. Lyons bought their own steam shunters to move wagons between the GWR exchange sidings and the factory system.[7]
Lyons quickly became Greenford's biggest employer. A later pioneer in electronic machines and computing, Lyons deployed the latest factory automation technology, making Greenford a showplace that was regularly visited by the media, academics, competitors and royalty, with more than one visit byKing George V andQueen Mary. In the 1950s, the site developed the breakfast cerealReady Brek.[7] Areas of the site not initially developed for factory use were landscaped, with many trees planted. As the factory developed these diminished, particularly after the development of theLyons MaidBridge Park factory in the 1950s, and the new administration block in 1971.[7]
After the merger of Lyons withAllied Bakeries in the 1980s, and the focus of the newAllied Domecq business to focus on spirits, with the sell-off of the businesses associated with the factory, the need for the facility dwindled. Redeveloped from 1998, today it is known asLyon Way Industrial Estate.[7]
Five hundred yards north east from William Perkin's dye factory was a triangular field in which he kept horses. On this ground was built the Oldfield Tavern public house, which became a popular venue for a rock group called the Detours, who met a drummer there calledKeith Moon. On Thursday 20 February 1964 they were introduced to the audience of the Oldfield Tavern asthe Who.[8][9] (The tavern has not survived, however, and has since been replaced by a small block of flats and aTexaco petrol station).Andy Locke, Dave Kerr-Clemenson and Wal Scott were all inEdison Lighthouse, and with chart-topping Love Grows all came from Greenford.[citation needed]
| 1881 | 538 |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 545 |
| 1901 | 672 |
| 1911 | 843 |
| 1921 | 1,199 |
| Absorbed by Ealing parish► | |
| source:UK census | |
TheA40, a major dual-carriageway, serves the area.
North Greenford is served bySudbury Hill station on thePiccadilly line andGreenford on theCentral line.
Greenford andSouth Greenford stations are served byGreat Western Railway services on theGreenford branch line toWest Ealing.
Greenford has the following bus routes travelling through it:92,95,105,282,395,487,E1,E2,E3,E5,E6,E7,E9,E10,E11,H17,N7 andN118.
The town lies between about 33 feet (10 m) and 98 feet (30 m)above sea level.
The grounds of the former Ravenor Farm has become Greenford's largest park; Ravenor Park is the venue for the annual Greenford Carnival, which is held every July.[18]
Until 1910, the land that formed Ravenor Farm/Ravenor Park was a detached part ofNortholt parish, with the tithes to the land going toSt. Mary's Church, Northolt and not the Greenford parish of Holy Cross, Greenford.
There are alsoPerivale Wood, theHorsenden Hill, andNorthala Fields near Northolt,Marnham Fields, andBrent Valley Park.
Neighbouring areas (counted from Greenford Green) | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||
Greenford is covered by threeelectoral wards of theLondon Borough of Ealing, together counting a population of 46,787 as of the 2011 UK census.
| Ward | Detached | Semi-detached | Terraced | Flats and apartments[19][20] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenford Broadway | 5.0% | 22.1% | 20.9% | 51.6% |
| Greenford Green | 4.8% | 39.1% | 26.7% | 29.4% |
| North Greenford | 4.4% | 35.0% | 40.2% | 20.2% |
The median house price as of 2014 was £249,000 in Greenford Broadway, £307,000 in Greenford Green, and £345,000 in North Greenford. In Greenford Green and North Greenford, over 60% of houses are owned, whereas in Greenford Broadway a majority are rented. The population are from a diverse set of backgrounds including Polish, English and otherBAME backgrounds (i.e. Black, Asian and minority Ethnic). The median age of those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds was 33, 34 and 34 years respectively.[21]
Greenford has threeNon-League football teams,London Tigers F.C. who play at the Avenue Park Stadium,North Greenford United F.C. who play at Berkeley Fields and Greenford Celtic.[citation needed]
TheGreenford Park Trotting Track was a pioneerspeedway venue and open meetings were staged 1928–1930.[22] The track would be called a long track now, as it was of the order of half a mile/800 metres per lap. The trotting track was situated on the south side of Birkbeck Avenue, just north of theA40Western Avenue.
The Greenford heritage centre displays 20th century British-made domestic household items that were commonly found in British homes and gardens in the past.[23]
The Parish Church of Holy Cross is a late 15th or early 16th century parish church.[24][25]
Betham House, is an 18th-century former charity school built byEdward Betham.[26]
Significant local businesses include: British Bakeries,Brompton Bicycle,IBM, Aurora (TV Lighting),Panavision, Panalux,Wincanton (Distribution Centre) andRoyal Mail (Regional distribution centre).KBR has an office in Greenford.[27]
The Westway Cross Shopping Park is in Greenford Green. Thisretail park has stores includingNext,Smyths Toys andSports Direct.[28]
Greenford is part of theEaling NorthUK parliamentaryconstituency, represented since 2019 byLabour and Co-operative PartyMember of Parliament (MP)James Murray.
Greenford is made up of four and a halfelectoral wards forlocal council elections:Central Greenford,Greenford Broadway,Greenford Green,North Greenford and half of theLady Margaret ward, which is situated on the south side of Greenford Broadway. These wards all elect councillors toEaling Council. Ealing Council is currently run by aLabour administration.
Political status of Ealing Council after theMay 2022 local elections:
Greenford is in theLondon Assembly constituency ofEaling and Hillingdon which has one assembly member:Onkar Sahota (Labour), who was elected in May 2012.
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