Brook Green
Brook Green is an affluent London neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It is located approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Kensington, Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith, Holland Park and Brackenbury Village.
The Brook Green neighbourhood takes its name after the recreational park space also named Brook Green, which runs from Shepherd's Bush Road to Hammersmith Road.
Brook Green has two main shopping areas, Shepherd's Bush Road and Blythe Road, the latter of which is home to a number of small, independent shops. Also tucked in behind the green is a large Tesco supermarket. Brook Green is also within close proximity to Kensington High Street, King Street and Westfield London.
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History
References to Brook Green go back to 15th century,[2] with a map [3] of Hammersmith clearly showing the outline of the Green.
The area was developed as industrialisation spread out of London. Famous businesses in Brook Green were Osram Lamp Factory,[4] J. Lyons & Co. and its complex at Cadby Hall,[5] Post Office Savings Bank Headquarters in Blythe Road and to this day the Olympia Exhibition Halls Olympia, London. Brook Green was also home to St Mary's College from 1850 to 1925, when the college moved to Strawberry Hill.
Brook Green Suite was written in 1933 for St Paul's Girls' School junior orchestra by the famous English composer Gustav Holst, who was also Director of Music at the school. St Paul's Girls' School is one of the leading independent schools in the country and has been situated on Brook Green since its formation in 1904.
The Brook Green Hotel has stood at the Western end of Brook Green since 1886. The original Brook which was piped in the 1800s still flows under the hotel to this day. The area's inns (The Brook Green Hotel and The Queen's Head) were originally used as coach houses and were popular entertainment venues.
Today, The Brook Green Hotel is a pub on ground level, along with a cocktail bar in the basement below and a hotel upstairs. The Queen's Head is a popular and picturesque public house which overlooks the green itself at the front and has a sizable garden at the back of the pub.
Brook Green boasts three English Heritage blue plaques, for the artist Sir Frank Short, the composer Gustav Holst, and the Silver Studio of design.
Green Spaces in Hammersmith
Hammersmith and Fulham parks and open spaces
Education
- St Paul's Girls' School [6]
- Bute House Preparatory School for Girls [6]
- Larmenier and Sacred Heart Catholic School [7]
- Sacred Heart High School [8]
- Addison CE Primary School [9]
- Lena Gardens Primary School
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School [10]
Notable residents
- Ken Suttle
- Elizabeth Anne Finn
- Angelo Colarossi
- Mischa Barton
- Henry Danowski
- Richard Eyre
- Ray Bradley
- John Silvester Varley
- Francis Job Short [11]
Notable Businesses
Nearest places
Places adjoining Brook Green:
Transport
Stations:
- Kensington Olympia station
- Hammersmith tube station (Piccadilly and District lines)
- Hammersmith tube station (Hammersmith & City and Circle lines)
London Underground Lines:
References
- Footnotes
- ^ Census Information Scheme (2012). "2011 Census Ward Population Estimates". Greater London Authority. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
- ^ Brook Green Hamlet, Brook Green Conservation Area, LBHF, page 4.
- ^ Brook Green Map, Survey of London, volume 6, Hammersmith, 1915.
- ^ Osram Lamp Factory, Catalogue UK GEC 1932, Page 5, 1932.
- ^ "Cadby Hall".
- ^ a b "St Paul's Girls' School".
- ^ "Larmenier and Sacred Heart School".
- ^ "Sacred Heart High School".
- ^ "Addison CE Primary School".
- ^ "St Mary's Catholic Primary School".
- ^ "Brook Green, West London". Daily Telegraph.
- Bibliography
- Bird, James; Norman, Philip (1915), Survey of London: volume 6: Hammersmith Text " hosted by british-history.ac.uk " ignored (help)