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97-664: Bishops Park is a park in Fulham , West London. The park was opened by the London County Council in 1893, on land given by the Church Commissioners . It is listed Grade II on the register of parks and gardens of special historic interest maintained by English Heritage . The park runs north of the River Thames from All Saints church along a broad tree-lined avenue and an embankment path along

194-400: A 13-acre site at the bottom of Seagrave Road to build a fever hospital, The Western Hospital , that later became an NHS centre of excellence for treating polio until its closure in 1979. Bar one ward block remaining in private occupation, it was replaced by a gated-flats development and a small public space, Brompton Park. Aside from the centuries-old brewing industry, exemplified by

291-585: A controversial 80 acre high-rise redevelopment has been under way on the eastern borough boundary with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , involving the dismantling of the two Earl's Court Exhibition Centres in RBKC and in Hammersmith and Fulham and the emptying and demolition of hundreds of commercial properties, thousands of both private and social housing units and including the demolition of

388-641: A dance studio in the old Fulham Public Baths. The largest extant supermarket in Fulham, is located on the site of a cinema later converted to the iconic "Dicky Dirts" jean store with its sloping shop-floor, at the top of North End Road 's Street market . It started a new trend in how retail was done. The debut albums by 1970s new wave bands The Stranglers ( Rattus Norvegicus ) and Generation X ( Generation X ) were recorded at TW Studios, 211 Fulham Palace Road. The Greyhound music venue at 176 Fulham Palace Road hosted up and coming punk, post-punk and indie bands in

485-803: A farmers' market. The park was formally opened by Sir John Hutton , chairman of the LCC, in 1893. It included land known as Bishop's Walk, Bishop's Meadow and West Meadow, formerly owned by the Church of England as Lord of the Manor of Fulham, and administered by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. It had been given over to the Fulham District Board of Works on condition that it be laid out and maintained for public recreation. The meadows had already been protected from flooding by

582-487: A film and television studio, but was finally demolished in 1971. It too has been replaced by an office block in Fulham Broadway. The performing arts continue in Fulham, like the notable Fulham Symphony Orchestra and the successful Fulham Opera. St John's Parish Church, at the top of North End Road , stages choral and instrumental concerts as do other churches in the area. There is a cinema complex as part of

679-549: A first degree or better). As of June 2014 the area had seen significant gentrification as people had been priced out of surrounding areas such as Notting Hill. In 2015 it was described as 'celebrity haunt-meets-Nappy Valley'. The largest ethnic group in Kensal Green ward according to the 2011 census was White British, 26%. The second largest was White other, 18%, followed by Black Caribbean, 12%. Neighbouring Queen's Park ward, which also covers eastern areas of Kensal Green,

776-593: A great revival of interest in Fulham's earliest history, largely due to the Fulham Archaeological Rescue Group. This has carried out a number of digs, particularly in the vicinity of Fulham Palace, which show that approximately 5,000 years ago Neolithic people were living by the riverside and in other parts of the area. Excavations have also revealed Roman settlements during the third and fourth centuries AD. There are two not necessarily conflicting versions of how Fulham Manor came into

873-412: A large crowd of parents with children and buggies blockading the street. Emslie Horniman's Pleasance Park located on Bosworth Road contains tennis courts, five-a-side football pitches and children's playground. Queens Park features tennis courts, golf, a petting zoo and an extensive children's playground. King Edwards Vll park is within walking distance. Brent Council announced planned improvements to

970-719: A lasting, if largely unsung, contribution for well over a century to the development and maintenance of public transport in London and beyond. Next to the Lillie Bridge engineering Depot , the Midland Railway established its own coal and goods yard. In 1907 the engineering HQ of the Piccadilly Line in Richmond Place (16-18 Empress Place) oversaw the westward expansion of the line into the suburbs. At

1067-708: A loop on the north bank of the River Thames , bordering Hammersmith , Kensington and Chelsea , with which it shares the area known as West Brompton . Over the Thames Fulham faces Wandsworth , Putney , the London Wetland Centre in Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames . First recorded by name in 691, it was an extensive Anglo-Saxon estate, the Manor of Fulham , and then

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1164-436: A number of residents including musicians Paloma Faith and Rita Ora , chef Thomasina Miers , film director, DJs and musicians Don Letts and Mark Rae, actress Thandiwe Newton , singer Lily Allen , model-turned-author Sophie Dahl , author Zadie Smith , David Cameron 's ex-strategy guru Steve Hilton , the actor and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sienna Miller . It has traditionally been popular with those working in

1261-521: A parish. Its domain stretched from modern-day Chiswick in the west to Chelsea in the southeast; and from Harlesden in the northwest to Kensal Green in the northeast bordered by the littoral of Counter's Creek and the Manor of Kensington. It originally included today's Hammersmith. Between 1900 and 1965, it was demarcated as the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham , before its merger with the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith to create

1358-472: A predominantly working-class area for the first half of the 20th century, with genteel pockets at North End, along the top of Lillie and New King's roads, especially around Parsons Green , Eel Brook Common , South Park and the area surrounding the Hurlingham Club . Essentially, the area had attracted waves of immigrants from the countryside to service industrialisation and the more privileged parts of

1455-467: A rare example in Fulham of mid-Victorian housing, designed by John Young , close to Grade I and II listed structures and to a number of conservation areas in both boroughs. It also involves the closure of the historic Lillie Bridge Depot, opened in 1872 and the dispersal of its operations by TfL Fulham is part of two constituencies: one, Hammersmith bounded by the north side of the Lillie Road,

1552-543: A separate parish with a vicar (no longer a curate) and vestry for works was created. The two areas did not come together again until the commencement of the London Government Act in 1965. The parish boundary with Chelsea and Kensington was formed by the now culverted Counter's Creek river, the course of which is now occupied by the West London Line . This parish boundary has been inherited by

1649-641: Is a very small independent co-ed secondary school and sixth form college , catering for ages 11 to 20 on Harrow Road. Many parents use the private schools in nearby Belsize Park and Hampstead. Kensal Green Cemetery is the first of the 'Magnificent Seven' cemeteries in London. It is the resting place of members of the royal family, including Prince George, Duke of Cambridge , and scores of figures in history including Isambard Kingdom Brunel , Charles Babbage , and William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland . Architects buried there include, Decimus Burton , Philip Charles Hardwick , and John Shaw Jr. From

1746-499: Is characterised by numerous independent stores, restaurants, pubs, and cafes. There are also various sports clubs, gyms and health studios such as Moberly Sports Centre and Gracelands Yard, as well as nearby Queens Park. The area also boasts Britain's first independent boutique cinema and social enterprise, The Lexi Cinema. It is staffed by local volunteers and its profits go to an eco-village in South Africa. It has been home to

1843-537: Is located on the Harrow Road , about 4.4 miles (7.1 km) miles from Charing Cross. To the west on Harrow Road lies Harlesden , while in the opposite direction are Maida Hill and Westbourne . Queens Park and Brondesbury are to the north-east, Willesden is to the north-west, and Notting Hill lies to the south. Kensal Green is best known for the Grade I listed Kensal Green Cemetery . As of June 2014,

1940-588: Is rated very highly by local residents. In 2024 Ark Franklin received a letter from the Minister of Education congratulating the school for being in the top 2% for early years performance. As of 2020, the following state primary schools are judged to be “good”: Ark Franklin; Princess Frederica CofE in College Road; and Kenmont Primary School in Valliere Road which was built in 1883–84 to a design by

2037-641: Is represented by Andy Slaughter for Labour , the other, Chelsea and Fulham parliamentary seat is currently held by Greg Hands for the Conservatives . Fulham was formerly a part of the Hammersmith and Fulham parliamentary constituency which was dissolved in 2010 to form the current seats. However, parts of Fulham continue to score highly on the Jarman Index , indicating poor health outcomes due to adverse socio-economic factors. Fulham has in

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2134-508: The 2005 General Election , Greg Hands won the Hammersmith and Fulham Parliamentary seat for the Conservatives, polling 45.4% against Labour's 35.2%, a 7.3% swing. In the 2010 General Election, he was re-elected this time for the newly formed Chelsea and Fulham constituency. In the 2015 General Election he was returned with an increased share of the vote. In the 2024 General Election Ben Coleman defeated Greg Hands by 151 votes to retake

2231-632: The Aetherius Society , still trades on Fulham Road . Allied to these developments, the postwar period saw the extensive demolition of Fulham's early 19th-century architectural stock, replaced by some Brutalist architecture — the current Ibis hotel — and the Empress State Building in Lillie Road that in 1962 replaced the declining Empress Hall. The London County Council and local council continued with much-needed council-housing development between World War II and up to

2328-502: The Airco company, producing De Havilland designs and components for the duration of the war. William Crathern , the composer, was organist at St Mary's Church, West Kensington, when it was still known as North End . Edward Elgar , the composer, lived at 51 Avonmore Road, W14, between 1890 and 1891. The notorious Italian tenor Giovanni Matteo Mario de Candia and his wife opera singer Giulia Grisi , made Fulham their home from 1852 until

2425-939: The Arts and Crafts movement , lived at 'the Grange' in North End , Georgiana Burne-Jones and her husband, Edward Burne-Jones , both couples were friends of William Morris . Other artists who settled along the Lillie Road , were Francesco Bartolozzi , a florentine engraver and Benjamin Rawlinson Faulkner , a society portrait painter. Henri Gaudier-Brzeska , the French expressionist painter and friend of Ezra Pound , lived in Walham Green till his early death in 1915. Glass production was, until recently, represented by

2522-482: The Bishops of London . The first written record of a church in Fulham dates from 1154, with the first known parish priest of All Saints Church, Fulham appointed in 1242. All Saints Church was enlarged in 1881 by Sir Arthur Blomfield . Hammersmith was part of the ancient parish of Fulham up until 1834. Prior to that time it had been a perpetual curacy under the parish of Fulham. By 1834 it had so many residents,

2619-460: The Chelsea F.C. stadium at Stamford Bridge . Other sports facilities were opened at The Queen's Club for rackets and tennis and at the private members' Hurlingham Club , for a range of sporting activities in the south of the borough. Hurlingham Park 's tennis courts are used as netball courts and tennis nets are taken down and so restricting access to the courts for tennis. Hurlingham Park hosts

2716-406: The Empress State Building . The second, opened by Princess Diana , lasted just over 20 years until 2014. Along with the architecturally pleasing Mid-Victorian Empress Place, formerly access to the exhibition centre, it is destined for high rise re-development, but with usage as yet to be confirmed. No trace is left today of either of Fulham's two theatres, both opened in 1897. The 'Grand Theatre'

2813-540: The Grand Union Canal with the Thames. In reality, however, the project was over budget and delayed by contractor bankruptcies and only opened in 1828, when railways were already gaining traction. The short-lived canal concept did however leave a legacy: the creation on Lillie's land of a brewery and residential development, 'Rosa', and 'Hermitage Cottages', and several roads, notably, the Lillie Road connecting

2910-763: The Midlands , as well as direct connectivity with the Heathrow Express airport rail link and trains to Wales and the West of England . It will be the largest new railway station ever built in the UK. The educational charity Ark, founded by venture capitalist Arpad Busson, runs three state primary schools in the area, including Ark Franklin in Harvist Road, which replaced Kensal Rise primary in September 2013 and

3007-591: The New King's Road , a short distance from Eel Brook Common until it gave way to an apartment redevelopment in 2017. It had produced works by Henry Moore , Elisabeth Frink , Barbara Hepworth and Jacob Epstein among others. Its work may be seen in public spaces all over the world. In 1926, the Church of England established the office of Bishop of Fulham as a suffragan to the Bishop of London. Fulham remained

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3104-660: The Prince of Wales were forced to shut; only the Atlas , reconstructed after bomb damage in the Second World War , has been reprieved. Kensal Green Kensal Green is an area in north-west London, and along with Kensal Town, it forms part of the northern section of North Kensington . It lies north of the canal in the London Borough of Brent , and also to the south, within Kensington and Chelsea . Kensal Green

3201-476: The West End . National Rail London Overground services also operate to London Euston , a journey that takes around 15 minutes. Trains also go to Watford Junction . London Overground's North London Line services also operate out of Kensal Rise railway station (Transport for London Travelcard Zone 2 ) and provides regular services to Richmond in the west, Stratford in the east, and Clapham Junction in

3298-590: The alcohol-free phenomenon that was Kops Brewery founded in 1890 at a site in Sands End . In 1917 Kops Brewery closed and was converted into a margarine factory. Gin distilling came to the remnants of the North End Brewery in Seagrave Road after a brief period of service as a timber works in the 1870s and lasted for almost a century. The premises were taken over by distillers Vickers who at

3395-704: The stained glass studio of the purpose-built and Grade II listed Glass House in Lettice Street and latterly, by the Aaronson Noon Studio, with the 'Zest' Gallery in Rickett Street, that was obliged to shut down in 2012, after 20 years by the developers of 'Lillie Square' and Earl's Court . Both glass businesses have now moved out of London. The Art Bronze Foundry, founded by Charles Gaskin in 1922 operated in Michael Road, off

3492-541: The 'North End Brewery' complex, run from 1832 to 1833 by a Miss Goslin. It was intended originally to service the Kensington Canal workers and bargees. Later, it was the watering hole of the new railway builders, motor and omnibus company staff and latterly Earl's Court exhibition and Chelsea F.C. visitors. Of the three popular neighbouring pubs acquired by developers during 2014–15, the Imperial Arms and

3589-606: The 15th century the then Archbishop of Canterbury Henry Chichele (1414–1443), acquired lands in Willesden and Kingsbury. In 1443 he founded All Souls' College, Oxford and endowed it with the same lands in his will. As a result, most of Willesden and Kensal Green remained largely agricultural until the mid-1800s, well into the Victorian era . In 1805, the construction of the Grand Junction Canal passed through

3686-538: The 175th anniversary in 2019. The church was followed by a school, now Bales College, and more inns including The Plough on the opposite corner of the junction. In 1832 Kensal Green Cemetery was incorporated by Act of Parliament and opened in January 1833. This led to a revaluation of the surrounding lands, and in 1835 ecclesiastical commissioners were appointed by the Crown, who reported in 1846 that: "the larger portion of

3783-485: The 17th century, most notably with the Fulham Pottery , followed by the establishment of tapestry and carpet production with a branch of the French 'Gobelins manufactory' and then the short-lived Parisot weaving school venture in the 1750s. William De Morgan , ceramicist and novelist, moved into Sands End with his painter wife, Evelyn De Morgan , where they lived and worked. Another artist couple, also members of

3880-551: The 1860s when British Amateur Athletics were introduced and the first codified Boxing under Marquess of Queensberry Rules matches were staged. The catalyst for sport in Fulham was the Cambridge rowing blue and sports administrator, Welshman John Graham Chambers . Later, with the destruction of the Lillie Bridge Grounds by a riot in 1889, they were replaced first by the Fulham F.C. stadium Craven Cottage and

3977-519: The 1900s at a lovely country-manor where their daughters and son were born, among them writer Cecilia Maria de Candia . Conductor and composer Hyam Greenbaum married the harpist Sidonie Goossens on 26 April 1924 at Kensington Registry Office and they set up home in a first floor flat on the Fulham Road, opposite Michelin House . With the accession of Boris Johnson to the mayoralty of London,

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4074-957: The 1920s. For a brief period before 1914 the Aeroplane Building and Flying Society had its headquarters at Kensal Rise and flew test gliders from the site. Kensal Green also boasted the Electric Pavilion Cinema which opened in November 1914 and was located on the corner of Chamberlayne Road and Bannister Road. The construction of the Great Western Railway started in 1835, with the first 22.5 miles (36.2 km) of line, from Paddington station to Maidenhead Bridge station , opened on 4 June 1838. In 1901, its major carriage washing and servicing facilities and locomotive depot were developed at Old Oak Common , bringing further employment and more immigrants to

4171-589: The 1976 horror film The Omen were shot on location in the park. After a successful lottery funding bid in February 2011, the park underwent a major restoration project, when it lost its Victorian bandstand , with almost the entire site being modernised. Fulham Fulham ( / ˈ f ʊ l ə m / ) is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London , England, 3.6 miles (5.8 km) southwest of Charing Cross . It lies in

4268-467: The 1980s, the Irish-born community has reduced in size, although the legacy of their presence remains, not least in the number of Irish pubs and organisations and the many thousands with Irish ancestry who continue to populate the area. According to statistics from the 2001 census, the area has a very high proportion of young residents (28.4% 25–44 years old) and a very high educational level (30.7% hold

4365-639: The 1980s. Fulham's traditional population of working people has been partially displaced by affluent newcomers since the turn of the century. Geoffrey de Havilland , aviation pioneer, built his first aeroplane at his workshop in Bothwell Street, Fulham in 1909. Later, during the First World War , Cannon's Brewery site at the corner of Lillie and North End Road was used for aircraft manufacture. The Darracq Motor Engineering Company of Townmead Road, became aircraft manufacturers in Fulham for

4462-541: The 19th century, there was glass-blowing and this resurged in the 21st century with the Aronson-Noon studio and the former Zest gallery in Rickett Street. Lillie Bridge Depot , a railway engineering depot, opened in 1872, is associated with the building and extension of the London Underground , the electrification of Tube lines from the nearby Lots Road Power Station , and for well over a century has been

4559-644: The 20th. Although opened in April 1873 as Kensal Green at Chamberlayne Wood, then a remote dead end road; it was renamed Kensal Rise on 24 May 1890. Just north of the station the National Athletic Ground (one of the many early grounds of Queen's Park Rangers ) opened in 1890. The ground which was later renamed the Kensal Rise Athletic Stadium also hosted cycling and athletics competitions before being turned over to housing in

4656-415: The 8 manors within the district of Willesden , Kensal Green is first mentioned in 1253, translating from old English meaning the King's Holt (King's Wood). Its location marked the boundary between Willesden and the then Chelsea & Paddington, on which it remains today. It formed part of one of 10 manors , most likely Chamberlayne Wood Manor, named after Canon Richard de Camera ( of the Chambers ). In

4753-473: The Arts are playwright, Harold Pinter , actor Mario Fabrizi , William Makepeace Thackery , and Anthony Trollope . The family plot of engineers Marc Brunel and Isambard Kingdom Brunel is also here. Queen frontman Freddie Mercury , actor Alan Rickman , and actress Ingrid Bergman were cremated in the West London Crematorium, which is located within the grounds of the cemetery. Cemetery directors and The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery (a charity) lobbied

4850-427: The Fulham Broadway Centre. Fulham Town Hall , built in 1888 in the classical renaissance , was used as a popular venue for concerts and dances, especially its Grand Hall. Behind Fulham Broadway, the heart of the original village of Walham Green has undergone pedestrianisation, including the spot once occupied by the village green and its pond next to St. John's Parish Church and bordered by a number of cafés, bars, and

4947-477: The Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage for funding to help preserve historical monuments at the site. The 2015 project, which involved repairs to the grade one listed Anglican Chapel and the boundary wall, was estimated to have cost more than £10m. The cemetery is listed Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens . Many buildings and memorials are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as listed buildings . Originally part of one of

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5044-412: The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (known as the London Borough of Hammersmith from 1965 to 1979). The district is split between the western and south-western postal areas. Fulham industrial history includes pottery, tapestry-weaving, paper-making and brewing in the 17th and 18th centuries in Fulham High Street , and later the automotive industry, aviation, food production, and laundries. In

5141-520: The Prebendal Estates possess, in our opinion, a value far beyond their present agricultural value." With enough people living locally to create a new parish, in 1844 St. John the Evangelist Church in Kilburn Lane was consecrated. The 1851 census records just over 800 people living in the new parish. In the 1860s, Kensal Green manor house, situated where Wakeman Road joins Harrow Road , was demolished. Rapid increase in residential development followed, firstly with land west of Kilburn High Road, followed by

5238-507: The Swan Brewery on the Thames, the main industrial activities involved motoring and early aviation — Rolls-Royce , Shell-Mex & BP , Rover , the London General Omnibus Company — and rail engineering ( Lillie Bridge Depot ), laundries — the Palace Laundry is still extant — and the building trades. Later there developed distilling, Sir Robert Burnett's White Satin Gin , food processing, e.g. Telfer's Pies, Encafood and Spaghetti House , and Kodak 's photographic processing. This encouraged

5335-442: The Virgin Active-operated Fulham Pools swimming facilities and neighbouring tennis courts. Fulham has five active Bowls clubs: The Bishops Park Bowls club, The Hurlingham Park Bowls Club, Normand Park Bowls Club, The Parson's Green Bowls club and The Winnington in Bishops Park. The historic entertainment destinations in Fulham, have included Earl's Court Pleasure Gardens , the brain-child of John Robinson Whitley , straddling

5432-407: The annual Polo in the Park tournament, which has become a recent feature of the area. The Hurlingham club is the historic home of polo in the United Kingdom and of the world governing body of polo. Public tennis courts are located in Bishops Avenue, off Fulham Palace Road and on Eel Brook Common. Rugby is played on Eel Brook Common and in South Park . Normand Park in Lillie Road is the entry into

5529-500: The architect by Edward Robert Robson for the School Board for London and has been Grade II listed since 1984. Three state comprehensive schools are judged to be “good”, including Queens Park Community School in Aylestone Avenue, and Capital City Academy in Doyle Gardens. There is a small choice of local private schools. The primary schools are Seacole (co-ed, ages four to 11) in Bosworth Road and The Lloyd Williamson School (co-ed, six weeks to 11) in Telford Road. Bales College

5626-522: The area had seen significant gentrification , attracting people from surrounding areas such as Notting Hill and Queen's Park . It was characterised by numerous independent stores, restaurants, pubs and cafes, and was earning a reputation as a "celebrity haunt-meets-Nappy Valley." In 2009, Chamberlayne Road in Kensal Rise was named the "hippest street in Europe" by Vogue magazine,. Luxury goods maker Mulberry named its handbag Kensal and launched an advertising campaign with Cara Delevingne . The area

5723-461: The border with Kensington since 1879, then the 1894 Great Wheel and the 6,000-seater Empress Hall, built in 1894 at the instigation of international impresario, Imre Kiralfy — the scene of his spectacular shows and later sporting events and famous ice shows — and latterly, Earl's Court II, part of the Earl's Court Exhibition Centre in the neighbouring, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . The first closed in 1959, replaced by an office block,

5820-408: The canal bridge, ( Lillie Bridge ) at West Brompton with North End Lane and the eventual creation of two railway lines, the West London Line and the District line connecting South London with the rest of the capital. This was done with the input of two noted consulting engineers, Robert Stephenson in 1840 and from 1860, Sir John Fowler . It meant that the area around Lillie Bridge was to make

5917-431: The canal to Little Venice , the Paddington Basin , Paddington Station and Regents Canal . In 2020 the Government gave final approval to the High Speed 2 (HS2) train link running from London to Birmingham . This will bring a major HS2 and Crossrail interchange station at Old Oak Common , within walking distance from Kensal Green. It is expected to open in 2026 and will provide high-speed rail across London and to

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6014-399: The capital. With rapid demographic changes there was poverty, as noted by Charles Dickens (1812-1870) and Charles Booth (1840-1916). Fulham had its poorhouses , and attracted several benefactors, including: the Samuel Lewis (financier) Housing Trust, the Peabody Trust and the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation to provide low-cost housing. The Metropolitan Asylums Board acquired in 1876

6111-410: The county of Middlesex, which encouraged trade skills among the growing population. In 1824 the Imperial Gas Light and Coke Company , the first public utility company in the world, bought the Sandford estate in Sands End to produce gas for lighting — and in the case of the Hurlingham Club, for ballooning . Its ornately decorated number 2 gasholder is Georgian , completed in 1830 and reputed to be

6208-478: The creation of an embankment ; the river wall was built between 1889 and 1893 by Joseph Mears, the father of Chelsea F.C. founders Joseph and Gus Mears . In 1894 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners sold Fulham Vestry, the house of Pryors Bank (then called Vine Cottage) and its gardens. The house was demolished in 1897 and replaced by a Pseudo-Tudo refreshment pavilion, but the gardens were preserved and opened as an extension of Bishops Park in 1900 after extension of

6305-467: The death of Conservative MP, Martin Stevens , resulted in a Labour win for Nick Raynsford on a 10% swing. With " gentrification ", Fulham voters have been leaning towards the Conservatives since the 1980s as the area underwent huge demographic change: the tightly packed terraces which had housed working-class families employed in trade, engineering and the industry that dominated Fulham's riverside being gradually replaced with young professionals. In

6402-427: The district to join the Regent's Canal at Paddington . As the combined Grand Union Canal , this allowed passage of commercial freight traffic from the Midlands to London Docks , and hence onwards to the River Thames . There were two dairy farms in Kensal Green by the early 1800s, which expanded greatly after the 1864 Act of Parliament which made it illegal to keep cattle within the City of London . Although by

6499-399: The district. The college donated lands on which to build Kensal Rise Reading Room, to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria , in 1897. Opened by American author Mark Twain in 1901, it was later extended and renamed Kensal Rise Library . The developments of the streets around Kensal Rise railway station date from the last 10 years of the 19th century and the first decade of

6596-435: The district. The first major immigrant population had been Irish people fleeing the Great Irish Famine , and then post- World War I . In World War II , due to the railway facilities, the district suffered greatly from German Luftwaffe bombing. After the war, the area became a refuge for the first Afro-Caribbean born contingent. In the 1960s the college disposed of many freeholds, while retaining land in Willesden. Since

6693-426: The intervention of cemetery shareholder and Fulham resident, John Gunter. Meanwhile, another group of local landowners, led by Lord Kensington with Sir John Scott Lillie and others had conceived, in 1822, the idea of exploiting the water course up-river from Chelsea Creek on their land by turning it into a two-mile canal. It was to have a basin, a lock and wharves, to be known as the Kensington Canal , and link

6790-443: The late 1800s residential development had greatly reduced the farmland, still in the 1890s many sheep and pigs were raised in the district. One of the farms later became a United Dairies creamery , supplied by milk trains from Mitre Bridge Junction . St. John's Church was built on the corner of what is now Harrow Road and Kilburn Lane in 1844 and was extensively refurbished in 2017 and fitted with new bells in anticipation of

6887-476: The late 1970s and the 1980s. Film music creator, Hans Zimmer double Oscar winner, launched his career in a studio behind the Lillie Langtry public house in Lillie Road in the 1970s. The most illustrious brewery in Fulham was the Swan Brewery , Walham Green, dating back to the 17th century. Among its patrons were kings and other royalty. It was followed by the North End Brewery in 1832, Cannons again in North End in 1867 and finally on account of temperance ,

6984-608: The maintenance hub for rolling stock and track. Two Premier League football clubs, Fulham and Chelsea , play in Fulham. Two other notable sporting clubs are the Hurlingham Club , known for polo , and the Queen's tennis club , known for its annual pre- Wimbledon tennis tournament. In the 1800s, Lillie Bridge Grounds hosted the first meetings of the Amateur Athletic Association of England ,

7081-564: The media and creative industries but those buying properties increasingly include people working in the financial and technology industries, and others moving from nearby Notting Hill in search of more space. The area also attracts Americans thanks to The American School in London in neighbouring St John's Wood , as well as being popular with the French, partly due to a Lycée Français opening in Brent's former town hall. In 2014 residents successfully campaigned to save its local library after it

7178-563: The modern boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea . In 879 Danish invaders, sailed up the Thames and wintered at Fulham and Hammersmith. Raphael Holinshed (died 1580) wrote that the Bishop of London was lodging in his manor place in 1141 when Geoffrey de Mandeville , riding out from the Tower of London , took him prisoner. During the Commonwealth the manor

7275-429: The more prosperous neighbourhood over the parish boundary. The last farm to function in Fulham was Crabtree Farm, which closed at the beginning of the 20th century. A principal recorder of all these changes was a local man, Charles James Féret (1854-1921), who conducted research over a period of decades before publishing his three volume history of Fulham in 1900. Ceramics and weaving in Fulham go back to at least

7372-649: The oldest gasholder in the World. In connection with gas property portfolios, in 1843 the newly formed Westminster Cemetery Company had trouble persuading the Equitable Gas people (a future Imperial take-over) to sell them a small portion of land to gain southern access, onto the Fulham Road , from their recently laid out Brompton Cemetery , over the parish border in Chelsea. The sale was finally achieved through

7469-615: The outbreak of the First World War sold out to Burnett's, producers of White Satin Gin, until a 1970s take-over by a Kentucky liquor business. None of the breweries remains. With its long history of brewing, Fulham still has a number of pubs and gastropubs . The oldest tavern is the Lillie Langtry in Lillie Road, originally the Lillie Arms named after its first freeholder, Sir John Scott Lillie, who built it in 1835 as part of

7566-537: The past been solid Labour territory. Michael Stewart , one time Foreign Secretary in the Wilson government , was its long-standing MP, from 1945 until he stood down in 1979. It became a politically significant part of the country, having been the scene of two major parliamentary by-elections in the 20th century. In 1933, the Fulham East by-election became known as the "peace by-election". The 1986 by-election following

7663-509: The possession of the Bishop of London . One states the manor (landholding) of Fulham was granted to Bishop Erkenwald about the year 691 for himself and his successors as Bishop of London. The alternative has it that The Manor of Fulham was acquired by Bishop Waldhere from Bishop Tyrhtel in AD 704. In due course the manor house became Fulham Palace , and for a millennium, the country residence of

7760-471: The public realm in 2019 to enhance the pedestrian experience and reduce traffic. The changes include new cycle lanes, various measures to reduce congestion and an improved public realm with new pavements, carriageway resurfacing, community greening schemes and pocket gardens. Kensal Green station ( Transport for London Travelcard Zone 2 ) on the Bakerloo line is about 20 minutes from Oxford Circus and

7857-406: The river walk. They contain four 1940s sculptures titled Adoration , Protection , Grief and Leda , presented in 1953 by sculptor James Wedgwood as a commemoration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II . A further sculpture, Affection , a mother and child by Joseph Hermon Cawthra , was added in 1963; both sculptors had studios in the area. The park was expanded again in 1903. Scenes from

7954-620: The river, and ends at Bishop's Park Road. It contains tennis courts and bowling greens, with another small park area fronting Fulham Palace Road. It is adjacent to Fulham Palace and Fulham Football club . A memorial to members of the International Brigade who volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War has been located within the park since 1997. The park has a poolside beach and facilities for basketball, tennis, table tennis, lawn bowling and skating, and hosts

8051-458: The river. The recently built, wooden, first Fulham/Putney bridge is shown and two Fulham village clusters, one central, one south-west. The 19th century roused Walham Green village, and the surrounding hamlets that made up the parish of Fulham, from their rural slumber and market gardens with the advent first of power production and then more hesitant transport development. This was accompanied by accelerating urbanisation , as in other centres in

8148-402: The sale of Banister's Farm leading to the development of Bannister Road and Mortimer Road. Unfortunately at this time Kensal Green was suffering huge social problems and had a reputation of being a slum, with 55% off its residents living in poverty and squalor, despite being neighbours to thriving Queen's Park.The rapid residential development led to local commissioners reporting in 1880 that there

8245-555: The seat for the Labour Party. Hammersmith and Fulham is currently controlled by Labour. At the 2014 local elections , Labour won 11 seats from the Conservatives, giving them 26 councillors and control of the council (said to have been the then Prime Minister David Cameron 's "favourite" ) for the first time since 2006. The first organised sporting activity in Fulham took place at the Lillie Bridge Grounds in

8342-530: The second FA Cup Final , and the first amateur boxing matches. The Lillie Bridge area was the home ground of the Middlesex County Cricket Club , before it moved to Marylebone . The word Fulham originates from Old English, with Fulla being a personal name, and hamm being land hemmed in by water or marsh, or a river-meadow. So Fulla's hemmed-in land. It is spelled Fuleham in the 1066 Domesday Book . In recent years, there has been

8439-489: The south. Extensive bus services also run from the area, including routes 18 (Sudbury - Euston), 6 (Willesden Bus Garage - Aldwych ), 52 (Willesden Bus Garage - Victoria station via Notting Hill and Kensington ) and 452 (Kensal Rise - Vauxhall ). Kensal Green is located on the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal (which passes by Kensal Green Cemetery ) making it possible to walk and cycle along

8536-473: The southern stretch of North End Road to become Fulham's unofficial "High street" , almost a mile from the actual Fulham High Street , with its own department store, F.H. Barbers, along with Woolworth 's, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's outlets, all long gone. The second ever Tesco shop opened in the North End Road. The UK's reputedly oldest independent health-food shop , opened in 1966 by

8633-541: The turn of the century, the London Omnibus Co in Seagrave Road oversaw the transition of horse-drawn to motor buses, which were eventually integrated into London Transport and London Buses . This attracted a host of other automotive enterprises to move into the area. With the growth of 19th-century transport links into East Fulham and its sporting venues by ' Lillie Bridge ', along with the immediately neighbouring 24-acre Earl's Court exhibition grounds , and

8730-486: The vast the Empress Hall (see entertainment section below). During the First World War it would become accommodation for Belgian refugees. Meanwhile, the historic hamlet of North End was massively redeveloped in the 1880s by Messrs Gibbs & Flew, who built 1,200 houses on the fields. They had trouble disposing of the properties, so for public relations purposes, they renamed the area 'West Kensington', to refer to

8827-419: The winter. This is thought to have been near the first bridge (which was made of wood). It was commonly named Fulham Bridge, built in 1729 and was replaced in 1886 with Putney Bridge. Margravine Road recalls the existence of Brandenburgh House , a riverside mansion built by Sir Nicholas Crispe in the time of Charles I, and used as the headquarters of General Fairfax in 1647 during the civil wars. In 1792 it

8924-540: Was 30% White British. The College Park ward, which covers the southern areas of Kensal Green, was 31.6% white British, 18.4% White other and 21.1% Black. Kensal Green ward has the highest Latin American population in London. On 7 December 2006 at 11.00 am, a tornado struck Kensal Green. Up to 150 houses were damaged, and six people were injured, one requiring hospital attention. Residential roads were closed off and residents had to seek temporary accommodation. Traffic

9021-401: Was inadequate drainage and sewerage facilities, with most houses having only improved access to what were the old agricultural drains. In that same year, All Souls' College started to develop its lands north-west of Kilburn Lane, including All Souls' Avenue and College Road, with adjacent roads being named after leading Fellows of the college, and the installation of new sewerage facilities across

9118-646: Was occupied by Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and his wife, and in 1820 by Caroline , consort of George IV . His non-political 'wife' was Maria Fitzherbert who lived in East End House in Parson's Green. They are reputed to have had several children. The extract below of John Rocque's Map of London, 1746 shows the Parish of Fulham in the loop of the Thames , with the boundary with Chelsea, Counter's Creek, narrow and dark, flowing east into

9215-529: Was on the approach to Putney Bridge and was designed by the prolific WGR Sprague , author of venues such as Wyndham's Theatre and the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End . It gave way to office blocks in the late 1950s. The 'Granville Theatre', founded by Dan Leno , to the design of Frank Matcham , once graced a triangle of land at Walham Green . After the Music hall era had passed, It served as

9312-510: Was sold to a developer. More recently, independent local cinema Lexi raised £141,000 from locals and local businesses for a community hub. The hub was also supported by Brent Council and the Mayor of London. In 2021 residents of Clifford Gardens successfully campaigned against the asphalting of pavements. They set up a petition and managed to get 544 signatures in a week. When the workmen arrived with lorries and rollers on 20 March they were met by

9409-549: Was temporarily out of the bishops' hands, having been sold to Colonel Edmund Harvey . In 1642, Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex withdrawing from the Battle of Brentford (1642) ordered to be put a bridge of boats on the Thames to unite with his detachment in Kingston in pursuit of Charles I , who ordered Prince Rupert to retreat from Brentford back west. The King and Prince moved their troops from Reading to Oxford for

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