Ealing

From the records: “The name Gunnersbury derives from Gunylda, the niece of King Canute who lived there until her banishment from England in 1044.”

From the records: “The place-name appears as Yllinges around the year 1170 and as Elyng in 1553.”

From the records: “In 1257 the king ordered the Bishop whoever it may be from time to time (sede vacante) to provide 8,000-10,000 lampreys and other fish for owning the manor, impliedly per year, which shows the extent of the local catch.”

From the records: “Ealing demesne in 1318 had a windmill, which was rebuilt in 1363–4.”

From the records: “The manor, owned by the Bishop of London, was occupied by the Frowyk family in the 15th century; Sir Thomas Frowyk, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas was born there in 1460.”

From the records: “In the mid-17th century, Gunnersbury was acquired by Sir John Maynard, a lawyer and politician during the time of Cromwell.”

From the records: “Great Ealing School was founded in 1698 by the Church of St Mary's.”

From the records: “The church required frequent repair in the 1650s and was so ruinous in about 1675 that services were held elsewhere for several years.”

From the records: “Daniel Defoe visited Gunnersbury in 1742.”

From the records: “Ealing had an orchard in 1540 and others in 1577–8 and 1584.”

From the records: “Pitzhanger Manor and its grounds (later Walpole Park) was once owned by the influential British architect, Sir John Soane, who bought it in 1800.”

From the records: “At Ealing a fair was held on the green in 1822, when William Cobbett chronicled he was diverted by crowds of Cockneys headed there.”

From the records: “In 1835, the merchant and financier Nathan Mayer Rothschild purchased the Large Mansion and park shortly before he died.”

From the records: “The Great Western Railway (GWR) opened its pioneering broad gauge tracks through Ealing Broadway between Paddington and Taplow on 4th June 1838, although Ealing Broadway station did not open until December of that year.”

From the records: “The current church was designed by the architect S.S.Teulon, who enlarged and redecorated the earlier Georgian church, between 1865 and 1873, giving it the outer appearance of a Greek Byzantine basilica.”

From the records: “District Railway (DR, now the District Line) services commenced on 1 July 1879, when the DR opened a branch from Turnham Green on its Richmond line.”

From the records: “Standing near Charlbury Grove, Ealing Abbey was founded by a community of Roman Catholic Benedictine monks in 1897.”

From the records: “It was acquired by Ealing Council in 1899 and opened to the public for the first time on 1 May 1901.”

From the records: “By 1902 Ealing had become known as the "Queen of the Suburbs" due to its greenery, and because it was halfway between city and country.”

From the records: “Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for filmmaking, and films have been made on the site ever since.”

From the records: “In 1925, following the death of Nathan's grandson Leopold de Rothschild, Leopold's wife, Maria, and son Lionel, sold the 200-acre (81 ha) Gunnersbury estate, which was entirely contained within the Brentford Urban District, to the adjacent Ealing Borough Council and Acton Borough Council for £130,000.”

From the records: “The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios between 1947 and 1957.”

From the records: “The Ealing Jazz Club was formed in 1959 at 42A The Broadway, opposite Ealing Broadway station.”

From the records: “In 2015, the Pitzhanger closed for a major conservation project to restore the Grade I listed building to Soane’s original designs, and upgrade the contemporary Gallery.”

From the records: “After many years of planning, the project was approved in 2007.”

From the records: “In July 2024, two Kunekune pigs were allowed to graze in the park to maintain shrubs and keep the grass short.”