Hammersmith and Fulham

From the records: “Evidence of prehistoric activity dating from the late Mesolithic and early Neolithic age has been uncovered by various archaeological investigations undertaken since the early 1970s, showing the use of struck flint.”

From the records: “The manor of Fulham was acquired by bishop Waldhere from bishop Tyrhtel in AD 704.”

From the records: “The earliest evidence of medieval life at Fulham Palace is a hearth that dates to around 1080, probably belonging to the Saxo-Norman manor.”

From the records: “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.”

From the records: “The earliest spelling is Hamersmyth in 1294, with alternative spellings of Hameresmithe in 1312, Hamyrsmyth in 1535, and Hammersmith 1675.”

From the records: “The first known reference to the moat was in a 1392 document that refers to magna fossa ('great ditch'), but it is thought to be much older.”

From the records: “Substantial alterations were made to the palace during the late 15th century, a period that witnessed the construction of the current Great Hall and the Tudor courtyard, which still stand today.”

From the records: “The garden at Fulham Palace has been one of the most important botanical gardens since the 16th century and is the second oldest in London.”

From the records: “In 1629, inhabitants of Hammersmith, including the Earl of Mulgrave and Nicholas Crispe, successfully petitioned the Bishop of London for a chapel of ease to be built at St Paul's Church.”

From the records: “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.”

From the records: “This changed with Bishop Henry Compton (1675–1713) who introduced many new plant species to England in the gardens at Fulham Palace, including the American magnolia, M. virginiana, Liriodendron, Liquidambar and the first American azalea grown in England, Rhododendron viscosum.”

From the records: “In 1745, two Scots, James Lee and Lewis Kennedy, established the Vineyard Nursery, over six acres devoted to landscaping plants.”

From the records: “In 1792 it was occupied by Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and his wife, and in 1820 by Caroline, consort of George IV.”

From the records: “Fulham saw industrialisation and urbanisation from the start of the 19th century, with the establishment of the world's first energy utility company, at Sands End in 1824, followed by road and rail transport development to the east of the borough.”

From the records: “The first Hammersmith Bridge was designed by William Tierney Clark and opened in 1827 and was the first suspension bridge crossing the River Thames.”

From the records: “The notorious Italian tenor Giovanni Matteo Mario de Candia and his wife opera singer Giulia Grisi, made Fulham their home from 1852 until the 1900s at a lovely country-manor where their daughters and son were born, among them writer Cecilia Maria de Candia.”

From the records: “The Tait chapel at Fulham Palace, the fourth on the site, was designed by William Butterfield for Bishop Archibald Campbell Tait in 1866–7.”

From the records: “In the 1800s, Lillie Bridge Grounds hosted the first meetings of the Amateur Athletic Association of England, the second FA Cup Final, and the first amateur boxing matches.”

From the records: “The Metropolitan Asylums Board acquired in 1876 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.”

From the records: “The textile designer William Morris, who became a Hammersmith resident, wrote the utopian 1890 novel News from Nowhere about a journey up the river from Hammersmith towards Oxford.”

From the records: “Edward Elgar, the composer, lived at 51 Avonmore Road, W14, between 1890 and 1891.”

From the records: “The historic entertainment destinations in Fulham, have included Earl's Court Pleasure Gardens, the brain-child of John Robinson Whitley, straddling 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.”

From the records: “More recently, the White City bus station is housed in the redeveloped Dimco Buildings (1898), Grade II listed red brick buildings which were originally built in 1898 as a shed for a London Underground power station.”

From the records: “The area now called White City was level arable farmland until 1908, when it was used as the site of the Franco-British Exhibition and the 1908 Summer Olympics.”

From the records: “The starting point of the marathon race at the 1908 Summer Olympics was at Windsor Castle creating a distance of 42.195 km (26.219 mi) or 26 miles 385 yards to the finishing line at White City stadium.”

From the records: “Geoffrey de Havilland, aviation pioneer, built his first aeroplane at his workshop in Bothwell Street, Fulham in 1909.”

From the records: “In 1909 the exhibition site hosted the Imperial International Exhibition and in 1910, the Japan–British Exhibition.”

From the records: “When that school was threatened with closure Lady Margaret was established in September 1917 by the redoubtable Miss Enid Moberly Bell.”

From the records: “After the Olympics, the stadium continued to be used for athletics until 1914, and, in 1927, it was turned into a greyhound racing track, although it was also used for short periods by Queens Park Rangers football club, and for other sports.”

From the records: “In 1930, Gustav Holst composed Hammersmith, a work for military band (later rewritten for orchestra), reflecting his impressions of the area, having lived across the river in Barnes for nearly forty years.”

From the records: “The Dove is a riverside pub with what the Guinness Book of Records listed as the smallest bar room in the world, in 2016 surviving as a small space on the right of the bar.”

From the records: “Until 1940 there was a Chelsea and Fulham railway station on this line, close to Stamford Bridge Stadium on Fulham Road, but this was closed following World War II bomb damage.”

From the records: “In 1960, BBC Television Centre was built near the former site of the White City Stadium.”

From the records: “On 13 April 1963, the Beatles recorded their first-ever BBC Television broadcast at Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd's Bush.”

From the records: “The modern borough was formed in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the former metropolitan boroughs of Fulham and Hammersmith.”

From the records: “After the bishop of London left the palace in 1973, the property was leased in 1975 for 100 years by Hammersmith Council for the purpose of opening a museum and art gallery.”

From the records: “The Greyhound music venue at 176 Fulham Palace Road hosted up and coming punk, post-punk and indie bands in the late 1970s and the 1980s.”

From the records: “On 30 October 2008, Westfield London opened.”

From the records: “The Fulham Palace Restoration Project began in the 2000s and was carried out in three phases.”