A Victorian farmer in Northolt
Until the 20th Century, farming was one of the biggest employers in Greenford and Northolt. Frederick Crees was one of these local farmers during the late Victorian era. Although he was born in the West Country, in 1871, he bought Ravenor Farm in Oldfield Lane, Greenford, after being told by his wife’s cousin that it […]
Ealing’s election – 100 years ago
Because general and local elections will be held this year, it seems particularly apt to look back at a notable general election that took place exactly a century ago. It was the first of two that year. Nationally, the Liberal government under Herbert Asquith was facing a Conservative opposition, as well as the Irish Nationalists […]
A stack of plaques
We have all seen blue plaques on walls all over London. They commemorate and record where a well-known or historically significant person lived and who they were. They connect people with places. There are also some plaques referring to organisations, societies, buildings, events, and companies, writes Brian Shapley. The commissioning of plaques is now the responsibility […]
Our almshouses
Dwellings for the ‘elderly’, called almshouses, existed in most English villages and towns from the Middle Ages to the 20th Century and our borough’s towns were no exceptions to this. They were usually built and endowed by private charity, and then managed by a board of trustees. Residents lived rent-free and usually received food, fuel […]
The mind of a serial killer
John Christie had been killing for years when women’s corpses were finally found at his house in Notting Hill in 1953. One was of Acton woman Muriel Eady, who had gone missing in 1944. Muriel had worked in Park Royal for Ultra Electronics Ltd, which made radios. It was here that she met Christie, who […]
Days in the movies
Most people have heard of Ealing Studios, even if they know nothing else about Ealing. Not so well-known is its equivalent in Southall. By Jonathan Oates and Paul Lang EALING STUDIOS A film-making studio has been operating from the same site on Ealing Green since 1902, but it officially became Ealing Studios in 1931. It is […]
Fifty years of the Hanwell Carnival
When Hanwell Carnival takes place on Saturday, 19 June, it will be the 50th consecutive year it has been held. The first was held on Saturday, 17 June 1961. Until then, the streets of Hanwell had not witnessed the carnival procession take place for more than two decades. There had been carnivals before the Second […]
Secret diary of a royal observer
With the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton drawing close, it seems timely to take a look at the entries of a local diarist – because the events he recorded almost 80 years ago provide distinct parallels to the current day. Alexander Kay Goodlet was neither Samuel Pepys nor Anne Frank, but his diary […]
Guilty or not guilty?
Sixty years ago, Timothy Evans was hanged at Pentonville Prison for murdering his own daughter, Geraldine. However, just three years later it was uncovered that another man who lodged in the same house, John Christie, was a serial killer. The horrible thought began to dawn on some people that Evans may have been innocent, and […]
The mystery of Perivale Manor
In 1989, an episode of Dr Who on television featured a walled mansion in Perivale and a reptilian lord of the manor, who, in 1883, had plans for world domination. There was not, of course, a manor house in Perivale at that time. But there was one once. Let us unravel the mystery. According to […]
Village life seen through the census
Almost everybody who has looked into their family’s British roots in the 19th Century will be very familiar with using the census returns of 1841-1911. They are easily available online, and searchable by name, too. They give name, age, occupation, birthplace, marital status, disability (if any) and relationship to the head of the household, as […]
Shop local message is nothing new
The theme ‘shop local’ is not a new one. Readers of Ealing Illustrated in 1893 were introduced to the concept. It was argued that ‘the very life of a town lies in its business thoroughfares, and accordingly as these show indications of prosperity or stagnation, so does the town wear a cheerful or depressed air’. […]