local history

1 Nov 2015

The Martin brothers

Southall’s most celebrated craftsmen were the four Martin Brothers and their work is still collected almost a century after their deaths. Some of their …

1 Nov 2015

Gunnersbury’s past glories

We have reported in Around Ealing about the restoration project for Gunnersbury Park and its listed buildings. They have had an illustrious past. In …

1 Nov 2015

Ealing and the Blitz

September 2010 marks the 70th anniversary of the start of the aerial attacks on Britain by the German air force – which were known collectively …

1 Nov 2015

An obscure little river?

Is that what you think of Ealing’s river, the River Brent, asks borough archivist Dr Jonathan Oates? It flows through Greenford and Hanwell before …

30 Oct 2015

Was Ealing the ‘Queen of the Suburbs’?

Some residents think of Ealing by this soubriquet; but what exactly does it mean, and why was it used? Clearly the term is meant …

30 Oct 2015

How the council spent your money 100 years ago

From horses to hot baths, council budgets were a bit different a century ago, as Richard Nadal discovered in a 1902 account book from …

30 Oct 2015

What’s in a name? Our town’s origins

Our borough has reached a milestone. It was 45 years ago when, in 1965, the old boroughs of Ealing, Acton and Southall were abolished. …

29 Oct 2015

Delius in Hanwell

An exhibition and booklet recently provided a unique insight into a period of Hanwell’s past. Gillian Spragg, artistic director of the Ealing Autumn Festival, …