local history

20 Oct 2015

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 …

19 Oct 2015

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 …

17 Oct 2015

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 …

16 Oct 2015

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 …

12 Oct 2015

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 …

12 Oct 2015

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 …

5 Oct 2015

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 …

4 Oct 2015

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 …

4 Oct 2015

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 …