Brook Green, Middlesex
| Brook Green | |
| Middlesex | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Brook Green Parkspace | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ236789 |
| Location: | 51°29’47"N, 0°13’14"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | London |
| Postcode: | W14, W6 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Hammersmith & Fulham |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Hammersmith |
Brook Green is an affluent Middlesex neighbourhood deep in teh Metropolitan conurbation, bordered by Kensington, Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith, Holland Park and Brackenbury Village.
The Brook Green neighbourhood takes its name after the recreational park space also named Brook Green, which runs from Shepherd's Bush Road to Hammersmith Road.
The area is principally composed of tree-lined streets with Victorian townhouses and boasts a significant French and Italian expatriate community.
Brook Green itself and adjacent streets are among the most prestigious and expensive residential addresses in this part of Middlesex due to their proximity to leading schools such as St Paul's Girls' School, Bute House Preparatory School for Girls, and Ecole Francaise Jacques Prevert.
Brook Green has two main shopping areas, Shepherd's Bush Road and Blythe Road, the latter of which is home to a number of small, independent shops. Also tucked in behind the green is a large Tesco supermarket. Brook Green is also close to Kensington High Street, King Street and Westfield London.
History
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The name 'Brook Green' is first recorded in 1493, and the hamlet was established by the 16th century. The area was developed as industrialisation spread out of London. Businesses in Brook Green included the Osram Lamp Factory, now converted into social housing, J. Lyons and Co. and its complex at Cadby Hall,[1] and Post Office Savings Bank Headquarters in Blythe Road. Brook Green was also home to St Mary's College from 1850 to 1925, when the college moved to Strawberry Hill.
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St Paul's Girls' School, one of the leading independent schools in the country, has been situated on Brook Green since its foundation in 1904. The composer Gustav Holst was Director of Music at the school from 1905 to 1934, and in 1933 wrote Brook Green Suite for the school's junior orchestra.
The Brook Green Hotel has stood at the western end of Brook Green since 1886. The original brook, which was covered over in the 19th century, still flows under the hotel. The area's inns – the Brook Green Hotel and the Queen's Head – were originally coach houses, and became popular entertainment venues. Today, the Brook Green Hotel is a pub on ground level, along with a cocktail bar in the basement below and a hotel upstairs. The Queen's Head overlooks the green itself at the front and has a garden at the back.
Cultural references
Brook Green, Hammersmith, appears as "Brugglesmith" in the Rudyard Kipling story of the same name which was first published in 1891. The story is a farce in which the narrator, who it is implied is William Makepeace Thackeray, has to escort a drunken sailor back to his wife.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Brook Green, Middlesex) |
