Brook Green
Encyclopedia
Brook Green is an affluent London
neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
. It is located approx 5 miles (8 km) west of Charing Cross
. It is 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.
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 within close proximity to Kensington High Street, King Street and Westfield London
.
The area was developed as industrialisation spread out of London. Famous businesses in Brook Green were Osram Lamp Factory, J. Lyons & Co. and its complex at Cadby Hall
, Post Office Savings Bank Headquarters
in Blythe Road and to this day the Olympia Exhibition Halls Olympia, London
.
Brook Green Suite
was written in 1933 for St Paul's Girls' School
junior orchestra by the famous English composer Gustav Holst
, who was also Director of Music at the school. St Paul's Girls' School
is one of the leading independent schools in the country and has been situated on Brook Green since its formation in 1904.
The Brook Green Hotel has stood at the Western end of Brook Green since 1886. The original Brook which was piped in the 1800s still flows under the hotel to this day.
The area's inns (The Brook Green Hotel and The Queen's Head) were originally used as coach houses and were popular entertainment venues.
Today, The Brook Green Hotel is a pub on ground level, along with a basement bar below and a hotel upstairs. The Queen's Head is a popular and picturesque public house which overlooks the green itself at the front and has a sizable garden at the back of the pub.
London Underground Lines:
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is a London borough in West London, and forms part of Inner London. Traversed by the east-west main roads of the A4 Great West Road and the A40 Westway, many international corporations have offices in the borough....
. It is located approx 5 miles (8 km) west of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
. It is bordered by Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush
-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
, Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, Holland Park
Holland Park
Holland Park is a district and a public park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in west central London, England.Holland Park has a reputation as an affluent and fashionable area, known for attractive large Victorian townhouses, and high-class shopping and restaurants...
and Brackenbury Village
Brackenbury Village
Brackenbury Village is a residential district of west London between the Goldhawk Road, King Street, Hammersmith Grove and Ravenscourt Park. It is named after Brackenbury Road in which there is a shopping parade with delis, DIY shop, bakery, organic coffee shops and family butchers...
.
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.
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
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
supermarket. Brook Green is also within close proximity to Kensington High Street, King Street and Westfield London
Westfield London
Westfield London is a shopping centre in White City in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The centre was developed by the Westfield Group at a cost of £1.6bn,...
.
History
References to Brook Green go back to 15th century, with a map of Hammersmith clearly showing the outline of the Green.The area was developed as industrialisation spread out of London. Famous businesses in Brook Green were Osram Lamp Factory, J. Lyons & Co. and its complex at Cadby Hall
Cadby Hall
Cadby Hall was a major office and factory complex in Hammersmith, London which was the headquarters of pioneering catering company Joseph Lyons and Co. for almost a century.-Origins:...
, Post Office Savings Bank Headquarters
Blythe House
Blythe House is a listed building located at 23 Blythe Road, West Kensington, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, UK. Originally built as the headquarters of the Post Office Savings Bank, it is now used as a store and archive by the Victoria and Albert, Science and British Museums.-Post...
in Blythe Road and to this day the Olympia Exhibition Halls Olympia, London
Olympia, London
Olympia is an exhibition centre and conference centre in West Kensington, on the boundary between The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, London, W14 8UX, England. It opened in the 19th century and was originally known as the National Agricultural Hall.Opened in 1886,...
.
Brook Green Suite
Brook Green Suite
Gustav Holst's Brook Green Suite was written in 1933 for St Paul's Girls' School junior orchestra.The movements are:#Prelude#Air#Dance...
was written in 1933 for St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is a senior independent school, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.-History:In 1904 a new day school for girls was established by the trustees of the Dean Colet Foundation , which had run St Paul's School for boys since the sixteenth century...
junior orchestra by the famous English composer Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
, who was also Director of Music at the school. St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is a senior independent school, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.-History:In 1904 a new day school for girls was established by the trustees of the Dean Colet Foundation , which had run St Paul's School for boys since the sixteenth century...
is one of the leading independent schools in the country and has been situated on Brook Green since its formation in 1904.
The Brook Green Hotel has stood at the Western end of Brook Green since 1886. The original Brook which was piped in the 1800s still flows under the hotel to this day.
The area's inns (The Brook Green Hotel and The Queen's Head) were originally used as coach houses and were popular entertainment venues.
Today, The Brook Green Hotel is a pub on ground level, along with a basement bar below and a hotel upstairs. The Queen's Head is a popular and picturesque public house which overlooks the green itself at the front and has a sizable garden at the back of the pub.
Education
- St Paul's Girls' SchoolSt Paul's Girls' SchoolSt Paul's Girls' School is a senior independent school, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.-History:In 1904 a new day school for girls was established by the trustees of the Dean Colet Foundation , which had run St Paul's School for boys since the sixteenth century...
- Bute House Preparatory School for Girls
- Larmenier and Sacred Heart Catholic School
- Sacred Heart High School
- Addison CE Primary School
- Lena Gardens Primary School
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School
Notable residents
- Ken SuttleKen SuttleKenneth George 'Ken' Suttle was an English cricketer. He was primarily a left-handed batsman but was also a useful slow left-arm bowler. His first-class career with Sussex lasted from 1949 to 1971. He played in 612 first-class matches...
- Elizabeth Anne FinnElizabeth Anne FinnElizabeth Finn was a writer and "the strong-willed and intelligent" wife of James Finn, British Consul in Jerusalem, in Ottoman Palestine between 1846 and 1863....
- Angelo ColarossiAngelo ColarossiAngelo Colarossi was a studio boy and assistant to the sculptor Alfred Gilbert. At the age of 15, he modelled for Gilbert's most famous statue 'Anteros' in Piccadilly Circus...
- Mischa BartonMischa BartonMischa Anne Marsden Barton is a British-American fashion model, film, television, and stage actress, best known for her role as Marissa Cooper in the American television series The O.C..-Early life:...
- Henry Danowski
- Richard EyreRichard EyreSir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre CBE is an English director of film, theatre, television, and opera.-Biography:Eyre was educated at Sherborne School, an independent school for boys in the market town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset in south-west England, followed by Peterhouse at the University...
- Ray BradleyRay BradleyRaymond S. "Ray" Bradley is a climatologist and University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he is also research director of the Climate System Research Center...
Nearest places
Places adjoining Brook Green:- Kensington
- HammersmithHammersmithHammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
- Shepherd's BushShepherd's Bush-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
- Holland ParkHolland ParkHolland Park is a district and a public park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in west central London, England.Holland Park has a reputation as an affluent and fashionable area, known for attractive large Victorian townhouses, and high-class shopping and restaurants...
Transport
Stations:- Kensington Olympia station
- Hammersmith tube station (Piccadilly and District lines)
- Hammersmith tube station (Hammersmith & City and Circle lines)
London Underground Lines:
- District LineDistrict LineThe District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...
- Piccadilly LinePiccadilly LineThe Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...
- Hammersmith & City LineHammersmith & City LineThe Hammersmith & City line is a subsurface London Underground line. It connects Hammersmith in the west with Barking in the east, running through the northern part of central London. It is coloured salmon pink on the Tube map...
- Central LineCentral LineThe Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...