Brook Green

Brook Green
Brook Green Parkspace
Brook Green  Brook Green shown within Greater London
Population	23,734 (Addison and Avonmore and Brook Green wards 2011)[1]
London borough	Hammersmith & Fulham
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	W14, W6
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
London Assembly	West Central
List of places UK England London

Coordinates: 51°29′47″N 0°13′14″W / 51.4964°N 0.2205°W

Brook Green is an affluent London neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It is located approximately 5 miles (8.0 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.

History

References to Brook Green go back to 15th century,^[2] with a map ^[3] of Hammersmith clearly showing the outline of the Green.

Holy Trinity, Brook Green

The area was developed as industrialisation spread out of London. Famous businesses in Brook Green were Osram Lamp Factory,^[4] J. Lyons & Co. and its complex at Cadby Hall,^[5] Post Office Savings Bank Headquarters in Blythe Road and to this day the Olympia Exhibition Halls Olympia, London. Brook Green was also home to St Mary's College from 1850 to 1925, when the college moved to Strawberry Hill.

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.

Brook Green, Hammersmith, also 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 Thackeray, has to escort a drunken sailor back to his wife.

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 cocktail bar in the basement below and a hotel upstairs. The Queen's Head public house overlooks the green itself at the front and has a garden at the back.

Brook Green boasts four English Heritage blue plaques, for the artist Sir Frank Short, the composer Gustav Holst, the Silver Studio of design, and the writer Elizabeth Anne Finn (founder of the charity now known as Elizabeth Finn Care). There is also Brook Green Market and Kitchen, a FARMA certified farmers market in Addison Primary School.

Green Spaces in Hammersmith

Hammersmith and Fulham parks and open spaces

Main building of St Paul's Girl School in Brook Green

Education

• St Paul's Girls' School^[6]
• Bute House Preparatory School for Girls^[7]
• Larmenier and Sacred Heart Catholic School^[8]
• Sacred Heart High School^[9]
• Addison CE Primary School^[10]
• Lena Gardens Primary School
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School^[11]
• Lionheart Education (private tutorial college)

Notable residents

• Ken Suttle
• Elizabeth Anne Finn
• Angelo Colarossi
• Mischa Barton
• Henry Danowski
• Richard Eyre
• John Silvester Varley
• Ivan Stassiouk
• Francis Job Short ^[12]

Notable Businesses

Virgin Media Press Office in Brook Green

• Omnifone
• Positiva Records
• CH2M
• The Silver Studio

Nearest places

Places adjoining Brook Green:

• Kensington
• Hammersmith
• Shepherd's Bush
• Holland Park

Transport

Stations:

• Kensington Olympia station
• Hammersmith tube station (Piccadilly and District lines)
• Hammersmith tube station (Hammersmith & City and Circle lines)

London Underground Lines:

• District line
• Piccadilly line
• Hammersmith & City line
• Central line

References

Footnotes

1. Census Information Scheme (2012). "2011 Census Ward Population Estimates". Greater London Authority. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
2. Brook Green Hamlet (PDF), Brook Green Conservation Area, LBHF, page 4.
3. Brook Green Map, Survey of London, volume 6, Hammersmith, 1915.
4. Osram Lamp Factory (PDF), Catalogue UK GEC 1932, Page 5, 1932.
5. "Cadby Hall".
6. "St Paul's Girls' School".
7. "Bute House School".
8. "Larmenier and Sacred Heart School".
9. "Sacred Heart High School".
10. "Addison CE Primary School".
11. "St Mary's Catholic Primary School".
12. "Brook Green, West London". Daily Telegraph.

Bibliography

• Bird, James; Norman, Philip (1915), Survey of London: volume 6: Hammersmith

• Cole, Emily, Lived in London: Blue Plaques and the Stories Behind Them

External links

• Friends of Brook Green