Northfields, London

Northfields is a largely residential area in the London Borough of Ealing in west London. It is centred on Northfield Avenue, a shopping street of mostly independent shops and restaurants. A small section of Northfields lies within the London borough of Hounslow.

Northfields
Northfields
Location within Greater London
OS grid referenceTQ153802
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtW13, W5
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly

The area is served by the Piccadilly line from Northfields tube station designed by architect Charles Holden and by the E2 and E3 bus services running to Greenford, Ealing, Brentford, Hanwell, Acton and Chiswick, and the N11, a night bus to Central London. The Northfield ward is the most prosperous in the borough of Ealing, it has high levels of education, employment and home ownership.[1]

It is home to Little Ealing Primary School, Fielding Primary School and Mount Carmel Catholic Primary School.

Northfield Avenue has an annual street festival organised by the local trade association, NABA (Northfield Avenue Business Association). The first festival was held in summer 2007.

History

The Plough Inn which marks the junction of Little Ealing Lane and Northfields Avenue was in existence by 1722.[2] Maps of Ealing from 1890 and before show Northfields as almost entirely rural, with just a few houses along Little Ealing Lane.[3] The rest of the area was largely orchards. The arrival of the District Railway in 1883, and the opening of the Northfields Halt in 1908, prompted development of the area.

Notable residents

The acrobat and tightrope walker Charles Blondin (famed for crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope) lived in Northfields from 1886 until his death in 1897 in a house on the site of what is now Niagara House, opposite The Plough pub on Northfields Avenue.[4] Blondin Avenue, Blondin Park and Niagara Avenue are named after him; they were formerly the site of part of Hugh Ronalds' renowned nursery.[5]

Between 1815 and 1817 John Quincy Adams, later to become the 6th President of the United States lived with his family at Little Boston House in Windmill Road in Northfields.[6]

The pop singer Dusty Springfield was a pupil at St Anne's Convent School on Little Ealing Lane in the 1950s.[7]

The BBC Weather presenter Tomasz Schafernaker lives in this area.

Notable buildings

A former cinema on Northfield Avenue is the area's only Grade 2* listed building. Built in 1932 in an unusual Spanish style, it closed in 1987 and was converted into the Ealing Christian Centre in 1994.

Other Grade 2 listed buildings in Northfields are:[8]

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References
  1. Hidden London
  2. Hidden London
  3. Ealing c1890
  4. http://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/northfields/
  5. Ronalds, B.F. (2017). "Ronalds Nurserymen in Brentford and Beyond". Garden History. 45: 82–100.
  6. http://littleealinghistory.org.uk/adams
  7. childrenshomes.org.uk, Peter Higginbotham /. "The Convent, Ealing, Middlesex". www.childrenshomes.org.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  8. http://www.ealing.gov.uk/ealing3/export/sites/ealingweb/services/environment/planning/planning_policy/new_plan_for_the_environment/_volume2/chapter10schedule1009.pdf
  9. http://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1263487


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