Hammersmith
Hammersmith shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ233786
London borough	Hammersmith & Fulham
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	W6
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
European Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Hammersmith and Fulham
London Assembly	West Central
List of places: UK • England • London

Coordinates: 51°29′34″N 0°13′22″W / 51.4928, -0.2229

Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, approximately 5 miles (8km) west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames. Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham ( is a London borough in West London and forms part of Inner London. The ceremonial counties are areas of England that are appointed a Lord-Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as the Counties for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The region, also known as the government office region, is currently the highest tier of local government sub-national entity of England, with only one Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. Constituent country is a phrase used often by official institutions in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger entity or grouping England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This list of sovereign states, alphabetically arranged gives an overview of States around the world with information on the extent of their Sovereignty. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system The London postal district is the area in England, currently of 241 square miles to which mail addressed to the LONDON Post town is delivered UK Postal codes are known as postcodes. UK postcodes are Alphanumeric. The W (Western and Paddington postcode area, also known as the London W postcode area is a group of postcode districts in central and west London, England The UK Telephone numbering plan, also known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, is the system used for assigning Telephone numbers in the United There are a number of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom. "Metropolitan Police" redirects here See also Metropolitan police. The fire service in the United Kingdom operates under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and The London Fire Brigade ( LFB) is the statutory The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS is the largest "free at the point of contact" ambulance service in the world that does not directly charge its patients London is a Constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 9 MEPs using the D'Hondt method of Party-list proportional This is a list of the 646 constituencies currently represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as at the 2005 general election Hammersmith and Fulham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Greater London is divided into fourteen territorial constituencies for London Assembly elections each returning one member West Central is a Constituency represented on the London Assembly. A Gazetteer of place names in the United Kingdom showing each place's County, Unitary authority or council area and its geographical coordinates List of places --> List of cities in the United Kingdom List of towns in England Lists of places This is a partial list of places in London, England See List of places in England for lists of settlements in other counties A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham ( is a London borough in West London and forms part of Inner London. West London is the area of Greater London to the west of Central London. Charing Cross is located at the junction of the Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street in Central London, England. The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. One of west London's key transport hubs and commercial and employment centres, home to several multinational company offices, it is focused on the two London Underground stations, bus station and road network node at Hammersmith Broadway. The London Underground is a Metro system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire Hammersmith Broadway is the name of the major transport node and Shopping centre located in West London.

It is bordered by Shepherds Bush to the north, West Kensington to the east, Fulham to the south and Chiswick to the west, and is linked by Hammersmith Bridge to Barnes in the southwest. Shepherd's Bush (also Shepherds Bush) is a district of West London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, situated 4 Fulham (pronounced "fullum" is an area of south-west London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, (the successor to the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham Chiswick ( IPA /ˈtʃɪzɪk/ is an area of West London, located west of Charing Cross, which covers the eastern part of the London Borough of Hounslow Hammersmith Bridge is a crossing of the River Thames in west London, just south of the Hammersmith town centre area of the London Borough of Hammersmith Barnes is an affluent riverside London suburb in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

It is the main centre of London's Polish minority in United Kingdom. Polish British People or Polish Britons are people of Polish origin who were born in or emigrated to the United Kingdom over the course of history or descendants of such ^{[1] [2]}

History

There is evidence of occupation of some riverside areas around Hammersmith as far back as Roman and Saxon times, and the area was referred to in the Domesday Book. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC The Saxons or Saxon people were a Confederation of Old Germanic tribes. The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey The name may possibly be a shortening of "Hamoder's Hythe", i. e. the landing-place of a man named Hamoder.

However it was not until the arrival of the railways that the present day district of Hammersmith began to develop. The extension of the Metropolitan Railway to Hammersmith from Paddington in 1864, followed by the District Line in 1874, began a period of considerable expansion and the second half of the 19th century saw a huge increase in population from 10,000 in 1801 to 250,000 in 1901. The Hammersmith and City line is a line of the London Underground, coloured salmon pink on the London Underground Map, running between Hammersmith in Paddington is an area of the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar

Consequently, house construction and industrial development flourished. Major industrial sites included the Osram lamp factory at Brook Green, the J. Lyons factory (which at one time employed 30,000 people) and the largest municipal power station in Britain, built near the gasworks in Sands End. OSRAM is part of the industry sector of Siemens AG and one of the two leading lighting manufacturers in the world Joseph Lyons and Co was a British company which controlled the largest food empire in the 1930s Sands End lies in the southernmost part of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England.

All these have subsequently been closed and redeveloped as the area has moved from an industrial base to a greater focus on commerce and services.

Geography

Hammersmith is a natural centre of activity, located at the confluence of a key arterial route out of central London (the A4) with several local feeder roads and a bridge over the Thames. The term Central London refers to the districts of London England which are considered closest to the centre The focal point of the district is the commercial centre (the Broadway Centre) located at this confluence, which houses a shopping centre, bus station, an Underground station and an office complex. Hammersmith tube station is a London Underground station in Hammersmith.

The Lyric Theatre, one of Hammersmith's several entertainment venues. The Lyric Hammersmith is a Theatre on King Street in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original "groundbreaking" productions

Stretching about 750m westwards from this centre is King Street, Hammersmith's main shopping street which contains its second shopping centre (King's Mall), many small shops, the Town Hall, the Lyric Theatre, a cinema and two hotels. The Lyric Hammersmith is a Theatre on King Street in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original "groundbreaking" productions King Street is supplemented by other shops along Shepherds Bush Road to the north, Fulham Palace Road to the south and Hammersmith Road to the east.

Hammersmith's office activity takes place mainly to the eastern side of its centre, along Hammersmith Road and in the Ark, an architecturally-unique office complex to the south of the flyover which traverses the area. The Ark is a prominent office building located in Hammersmith, London, acquired by developers Landid GE Real Estate and O&H properties in 2006 and extensively The offices of VisitBritain (the national tourist board), Bechtel, Coca-Cola, Disney, EMI, L'Oreal, Sony Ericsson, World Wrestling Entertainment, AOL UK, and Accor UK are all found in Hammersmith. VisitBritain is the tourist board of the United Kingdom. VisitBritain was created in April 2003 to market the UK to the rest of the world and to promote and develop Bechtel Corporation ( Bechtel Group) is the largest Engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 9th-largest privately owned company in the Coca-Cola is a carbonated Soft drink sold in stores restaurants and Vending machines in more than 200 countries The EMI Group is a British music company comprising the major record company EMI Music – which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest Cosmetics and Beauty company and is headquartered in the Paris suburb of Clichy, France Sony Ericsson is a Joint venture established in 2001 by the Japanese Consumer electronics Company Sony Corporation and the World Wrestling Entertainment Inc ( WWE) is a publicly traded privately controlled integrated media (focusing in Television, Internet, Accor ( is a large French Multinational corporation, part of the CAC 40 index operating in nearly 100 countries Two NHS hospitals provide jobs in Hammersmith - Charing Cross Hospital to the south of the centre on Fulham Palace Road, and Ravenscourt Park Hospital to the west by Ravenscourt Park. Charing Cross Hospital is a hospital in London, England. It was established in 1823 as the West London Infirmary and was originally located in Villiers Street This article is about the public park For the London Underground station of this name see Ravenscourt Park tube station and for the Electoral Division see Ravenscourt Park (ward Charing Cross Hospital is a large multi-disciplinary hospital with an accident & emergency department and teaching department run by the world-renowned Imperial College School of Medicine, whilst Ravenscourt Park Hospital specialises in orthopaedics and related surgery. The Imperial College School of Medicine ( ICSM) is the medical school of Imperial College London in England. ^[3]

In addition to the cinema and pubs of King Street, leisure activity also takes place along Hammersmith's pedestrianised riverside, home to a number of pubs, rowing clubs and the riverside park of Furnivall Gardens. Hammersmith also has a large municipal park called Ravenscourt Park located to the west of the centre. Its facilities include ponds, tennis courts, a basketball court and creche. The whole area is covered by the same W6 postcode as Hammersmith town centre.

Culture and entertainment

Hammersmith has a number of attractions;

• Riverside Studios is a cinema, performance space, bar and cafe. Riverside Studios was formerly BBC studios used for TV productions. Riverside Studios is one of West London 's leading centres for contemporary and international dramatic performance film exhibitions and television production
• The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
• The "Hammersmith Apollo" concert hall and theatre (formerly the Carling Hammersmith Apollo, formerly the Hammersmith Odeon, and before that the Gaumont Cinema). The Hammersmith Apollo is a major entertainments and concert venue located in Hammersmith, London, England.
• The "world famous" Hammersmith Palais nightclub. The Hammersmith Palais de Danse was a music venue in London, England. (featured in The Clash song "(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais). For the debut album by The Clash see The Clash (album The Clash were Now demolished.

The famous Dove Pub - entrance in the alley that is the only surviving trace of the old Hammersmith Village. (September 2005)

• "The Dove" riverside pub, the oldest surviving riverside pub in London with, reputedly, the smallest bar in the world, frequented in the past by Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene. Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21 1899 — July 2 1961 was an American novelist short-story writer, and Journalist. Henry Graham Greene OM, CH (2 October 1904 &ndash 3 April 1991 was an English writer best known as a novelist but who also produced Short stories The narrow alley in which it stands is the only remnant of the riverside village of Hammersmith, the bulk of which was demolished in the 1930s. The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. Furnival Gardens, which lies to the east, covers the site of Hammersmith Creek and the High Bridge. The site of the creek can be ascertained by a mound near the Great West Road. Great West Road may refer to Golden Mile (Brentford A4 road A30 road

Hammersmith has provided a location for several TV programmes, including the BBC comedy series Bottom, Channel 4's TFI Friday, and the vampire drama Ultraviolet. Bottom is an award-winning British sitcom of the early 1990s (and later a series of stage shows written by and starring Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began TFI Friday was a Light entertainment show produced by Ginger Productions, and hosted by Chris Evans and broadcast on Fridays at 6pm on Ultraviolet is a 1998 British television serial written and directed by Joe Ahearne and starring Jack The opening credits of Bottom show the Hammersmith Broadway (also mentioned in The Pogues' song Dark Streets of London) development, then called Centre West, when it was under construction. The Pogues are a band of mixed Irish and English background playing Traditional Irish music with influences from Punk rock, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane In addition, the Flying Squad were Hammersmith-based in the 1970s TV series The Sweeney. The Flying Squad is a branch of London 's Metropolitan Police Service. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The Sweeney was a British Television Police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, an elite branch of the Metropolitan Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective contains scenes that appear to be under and adjacent to Hammersmith Bridge. The Singing Detective is a critically acclaimed BBC Television Miniseries, written by Dennis Potter and starring Michael The popular Thames Television series Minder also features black and white photographs of Hammersmith Bridge and the Blue Anchor pub in the closing credits.

News from Nowhere written by William Morris is a utopian novel that describes a journey upstream the River Thames from Hammersmith towards Oxford. News from Nowhere (1890 is a classic work combining Utopian socialism and Soft science fiction written by the artist designer and socialist pioneer William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896 was an English Architect, Furniture and Textile designer artist writer and socialist associated Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, Written in 1890, it is of growing interest to contemporary Ecological and Socialist political movements. Ecology (from Greek grc οἶκος oikos, "house(hold" and grc -λογία -logia) is the scientific study of Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution

In 1930, Gustav Holst composed a work for military band (later rewritten for orchestra) entitled Hammersmith to reflect his impressions of the town, having lived across the river in nearby Barnes for nearly forty years. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Gustav Theodore Holst (21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934was an English Composer and was a music teacher for nearly 20 years It begins with a haunting musical depiction of the River Thames flowing underneath Hammersmith Bridge. Holst was a music teacher at St Paul's Girls' School, where he composed many of his most famous works, including The Planets suite. This article is about the school in London For the school in Edgbaston Birmingham see St Paul's School for Girls St Paul's Girls' School (or SPGS The Planets Op 32 is a seven- movement Orchestral suite by the British composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 The music wing of the school is named after him.

Architecturally, Hammersmith is notable for

• "The Ark" office building [1]
• "Hammersmith Bridge Road Surgery" Doctor's office [2]

US Broadcasters NBC and ABC both have their London News Bureau in Hammersmith. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network.

Hammersmith is the historical home of the West London Penguin Swimming and Water Polo Club, formerly known as the Hammersmith Penguin Swimming Club.

In 2008 Hammersmith is rumored to be home to the new Big Brother UK House. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Big Brother is a Reality television series broadcast in the United Kingdom and

Notable inhabitants

• Stuart Pearce English footballer
• Mischa Barton Actress
• Mary Fedden (b 1915) British artist
• A. P. Herbert (1890-1971) English humourist, novelist, playwright and law reform activist
• Edward Johnston (1872-1944) British scholar, credited with the revival of calligraphy
• William Morris (1834-1896) English artist, writer, socialist and activist
• Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) English painter, designer, book illustrator and wood engraver
• T. J. Cobden Sanderson (1840-1922) English artist and bookbinder
• Julian Trevelyan (1910-1988) British artist
• Sir Emery Walker (1851-1933) English engraver and printer
• Lily Allen (b 1985) English pop singer
• Tina Barrett (b 1976) Singer and dancer, formerly of S Club 7 fame
• Gary Numan (b 1958) Singer, Songwriter and Musician
• James May British TV host and writer. Stuart Pearce MBE (born 24 April 1962 in Hammersmith, London) is an English football manager and Mischa Anne Marsden Barton (born January 24 1986) is an English American film television and stage Actress, perhaps best known for her Mary Fedden OBE, (born 14 August 1915 in Bristol) is a British artist Sir Alan Patrick Herbert, CH (usually writing as A P Herbert or A Edward Johnston CBE ( 11 February 1872 &ndash 26 November 1944) was a British Craftsman who is credited with William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896 was an English Architect, Furniture and Textile designer artist writer and socialist associated Eric William Ravilious ( 22 July 1903 - 2 September 1942) was an English painter designer book illustrator and wood engraver Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson ( December 2, 1840 – September 7, 1922) was an English Artist and Bookbinder Julian Otto Trevelyan, RA ( 20 February 1910 – 12 July 1988) was a British Artist. Sir Emery Walker ( April 2, 1851 &ndash July 22, 1933) was an English Engraver and printer. Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English Singer-songwriter and television presenter. Tina Ann Barrett (born 16 September 1976) is a London based Singer-songwriter. S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, was a pop group created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller. Gary Numan (born Gary Anthony James Webb on 8 March 1958 is an English singer composer and musician James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963 is a British Television presenter and award-winning Journalist.
• Roger Daltrey British rock singer with The Who. Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE (born 1 March 1944) is an English rock Vocalist, songwriter and actor best known as the The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend
• Alan Rickman (b February 21, 1946) British actor
• Please Sir Comedy crackhead and frothy-mouthed beggar
• Bill Bailey Comedian
• Sacha Baron Cohen British Comedian/Screenwiter
• Joe Calzaghe (b 1972) Boxer, World Super-Middleweight Champion. Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (born 21 February 1946 is a Tony Award - nominated English Film, Television and stage actor Please Sir! is a London Weekend Television Situation comedy created by writers John Esmonde and Bob Larbey and featuring the actors Mark Bailey where he was initially an academic pupil winning most of the prizes Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971 is a British Jewish Comedian, Writer and Golden Globe -winning Actor most noted Joseph William Calzaghe CBE (born 23 March 1972 in Hammersmith, London, England) is a Welsh Boxer.
• Harry Lloyd Actor

Transport

Hammersmith tube sign

The area is on the main A4 trunk road heading west from central London towards the M4 motorway and Heathrow Airport. Harry Lloyd (born 17 November 1983) is an English Actor, known for his role as Will Scarlett in Robin Hood A trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major Road &mdashusually connecting two or more cities, Ports Airports The M4 motorway is a Motorway in Great Britain linking London with Wales. The A4, a busy commuter route, passes over the area's main road junction, Hammersmith Gyratory System, on a long viaduct, the Hammersmith Flyover. Hammersmith Flyover is a Flyover road in Hammersmith, west London. Hammersmith Bridge, the first suspension bridge over the River Thames, carries traffic to and from Barnes and southwest London. Hammersmith Bridge is a crossing of the River Thames in west London, just south of the Hammersmith town centre area of the London Borough of Hammersmith This article is concerned with a particular type of suspension bridge the suspended-deck type

Hammersmith Bridge

The centre of Hammersmith is served by two tube stations, one of them is the western terminus of the Hammersmith & City Line, while the larger one served by the Piccadilly and District Lines . Hammersmith Bridge is a crossing of the River Thames in west London, just south of the Hammersmith town centre area of the London Borough of Hammersmith Hammersmith is a London Underground station in Hammersmith. It is the western terminus of the Hammersmith & City Line. Hammersmith tube station is a London Underground station in Hammersmith. The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark Blue on the Tube map. The latter tube station is part of a larger office, retail and transport development, locally known as "The Broadway Centre". Hammersmith Broadway, itself, stretches from the junction of Queen Caroline Street and King Street in the west to the junction of Hammersmith Road and Butterwick in the east. Hammersmith Broadway is the name of the major transport node and Shopping centre located in West London. It forms the north side of the gyratory system also known as Hammersmith Roundabout. The Broadway Shopping Centre includes a large modern bus station, which is open 24 hours a day and served by a large number of buses, night buses, airport transfer buses and some long distance coaches.

The length of King Street places the westernmost shops and offices closest to Ravenscourt Park tube station on the District line, one stop west of Hammersmith itself. Ravenscourt Park is a London Underground station located in west Hammersmith, west London. The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map.

Neighbouring districts

• Acton
• Barnes
• Chiswick
• Fulham
• Shepherds Bush
• Kensington
• West Kensington

Twin Towns

• Marino, Italy
• Anderlecht, Belgium

External links

• London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham
• Cllr. Stephen Cowan (Lab) - Leader of the Opposition
• Hammersmith's local community web site
• Hammersmith - 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article
• MyHammersmith Guide to Hammersmith
• Description of Hammersmith in 1868
• Hammersmith, Fulham and Putney, by Geraldine Edith Mitton and John Cunningham Geikie, 1903, from Project Gutenberg

References