Turnham Green
| Turnham Green | |
| Middlesex | |
|---|---|
 Turnham Green | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ212786 |
| Location: | 51°29’30"N, 0°15’59"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | London |
| Postcode: | W4 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Hounslow |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Brentford and Isleworth |
Turnham Green is an urban village in Middlesex, within the wider town of Chiswick. It runs along Chiswick High Road, and its most distinctive characteristic is it large village green, also named 'Turnham Green'.
The parish church, Christ Church, stands on the eastern part of the green. It was designed by the architect George Gilbert Scott, and built 1843.[1]) A war memorial stands on the eastern corner. On the south side of the green is the old Chiswick Town Hall.
The Green
The green is the site of local community events, including a travelling funfair, church events and charity table-top sales.
History
Turnham Green was once a distinct a village on the main road between London and the west. It was recorded as Turneham in 1235 and Turnhamgrene in 1369.[2]
On 13 November 1642, the Battle of Turnham Green was fought nearby during the First Civil Wara Parliamentarian victory, it blocked the King's advance on London.
In 1680 the homicidal Philip Herbert, 7th Earl of Pembroke murdered a watchman, William Smeeth, after a drunken evening in the local tavern. A similar but far less serious episode in the tavern in 1795 saw the young Daniel O'Connell arrested for drunken and riotous behaviour.
The artist William Hogarth had a 'Country cottage' nearby on what is now known as Hogarth Roundabout.
As the area developed, it became part of Chiswick.
In literature
Charles Dickens refers to "that magnificent potentate, the Lord Mayor of London, [who] was made to stand and deliver on Turnham Green, by one highwayman, who despoiled the illustrious creature in sight of all his retinue."[3]
Stations
There are two London Underground stations here, both on the District Line: Turnham Green Station, north of the High Road beside Chiswick Common, and half a mile west is Chiswick Park, north of the Green.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Turnham Green) |
References
- ↑ Robbins, Michael: "Middlesex", Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003, ISBN 1-86077-269-2, page 234
- ↑ Clegg, Gillian: "The Chiswick Book", Historical Publications Ltd, 2004, ISBN 0-948667-96-6.
- ↑ Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities Book I, ch. I.
