Acton, London
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Acton | |
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference: | TQ205805 |
| Latitude: | 51.510519° |
| Longitude: | -0.262661° |
| Administration | |
| London borough: | Ealing |
| County level: | Greater London |
| Region: | London |
| Constituent country: | England |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom |
| Other | |
| Ceremonial county: | Greater London |
| Historic county: | Middlesex (1965) |
| Services | |
| Police force: | Metropolitan Police |
| Fire brigade: | London Fire Brigade |
| Ambulance service: | London Ambulance |
| Post office and telephone | |
| Post town: | LONDON |
| Postal district: | W3, W4 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Politics | |
| UK Parliament: | Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush |
| London Assembly: | Ealing and Hillingdon |
| European Parliament: | London |
| London | List of places in London | |
Acton is a town in the London Borough of Ealing. It is located 6.4 miles (10.3 km) west of Charing Cross. Originally an ancient village (mentioned in the Domesday Book), as London expanded, Acton became absorbed into the city. East Acton is in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
Acton lies on the former main road between London and Oxford and several inns along it date back several centuries as stopping places for travellers. Several springs were found towards the end of the 17th century on the north-east side of Acton and they became for a time health spas. Acton used to be famous for its laundries. The local soft water led to there being around 170 establishments in South Acton at the end of the 19th century, serving hotels and the rich in London's West End, leading to the nickname "soapsuds island".
Acton formed an urban district and, later, municipal borough of Middlesex from 1894 to 1965. Its former area was used to form part of the London Borough of Ealing in 1965.
Acton is now principally residential, though it maintains some light industry: particularly in the north east in the Park Royal area, and the south near the border with Chiswick.
Acton is also home to the largest housing estate in West London, the South Acton estate, with approximately 2000 homes and 5800 residents[citation needed].
Since WW2, Acton has had a small but notable population of Polish immigrants. In recent years a number of Antipodean immigrants have settled there: there are several Australian / South African pubs concentrated in a small area. Other substantial immigrant groups include Iraqis and Somalis. A Japanese school has attracted a Japanese community to West Acton.
Acton has a number of good pubs, one of which, the newly restored “George and Dragon” on the High Street, has earned Fancyapint.com's top 5-pint rating. The Red Lion & Pineapple (a Wetherspoon pub) is popular with younger people. Also on and around the High Street is a large variety of restaurants and takeaways, including the Thai 'Be Thai', the Indian 'Acton Tandoori' and the Chinese 'North China'.
On Churchfield Road – which runs north of, and parallel to, the High Street, is a large range of pubs and eating places from the Churchfield near the Level Crossing to the Rocket, a fine Gastro-pub and Vanilla a new, organic coffee shop and deli. There are Korean, Lebanese, Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish bars and restaurants, along with a well-regarded and unusual Indian restaurant, 3Spice. Churchfield Road also features a flower shop, several specialist clothes and antique shops and more hairdressers than you would think possible.
Acton High Street is a conservation area with several examples of high Victorian municipal building such as the library, Town Hall and swimming pool.
Acton Park has bowls, a children’s play area, tennis courts and an art block. It often hosts filming for programmes such as “Rose & Macaulay” and “The Deal”
Acton Farmers' Market was piloted on the newly refurbished Mount on December 2, 2006.
The name Acton derives from the Anglo-Saxon for "oak town".
Acton was also the birthplace of The Who, of which all members except Keith Moon went to Acton High School, and was where the Monty Python sketch 'Bicycle Repair Man' was shot, on Churchfield Road. Harlech Tower, on the South Acton estate, was a stand-in for the fictional Nelson Mandela House , the home of Del Boy, in the popular sitcom, Only Fools and Horses.
Nearest places:
Acton is noteworthy for having no fewer than seven railway stations distinguished as North, South, East, West, Central, Mainline and Town. Four of these are on the London Underground and three on the regional rail network.
Nearest tube stations:
- Acton Town tube station, Piccadilly Line
- Ealing Broadway station, District Line, Central Line
- Ealing Common tube station, Piccadilly Line, District Line
- North Ealing tube station, Piccadilly Line
- North Acton tube station, Central Line
- East Acton tube station, Central Line
- West Acton tube station, Central Line
Nearest railway stations:
- Acton Central railway station, Silverlink
- South Acton railway station, Silverlink
- Acton Main Line railway station, First Great Western Link
- Ealing Broadway station, First Great Western Link, Heathrow Connect
 Acton Town Hall |
 Barwick House, on the South Acton Estate |
 Blocks of flats on the South Acton estate |
[edit] External links
- actonW3.com (news website)
- sarag.org (residents' association for south Acton)
- Moosehead Acton Triva Quiz site
- The George & Dragon at Fancyapint.com
