Northfields, London
Coordinates: 51°30′00″N 0°18′54″W / 51.500°N 0.315°W
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. 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 and Acton and the N11 a night bus to Central London.
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
Maps of Ealing from 1890 and before show Northfields as almost entirely rural, with just a few houses along Little Ealing Lane.[1] 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 Niagara House opposite The Plough pub on Nothfields Avenue.[2] Blondin Avenue, Blondin Park and Niagara Avenue are named after him.
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.[3]
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:[4]
- Rochester House
- Place House (King Fahad Academy for Girls)
- The Forester public house, architect Nowell Parr
- Northfields tube station
- 53 Northfield Road (Orchard Lofts)