Southall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
It has been suggested that Southall's South Asian community be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) |
- For people named Southall, see Southall (surname)
Southall is a suburb in the London Borough of Ealing, West London. It is situated 10.7 miles (17.2 km) west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include:Yeading, Hayes, Hanwell, Heston, Ealing, Hounslow, Greenford and Northolt.
The name Southall derives from the Anglo-Saxon dative æt súð healum, "At the south corner (of the land or wood)" and súð heal, "South corner" and separates it from Northolt which was originally norþ heal, "North corner" which through a later association with Anglo-Saxon holt, "Wood, copse" developed into Northolt.
Southall is located on the historic Grand Union Canal (formerly the Grand Junction Canal) which first linked London with the rest of the growing canal system. It was one of the last canals to carry significant commercial traffic (through the 1950s), and is still open to traffic and is used by pleasure craft.
By 1965, urban London had further expanded and almost all of the original area was incorporated into Greater London. Middlesex is still used informally as an area name and may be included in some postal addresses.
Contents |
[edit] History
The opening of the canal in 1796 began a commercial boom, intensified by the arrival of the Great Western Railway in 1839, leading to the establishment and growth of brick factories, flour mills and chemical plants which formed the town's commercial base. In 1877, the Martin Brothers set up a ceramics factory in an old soap works next to the canal, and until 1923 produced distinctive ceramics now known and collected as Martinware.
Otto Monsted, a Danish margarine manufacturer, built a large factory at Southall in 1894. The factory was called the Maypole Dairy, and eventually grew to become one of the largest margarine manufacturing plants in the world, occupying a 68 acre site at its peak. The factory also had its own railway sidings and branch canal. The Maypole Dairy Company was later acquired by Lever Brothers.
A collection of Martinware - salt-glazed stoneware, grotesque faces, and birds - is on display at Southall Library. The largest collection, however, can be seen at Pitshanger Manor in nearby Ealing.
Southall was also the home of one of the earliest British film studios, Southall Film Studios which played a historic role in film-making from its creation in 1924 to its closure in 1959.
There has been a locomotive works at the Southall Depot for near 150 years. Originally a Great Western Railway shed, it was possibly the last London steam depot, outlasting Old Oak Common and Stewarts Lane depots. The depot was later used for DMU maintenance and as a base for the electrification program. Currently the site now referred to as the Southall Railway Centre is used by three independent groups including Locomotive Services (where volunteers can contribute to the preservation and restoration of mainline locomotives), and the Great Western Railway Preservation Group.
The bus and commercial vehicle manufacturer AEC was based in Southall, on a 25 hectare (63 acre) triangular site between Windmill Lane, the main Great Western Railway and the branch to Brentford Dock. The company moved here from Walthamstow in 1926 and closed in 1979. The site was familiar to railway passengers from a large sign saying "Builders of London's Buses for 50 years".
Quaker Oats (later part of Pepsico) built a factory in Southall in 1936. Part of the operation making petfoods was sold to Spillers in 1994 and the remainder to Big Bear Group in 2006. The site continues to produce brands such as Sugar Puffs.
A major gas works manufacturing town gas was located between the railway and the canal. Since production ceased in the 1970s, much of the 36 hectare (90 acre) site has been vacant, due to limited road access and remaining gas infrastructure.
[edit] Culture
- See also Southall's South Asian community
Southall is primarily a South Asian residential district. 1950 was when the first group of South Asians arrived in Southall, due to the closeness of Heathrow Airport, and has since been increasing with many South Asians, primarily Punjabis. According to Commission for Racial Equality over 55% of Southall's population of 70,000 is Indian/Pakistani.[1] One of the Sikh Gurdwaras in Southall won the Ealing Civic Society Architectural Award in 2003. There is also a very strong presence of Somalis in Southall. The Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, which opened in 2003, is the largest Sikh temple outside of India.
There are two Christian churches (one Protestant and the other Catholic) and there are three mosques. The main street in Southall is called The Broadway. Southall contains the largest Asian shopping centre in the London area. Southall was the main location for the film Bend It Like Beckham.
Southall has a huge gas tower which is noticeable from miles away. It also has the big letters "LH" and an arrow painted on it which was used to denote to aircraft pilots the direction to nearby London Heathrow Airport using visual flight rules (VFR) if landing on the now closed runway 23.
Southall is also the location of the Glassy Junction, which serves several Indian draught beers and was the first pub in the UK to accept payment in Indian rupees. [2] Also the film Goal! starring John Abraham and Bipasha Basu was filmed in Glassy junction and outside Iceland. [citation needed]
In the summer of 2007, the fast food restaurant chain McDonald's situated on the Broadway (UB1), changed certain food items on their menu which was originally on a trial basis, to halal and certified halal. The halal certification is debatable for many reasons. One reason being that the large mosque in front of McDonald's has never accepted any of their food to be halal. The mosque was consulted on the steps necessary to carry out a halal trial and was happy with it until McDonald's went their own way.
There is now a local community radio station servicing Southall; 91.8 Hayes FM, licensed by Ofcom as part of their drive towards community based radio services.
[edit] Transport
Southall railway station serves the suburb. It will also be served by the proposed Crossrail link
However, Gordon Brown recently stated his love for the town and pledged £2Billion for a eurostar connection from Kings Cross St.
[edit] Notable people associated with Southall
Trevor Baylis, the inventor grew up in the suburb as did the film director Gurinder Chadha. Other people who were brought up here include: Juggy D, a bhangra singer; Daljit Dhaliwal, news reader and journalist; Nick Knowles, television personality; Kwame Kwei-Armah, playwright and actor; and Rupinderpal Singh Dhillon, poet.
Dr Saeema Ahmed, a former Cambridge University lecturer and alumni grew up on the Havelock estate.
Les Ferdinand, England footballer, once played for Southall F.C. whilst Piara Khabra represented the area in parliament. Avtar Lit, Radio station owner stood as a parliamentary canditate.
Cleo Laine (jazz singer and actress) was born in Southall 1927. Tim Lott, author (his debut The Scent Of Dried Roses is about growing up in Southall) was born here in 1956 as was Rishi Rich, music producer. Ms Scandalous, rapper/MC, was born in Southall in 1983
Misty in Roots, reggae band, started life in the area whilst Harjeet Atwal, an author, lives in the area.
[edit] See also
- Blair Peach, anti-racist campaigner was killed in a riot in Southall in 1979.
- Southall rail crash
- Southall's South Asian community
- Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College which has a campus on Beaconsfield Road in Southall.
Carlos Sosa, the recent convict, who smuggled 20tonnes of cocaine in to the town.
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- British History Online: 'Norwood, including Southall: Introduction', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4 (1971)
- Southall Town Hall
[edit] External links
- An article about eating in Southall
- Canalside Sculptural Mural, Southall
- Southall Film Studios Research Project
- London Mainline Steam Group, restoring locomotives for mainline operation
- Southall Railway Centre
- Photos of the area
- Image of the Gas tower with "LH" written on the side
|
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Districts |
Acton · Ealing · East Acton · Greenford · Hanwell · North Acton · Northolt · Norwood Green · Perivale · Southall |
 |
| Attractions | ||
| Constituencies | ||
| Parks and open spaces in Ealing | ||
