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West Ham

West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located 6.1 mi east of Charing Cross.

The area, which lies immediately east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, and it later became a County Borough. The district, part of the historic county of Essex, was an administrative unit, with largely consistent boundaries, from the 12th century to 1965, when it merged with neighbouring areas to become the western part of the new London Borough.

The district was historically dependent on its docks and other maritime trades, while the inland industrial concentrations led to its byname as the Factory centre of the south of England. These sources of employment have largely been lost, though there has been a degree of regeneration, in part associated with the 2012 Olympic Games.

Toponymy
The first known written use of the term, as 'Hamme', is in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 958, in which King Edgar granted the Manor of Ham, which was undivided at that time, to Ealdorman Athelstan. A subsequent charter of 1037 describes a transfer of land which has been identified with East Ham, indicating that the division of the territory occurred between 958 and 1037.

The place name derives from Old English 'hamm' and means 'a dry area of land between rivers or marshland', referring to the location of the settlement within boundaries formed by the rivers Lea, Thames and Roding and their marshes. North Woolwich seems likely to have been removed from Ham in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest.

The earliest recorded use of West Ham, as distinct from Ham or East Ham, was in 1186 as 'Westhamma'. The creation of Stratford Langthorne Abbey (one of England's larger monasteries), and the building of Bow Bridge, the only dry crossing of the Lea for many miles, are likely to have increased the prosperity of the area.

Tudor and Stuart
In June 1648, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a Royalist force of some 500 to 600 men won a minor battle against the Tower Hamlets Militia at Bow Bridge and occupied Stratford for three days, before heading off along the old Roman Road to the Siege of Colchester.

Urbanisation
The village of West Ham underwent rapid growth from 1844 following the Metropolitan Building Act. The Act restricted dangerous and noxious industries from operating in the metropolitan area, the eastern boundary of which was the River Lea. Consequently, many of these activities were relocated to the other side of the river and to West Ham, then a parish in Essex centred on All Saints Church, West Ham. As a result, West Ham became one of Victorian Britain's major manufacturing centres for pharmaceuticals, chemicals and processed foods. This rapid growth earned it the name "London over the border". The growth of the town was summarised by The Times in 1886:

"'Factory after factory was erected on the marshy wastes of Stratford and Plaistow, and it only required the construction at Canning Town of the Victoria and Albert Docks to make the once desolate parish of West Ham a manufacturing and commercial centre of the first importance and to bring upon it a teeming and an industrious population.'"

Many workers lived in slum conditions close to where they worked, leading to periodic outbreaks of contagious diseases and severe poverty. The pollution and

First World War – West Ham Pals
In the First World War, the Mayor and Borough of West Ham raised a pals battalion of local volunteers, the 13th (Service) Battalion (West Ham) of the Essex Regiment. East Ham also raised a battalion, but it joined a different regiment.

The West Ham Pals were assigned to the 6th Infantry Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division and served on the Western Front. The disbandment occurred as the British Army was so short of manpower that it could no longer maintain as many units, the surviving members of the West Ham battalion were re-assigned to other units to bring them up to strength.

Second World War
The presence of the Royal Docks, the Stratford railway lands and other high value targets made the Country Borough of West Ham one of the areas of Essex worst affected by bombing during the Second World War. There were officially 1186 civilians killed, but this may have been around 500 higher due to the disputed death toll at South Hallsville School.

Post-war
In March 1976, an IRA terrorist planted a bomb on a Metropolitan Line train, but it exploded prematurely, at West Ham station, injuring seven. The perpetrator shot and injured a member of the public and fled. The train driver, Julius Stevens, gave chase but was shot and killed. The terrorist ran into the street where he was confronted by a policeman; he turned the gun on himself but survived.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the area suffered from deindustrialisation, including closure of the Bromley gasworks and West Ham Power Station.

Local government – ancient parish
West Ham formed a large ancient parish of around 4500 acre in the Becontree hundred of Essex. The parish was made up of three wards: Church-street, Stratford-Langthorne, and Plaistow. The parish also included the hamlet of Upton.

Initial administrative response to urbanisation
In 1840 the parish was included in the Metropolitan Police District soon after the built-up area of London had encompassed much of West Ham.

It had become apparent that local government in the parish of West Ham was not adequate to meet the needs of the area which was divided between the parish vestry, highway board and the Havering and Dagenham Commissioners of Sewers. Problems centred on provision of adequate paving, water supply, fire fighting and control of development. In 1853 a group of ratepayers initiated moves to improve local administration. This led to a public enquiry by Charles Dickens' brother Alfred, a medical officer, who published a report in 1855 severely critical of conditions in the slum areas.

Accordingly, the Public Health Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 63) was applied to the parish, and a local board of health was formed in 1856. The board had 15 members: 12 elected and 3 nominated by the Commissioners of Sewers.

West Ham was included in the London postal district, established in 1857, but not in the statutory metropolitan area established in 1855 or the County of London established in 1889. Instead, administrative reform was undertaken in the area in much the same way as a large provincial town. A local board was formed in 1856 under the Public Health Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 63).

In November 1878 the inhabitants of the parish decided to petition the privy council for a charter, incorporating the town as a municipal borough. This was in reaction to proposals to enlarge the area governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works to include adjoining districts with a population of 50,000 or more: the primary aim of incorporation was to prevent the inclusion of West Ham in an enlarged London municipality. This initial application was unsuccessful. However, encouraged by the 1883 incorporation of Croydon, a second petition was submitted in May 1885. Following an inquiry in October 1885, a scheme for the creation of the borough and dissolution of the board of health was made in June and the charter was granted in July 1886. A corporation consisting of a mayor, 12 aldermen and 36 councillors replaced the board, with the first elections held on 1 November. The first mayor was John Meeson, head of a local lime burning and cement making firm, and a former chairman of West Ham Local Board.

Local government – County Borough
In 1889 the borough was large enough in terms of population to become a county borough and was outside the area of responsibility of Essex County Council – though still formally within the county. At the time of the 1901 census it was the ninth most populous district in England with a population of 267,308.[4] From 1934 to 1965 it was surrounded by the County Borough of East Ham to the east, the municipal boroughs of Wanstead and Woodford and Leyton to the north, and the metropolitan boroughs of Poplar to the west with the Thames to the south with Greenwich on the far side.

Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted by the College of Arms on 14 January 1887. The chevrons on the lower portion represent Stratford, taken from the device of Stratford Langthorne Abbey. At the top right, there are crossed hammers which are also shown as the centrepiece of West Ham United's badge, representing the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company – the borough's main employer. The ship is representative of the Royal Docks, and the area's long association with the sea. The Latin motto "Deo Confidimus" at the base translates as "In God We Trust."

Formation of Newham and inclusion in Greater London
The omission of West Ham from the London-administered metropolitan area, which took in nearby places such as Greenwich and Woolwich, was first commented on in 1855 and West Ham Council later considered the case for inclusion in the County of London in 1895 and 1907. The reluctance to proceed with amalgamation was largely explained by lack of perceived support, fear of financial disadvantage caused by increased rates, the detrimental effect of London planning laws on industry, and the desire to retain the independent civic institutions and privileges attached to county borough status.

The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London reviewed the local government arrangements of the Greater London Conurbation and in 1965, under the terms of the London Government Act 1963, the county borough, and the County Borough of East Ham, were abolished and their former area was amalgamated with small parts of Barking and Woolwich to form the London Borough of Newham in Greater London.

Geography
The parish, and coterminous subsequent borough, lay east of the Lea and north of the Thames, with Leyton to the north and East Ham to the east. The boundary between West and East Ham was drawn from the now lost Hamfrith Waste and Hamfrith Wood in the north (then the southernmost parts of Epping Forest which extended as far south as the Romford Road at that time), along Green Street down to the small, similarly lost, natural harbour known as Ham Creek, the mouth of a small watercourse.

The area of the parish and borough included not just central West Ham area, just south of Stratford, with the twin focuses of All Saints' Parish Church and West Ham station; but also the sub-districts of Stratford, Canning Town, Plaistow, Custom House, Silvertown, Forest Gate and the western parts of Upton Park which is shared with East Ham.

The areas along the Lea and Thames were historically industrial with the remainder residential, mostly Victorian terraced housing interspersed with higher density post-war social housing. Since its urbanisation the area has always been one of the poorest in London.

Ethnicity
In 1971, individuals of non-European origin comprised approximately 16% of the population of West Ham, rising to approximately 30% by the 1991 census and 65.5% in the 2011 census. In 2011 White British people comprising 19% of the ward's population with Other White individuals forming approximately 15% of the population.

Transport
West Ham station on Manor Road (formerly called The Boleyn Ground) is served by the London Underground Jubilee, Hammersmith, and City and District tube lines; the National Rail c2c services; and from 2010 the Docklands Light Railway. Plaistow and Stratford stations are also close by.

Sport
The football club West Ham United F.C. is named after the area. Their nicknames, the Irons and the Hammers derive from their association with the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, whose workers formed Thames Ironworks F.C. West Ham United F.C. played at the Boleyn Ground in nearby Upton Park between 1904 and 2016. The West Ham Stadium, a football, greyhound racing and speedway stadium, operated between 1928 and 1972, with a capacity of 120,000. The street names of housing developed on the site of the former stadium pay homage to the speedway greats associated with West Ham, including Bluey Wilkinson and Jack Young. The West Ham Hammers team were involved in the top flight leagues 1929 to 1939, 1946 to 1955 and 1964 to 1971, winning the inaugural British League in 1965.

While football is probably the main focus for the community, there is rugby, with Holland Road, next to West Ham station, home to 3 rugby teams which play in Essex RFU leagues: Phantoms RFC, Kings Cross Steelers and East London RFC.

Notable people

 * Frank Bailey (1925–2015), firefighter
 * Leslie Bray (1895–1957), cricketer and officer in the British Army and Royal Air Force
 * Sol Campbell, footballer
 * Fred Corbett, footballer
 * Tony Cottee, footballer
 * Paul Parker, footballer
 * Alan Curbishley, footballer and football manager
 * Richard Harry Dennis, former Scotland Yard detective chief inspector
 * George Edwards (1694–1773) ornithologist
 * David Essex, musician
 * Elizabeth Fry, social reformer
 * Ted Fenton, footballer and football manager
 * Len Goulden, footballer
 * Leon Greene, opera singer and actor.
 * Ernie Gregory, footballer
 * Gerard Manley Hopkins, poet
 * Chris Hughton, footballer and football manager
 * Ronnie Irani, cricketer
 * Rob Lee, footballer
 * Jack Leslie, footballer
 * Lennox Lewis, boxer and last undisputed world heavyweight champion
 * Linda Lewis, singer, songwriter and musician
 * Allan Levene, information technology specialist
 * Joseph Lister, antiseptic surgeon
 * Glen Murphy, actor, producer.
 * Mark Noble, footballer
 * Christine Ohuruogu, athlete
 * Daisy Parsons, suffragette and West Ham's first woman Mayor
 * Martin Peters, footballer and World Cup winner
 * Kevin Stead, footballer
 * Colin Towns, composer and keyboardist
 * Margaret Tyzack, actress
 * Bertha Willmott, entertainer
 * Reg Varney, actor
 * Steve Harris, musician

title: West Ham


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Roosevelt County, Montana

Roosevelt County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,794. Its county seat is Wolf Point. Roosevelt County was created by the Montana Legislature in 1919 from a portion of Sheridan County. The name honors former president Theodore Roosevelt, who had died earlier that year.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2369 sqmi, of which 2355 sqmi is land and 15 sqmi (0.6%) is water. Three-fourths of the county's land area lies within the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 2.svg|20px]] U.S. Route 2
 * [[Image:MT-13.svg|20px]] Montana Highway 13
 * [[Image:MT-16.svg|20px]] Montana Highway 16
 * [[Image:MT-25.svg|20px]] Montana Highway 25
 * [[Image:MT-sec-251.svg|20px]] Montana Highway 251

Transit

 * Amtrak Empire Builder (Wolf Point station)

Adjacent counties

 * Daniels County – northwest
 * Sheridan County – northeast
 * Williams County, North Dakota – east
 * McKenzie County, North Dakota – southeast
 * Richland County – south
 * McCone County – southwest
 * Valley County - west

National protected areas

 * Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site (part)
 * Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Bredette has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Bredette was 108 F on August 6, 1983, and July 24, 2007, while the coldest temperature recorded was -52 F on January 20, 1954.

2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 10,794 people living in the county.

2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 10,425 people, 3,553 households, and 2,548 families residing in the county. The population density was 4.4 PD/sqmi. There were 4,063 housing units at an average density of 1.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 60.4% American Indian, 35.8% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 20.0% were Norwegian, 16.3% were German, 6.1% were Irish, and 1.3% were American.

Of the 3,553 households, 42.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 20.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.3% were non-families, and 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.41. The median age was 31.6 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,451 and the median income for a family was $50,146. Males had a median income of $39,008 versus $34,725 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,821. About 15.8% of families and 21.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.6% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

Politics
Roosevelt County is competitive in presidential elections. After a seven-election streak of voting for the Democratic candidate, it voted for Republican Donald Trump by narrow margins in 2016 and 2020.

Cities

 * Poplar
 * Wolf Point (county seat)

Towns

 * Bainville
 * Brockton
 * Culbertson
 * Froid

Unincorporated communities

 * Biem
 * Blair
 * Bredette
 * Chelsea
 * Fort Kipp
 * Macon
 * Sprole

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Roosevelt County, Montana


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Whetstone, London

Whetstone is a suburb of London, in the London Borough of Barnet, bearing the postcode N20. It is served by an Underground station called Totteridge and Whetstone (Totteridge being to the west of Whetstone). Whetstone is around 7.8 miles North of Charing Cross and is a settlement in the London Borough of Barnet, previously part of the Borough of Finchley prior to the 1960s. The combined areas of Totteridge and Whetstone was, at the outset of the 21st century, found to be the 63rd-richest of the more than 9,000 wards of the United Kingdom.

The High Road is the A1000, formerly known as the Great North Road, parts of it still bear this name. Until the late 19th century its tiny developed area was one of two main settlements in the ancient parish of Friern Barnet, the other being Colney Hatch. It was thus the northernmost settlement in the Ossulstone hundred. Whetstone is also the northernmost part of the parish of Finchley.

Early history
In medieval times the Hospitallers had a settlement nearby in Friern Barnet probably where Friary Park is now and alongside the old road to London. In 1340 the Bishop of London opened a gate into his park (the Highgate) which enabled a straight road across Finchley Common along the ridge there. The Hospitallers' settlement moved further west and became known as West Town, also known variously as "le Weston" (1398), "Wheston" (1417), and "Whetstonestret" (1439).

It the northernmost settlement in the Ossulstone hundred.

Until the late 19th century its tiny developed area was one of two main settlements in the ancient parish of Friern Barnet, the other being Colney Hatch. Friern Barnet remained its ecclesiastical parish and its civil form was at that time giving way to urban and rural districts, in this case Friern Barnet Urban District.

The Whetstone

John Heathfield of the Friern Barnet & District Local History Society writes that according to the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, the stone outside The Griffin public house commonly known as the Whetstone, is a mounting block, and if so "it would have been connected to the toll gate erected by the Whetstone & Highgate Turnpike Trust about 1730."

An historic legend regarding the whetstone itself tells that the stone was used by soldiers on their march towards High Barnet (approx. 3.5 miles north of Whetstone) in preparation for the battle of Barnet in 1471.

He also states that the earliest evidence for the existence of the stone is a photograph taken in 1861 which shows it much closer to The Griffin than it is now. The stone was moved to its present location when the toll gate was removed in 1863.

Until the late 19th century this was the northern hamlet, centred on a crossroads, of the medieval parish of Friern Barnet which stretched 3 mi south-southeast and was half as wide as long. The very rural parish until then had one other main population centre, equally a hamlet, Colney Hatch.

Transport in Whetstone
Whetstone has transport links with a national rail station on the Welwyn Garden City branch of the Thameslink network (Oakleigh Park Station, approx. 1 mile East of Whetstone high road), a TFL London underground station (Totteridge and Whetstone) and numerous TFL buses headed towards Walthamstow, Highbury, High Barnet, Brent Cross, Arnos Grove, Highgate, Muswell Hill, Edgware, Winchmore Hill, Trafalgar Square and Colindale.

Buses that serve Whetstone include the 125 from Winchmore Hill to Colindale, the 234 from Barnet, The Spires to Archway, the 263 from Barnet Hospital to Highbury Barn, the 383 from High Barnet to Finchley Memorial Hospital via Friary Park, the 34 from Walthamstow to Barnet Church, the 251 from Arnos Grove to Edgware, the 326 from Brent Cross to High Barnet and the N20 from High Barnet to Trafalgar Square.

Geography
Whetstone is the northernmost part of the Finchley plateau. Whetstone lies about 95 m above sea level.

Swan Lane Open Space is a park in south Whetstone and the Dollis Valley Greenwalk along the bank of Dollis Brook passes through it.

Transport
Stations in the area are:
 * Totteridge and Whetstone (Northern line)

 * Oakleigh Park Thameslink

title: Whetstone, London


text:
Whetstone

Whetstone may refer to:

Tools and technology

 * Whetstone, a sharpening stone used for knives and other cutting tools
 * Hornfels, a type of stone sometimes called whetstone
 * Whetstone (benchmark), a benchmark for measuring computing power
 * Operation Whetstone, a nuclear test program in the 1960s

Places
United Kingdom
 * Whetstone, Leicestershire, a village and civil parish
 * Whetstone, London
 * Whetstones (stone circle), an ancient pagan monument in Powys, Wales

United States
 * Whetstone, Arizona, a census-designated place
 * Whetstone, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
 * The Whetstone River in South Dakota and Minnesota
 * Whetstone Gulf State Park in New York
 * Whetstone High School (Columbus, Ohio), a high school located in the Clintonville neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio
 * Whetstone Mountain in Colorado
 * Whetstone Mountains in Arizona

Other uses

 * Whetstone (surname)

title: Whetstone


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White City, London

White City is a district of London, England, in the northern part of Shepherd's Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, 5 miles (8 km) west-northwest of Charing Cross. White City is home to Television Centre, White City Place, Westfield London and Loftus Road, the home stadium of Queens Park Rangers F.C. The district got its name from the white marble cladding used on buildings during several exhibitions when the area was first developed, between 1908 and 1914.

History
The area now called White City was level arable farmland until 1908, when it was used as the site of the Franco-British Exhibition and the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1909 the exhibition site hosted the Imperial International Exhibition and in 1910, the Japan–British Exhibition. The final two exhibitions to be held there were the Latin-British Exhibition (1912) and the Anglo-American Exposition (1914), which was brought to a premature end by the outbreak of the First World War. During this period it was known as the Great White City due to the white marble cladding used on the exhibition pavilions, and hence gave its name to this part of Shepherd's Bush. Apartments blocks for lower income residents were constructed in the 1930s.

White City Stadium, BBC White City, and White City Place
White City Stadium, in the northern section of the district, also known as the Great Stadium and seating 66,000, was officially opened by King Edward VII on 27 April 1908 for the 1908 Summer Olympics. The starting point of the marathon race at the 1908 Summer Olympics was at Windsor Castle creating a distance of 42.195 km or 26 miles 385 yards to the finishing line at White City stadium. In 1921, this was adopted as the standard distance for marathon races; previously the distance varied slightly. After the Olympics, the stadium continued to be used for athletics until 1914, and, in 1927, it was turned into a greyhound racing track, although it was also used for short periods by Queens Park Rangers football club, and for other sports. In 1931, a 440-yard running track was installed for the Amateur Athletic Association Championships, held there from 1932 to 1970. It also hosted the match between Uruguay and France during the 1966 FIFA World Cup. In 1934, American rodeo promoter Tex Austin staged the World's Championship Rodeo at White City Stadium. Champion cowboys and cowgirls from Canada and the United States participated including Pete Knight, Weldon Bascom, Clark Lund, Ted Elder, and Vera McGinnis. The world's most famous rodeo bucking horse, Midnight, was brought out of retirement for one last rodeo. The month-long rodeo was held from 9 June to 6 July with ten shows per week. Pathé News filmed some of the events. The Stadium was home to the White City Rebels motorcycle speedway team, part of the inaugural British League in 1929 and from 1976 to 1978. Speedway was run first in 1928 and occasional meetings were run from 1953 to 1958, 1961 and 1979 to 1983. The stadium was demolished starting in late 1984 to make way for the BBC White City building. The athletes of the 1908 Summer Olympics are commemorated with a list inscribed on the side of the BBC Broadcast Centre Building, and the athletics finish line is marked in the paving outside the building.

In 1960, BBC Television Centre was built at the former site of the White City Stadium. It was damaged by the Real IRA in the 2001 BBC bombing. The bomb went off on Wood Lane, in front of the Television Centre news building. In October 2007, BBC announced plans to sell Television Centre as part of a cost-cutting programme. In June 2008, English Heritage announced its recommendation to list parts of Television Centre as a grade II listed building. In July 2012, BBC sold Television Centre to a partnership consisting of Stanhope plc, Mitsui Fudosan and Alberta Investment Management Corporation for £200 million. It was redeveloped but original features of the buildings including the "doughnut", atomic dot wall and Helios statue were retained. The redeveloped Television Centre was opened to the public and will offer entertainment and leisure facilities, including a new branch of members' club Soho House, offices aimed at the creative sector and approximately 1,000 new homes, together with pedestrian access through the site providing connectivity with the local area, including Hammersmith Park. BBC Studioworks (formerly BBC S&PP) moved back to Television Centre in 2017 to operate Studios 1, 2 and 3. BBC Worldwide moved into office space in the Stage 6 building following extensive refurbishment in 2015.

Landowners in the area, including White City Living by St James, Westfield London, Stanhope and Imperial College London are in the process of redeveloping the site into White City Place, which will provide 5,000+ new homes, 2 million square feet of commercial office space, 30 acres of public space, and 19,000 jobs.

White City Estate
To house the growing population of Shepherd's Bush, a five-storey housing estate was built in the late 1930s and after World War II, which also took the name of the White City. Streets were named after countries that had featured in the exhibitions.

The estate is served by an Anglican church, St Michael and St George (1955) on Commonwealth Avenue.

Westfield London
On 30 October 2008, Westfield London opened.

In July 2015, terrorists tried to blow up the Westfield London but they were stopped by police. They wanted the bombing to be around the same day as the 10th anniversary of the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

Transport
Two stations were built to serve the centre close to the sites of closed former London Underground stations:
 * Wood Lane on the Circle line and the Hammersmith & City line, located to provide a walking distance connection with the Central line station at White City.
 * Shepherd's Bush on the West London line, to the east of the site adjacent to the Holland Park roundabout and served by London Overground trains. It is also a short walking distance from Shepherd's Bush tube station served by the Central line.

Education

Imperial College London purchased the BBC Woodlands site for 28 million pounds in 2009 and demolished it the following year. Sections of this second major campus started opening in most notably an "innovation hub" for the college, including research facilities and commercialisation space, as well as postgraduate accommodation. The chemistry department moved much of its research to the new Molecular Sciences Research Hub on the campus in 2018, with further departments and industry partners moving to the campus and surrounding area over the coming years. The campus is also home to the Invention Rooms, a college hackerspace and community outreach centre.

Schools in the area include Ark Burlington Danes Academy and Phoenix Academy

Nearest places

 * Wormwood Scrubs
 * Notting Hill
 * Kensal Green
 * Bayswater
 * Harlesden
 * North Kensington
 * Acton
 * West Kensington
 * Shepherd's Bush

Nearest tube stations

 * East Acton
 * Goldhawk Road
 * Latimer Road
 * Shepherd's Bush Market
 * Shepherd's Bush
 * White City
 * Wood Lane

Nearest railway stations

 * Shepherd's Bush

People

 * Daisy Waugh

In art and literature

 * Pete Townshend, a former resident of Shepherd's Bush, released a solo album entitled White City: A Novel in November 1985 on Atco. The title refers to a story which accompanies the album and which takes place in the London area of White City. A related film was also produced.
 * North of the Westfield shopping centre itself, the grade II listed Dimco Buildings (1898), now refurbished as a bus depot were used as the location for the 'Acme Factory' in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
 * The Bill Slider Novels of Cynthia Harrod-Eagles are set in Shepherd's Bush and the first title, Orchestrated Death, begins with a body found in a White City flat.

title: White City, London


text:
Whitechapel

Whitechapel is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough town centre. Whitechapel is located 3.4 mi east of Charing Cross.

The district is primarily built around Whitechapel High Street and Whitechapel Road, which extend from the City of London boundary to just east of Whitechapel station. These two streets together form a section of the originally Roman Road from the Aldgate to Colchester, a route that later became known as the Great Essex Road. Population growth resulting from ribbon development along this route, led to the creation of the parish of Whitechapel, a daughter parish of Stepney, from which it was separated, in the 14th century.

Whitechapel has a long history of having a high proportion of immigrants within the community. From the late 19th century until the late 20th century the area had a very high Jewish population, and it subsequently became a significant settlement for the British Bangladeshi community. Whitechapel and neighbouring Spitalfields were the locations of the infamous 11 Whitechapel murders (1888–91), some of which were attributed to the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. These factors and others have led to Whitechapel being seen by many as the embodiment of London's East End, and for that reason it is often used to represent the East End in art and literature.

Landmarks include Tower Hamlets Town Hall, the Royal London Hospital and the East London Mosque.

Origin and toponymy
Whitechapel was originally part of the Manor and Parish of Stepney, but population growth resulting from its position just outside the Aldgate on the Roman Road to Essex resulted in significant population growth, so a chapel of ease, dedicated to St Mary was established so people did not have to make the longer journey to Stepney's parish church St Dunstans. The earliest known rector was Hugh de Fulbourne in 1329.

Whitechapel takes its name from that church, St Mary Matfelon, which like the nearby White Tower of the Tower of London was at one time whitewashed to give it a prominent and attractive appearance. The etymology of the Matfelon element is unclear and apparently unique.

Around 1338, Whitechapel became an independent parish, with St Mary Matfelon, originally a chapel of ease within Stepney, becoming the parish church.

Geography of the ancient parish
Whitechapel's spine is the old Roman Road, that ran from the Aldgate on London's Wall, to Colchester in Essex (Roman Britannia's first capital), and beyond. This road, which was later named the Great Essex Road, is now designated the A11. This historic route has the names Whitechapel High Street and Whitechapel Road as it passes through, or along the boundary, of Whitechapel. For many centuries travellers to and from London on this route were accommodated at the many coaching inns which lined Whitechapel High Street.

The area of the parish extended around 1400 metres from the City of London boundary, originally marked by Aldgate Bars around 180 metres east of the Aldgate itself, to vicinity of the junction with Cambridge Heath Road where it met the boundaries of Mile End and Bethnal Green.

The northern boundary included Wentworth Street and parts of Old Montague Street. The parish also included an area around Goodman's Fields, close to the City and south of St Mary's, the parish church.

Administrative history
The area became an independent parish around 1338. At that time parish areas only had an ecclesiastical (church) function, with parallel civil parishes being formed in the Tudor period. The original purpose of the civil parishes was poor relief. The area was part of the historic (or ancient) county of Middlesex, but military and most (or all) civil county functions were managed more locally, by the Tower Division (also known as the Tower Hamlets).

The role of the Tower Division ended when Whitechapel became part of the new County of London in 1889, and most civil parish functions were removed when the area joined the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney in 1900.

In 1965 there was a further round of changes when the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green and the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar to form the new London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The new borough of Tower Hamlets covered only part of the historic Tower Division (or Tower Hamlets). At the same time, the area became part of the new Greater London, which replaced the older, smaller County of London.

Early development
Whitechapel, along with areas such as neighbouring Shoreditch, Holborn (west of the city) and Southwark (south of the Thames), was one of London's earlier extra-mural suburbs. Beyond controls of the City of London Corporation, Whitechapel was used for more polluting and land-intensive industries the city market demanded, such as tanneries, builders' goods yards, laundries, clothes dyers, slaughterhouse-related work, soaperies, and breweries. Whitechapel was strongly notable for foundries, foremost of which was the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which later cast Philadelphia's Liberty Bell, Westminster's Big Ben, Bow Bells and more recently the London Olympic Bell in 2012. Population shifts from rural areas to London from the 17th century to the mid-19th century resulted in great numbers of more or less destitute people taking up residence amidst the industries, businesses and services ancillary to the City of London that had attracted them.

Whitechapel Mount
The Whitechapel Mount was a large, probably artificial mound, of unknown origin, that stood on the south side of Whitechapel Road, about 1200 metres east of the Aldgate, immediately west of the modern Royal London Hospital. The Mount is widely believed to have formed part of London's defences during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the mid-17th century. This was either as part of a ring of fortifications known as the Lines of Communication which were in operation from 1642 to 1647, or additionally or alternatively, as one of the three forts which replaced that system of defence immediately afterwards.

The mount was removed to allow residential development in 1807–1808.

Davenant Foundation School
In 1680, Ralph Davenant (rector of the parish of Whitechapel), his wife and his sister-in-law bequeathed a large sum for a schoolmaster to teach literacy, numeracy and the "principles of the Church of England" to forty boys of the parish. In the same deed Henry and Sarah Gullifer undertook to provide for the education of thirty poor girls; namely a schoolmistress was to teach them the "catechism, reading, knitting, plain sewing, and any other useful work". In 1701 an unknown donor gave the foundation £1,000 so the children might be suitably clothed as well as educated. Between 1783 and 1830 the school received twenty gifts totalling over £5,000. Typical income seems to have been about £500 per year, which was much more than most vicar's and rector's livings, net. Supporting modern education, the Davenant Centre continues and the Davenant Foundation School has, since 1966, been based at Loughton in Essex.

Royal London Hospital
The London Infirmary was established as a voluntary hospital in 1740, and within a year soon moved from Finsbury to Prescot Street, a very densely populated and deprived part of southern Whitechapel. Its aim was "The relief of all sick and diseased persons and, in particular, manufacturers, seamen in the merchant service and their wives and children".

The hospital moved to the then largely rural Whitechapel Road site in 1757, and was renamed the London Hospital. It became known as the Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The new building, adjacent to the old building it replaced, was opened in 2012.

In 2023 the old hospital building became the new Tower Hamlets Town Hall, replacing the Mulberry Place site in Poplar.

18th and 19th centuries
In common with many other parts of the East End of London, Whitechapel gained a reputation for severe poverty, overcrowding, and the social problems that came with it.

William Booth began his Christian Revival Society, preaching the gospel in a tent, erected in the Friends Burial Ground, Thomas Street, Whitechapel, in 1865. Others joined his Christian Mission, and on 7 August 1878 the Salvation Army was formed at a meeting held at 272 Whitechapel Road. A statue commemorates both his mission and his work in helping the poor.

The population grew quickly with migrants from the English countryside and further afield. Many of these incomers were Irish or Jewish. Western Whitechapel, and neighbouring areas of Wapping, became known as Little Germany due to the large numbers of German people who came to the area; many of these people, and their descendants, worked in the sugar industry. The St George's German Lutheran Church on Alie Street is a legacy of that part of the community.

Writing of the period 1883–1884, Yiddish theatre actor Jacob Adler wrote, "The further we penetrated into this Whitechapel, the more our hearts sank. Was this London? Never in Russia, never later in the worst slums of New York, were we to see such poverty as in the London of the 1880s."

This endemic poverty drove many women to prostitution. In October 1888 the Metropolitan Police estimated that there were 1,200 prostitutes "of very low class" resident in Whitechapel and about 62 brothels. Reference is specifically made to them in Charles Booth's Life and Labour of the People in London, especially to dwellings called Blackwall Buildings belonging to Blackwall Railway. Such prostitutes were numbered amongst the 11 Whitechapel murders (1888–91), some of which were committed by the legendary serial killer known as "Jack the Ripper". These attacks caused widespread terror in the district and throughout the country and drew the attention of social reformers to the squalor and vice of the area, even though these crimes remain unsolved today.

London County Council, founded 1889, helped deliver investment in new housing and slum clearance; objectives which were a popular cause at the time.

The "Elephant Man" Joseph Merrick (1862–1890) became well known in Whitechapel – he was exhibited in a shop on the Whitechapel Road before being helped by Frederick Treves (1853–1923) at the Royal London Hospital, opposite the actual shop. There is a museum in the hospital about his life.

20th century
In 1902, American author Jack London, looking to write a counterpart to Jacob Riis's seminal book How the Other Half Lives, donned ragged clothes and boarded in Whitechapel, detailing his experiences in The People of the Abyss.

The Siege of Sidney Street (also known as the Battle of Stepney, after the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney of which Whitechapel was part) in January 1911 was a gunfight between police and military forces, and Latvian revolutionaries. Then Home Secretary Winston Churchill took over the operation, and his presence caused a political row over the level of his involvement during the time. His biographers disagreed and claimed that he gave no operational commands to the police, but a Metropolitan Police account states that the events of Sidney Street were "a very rare case of a Home Secretary taking police operational command decisions".

The Freedom Press, a socialist publishing house, thought it worthwhile to explore conditions in the leading city of the nation that had invented modern capitalism. He concluded that English poverty was far rougher than the American variety. The juxtaposition of the poverty, homelessness, exploitative work conditions, prostitution, and infant mortality of Whitechapel and other East End locales with some of the greatest personal wealth the world has ever seen made it a focal point for leftist reformers and revolutionaries of all kinds, from George Bernard Shaw, whose Fabian Society met regularly in Whitechapel, to Vladimir Lenin, led rallies in Whitechapel during his exile from Russia. The area is still home to Freedom Press, the anarchist publishing house founded by Charlotte Wilson.

On Sunday 4 October 1936, the British Union of Fascists led by Oswald Mosley, intended to march through the East End, an area with a large Jewish population. The BUF mustered on and around Tower Hill and hundreds of thousands of local people turned out to block the march. There were violent clashes with the BUF around Tower Hill, but most of the violence occurred as police tried to clear a route through the crowds for the BUF to follow.

The police fought protesters at nearby Cable Street – the series of clashes becoming known as the Battle of Cable Street – and Tower Hill, but the largest confrontations took place at Aldgate and Whitechapel, notably at Gardiner's Corner, at the junction of Leman Street, Commercial Street and Whitechapel High Street.

The Halal restaurant on the junction of St Mark Street and Alie Street opened in 1939 to serve the many Indian seamen living in the area. It is now the oldest Indian restaurant in East London.

Whitechapel remained poor through the first half of the 20th century, though somewhat less desperately so. It suffered great damage from enemy bombers during the Blitz, and from the subsequent German V-weapon attacks. The parish church, St Mary Matfelon, was badly damaged in a raid on 29 December 1940, a raid so damaging that it caused the Second Great Fire of London.

The remains were demolished in 1952. St Mary's traced stone footprint and former graveyard remain, as part of Altab Ali Park.

On 4 May 1978, three teenagers murdered Altab Ali, a 24 year old Bangladesh-born clothing worker, in a racially motivated attack, as he walked home after work. The attack took place on Adler Street, by St Mary's Churchyard, where St Mary Matfelon had previously stood. The reaction to his murder provoked the mass mobilisation of the local Bengali community. The gardens of the former churchyard were later renamed Altab Ali Park in his memory.

The Metropolitan line between Hammersmith and Whitechapel was withdrawn in 1990 and shown separately as a new line called the Hammersmith & City line.

21st century
Crossrail calls at Whitechapel station on the Elizabeth line. Eastbound services will be split into two branches after leaving the historic station which underwent a massive redevelopment that started in 2010.

In order to prepare for Crossrail, in January 2016, the old Whitechapel station was closed for refurbishment and modernisation work in order to improve services and increase capacity in the station.

The Royal London Hospital was closed and re-opened behind the original site in 2012 in a brand new building costing £650m. The old site was then repurchased by the local council to open a new town hall, replacing the existing Town Hall at Mulberry Place.

In March 2022, Whitechapel station signs had "হোয়াইটচ্যাপেল" in Bengali installed. The British-Pakistani Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was "delighted" that the signage was installed ahead of Bangladesh Independence Day on 26 March. The installation was attended by Bangladeshi diplomats and Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal.

Also in 2022 a historical marker was placed in Whitechapel, on the site of the former Adler House at the junction of Adler and Coke Streets by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation UK Branch. Adler House was named in honour of the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, Herman Adler, 1891–1911. The marker recognises the significance of Whitechapel as the centre of British Jewish refugee life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Governance
Local council facilities will be grouped within the old Royal London Hospital building as a civic centre. The local library, now called an Idea Store is located on Whitechapel Road.

Culture
Whitechapel Road was the location of two 19th-century theatres: The Effingham (1834–1897) and The Pavilion Theatre (1828–1935; building demolished in 1962). Charles Dickens Jr. (eldest child of Charles Dickens), in his 1879 book Dickens's Dictionary of London, described the Pavilion this way: "A large East-end theatre capable of holding considerably over 3,000 persons. Melodrama of a rough type, farce, pantomime, &c." In the early 20th century it became the home of Yiddish theatre, catering to the large Jewish population of the area, and gave birth to the Anglo-Jewish 'Whitechapel Boys' avant-garde literary and artistic movement.

Since at least the 1970s, Whitechapel and other nearby parts of East London have figured prominently in London's art scene. Probably the area's most prominent art venue is the Whitechapel Art Gallery, founded in 1901 and long an outpost of high culture in a poor neighbourhood. As the neighbourhood has gentrified, it has gained citywide, and even international, visibility and support. From 2005 the gallery underwent a major expansion, with the support of £3.26 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The expanded facility opened in 2009.

Whitechapel in the early 21st century has figured prominently in London's punk rock and skuzz rock scenes, with the main focal point for this scene being Whitechapel Factory and Rhythm Factory bar, restaurant, and nightclub. This scene includes the likes of The Libertines, Zap!, Nova, The Others, Razorlight, and The Rakes, all of whom have had some commercial success in the music charts.

Demographics
Bangladeshis are the largest ethnic group in the area, making up 40% of the Whitechapel ward total population. The East London Mosque at the end of Whitechapel Road is one of the largest mosques in Europe. The mosque group was established as early as 1910, and the demand for a mosque grew as the Sylheti community grew rapidly over the years.

In 1985 this large, purpose built mosque with a dome and minaret was built in the heart of Whitechapel, attracting thousands of worshippers every week, and it was further expanded with the London Muslim Centre in 2004.

A library, the Whitechapel Idea Store, constructed in 2005 at a cost of £12 million by William Verry to a design by David Adjaye, was nominated for the 2006 Stirling Prize.

In literature
Whitechapel features in Charles Dickens's Pickwick Papers (chapter 22) as the location of the Bull Inn, where the Pickwickians take a coach to Ipswich. En route, driving along Whitechapel Road, Sam Weller opines that it is "not a wery nice neighbourhood" and notes the correlation between poverty and the abundance of oyster stalls here. One of Fagin's dens in Dickens's Oliver Twist was located in Whitechapel, and Fagin himself was possibly based on a notorious local 'fence' named Ikey Solomon (1785–1850).

Whitechapel is also the setting of several novels by Jewish authors such as Children of the Ghetto and The King of Schnorrers by Israel Zangwill and Jew Boy by Simon Blumenfeld. Several chapters of Sholem Aleichem's classic Yiddish novel Adventures of Mottel the Cantor's Son take place in early 20th-century Whitechapel, depicted from the point of view of an impoverished East European Jewish family fleeing the pogroms. The novel Journey Through a Small Planet by Emanuel Litvinoff vividly describes Whitechapel and its Jewish inhabitants in the 1920s and 1930s.

The prostitute and daughter of a Luddite leader Sybil Gerard, main character of William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's novel The Difference Engine comes from Whitechapel. The novel's plot begins there.

One of the episodes in Michael Moorcock's novel Breakfast in the Ruins takes place in 1905 Whitechapel, described from the point of view of an eleven year old Jewish refugee from Poland, working with his parents at a sweatshop, who is caught up in the deadly confrontation between Russian revolutionaries and agents of the Czar's Secret Police.

Brick Lane, the 2003 novel by Monica Ali is based in Whitechapel and documents the life of a young Bangladeshi woman's experience of living in Tower Hamlets in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Whitechapel is used as a location in most Jack the Ripper fiction. One such example is the bizarre White Chappel Scarlet Tracings (1987) by Iain Sinclair. It also features as the setting for the science fiction Webcomic FreakAngels, written by popular comics writer Warren Ellis.

Whitechapel is one of the worldwide locations referenced in Edith Piaf's song C'est à Hambourg, describing the harsh life of prostitutes.

In 2002, Whitechapel was used as the setting for a Sherlock Holmes film, The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire, based on the Arthur Conan Doyle story The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire.

Whitechapel serves as the setting for the television series Ripper Street, which aired 2013–2016.

Current railway stations
Whitechapel has two underground stations: Aldgate East and Whitechapel. Aldgate East is served by the District line and the Hammersmith & City. Whitechapel is also served by these lines, as well by the Elizabeth line and the East London Line.

Historic railway stations
Whitechapel station was originally called Whitechapel (Mile End) to reflect its position just inside Whitechapel's boundary with Mile End and also its boundary with Bethnal Green.

Aldgate East station was originally 150 metres west of its current location and there was once an additional district line station immediately east of the modern East London Mosque called St Mary's (Whitechapel Road).

In the 1930s, Aldgate East station was relocated 150 metres east of its original position, meaning there would then be three stations in very close proximity; as a result, the railway economised by closing St Mary's, in the middle of the three stations.

Other modes
London Buses 15, 25, 106, 115, 135, 205, 254, D3, N15, N205, N253, N550 and N551 all operate within the area.

Whitechapel is connected to the National Road Network by both the A11 on Whitechapel Road in the centre and, to the south, the A13 and The Highway A1203 running east–west.

Cycle Superhighway CS2 runs from Aldgate to Stratford on the A11.

Nearest places

 * Districts
 * Aldgate
 * Bethnal Green
 * City of London
 * East Smithfield
 * Spitalfields
 * Tower Hill
 * Wapping
 * Mile End
 * Mile End New Town

Notable natives or residents
In addition to the prominent figures detailed in the article:

Born in Whitechapel

 * Damon Albarn – musician, lead singer of Blur and co-creator of virtual cartoon rock band Gorillaz, born 1968
 * John Hoppner, artist
 * Julius Stafford Baker, cartoonist
 * Abraham Beame, first Jewish mayor of New York City, 1906–2001
 * Jack Kid Berg, boxer, "The Whitechapel Windmill", British Lightweight Champion 1934
 * Stanley Black, bandleader, 1913–2002.
 * Simon Blumenfeld, novelist, playwright and columnist, 1907–2005.
 * Georgia Brown (born Lillian Klot), actress and singer, 1933–1992
 * Tina Charles, 1970s disco artist, born 1954
 * Peter Cheyney, mystery writer and journalist, 1896–1951
 * Jack Cohen, Anglo-Jewish businessman who founded the Tesco supermarket chain, 1898–1979
 * Ashley Cole, Chelsea and England footballer 1980
 * Jack "Spot" Comer, Jewish gangster and anti-Fascist, 1912–1996
 * Roger Delgado, actor (known for playing "The Master" in Doctor Who), 1918–1973
 * Lloyd Doyley, footballer
 * Bud Flanagan, (born Chaim Reuven Weintrop), music hall comedian on stage, radio, film and television, 1896–1968
 * Micky Flanagan, comedian
 * Kemal Izzet, footballer
 * Muzzy Izzet, footballer
 * Kenney Jones, drummer
 * Morris Kestelman, artist
 * Charlie Lee, Leyton Orient footballer
 * Emanuel Litvinoff, Anglo-Jewish author of Journey Through a Small Planet
 * Margaret Pepys (née Kite), mother of diarist Samuel Pepys, d. 1667
 * Brendan Perry, founding member of music group Dead Can Dance
 * Ella Purnell, actress
 * Thomas Li, actor and famous critic 1669-1701
 * Abe Saperstein, founder of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team
 * Barry Silkman (born 1952), footballer
 * Sarah Taylor, cricketer
 * Alan Tilvern, film and television actor, 1918–2003
 * Anwar Uddin, captain of Dagenham and Redbridge
 * Gary Webster, actor

Resident in or otherwise associated with Whitechapel

 * Altab Ali, murdered in a Whitechapel park in 1978
 * Barney Barnato, diamond mining industrialist and Randlord, 1851–1897
 * Richard Brandon (? – 20 June 1649), the reputed executioner of King Charles I was buried at the Whitechapel parish church of St Mary Matfelon. The church register records that he lived in Rosemary Lane (modern Royal Mint Street).
 * Mary Hughes (1860–1941), a voluntary parish worker who initially lived in the Blackwall Buildings before moving to a converted pub on Vallance Road where she offered food and shelter to the needy.
 * Jack the Ripper, serial killer
 * Charles Lahr (1885–1971), German-born anarchist, London bookseller and publisher, secretary of the Whitechapel branch of the Industrial Union of Direct Actionists (IUDA)
 * Jack London, who wrote The People of the Abyss while staying in Whitechapel – an account of his 1902 stay amongst the East End poor
 * Richard Parker, Royal Navy mutineer buried in St Mary Matfelon
 * Rudolf Rocker, anarcho-syndicalist writer, historian and prominent activist, active in Whitechapel 1895–1918, 1873–1958
 * Obadiah Shuttleworth, composer, violinist and organist of the parish church, d. 1734
 * Avrom Stencl (1897–1983), Polish-born Yiddish poet, early companion of Franz Kafka, published Loshn and Lebn in Whitechapel

Future developments
Whitechapel Market and the A11 corridor is currently the subject of a £20 million investment to improve the public spaces along the route. The London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets & Newham are working with English Heritage and Transport for London to refurbish the historic buildings at this location and improve the market.

title: Whitechapel


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Willesden

Willesden is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed part of the London Borough of Brent in Greater London since 1965. Dollis Hill is also sometimes referred to as being part of Willesden.

With its close proximity to affluent neighbourhoods Brondesbury Park, Queen's Park and Kensal Rise, the area surrounding Willesden Green station has seen increased gentrification in the past several years, with rapidly rising property prices. The Daily Telegraph described Willesden Green as one of London's "new middle class" areas. The area has a population of 44,295, as of 2021, including the Willesden Green, Dollis Hill and Dudden Hill wards. Willesden Green has one of the city's highest Irish populations, and is also strongly associated with Afro-Caribbeans and Latin Americans.

Willesden is mostly in the NW10 postcode district, but part of it is in the NW2 postcode district.

Etymology
The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon Willesdune, meaning the Hill of the Spring, and a Manor (landholding) bearing this name was recorded in 939 AD. The Domesday Book of 1086 records the manor as Wellesdone. However, on 19th century maps of the town such as those from the 'Ordnance Survey First Series', the town is shown as Wilsdon. The current spelling was adopted by the London and Birmingham Railway in 1844, when they opened a local station.

Early history
Willesden became a civil parish in the medieval period. From the 14th to 16th centuries, the town was a place of pilgrimage due to the presence of two ancient statues of the Virgin Mary at the Church of St Mary. One of these statues is thought to have been a Black Madonna, venerated as Our Lady of Willesden, which was insulted by the Lollards, taken to Thomas Cromwell's house and burnt in 1538 on a large bonfire of "notable images" including those of Our Lady of Walsingham, Our Lady of Worcester, and Our Lady of Ipswich. There was also a "holy well" which was thought to possess miraculous qualities, particularly for blindness and other eye disorders. Much of the district supplied apples, pears and vegetables to the city of London for many years from the early years of the industrial revolution.

Industrial history
The Iris was a British car brand that was manufactured from 1906 by Legros & Knowles Ltd in Willesden. Lucien Alphonse Legros (1866–1933), son of the artist Alphonse Legros, and Guy Knowles, scion of a wealthy and artistic family, founded Legros & Knowles Ltd in Cumberland Park, Willesden Junction, in 1904 to build and repair vehicles.

Modern history
The parish of Willesden remained predominantly rural up until 1875, when its population was 18,500. It included the villages and hamlets of Brondesbury, Dollis Hill, Dudden Hill, Harlesden, Kilburn, Mapesbury, Oxgate and Stonebridge. However, this changed with the opening of the Metropolitan Railway (later the Metropolitan line) station of Willesden Green on 24 November 1879. By 1906 the population had grown to 140,000, a phenomenon of rapid growth that was to be repeated in the 1920s in neighbouring areas such as Harrow. The Metropolitan line service was withdrawn in 1940, when the station was served by the Bakerloo line, and later the Jubilee line.

The First World War caused Willesden to change from a predominantly middle class suburb to a working class part of London. After the war, Willesden grew rapidly as many factories opened up with numerous flats and terraced houses. The local council encouraged building to prevent large unemployment and decline. To the present day, Willesden has been shaped by the patterns of migration which marks it out as one of the most diverse areas in the United Kingdom. City of London Corporation records show that the first black person recorded in Brent was Sarah Eco, who was christened in St. Mary's Church in Willesden on 15 September 1723. The 1901 United Kingdom census recorded that 42% of the population was born in London. In 1923, the specialist coach builder Freestone and Webb established their base in Willesden, producing bespoke cars on Rolls-Royce and Bentley chassis until 1956.

Willesden became a municipal borough in 1933, and it is at this time that the area became predominantly working class. A small Irish community had formed in Willesden by this time, which grew rapidly during the period of the Second World War. A small Jewish community of refugees from Europe also formed during the war, with 3.5% of the population in 1951 born in Germany, Poland, Russia or Austria. During the war, Willesden suffered large bombing damage due to the heavy concentration of manufacturing industry, such as munition factories, the location of 'Smiths Instruments" (Used defensive aircraft instrumentation). Mulliner-Park Ward (Coach builders to Rolls-Royce and Bentley, hand built cars). Power Station location, canal and major railway locomotive overhaul facilities located in the area.

The period from 1960 saw migrants settling from the Caribbean and the Indian Subcontinent. Additionally, from 1963 it was the site of the Kuo Yuan, the first Chinese restaurant to serve Pekinese dishes in Britain. Since the 1960s, Willesden has been popular with young working holidaymakers from Canada, Australia and New Zealand, although this popularity has declined somewhat in favour of other areas since about 2003.

Willesden went into a period of decline during the 1970s and 1980s as much of the housing was inadequate due to overcrowding as industry was mixed with housing. The whole of central Willesden (bar the area by the Willesden Green station) was earmarked for redevelopment; however, this did not come to fruition. In the late 1980s, traders were given money to revamp the High Street to prevent shops closing.

The area surrounding Willesden Green station has become more middle-class and gentrified with marked property price rises in 2014 and 2015.

Politics
The Willesden Green ward is represented on Brent Council by three Labour councillors, Janice Long, Saqlain Choudry, and Tom Miller.

Willesden forms part of the Brent Central parliamentary constituency and is home to the local Labour Party MP Dawn Butler.

Demographics
According to the 2011 census, the Willesden Green ward had a population of 15,587. Ethnically, 22% of the population was Other White, followed by 20% White British, 8.2% Other Asian, 8.1% Black African and 7.1% Black Caribbean. 52.7% were BAME. The most spoken foreign language is Portuguese. 2,621 of the tenure households were privately rented; 1,625 were socially rented; 1,540 were owned.

Geography
Roundwood Park is on the south-western side while Gladstone Park is nearby to the north of Willesden. It lies about 40 m to 60 m above sea level.

Rail and tube
Several rail and London Underground lines pass through Willesden, calling at local stations including:

 * Dollis Hill tube station (Jubilee line)
 * Willesden Green tube station (Jubilee line)
 * Willesden Junction station (Bakerloo line and London Overground)

The Jubilee line connects the area directly to Stanmore via Wembley Park northbound, and to Central London southbound. Key southbound destinations include Baker Street, Bond Street, Westminster, Waterloo and Canary Wharf. Most southbound services terminate at Stratford.

Northbound Bakerloo line trains from Willesden Junction terminate at nearby Stonebridge Park, with some continuing towards Wembley Central and Harrow & Wealdstone. Like the Bakerloo line, southbound services also pass through Central London, with trains to Paddington, Marylebone, Baker Street, Oxford Circus, Waterloo and Elephant & Castle.

Metropolitan line trains pass through Willesden Green and Dollis Hill, but do not stop. This has not always been the case: Willesden Green station was opened by the Metropolitan Railway in 1879, and the area owes much of its development to the Metropolitan Railway and Metro-land. Today, passengers from Willesden can access the Metropolitan line by using the Jubilee line and changing at either Wembley Central to the north, or Finchley Road to the south.

Willesden Junction is served by several London Overground routes: Stations in Willesden straddle London fare zones 2 and 3.

Road
Several key routes pass through or around Willesden:

Buses
A large bus garage was built in 1902 and thus, many bus routes start or run through the town. The Queen visited it during her Golden Jubilee celebrations. London Buses routes serving Willesden are: 6, 52, 98, 206, 226, 260, 266, 297, 460 and N98.

Cycling
To the north of Willesden, Quietway 3 runs unbroken between Gladstone Park and Shoot Up Hill on quiet, residential streets. The route is coordinated by Transport for London (TfL) and is planned to extend eastbound into West Hampstead towards Regent's Park.

A direct, traffic-free cycle route runs to the south of Willesden along the Grand Union Canal towpath. Cyclists share the route with pedestrians, but the towpath provides cyclists with an unbroken, traffic-free connection to Paddington. From Paddington, cyclists can access further Central London destinations using traffic-free Cycle Superhighway 3.

Notable people from Willesden Green

 * Ronald Coase (1910–2013), Nobel Prize winner in Economics, was born and grew up in Willesden.
 * Graham Cole, actor.
 * Ernest Eldridge (1897–1935), racing driver
 * John Neville (1925-2011), actor
 * Zadie Smith's younger brother, Ben Smith, is an underground British rapper who goes by the name Doc Brown. He is featured on the track "Think Back" from the album The Enthusiast produced by the British DJ Evil Ed. He raps "Born and bred in Kilburn" but also says "Veteran Willesden tenant. Brent the borough of residence."
 * J. Keighley Snowden (1860-1947), author and journalist lived and died here
 * Kelvin Krash, a Trap music producer

Popular culture
"Well I tried to settle down Fulham Broadway
 * Emma Thompson's character in Last Chance Harvey mentions she lives in Willesden Green.
 * The town was featured in the popular novels White Teeth and NW by Zadie Smith, published in 2000 and 2012 respectively; the first novel was the basis of a subsequent TV series.
 * Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros song from "Willesden to Cricklewood" on their album Rock Art and the X-ray Style.
 * Willesden is the origin of the formation of the 1980s breakdance group the Willesden Dodgers with Pete Q. Harris, Nigel Green and Richard Jon Smith as the main members.
 * "Willesden Green" is the title of a song written by Ray Davies and performed by the Kinks and is included in the soundtrack of the 1971 film Percy. Lyrics from the song:

And I tried to make my home in Golders Green

But I gotta get that train

And go back home again

Oh how I miss the folks back home in Willesden Green

You know, I tried, I really tried to settle in this big city

And I always thought I could make it all on my very own

But there's one thing that keeps calling me

To that little, that little semi-detached

That's the folks, yeah, the folks back home

In Willesden Green"
 * Willesden Green is a running reference/joke on the animated TV cartoon series Danger Mouse.
 * The Last Detective (2002) was set and filmed in and around Willesden and used the Rising Sun pub as its central location.
 * Jonathan Creek is regularly filmed around Willesden.
 * The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band make a short reference to Willesden Green on their track "Shirt", the second track of their 1969 album Tadpoles quote: "Now, here in Willesden Green, yes, brrr, it is a bit chilly but no matter. Here comes a gentleman and we're going to talk to him about shirts."
 * Lead Balloon, a BBC4 sitcom starring Jack Dee, is filmed principally in Willesden.
 * A static inverter plant of HVDC Kingsnorth was located in Willesden.
 * In the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Christopher's mother lives in Willesden.
 * Willesden was the first home of Jive Records. It remained there for many years while growing into an international music company, which released the music of such global artists as Whodini, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Britney Spears. It was eventually acquired by Bertelsmann Music Group and relocated to New York.
 * The family who share their house with a ghost in the BBC's 1992 Sitcom So Haunt Me lived on Meadow Road, Willesden.
 * On the popular 1980s/90s TV show Minder, Arthur Daley had a lock-up full of questionable merchandise located in Willesden. He also orchestrated many of his dodgy deals in the area and other parts of northwest London. In the episode "Willesden Suite", Arthur finds himself caught up in the web of a dishonest manager whilst supplying a hotel with dodgy gear.
 * Willesden was once home to Morgan Studios, where many well-known rock albums by artists such as Yes, Led Zeppelin, and Supertramp were produced. Morgan Studios was the first to use 24-track recording.
 * In Nines' "Can't Blame Me" music video, the rapper can be seen wheelie-ing on his pedal bike down Willesden Lane outside the launderette where he washes his millions.
 * The second volume of Louis Ferdinand Celine Guignol's Band tells the story of Colonel O'Cologhan, whose mansion is situated in Willesden.

title: Willesden


text:
Richland County, Montana

Richland County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,491. Its county seat is Sidney.

Richland County was created by the Montana Legislature in 1914 from part of Dawson County. An early proposed name for the county was Gate, but Richland was decided upon instead as a way to entice new settlers.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2103 sqmi, of which 2084 sqmi is land and 19 sqmi (0.9%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:MT-16.svg|20px]] Montana Highway 16
 * [[Image:MT-23.svg|20px]] Montana Highway 23
 * [[Image:MT-200.svg|20px]] Montana Highway 200

Adjacent counties

 * Roosevelt County – north
 * Williams County, North Dakota – northeast
 * McKenzie County, North Dakota – east
 * Wibaux County - south
 * Dawson County – southwest
 * McCone County - west

2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 11,491 people living in the county.

2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 9,746 people, 4,167 households, and 2,698 families in the county. The population density was 4.7 PD/sqmi. There were 4,550 housing units at an average density of 2.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 95.0% white, 1.7% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.8% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 37.8% were German, 23.1% were Norwegian, 13.0% were Irish, 8.7% were American, and 6.5% were English.

Of the 4,167 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.3% were non-families, and 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 41.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $52,516 and the median income for a family was $60,236. Males had a median income of $44,788 versus $23,135 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,888. About 10.2% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
Although most of the surface land of the county is devoted to ranching, oil exploration and production became important elements of the county's economy beginning with the discovery in 2000 of Elm Coulee Oil Field, part of the Bakken formation.

Politics
Richland County voters have been reliably Republican, opting only one time for the Democratic Party candidate in national elections since 1948 (as of 2020).

City

 * Sidney (county seat)

Town

 * Fairview

Census-designated places

 * Crane
 * Fox Lake
 * Savage

Other unincorporated places

 * Andes
 * Enid
 * Lambert
 * Ludington
 * Girard
 * Nohly
 * Ridgelawn
 * Sioux Pass

title: Richland County, Montana