Ealing

History

Ealing's name derives from the Gillingas, a Saxon tribe mentioned in a charter issued by Æthelred of Mercia around the year 700. The Gillingas themselves took their name from a patriarch or chief called Gilla. The place-name appears as Yllinges around the year 1170 and as Elyng in 1553. The typical stone tool type of neanderthals, the Mousterian, is not found in south-east England, but Levallois type may be consistent with the hand axes found. The Church of St. Mary's, the parish church's priest for centuries fell to be appointed by the Bishop of London, earliest known to be so in , when he gave the great tithes to Canon Henry for keeping St. Paul's cathedral school. The church required frequent repair in the 1650s and was so ruinous in about 1675 that services were held elsewhere for several years. Worshippers moved to a wooden tabernacle in 1726 and the steeple fell in 1729, destroying the church, before its rebuilding. Ealing had an orchard in 1540 and others in 1577–8 and 1584. The earliest maps of just the parish of Ealing survive from the 18th century; John Speed and others having made maps of Middlesex, more than two centuries before. At Ealing a fair was held on the green in 1822, when William Cobbett chronicled he was diverted by crowds of Cockneys headed there. The fair, of unknown origin, was held from 24 to 26 June until suppressed in 1880. During the Victorian period, Ealing became a town. This meant that good, well-metalled roads had to be built, and schools and public buildings erected. To protect public health, the newly created Board of Health for Ealing commissioned London's first modern drainage and sewage systems here. Just as importantly, drinking fountains providing wholesome and safe water were erected by public prescription. Ealing…

Geography

Ealing is in the heart of west London. A relatively narrow section of the A406 North Circular Road, London bisects the east of it. The M4 motorway also runs almost adjacent to the south. It is less than two miles from the Tideway (London's upper estuary of the Thames) at the local apex of Kew Bridge that links to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Ealing has parks and open spaces, such as Ealing Common, Walpole, Lammas, Cleveland, Hanger Hill, Montpelier, and Pitshanger Parks. The River Brent flows through the latter.

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  73,185
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  68,443
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  67,266
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  63,988
• Rose-ringed Parakeet

  Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) · Aves
  61,320
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  59,045
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  53,862
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  53,619

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2020-09-22
  5 km N of Aylesbury, United Kingdom
• M 3.9 — 2020-09-08
  2 km WSW of Pitstone, United Kingdom
• M 3.3 — 2019-02-27
  3 km SE of Dorking, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2018-07-05
  1 km S of Ewhurst, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2018-06-27
  5 km W of Capel, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2018-04-01
  4 km E of Holmwood, United Kingdom