Ealing

This article is about the district in London. For the borough of which it is the administrative centre, see London Borough of Ealing. For other uses, see Ealing (disambiguation).
"Ealing Broadway" redirects here. For the railway station, see Ealing Broadway station. For the shopping centre and town square complex, see Ealing Broadway Centre.

Ealing
Ealing is located in Greater London
Ealing
Ealing
Location within Greater London
Population85,014 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceTQ175805
• Charing Cross7.5 mi (12.1 km) E
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtW5, W13
Postcode districtNW10
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London
51°31′03″N 0°17′56″W / 51.5175°N 0.2988°W / 51.5175; -0.2988

Ealing (/ˈiːlɪŋ/) is a district in West London, England, 7.5 miles (12.1 km) west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing.[2] It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.[3]

Ealing was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex. Until the urban expansion of London in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was a rural village.[4] Improvement in communications with London, culminating with the opening of the railway station in 1838, shifted the local economy to market garden supply and eventually to suburban development. By 1902 Ealing had become known as the "Queen of the Suburbs" due to its greenery, and because it was halfway between city and country.[5][6]

As part of the growth of London in the 20th century, Ealing significantly expanded and increased in population. It became a municipal borough in 1901 and part of Greater London in 1965. It is now a significant commercial and retail centre with a developed night-time economy. Ealing has the characteristics of both leafy suburban and inner-city development. The Pitshanger neighbourhood and some others retain the lower density, greenery and architecture of suburban villages.[7] Ealing's town centre is often referred to as Ealing Broadway, the name of both a railway interchange and a shopping centre.

Most of Ealing, including the commercial district, Ealing Broadway, South Ealing, Ealing Common, Montpelier, Pitshanger and most of Hanger Hill fall under the W5 postcode. Areas to the north-west of the town centre such as Argyle Road and West Ealing fall under W13 instead. West Twyford north-east of the town centre, near Hanger Hill, falls under the NW10 postcode area. The population of Ealing (including Northfields) was 85,014 at the 2011 census.

  1. ^ Ealing is made of six wards in the London Borough of Ealing: Cleveland, Ealing Broadway, Ealing Common, Hanger Hill, Northfield, and Walpole. "2011 Census Ward Population Estimates | London DataStore". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  2. ^ Ealing Council. "Welcome to Ealing: Your Guide to Living in Ealing".
  3. ^ Mayor of London (February 2008). "London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004)" (PDF). Greater London Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2010.
  4. ^ Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901050-67-0.
  5. ^ "The Queen of the Suburbs". independent.co.uk. 8 September 2000.
  6. ^ "Was Ealing the 'Queen of the Suburbs'? - Ealing News Extra". ealingnewsextra.co.uk. 30 October 2015. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Ealing- 'The Queen of the Suburbs'". Your Local Guardian.