Ealing & It's History

Walk down tree-lined streets of double-fronted Edwardian houses with gravel drives and it is easy to see why Ealing in west London is known as the “Queen of Suburbs”. 

Families come for the schools and the easy commute, which, with the arrival of the Elizabeth line, will get easier still. Now Ealing is getting even better, with the once-shabby town centre in the middle of a radical makeover.

There are three major schemes mixing new homes with shops, cafés and restaurants, plus a planned boutique hotel, while the £12 million restoration of Grade I-listed Pitzhanger Manor House, which was the country home of Bank of England architect Sir John Soane (1753-1837), aims to provide a major cultural landmark for west London.

There have also been improvements to Ealing Broadway shopping centre, while Ealing Broadway station is getting a major facelift ahead of the opening of the Elizabeth line in December next year.

The Dickens Yard, Filmworks and Perceval House development schemes are leading to an explosion of town centre flats with 1,370 newly built or in the pipeline. Dickens Yard, with nearly 700 flats, is now nearing completion.

A new shopping street opens up a vista to the Church of Christ the Saviour where there is a new town square with a sculpture bearing the lyrics of Count Your Blessings and Smile, a song by George Formby who starred in numerous box office hits made at nearby Ealing Studios in the late Thirties and early Forties.

Travel

The Elizabeth line will stop at Ealing Broadway, West Ealing and Hanwell, slashing commuting times. Ealing Broadway is on the Central and District lines; Ealing Common is on the District and Piccadilly lines; North Ealing, Park Royal, South Ealing and Northfields are on the Piccadilly line; Hanger Lane and West Acton are on the Central line.

Ealing Broadway to Paddington trains take about 10 minutes; a few minutes more from West Ealing, Drayton Green and Castle Bar Park. All stations are in Zone 3 except for Drayton Green and Castle Bar Park in Zone 4. A Zone 3 travelcard

Council

Ealing council is Labour controlled. Band D council tax for 2018/2019 is £1,440.12.