A Brief History of Shepherd's Bush

This lively West London neighbourhood has an identity that's all its own, but how did it get there? What about its past?

There were signs of occupation around the area during the Iron Age, but the first written mention is of the purchase of land by the Bishop of London in 704 AD. Then in the mid-seventeenth century, Goldhawk Road housed a would-be Roundhead assassin of Oliver Cromwell. Failure brought execution, saving the borough from a quite different footnote in history.

Recorded in 1635 as Sheppards Bush Green, a popular theory is that shepherds might have rested here en route for Smithfield's, the meat market in the City of London. It's said that there was an old tradition of pruning hawthorn bushes for shelter. Or perhaps it was just someone's name!

Until the mid-nineteenth century, maps were just displaying farms, a "forcing pinery" for pineapples, and a few dwellings around the central Green. From the 1860s onwards, trains, trams, omnibuses, and later the Underground, were providing travel for the masses, and housing replaced agriculture.

The new population wished to be entertained, and they were catered for by the Edwardian music halls of Shepherds Bush Empire, where Charlie Chaplin appeared, and the lush Bush Hall. These venues remain open today, and new performers tread the same boards.

The British hosting of the Olympics in 1908 led to the construction of the Great Stadium, which continued to showcase sport, including one 1966 World Cup match, until 1985. 1908 also witnessed the Franco-British exhibition, nicknamed the Great White City due to its veneer of white marble - today, the area to the north is still known as White City. Three more international exhibitions followed on the same site before the First World War broke out.

World War 1 saw locations used as hospitals and for the war effort, but locals still found time to open the vibrant Shepherds Bush Market for shopping, and Lime Grove Studios for filming. In the 1960s, these studios broadcast the Beatles' first BBC show, while the Television Centre's closeness meant that local streets often appeared on TV, such as for the Monty Python sketch the Ministry of Silly Walks in 1970.

The area had suffered from bomb damage during the Second World War, and from bad planning after it. An extensive shopping centre now sits where the Franco-British exhibition once did, and so history continues to adapt.

Its development is typical of London's villages, but it has its own distinct past too, making it well worth further investigation and a visit or two.

Shepherd's Bush today is home to Westfield Shopping Centre and a plethora of superb local restaurants and please to each and drink. The old BBC recording studios on Richmond way has since been transformed into a four star hotel, K West Hotel & Spa, that often is also host to has lively nights of live music. Shepherd's Bush is serviced by London Underground, and Overground Rail services, as well as being a transport hub with connecting bus services all over London.