Brook Green

Updated on Dec 03, 2024

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London borough Hammersmith & Fulham Country England Postcode district W14, W6 Ceremonial county Greater London		Region London Sovereign state United Kingdom Dialling code 020 Post town London

Population 23,734 (Addison and Avonmore and Brook Green wards 2011)

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Brook Green is an affluent London neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It is located approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Kensington, Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith, Holland Park and Brackenbury Village.

The Brook Green neighbourhood takes its name after the recreational park space also named Brook Green, which runs from Shepherd's Bush Road to Hammersmith Road.

Brook Green has two main shopping areas, Shepherd's Bush Road and Blythe Road, the latter of which is home to a number of small, independent shops. Also tucked in behind the green is a large Tesco supermarket. Brook Green is also within close proximity to Kensington High Street, King Street and Westfield London.

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History

References to Brook Green go back to 15th century, with a map of Hammersmith clearly showing the outline of the Green.

The area was developed as industrialisation spread out of London. Famous businesses in Brook Green were Osram Lamp Factory, J. Lyons & Co. and its complex at Cadby Hall, Post Office Savings Bank Headquarters in Blythe Road and to this day the Olympia Exhibition Halls Olympia, London. Brook Green was also home to St Mary's College from 1850 to 1925, when the college moved to Strawberry Hill.

Brook Green Suite was written in 1933 for St Paul's Girls' School junior orchestra by the famous English composer Gustav Holst, who was also Director of Music at the school. St Paul's Girls' School is one of the leading independent schools in the country and has been situated on Brook Green since its formation in 1904.

Brook Green, Hammersmith, also appears as 'Brugglesmith' in the Rudyard Kipling story of the same name which was first published in 1891. The story is a farce in which the narrator, who it is implied is Thackeray, has to escort a drunken sailor back to his wife.

The Brook Green Hotel has stood at the Western end of Brook Green since 1886. The original Brook which was piped in the 1800s still flows under the hotel to this day. The area's inns (The Brook Green Hotel and The Queen's Head) were originally used as coach houses and were popular entertainment venues.

Today, The Brook Green Hotel is a pub on ground level, along with a cocktail bar in the basement below and a hotel upstairs. The Queen's Head public house overlooks the green itself at the front and has a garden at the back.

Brook Green boasts four English Heritage blue plaques, for the artist Sir Frank Short, the composer Gustav Holst, the Silver Studio of design, and the writer Elizabeth Anne Finn (founder of the charity now known as Elizabeth Finn Care). There is also Brook Green Market and Kitchen, a FARMA certified farmers market in Addison Primary School.