Gunnersbury

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type = Greater London
region= London
population=
official_name= Gunnersbury
latitude= 51.4927
longitude= -0.2777
os_grid_reference= TQ195785
constituency_westminster= Brentford & Isleworth
post_town= LONDON
postcode_area=W
postcode_district=W4
london_borough= Hounslow
dial_code= 020

Gunnersbury is a place in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London. It is a small area less than half a square kilometre within the west area of the Chiswick W4 postal district of London.

The name

Gunnersbury takes its name from Gunnersbury Park. The name includes a Danish proper name - "Gunnhild's Manor". [Robbins, Michael: "Middlesex", Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003, ISBN 1 86077 269 2, page 257]

Development

Gunnersbury consists mainly of pre-war housing of a variety of types, including flats, terrace, semi detached, and detached houses, some of which are ex-local authority built.

The defining symbol of Gunnersbury is the 18-story high BSI (British Standards Institution) building on Chiswick High Street. Below this building Gunnersbury station serves the Richmond branch of the District line and the North London Line to Stratford.

In 2001 a former bus garage to the north of the BSI building was converted into Chiswick Park business park, which is apparently the largest set of office buildings (by floor area) in West London. It houses a number of companies including SBS Broadcasting Networks Ltd, Teletext Ltd, CBS News, Technicolor, Discovery Channels Europe, Intelsat, Singapore Airlines, Qantas Airlines, Foxtons Estate Agents, and an Esporta health club.

Immediately to the east is Gunnersbury triangle nature reserve. An area of woodland, it supports a population of thousands of different species of birds, plants, and other wildlife.It has free admission and its entrance is on the south of Bollo Lane, a few meters from Chiswick Park Tube Station.

Gunnersbury also lends its name to a nearby secondary school, in Brentford. Gunnersbury Catholic School is a boys only Catholic comprehensive. It was originally a Grammar School based on Gunnersbury Avenue and backing onto Gunnersbury Park.

Nearest areas

* Chiswick
* Kew
* Acton
* Brentford
* Mortlake

Transport

Nearest tube stations

* Acton Town tube station
* Gunnersbury station

Nearest railway station

* South Acton railway station
* Gunnersbury station

Trivia

The former bus garage at Chiswick Park featured in the 1971 film "On the Buses", when Stan (Reg Varney) takes bus driving lessons on the garage's skidpan.

References