Facts about Greenford
History of Greenford
Greenford is considered to be the birthplace of the modern organic chemical industry, as it was at William Perkin’s chemical factory in North Greenford, by the Grand Union Canal, that the world’s first aniline dye was discovered in March 1856. Perkin called his amazing discovery ‘mauveine’. Today there is a blue plaque marking the spot in Oldfield Lane North, just south of the Black Horse public house.
Post First World War, tea blender and food manufacturer J. Lyons and Co. were looking for a secondary site on which to expand production beyond Cadby Hall, Hammersmith. In 1921 they bought the first piece of an eventual 63 acres site, due to its location close to good transport links from both the Grand Union Canal and the Great Western Railway’s Great Western Main Line, and the West Coast Main Line and onwards to the Midlands at Willesden Junction.
Gemeral Info
Greenford is a suburb in the London Borough of Ealing in Greater London, England, lying 11 miles west of Charing Cross in Central London. It was an ancient parish in the historic county of Middlesex. It has a population of 46,787 inhabitants or 62,126 with the inclusion of Perivale. South Greenford mainline station is actually in Perivale.
Nearby places include Yeading, Hanwell, Perivale, Southall, Northolt, Ealing, Sudbury, and Sudbury Hill. The most prominent landmarks in the suburb are Horsenden Hill, 279 feet above sea level; the small Parish Church of Holy Cross; and Betham House, built by Edward Betham.
