West London

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This article is about part of London, England. For other uses, see West London
(disambiguation).

Westminster Abbey
West London is a popularly, but informally and inexactly defined part of London,
England.

The area lies north of the River Thames and extends from its historic and
commercial core of Westminster and the West End to the Greater London boundary,
much of which is formed by the River Colne. Some interpretations of the area
include the boroughs of Brent and Harrow, making ancient Watling Street, the
boundary in those outer areas. The constituent districts of West London were
traditionally part of Middlesex.

The area emerged from Westminster, an area just west of the City of London, which
owed its importance to the consecration of Westminster Abbey and after that, the
establishment of the Palace of Westminster. Westminster and the West End are also
part of Central London. The term West London is used to differentiate the area from
other informal radial divisions of London, the Metropolitan Compass;[1] North
London, East London and South London.[2]

Contents
1 Economy
1.1 London Plan
1.2 Major Employers
2 Emergence
3 Official designations
3.1 Planning Policy sub-region
3.2 W postcode area
4 References
Economy
London Plan
The London Plan[3] defines two areas of London as International Centres, the West
End and Knightsbridge, both in the west of London. Five of the thirteen
Metropolitan Centres in the Plan might be described as being in West London
(dependent on definition of the area): Ealing, Hounslow, Harrow, Uxbridge and
Shepherds Bush.

Eleven of the Plan's thirty-eight Opportunity Areas might be described as part of

West London; Kensal Canalside, Paddington, Earl's Court and West Kensington, Harrow
and Wealdstone, Park Royal, Old Oak Common, Southall, Tottenham Court Road,
Victoria, Wembley and White City. One of the Plan's seven Intensification Areas,
Holborn, could be described as part of the West.

Major Employers
London Heathrow Airport is a major employer in West London, and the University of
West London has more than 47,000 students.[4]

Emergence
The development of the area began with the establishment of the Abbey on a site
then called Thorney Island, the choice of site may in part relate to the natural
ford which is thought to have carried Watling Street over the Thames in the
vicinity.[5] Tradition dates the foundation to the 7th Century AD with written
records dating back to the 960s or early 970s.[6] The Island and surrounding area
became known as Westminster in reference to the church.

The legendary origin[7] is that in the early 7th century, a local fisherman named
Edric, ferried a stranger in tattered foreign clothing over the Thames to Thorney
Island. It was a miraculous appearance of St Peter, a fisherman himself, coming to
the island to consecrate the newly built church, which would subsequently develop
into Westminster Abbey. He rewarded Edric with a bountiful catch when he next
dropped his nets. Edric was instructed to present the King and St. Mellitus, Bishop
of London with a salmon and various proofs that the consecration had already
occurred . Every year on June 29, St Peters day, the Worshipful Company of
Fishmongers presents the Abbey with a salmon in memory of this event.[8]

The Palace of Westminster subsequently developed, with Parliament being based there
from its establishment in 1265. The presence of the centre of government as a
distinct focus for growth, accompanied by the proximity of the City, ensured that
western London was the fastest growing part of early London.

In 1720, John Strype's �Survey of London� described Westminster as one of the then
four distinct areas of London;[9] in it he describes the City of London,
Westminster (West London), Southwark (South London), and 'That Part beyond the
Tower' (East London). The area now usually referred to as North London developed
later.

A detailed copy of John Rocque's Map of London, 1741-5.

As well as the proximity of the centre of government, the West End was long
favoured by the rich elite as a place of residence because it was usually upwind of
the smoke drifting from the crowded City.[10] A further factor facilitating rapid
growth in West London was the very large number of bridges linking the area to
South London and the area beyond; by contrast, even today, there are no bridges
east of Tower Bridge, partly as the river becomes wider as it heads east.

Like other areas of the capital, West London grew rapidly in the Victorian era as a
result of railway-based commuting; with the building of the termini at Paddington
and Marylebone, and the lines radiating from them, having a particularly profound
effect. This trend continued in the twentieth century and was subsequently
reinforced by motorcar-based commuting.

The size of London stabilised after the establishment of the Metropolitan Green
Belt shortly after the Second World War.

Official designations
The term 'West London' has been used for a variety of formal purposes with the
boundaries defined according to the purposes of the designation.

Planning Policy sub-region

London plan sub regions (2011).svg
The 2011 iteration of the London Plan[11] included an altered 'West' sub-region, to
be used for planning, engagement, resource allocation and progress reporting
purposes. It consists of the London Boroughs of Brent, Harrow, Ealing, Hammersmith
and Fulham, Hillingdon, Hounslow and the Richmond upon Thames. As well as including
outer areas of West London, the sub-region also includes areas south of the river,
not usually counted as part of West London; areas of the cross-river London Borough
of Richmond upon Thames.

The 2004-2008 and 2008-2011 versions of the sub-region varied in their composition.

W postcode area
The W (Western) postcode area was introduced in 1857[12] to facilitate the
distribution of mail. The postcode area is a sub-set of West London.

London Postal Region Map: The 'Western' district is a sub-set of West London
References
A phrase used, for instance, by Dickens in the Uncommercial Traveller, Ch 3
Evening Std article on social attitudes towards various areas of London
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/east-is-poor-west-is-posh-south-is-rough-
and-north-is-intellectual-londoners-views-on-the-citys-9088834.html
Link to GLA's London Plan website and downloads https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-
do/planning/london-plan
"The economic impact of the University of West London" (PDF; 850 MB). UWL.ac.uk.
University of West London / Oxford Economics. May 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
"Loftie's Historic London (review)". The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature,
Science and Art. 63 (1, 634): 271. 19 February 1887. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
Page, William (1909). "'Benedictine monks: St Peter's abbey, Westminster', in A
History of the County of London: Volume 1, London Within the Bars, Westminster and
Southwark,". London. pp. 433�457. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
http://www.choirschools.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/The-Abbey-Fishy-Tale.pdf
https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/fishmongers-
company
Link to Index of Strype's full work
https://www.dhi.ac.uk/strype/tableOfcontent.jsp
Robert O. Bucholz and Joseph P. Ward: London: A Social and Cultural History,
1550�1750. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2012, p. 333
London City Hall. "Policy 2.5 Sub-regions"..
website on history of London Postcodes
https://www.postalmuseum.org/discover/collections/postcodes/
Categories: Geography of London
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