Borough of Ealing

One of London’s western boroughs, it has the reputation of being “Queen of the Suburbs”.  The early parish was made up of open countryside and fields which were divided into manors.  Gunnersbury and Pitshanger are two where the names still carry through to current times. A major east/west road  ran between London and Oxford and is currently known as the Uxbridge Road.  As London grew, the farming areas turned into market gardens which produced food for London’s markets.  With the coming of industrialization and the railroads, Ealing slowly changed from farming to factory.  Many companies made their home on the Great Western Highway, a faster bypass connecting London to Oxford.  In the 1960s and 1970s Ealing became the new home for East African Asian immigrants.  Southall is a well known shopping and cultural centre for the Indian community and also houses the largest Sikh temple outside of India. Currently the borough is a magnet to the Polish community.  The historical roots of this go back to World War II, during the Battle of Britain, when Polish pilots would fly from nearby RAF Northolt.  The borough also houses the oldest film studios in the world, Ealing Studios, and is known to be the “cradle of blues-based rock music” having given rise to the Rolling Stones.

Prayer Requests for this Borough