Cliff Richard is possibly not the first name to spring to mind in answer to the question ‘Whose show at the Chiswick Empire was stopped by a riot?’ But I swear it’s true. It was 1 May 1959 and you never know, there may be a few readers out there today who were in the Continue reading
Category: West London
The Hammersmith Palace, Temple or Theatre of Varieties
The Hammersmith Palace, Temple or Theatre of Varieties in King Street, was another example of a Music Hall evolving from a public house. According to ‘The Stage’ weekly newspaper, in 1884 Acton Phillips purchased the Town Hall Tavern, the Theatre of Varieties, which stood behind it, and also some of the adjacent land, which then Continue reading
The Blue Plaque in Hammersmith that commemorates the planning of the D-Day Landings
Following our latest trip to the Hammersmith archive, Bernard Lambert, Colin Woodley and I headed up the Hammersmith Road to ‘Latymers’ for some lunch. Whilst taking a photograph of the pub, Colin noticed an interesting building situated through the trees. A closer inspection revealed a blue plaque on the outside wall that commemorated the planning Continue reading
When the Largest European Film Studios were located in Shepherd’s Bush
The following article from 1933 was written by Ellis Coughter and appeared in the Meccano magazine. It provides a wonderful insight into British film production during that period. An extract follows: ‘One of the most interesting features of the cinematograph world since the War, has been the steady development of the British film industry. During Continue reading
Bob Grant: Born on this Day and Grew up in Hammersmith
Robert Sinclair Grant was born on 14th April 1932 and grew up in Hammersmith at 20 Rivercourt Road. His family also had local connections with Wolverton Gardens and Weltje Road. Best known for his role as Jack Harper, the scheming and lecherous clippie in ‘On the Buses’, a label that he tried to shrug off Continue reading
Sammy Shields ‘put in some very apposite references’ to QPR at the Willesden Hippodrome in 1926
The following newspaper review of ‘The Greatest of all Burlesque Shows’ appeared in ‘The Era’ on 10th February 1926: ‘An item of much interest was provided for the Willesden patrons last week by the presence on the programme of Mr Arthur Hands, the eminent flautist from the Covent Garden Opera, etc. Mr Hands’ impeccable techniques Continue reading
‘Bucket & Brush’ by Irish Jack (How I got Barred from the Goldhawk Club)
Midway through ’66 with ‘Substitute’ peaking at No.5 in the charts, I was ever the peacock strutted Mod telling the world about ‘The Who’ and how they were my friends. I wasn’t earning a lot of money in any of the legal offices I worked in. Filing clerks were two-a-penny back then and any idiot Continue reading
Ambitious alterations were proposed for the White City Stadium in 1937
The following article was written by ‘The Ranger’ and comes from the Portsmouth Evening News, dated the 10th December 1937: ‘Irrespective of whether it will be used for staging the Cup Final or the Olympic Games, one of the greatest sports stadiums in the world is to be constructed in London. Pictures have already been Continue reading
The Packhorse & Talbot, 145 High Road, Chiswick, London W4
My latest meet-up with Bill Burnett was in the Packhorse & Talbot, another historic pub in the Chiswick High Road. There is an interesting plaque close to the bar (and replicated on the wall outside), which reads as follows: ‘The Packhorse & Talbot was simply called the ‘Pack Horse’ between 1698 and 1811 and was Continue reading
The George IV, 185 High Road, Chiswick, London W4
The George IV is just a short walk from Turnham Green Underground Station and recently I met up there with Bill Burnett from Aberdeen, who had stayed over in London following the Fulham away game. Originally known as the ‘Lord Boston’s Arms’, the pub is said to have been licensed from at least 1771. This Continue reading