Some Pictures of Acton, Middlesex
One
of a series of signs installed in 1998 at the entrances to the town centre.
..
High
Street,
There has been a market in
The
George and Dragon Public House is one of the oldest buildings in
The earliest role of the
The discovery in the 17th century of
mineral bearing springs at Acton Wells, created a spa within easy reach of
The
Old Fire Station (High Street)
The Acton Local Board decided to purchase
a manual fire engine and escape following a series of fires culminating in a
spectacular fire in 1867 at the Steyne Mills Steam Laundry.
In 1868, the engine and escape, which
cost £135 were delivered, and a volunteer Fire Brigade was formed. The
equipment was housed in a shed at the rear of the church. By the 1890's the
manual pump was out of date and was ridiculed as the "Acton Squirt"
A new Fire Station was opened in 1899, and
provided with a steam pump which was named "Amelia" after the
chairman of the council. The building was designed by D J Ebbetts, the Acton
Surveyor, to house the two engines, an escape (in the front of the tower) The
Tower also served to dry hose and act as a lookout. A flat was provided for the
engineer, who was the only full time employee. There was a large panelled room
for drill.
The building was extended to house a
mortuary and an ambulance. The building remained in use until 1939, when it was
replaced by the present fire station in
The
New Fire Station (
By the 1930's the Old Fire Station in the
High Street was proving inadequate to cope with the growing town of
The Acton Fire Brigade was now full time,
and equipped with motorised fire engines, and ambulances. A new station was
required. The new building was provided with a seven bay engine house, a 96ft
drill tower, and a large parade room, which was also used for public dances,
and an exercise yard.. The main building provided accommodation for some of the
firemen, and in the adjoining road, there were houses for married men and the
Chief Officer. A substantial air raid shelter was provided in the basement. A
balcony at the rear of the station overlooked the open field (which is now the
college), where large scale exercises could be undertaken.
The fire engines were alerted by call
points in the streets, which set off an alarm in the station. This system was
removed in the 1950's as the telephone became more widely available. During the
war, all the fire brigades were taken under national control. At the end of the
war, control of the Acton Fire Brigade, passed to the Middlesex Fire Brigade,
until 1965, when it became part of the London Fire Brigade.
Market
Place
Sellers
Stores in
The
Kings Head
Acton
Library, the gift of J Passmore Edwards
The Library at
The large number of industrial premises
in the area required the library to have a technical section, which in the
1950's and 1960's had the reputation of being the best in
The
Oaks, on the site of the Globe Cinema and latterly a 1960's shopping precinct
is the latest addition to
There was a
house and a workshop on this site since before 1759. Until 1848 the property
was in the hands of the Howard family, when it passed to Arthur Anderson. The Manorial record of 1852 indicates that
the property consisted of five residences, which by 1866 were known as 1-5
Bellevue Terrace. In the 1860's part of the premises were used as offices for
the Stem Dye Works in the Steyne. In 1887 the premises were a zinc worker, a
saddler, a boot-maker, a builder and decorator, and a sweet shop. By 1895 a
greengrocer had appeared, and the property had become 270?-
In the 1920's
the shops were - dining rooms, picture frame maker, a dressmaker and a general
dealer., the latter two had transformed to a hairdresser and tobacconist, and a
children's cloths shop. The shops in the 1930's were an antique shop, a
tobacconist and a sign-writer. Frances Bond, writing of living in the property
during the 1930's and 40's said that the house had only gas lighting, and that
she was told the property was haunted, a view reinforced by the previous
occupant being an undertaker. In the 1980's the eastern end of the building was
used as a Chinese restaurant.
In 1989, there
was doubt placed upon the future building because of plans to realign the road
at the Gunnersbury Lane Junction would have required part of the building to be
demolished. The plans changed, but the building was still in need of attention.
More recently, extensive work has been done to restore the characteristic
historic appearance, clearly shown in 19th century pictures of Acton Hill.
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