London Borough of Hounslow

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Geography
London Borough of Hounslow
Shown within Greater London
Status	London borough
Area — Total	Ranked 292th 55.98 km²
ONS code	00AT
Admin HQ	Hounslow
Demographics
Population — Total (2005 est.) — Density	Ranked 63rd (of 354) 212,500 3,796 / km²
Ethnicity	64.9% White 24.7% South Asian 4.4% Afro-Caribbean
Politics
Leadership	Leader & Cabinet
Mayor	Cllr Felicity Barwood
Executive	Conservative / Independent
MPs	Alan Keen Ann Keen
London Assembly — Member	South West London Tony Arbour
Coat of Arms

Official website	http://www.hounslow.gov.uk/

The London Borough of Hounslow is a London borough in West London, England.

Its Council was controlled by Labour from 1971 until 2006. As of the 2006 local elections, Labour holds 24 of the 60 seats on the Council, the Conservatives have 23 seats, the Liberal Democrats 5 (but have suspended one member), the Independent Community Group or the Community Group (London Borough of Hounslow) - formerly the Isleworth Community Group - 6 and there are 2 independent (Hounslow Independent Alliance) councillors. Subsequently, the Conservative group have formed an alliance with the Community group councillors which, barring any political differences, will form the executive until the next elections in 2010.

1 Districts in Hounslow
2 History
- 2.1 Etymology
- 2.2 Foundations
3 Notable people
4 Notable companies
5 External links
6 Sources

[edit] Districts in Hounslow

It includes the areas:

Brentford
Chiswick
Cranford
East Bedfont
Feltham
Grove Park
Gunnersbury
Hanworth
Hatton
Heston
Hounslow
Hounslow West
Isleworth
Lampton
Lower Feltham
North Hyde
Osterley
Spring Grove
Woodlands
- see also Hounslow parks and open spaces

The various electoral wards of Hounslow are divided up into 5 Areas, each of which is afforded a measure of self-government:

Chiswick
- Chiswick Homefields
- Chiswick Riverside
- Turnham Green
Central Hounslow
- Hounslow Central
- Hounslow Heath
- Hounslow South
- Hounslow West
Isleworth and Brentford
- Brentford
- Isleworth
- Osterley and Spring Grove
- Syon
Heston and Cranford
- Cranford
- Heston East
- Heston Central
- Heston West
West
- Bedfont
- Feltham North
- Feltham West
- Hanworth Park
- Hanworth

[edit] History

[edit] Etymology

A town at the centre of the Borough of Hounslow, has existed since the 13th Century. The name Hounslow derives from the Domesday Book entry of Hundeslawe meaning Hund's hill.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Foundations

The borough was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the merger of the area of the former Brentford and Chiswick Urban District, Feltham Urban District and the Heston and Isleworth Urban District(which held borough status as did Brentford and Chiswick) of Middlesex.

This outer borough of Greater London lies on the Middlesex bank of the River Thames and was the site of the first stop on an important coach route to Southampton, Bath, Bristol and Exeter. The A30 "Great South West Road" trunk road, which runs down to Penzance in Cornwall, starts in the borough. Hounslow town developed on either side of the main Great West Road from London to the West of England, causing a large number of inns to be built to serve the travellers. A few, such as The Bell retain their names, although the buildings have largely been replaced. The Bell marks the former junction of the coaching routes. Historic milestones are preserved on the Staines Road (now re-numbered as the A315 but joining the "old" A30 again just inside the borough's western boundary)

Hounslow grew rapidly in the latter half of the 20th century due to other travellers. This time it was mainly due to its connection to Heathrow Airport, though in fact the aviation links date back to the early 1900s when some of London's earliest airfields were sited here because of the extremely flat terrain. The Great West Road, which runs from the start of the M4 motorway at Chiswick westwards towards Heathrow, at one time contained some of the most famous manufacturing names in the world- Firestone, Gillette, Coty. As a result, the area became known as the "Golden Mile". Few of these factory sites remain today but the Great West Road is still home to many prestigious names (qv "famous companies" below)

[edit] Notable people

Ant and Dec, television presenters, resident in Chiswick
Gurinder Chadha, director and writer of such films as Bend It Like Beckham and Bhaji on the Beach
Phil Collins, former drummer and singer with Genesis, was born in and educated Chiswick.
Asif Mohammed Hanif, believed to have been the first suicide bomber in Israel from the UK, came from Hounslow.
William Hogarth: the 18th century artist owned a country retreat in Chiswick, which is now a museum. See Hogarth's House.
Patsy Kensit: (actress) grew up in Hounslow
Rula Lenska, actress resident in Chiswick
M.I.A.: Sri Lanka-raised singer was born in the borough
Dame Helen Mirren, actress born in Chiswick, star of the Prime Suspect detective series.
Jimmy Page, guitarist for legendary rock band Led Zeppelin, was born and raised in Heston
Captain Matthew Webb was the first man to swim the English Channel and lived in East Bedfont from 1880 until his death in 1883 whilst trying to swim the rapids below the Niagara Falls
Olivia Hallinan: Currently playing "Kim" in Sugar Rush
[[1]]Weird Al Spankovic, English Parodyists currently live in Hounslow.

[edit] Notable companies

The borough is home to the headquarters of GlaxoSmithKline, and British Sky Broadcasting's studio complex, both based in Brentford's 'Golden Mile'. Fuller's Griffin Brewery is also in the borough, in Chiswick.