Alperton () is an area of north-west London, England, within the London Borough of Brent. It forms the southern part of the town of Wembley and is west north-west of Charing Cross, on the border with the London Borough of Ealing. It includes a handful of high-rise and many mid-rise buildings as well as streets of low-rise houses with gardens. It adjoins the Grand Union Canal's Paddington Arm, which is fed by the Brent Reservoir.
Toponymy
The name
Alperton means "farmstead or estate associated with a man named Ealhbeorht", deriving from an
Anglo-Saxon personal name and
tūn, meaning farmstead or village in
Old English.
Demography
Alperton has one of the capital's highest populations of black or minority ethnic groups (BME). In the 1991 census, 43.2% of Alperton
electoral ward's population was Asian, only one point less than White.
formed 31.5% in 1991 and 32.4% in 2001, with white having decreased to 27.8%.
According to the 2011 census, the largest ethnic group was Indian, 42% of the population, well above Brent's average of 18%. Other Asian was second largest at 17%. The most spoken foreign language was Gujarati, by 3,213 residents, followed by Tamil, spoken by 1,001 residents.
In the 2011 census 47.7% of residents are of the
Hindu faith, Christians: 27.2% and Muslims: 11.9%.
Transport
The Grand Union Canal runs through Alperton and its
towpath, is part of the Grand Union Canal Walk.
Trains
Alperton has its own tube station of the same name, served by the
Piccadilly line and located in the district. Other close stations include Hanger Lane tube station (Central line) to the south; Stonebridge Park station (
Bakerloo line and
Lioness line) to the east; and Wembley Central station (Bakerloo line, Lioness line, Southern & West Midlands Trains) to the north.
Notable people
In popular culture
The towpath of the Grand Union Canal in Alperton is featured in various scenes in the
BBC TV soap
EastEnders. It first appeared in an episode which aired on 3 October 1985, when the character
Den Watts (played by
Leslie Grantham) meets
Michelle Fowler (played by
Susan Tully) and it is revealed Den is the father of Michelle's baby. It was used again on numerous occasions, most famously on 23 February 1989, when Den Watts was shot before falling into the canal and supposedly dying. Den returned to the canal with daughter
Sharon Watts on 3 October 2003, when he returned to Albert Square alive.
Schools
Alperton Community School: The school is divided into two sites: the lower school on Ealing Road near Alperton tube station, consisting of Years 7, 8 and 9 and the upper school on Stanley Avenue, consisting of Years 10, 11, 12 and 13. The lower school was renovated in 2017.
External links
