Greenford () is a large town in the London Borough of Ealing in West London, Greater London, England, lying west from Charing Cross. It has a population of 46,787 inhabitants.
Greenford is served by Greenford Station (London Underground Central Line and Greenford branch of the Great Western Railway mainline service). South Greenford mainline station (on the A40 Western Avenue, also on the Greenford branch of the GWR) is actually in Perivale. Neither station is in Greenford Town Centre (Greenford Broadway), which instead is served by many local buses.
Nearby places include Yeading, Hanwell, Perivale, Southall, Northolt, Ealing, Sudbury and Sudbury Hill. The most prominent landmark in the suburb is Horsenden Hill, above sea level.
Greenford covers a large area, including the two miles of Greenford Road, giving it three localities: North Greenford, Greenford Green, and Greenford Broadway – this is also reflected in the names of the . Though a separate "town" within the borough of Ealing, the Royal Mail includes Perivale within the Greenford post area and as such the two share the UB6 postcode.
The factory officially opened in July 1921, with the first single-storey buildings known as "Zig-Zag" due to their northern light-aligned windows allowing maximum light into the production area. There were steam and electrical power plants on site, which powered both the plant as well as the staff canteen and medical facilities, accessible to all plant employees and their dependents. Transport docks and a canal basin had been developed, allowing shipment of tea and coffee directly from London Docks into HM Customs excise controlled . The extensive onsite railway infrastructure allowed precise positioning of heavy raw goods into the factory, as well as the extraction of finished product. Lyons bought their own steam shunters to move wagons between the GWR exchange sidings and the factory system.
Lyons quickly became Greenford's biggest employer. A later pioneer in electronic machines and computing, Lyons deployed the latest factory automation technology, making Greenford a showplace that was regularly visited by the media, academics, competitors and royalty, with more than one visit by George V and Queen Mary. In the 1950s, the site developed the breakfast cereal Ready Brek. Areas of the site not initially developed for factory use were landscaped, with many trees planted. As the factory developed these diminished, particularly after the development of the Lyons Maid Bridge Park factory in the 1950s, and the new administration block in 1971.
After the merger of Lyons with Allied Bakeries in the 1980s, and the focus of the new Allied Domecq business to focus on spirits, with the sell-off of the businesses associated with the factory, the need for the facility dwindled. Redeveloped from 1998, today it is known as Lyon Way Industrial Estate.
Until 1910, the land that formed Ravenor Farm/Ravenor Park was a detached part of Northolt parish, with the tithes to the land going to St. Mary's Church, Northolt and not the Greenford parish of Holy Cross, Greenford.
There are also Perivale Wood, the Horsenden Hill, and Northala Fields near Northolt, Marnham Fields, and Brent Valley Park.
The Greenford Park Trotting Track was a pioneer speedway venue and open meetings were staged 1928–1930. The track would be called a long track now, as it was of the order of half a mile/800 metres per lap. The trotting track was situated on the south side of Birkbeck Avenue, just north of the A40 Western Avenue.
The Parish Church of Holy Cross is a late 15th or early 16th century parish church.
Betham House, is an 18th-century former charity school built by Edward Betham.
The Westway Cross Shopping Park is in Greenford Green. This retail park has stores including Next plc, Smyths Toys and Sports Direct.
Greenford is made up of four and a half for local council elections: Central Greenford, Greenford Broadway, Greenford Green, North Greenford and half of the Lady Margaret ward, which is situated on the south side of Greenford Broadway. These wards all elect councillors to Ealing Council. Ealing Council is currently run by a Labour administration.
Political status of Ealing Council after the May 2022 local elections:
Greenford is in the London Assembly constituency of Ealing and Hillingdon which has one assembly member: Onkar Sahota (Labour), who was elected in May 2012.
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+ Greenford (parish) population Absorbed by Ealing parish Ealing source: UK census
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The median house price as of 2014 was £249,000 in Greenford Broadway, £307,000 in Greenford Green, and £345,000 in North Greenford. In Greenford Green and North Greenford, over 60% of houses are owned, whereas in Greenford Broadway a majority are rented. The population are from a diverse set of backgrounds including Polish, English and other BAME backgrounds (i.e. Black, Asian and minority Ethnic). The median age of those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds was 33, 34 and 34 years respectively.
+ 2011 Census homes %
!Ward !!Detached !!Semi-detached!!Terraced!!Flats and apartments 51.6% 29.4% 20.2%
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