Hammersmith

Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It is bordered by Shepherd's Bush to the north, Kensington to the east, Chiswick to the west, and Fulham to the south, all on the north bank of the River Thames. The area is one of west London's main commercial and employment centres, and has for some decades been a major centre of London's Polish community. It is a major transport hub for west London, with two London Underground stations and a bus and coach station at Hammersmith Broadway. Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1827, was the first suspension bridge across the River Thames. Famous residents of Hammersmith include the 17th century poet John Milton. It features in literature in works such as Charles Dickens's Great Expectations and William Morris's News from Nowhere. In music, it appears in Gustav Holst's Hammersmith for military band and his Brook Green Suite. In the 20th century, many actors lived in the borough.

Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It is bordered by Shepherd's Bush to the north, Kensington to the east, Chiswick to the west, and Fulham to the south, all on the north bank of the River Thames. The area is one of west London's main commercial and employment centres, and has for some decades been a major centre of London's Polish community. It is a major transport hub for west London, with two London Underground stations and a bus and coach station at Hammersmith Broadway. Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1827, was the first suspension bridge across the River Thames. Famous residents of Hammersmith include the 17th century poet John Milton. It features in literature in works such as Charles Dickens's Great Expectations and William Morris's News from Nowhere. In music, it appears in Gustav Holst's Hammersmith for military band and his Brook Green Suite. In the 20th century, many actors lived in the borough. ==Economy== The focal point of the district is the commercial centre (the Hammersmith Broadway centre), which is located at the junction of one of the arterial routes out of central London (the A4) with several local feeder roads and a bridge over the river Thames (now closed). It houses a shopping centre, a bus station, an Underground station and an office complex. Stretching about westwards from this centre is King Street, Hammersmith's main shopping street. Named after John King, Bishop of London, it contains a second shopping centre (Livat Hammersmith), the town hall, the Lyric Theatre, and the Polish community centre. To the east of the town centre is the Ark, an office complex to the south of the flyover which traverses the area. Charing Cross Hospital on Fulham Palace Road is a large multi-disciplinary NHS hospital with accident & emergency and teaching departments run by the Imperial College School of Medicine. ==Culture and entertainment== public house Riverside Studios is a cinema, performance space, bar and café. Originally film studios, Riverside Studios were used by the BBC from 1954 to 1975 for television productions. The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is just off King Street. Hammersmith Apollo concert hall and theatre (formerly the Carling Hammersmith Apollo, the Hammersmith Odeon, and before that the Gaumont Cinema) is just south of the gyratory. The former Hammersmith Palais nightclub has been demolished and the site reused as student accommodation. There is an Irish Cultural Centre on Black's Road. The Polish Social and Cultural Association is on King Street. It contains a theatre, an art gallery and several restaurants. Its library has one of the largest collections of Polish-language books outside Poland. The Dove is a riverside pub with what the Guinness Book of Records listed as the smallest bar room in the world, in 2016 surviving as a small space on the right of the bar. The pub was frequented by the novelists Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene; the poet James Thomson lodged and likely wrote Rule Britannia here. The narrow alley in which it stands is the only remnant of the riverside village of Hammersmith, the bulk of which was demolished in the 1930s. Furnivall Gardens, which lies to the east, covers the site of Hammersmith Creek and the High Bridge. Leisure activity also takes place along Hammersmith's pedestrianised riverside, home to the pubs of Lower Mall, rowing clubs and the riverside park of Furnival Gardens. Hammersmith has a municipal park, Ravenscourt Park, to the west of the centre. Its facilities include tennis courts, a basketball court, a bowling lawn, a paddling pool, and playgrounds. on the right Hammersmith is the historical home of the West London Penguin Swimming and Water Polo Club, formerly known as the Hammersmith Penguin Swimming Club. Hammersmith Chess Club has been active in the borough since it was formed in 1962¹. It was initially based in Westcott Lodge, later moving to St Paul's Church, then to Blythe House and now Lytton Hall, near West Kensington tube station. ===18th century===

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