Alperton

Alperton
Middlesex House and Grand Union Apartments on the Grand Union Canal
Alperton  Alperton shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ185835
London borough	Brent
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WEMBLEY
Postcode district	HA0
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Brent North
London Assembly	Brent and Harrow
List of places: UK • England • London

Alperton is a district in the London Borough of Brent in northwest London.

There is a high incidence of Indians living in Alperton (about 75% of the population). There is also a small Sri Lankan community in Alperton (about 15%), and 10% stated as others.

Ealing Road is the main road of Alperton, occupied by many Indian restaurants as well as general goods and Indian clothing stores. Exotic fruits and vegetables can be purchased from traditional outlets, despite not being carried by major supermarkets year-round.

One particular event which takes place on Ealing Road is the Divali parade, a festival for people who follow the Hinduism and Sikhism faiths.

Etymology

The name probably derives from "the farm of Eahlboert". It was first recorded in 1199 as "Alprinton".

History

Alperton grew on the banks of the River Brent. There was a wooden bridge here in the fifteenth century. The lords of the manor of Harrow and Ealing were responsible for its upkeep. A concrete and brick bridge replaced it in 1874.

In the medieval, Tudor and Stuart periods the area was famous for stag-hunting.

The meadows along the banks of the River Brent were ideally suited for hay production. London's horses provided a demanding market for hay, and by the nineteenth century local farming shifted from arable to hay. By 1805 Alperton consisted of twenty-one houses, including fourteen farms.

The major influence of Alperton's development was the construction in 1801 of the Grand Junction Canal, which cut through it. Alperton handled shipments of sand, hay, gravel and coal. A brickfield was worked here, with several brickworks producing bricks for the construction of the canal and building works.

One of the brickworks was run by one Henry Haynes. The son of a local hay-dealer, he owned seventy out of the hundred buildings in Alperton and employed most of its 150-strong workforce. He also paid for shops, a church and the new Alperton Park Hotel.

The canal was used for leisure, too. Alperton countryside became a popular place for visitors. Passengers travelled by boats to the Pleasure Boat pub. The canal became a celebrated resort for anglers.

The industrial side of Alperton was not so pleasant. As the most industrialized village in Wembley, it was infamous for the smells coming from shipments of gas-lime and dung, a sewage farm, two recycling plants and three large piggeries. There were public order problems, with fights among labourers and bare-knuckle boxing bouts and cockfights. Wembley Urban District Council was formed in 1894 and it made improvements shortly afterwards.

Trains came to Alperton only at the beginning of the twentieth century. Until then, the nearest station was at Wembley. Perivale-Alperton station (called Alperton from 1910) opened on 28 June 1903.

In the early twentieth century, Alperton became known for mushroom cultivation. Industry expanded to rubber, fireproofing and motorcycle production by 1911. More industries moved here with the construction of the North Circular Road in 1921-34. Alperton expanded greatly. By the Second World War most areas were built up. In 1951, Alperton's population was 14,432.

In the 1960s Alperton was hit by unemployment, and its population declined. A property boom which led to the construction of flats in Wembley and Sudbury did not reach Alperton.

Transport

Road

Ealing Road (A4089) is Alperton's "High Street". Bridgewater Road (A4005) is the other major road of Alperton. Alperton Lane (B456) is another useful thoroughfare.

The Grand Union Canal runs through Alperton, and the Grand Union Walk is its old towpath which was originally used by horses drawing the canal barges, and is now a recreational facility that serves Alperton.

Tube

Alperton station

Buses

London Buses routes 79, 83, 224, 245, 297 and 487 serve the Alperton station. However, the 245 and 487 routes do not serve the northern branch of Ealing Road.

Notable people

• Sculptor Neville Boden (1929–1996), president of The London Group from 1973 to 1977, was born in Alperton
• Chess endgame study composer and author John Roycroft was born in Alperton
• Gary Waddock, former footballer and now manager of Wycombe Wanderers, grew up in Alperton
• Footballer Joe Wiggins (1909–1982) was born in Alperton

In popular culture

The towpath of the Grand Union Canal in Alperton was the scene of an episode of the BBC TV soap EastEnders, aired on 23 February 1989, in which the character Den Watts (played by Leslie Grantham) was shot before falling into the canal and supposedly dying.

Locale

Post

Alperton is included in the Wembley post town area, and its postcode is HA0.