Southall's History

History

Southall's History

Southall Community Alliance actively engages young people in local schools through diverse activities, including quizzes on Southall’s history, inclusive art projects, and talks by activists who have experienced racist incidents in the area. As part of this initiative, our Director, Janpal Basran, has conducted extensive research on Southall’s history, compiling intriguing facts from various sources that we believe will interest Southall residents.

  • 830 AD

    The earliest recorded mention of Southall appears in a will belonging to a priest named Werhard, believed to have lived in Hayes (then known as Hesa). In his will, Werhard left land in Hayes and Norwood to his next of kin, Archbishop Wulfred of Canterbury, bringing the Manors of Norwood and Southall under the Church of Canterbury. During early Saxon times, Southall formed part of the Elthorne Hundred, an administrative region.

  • 1086

    The Domesday Survey documents that Norwood (including Southall) was part of the Manor of Hayes.

  • 1210

    Around the time of the Magna Carta, the population of "Sudhale" was 81, growing to 94 by 1261, when it was known as Southalle.

  • 1200s

    The first manor in Southall was likely Dormans Wells, a moated building near the junction of Dormers Wells Lane and Telford Road. In 1233, Alice de Southall, a Norman French noblewoman, resided at this manor.

  • 1496

    The area was referred to as Hesse-cum-Southall with a population of 260.

  • 1543

    Henry VIII received the Manors of Hayes, Norwood, and Southall from Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. The manors were sold to Robert Cheeseman, the first lord of the manor to reside at Dormans Wells.

  • 1587

    The Manor House, built by Francis Awsiter, remains Southall's oldest building, located in Southall Green.

  • 1698

    William III granted a charter to Francis Merrick to hold a cattle market in Southall, a tradition that continued for centuries at the site of the current Southall Market.

  • 1710

    Southall, now known as Southolt, had a population of 677.

  • 1767

    The first recorded school in Southall was established by Elisha Biscoe, a resident of Norwood Hall, who funded the education and clothing of 30 boys and 10 girls from the parish of Norwood.

  • 1796

    The Grand Junction Canal was constructed, linking London to the Midlands via Bulls Bridge. The canal's construction necessitated the building of Three Bridges to carry traffic on Windmill Lane.

  • 1801

    Southall, referred to as 'Southwould,' had a population of 697.

  • Early 1800s

    Local soil was discovered to be ideal for brickmaking, leading to the establishment of various brickmaking businesses that operated until about 1928. The high-quality bricks were even used in Buckingham Palace.

  • 1811

    Renowned artist William Turner painted 'Windmill and Lock,' depicting an actual mill on Windmill Lane, Southall.

  • 1831

    The Middlesex County Asylum opened in Southall.

  • 1839

    The Great Western Railway Company created a Southall stop on their railway line.

  • 1865

    The Norwood Gasworks was acquired by the Brentford Gas Company, producing its first gas on 4 December 1869.

  • 1866

    Street lighting was provided on the main Oxford Road (now Uxbridge Road).

  • 1867

    Grove House on North Road, built for the Norman family, currently serves as a Children’s Centre.

  • 1876

     A scarlet fever and diphtheria epidemic led to the establishment of a small fever hospital on Havelock Road.

  • 1877

    The Martin Brothers established their ceramics factory next to the canal, producing what would later be known as Martinware.

  • 1880

    Lady Margaret Road was constructed, connecting to Southall Station Road (now South Road).

  • 1880

    Southall Football Club was formed following a meeting at the Red Lion to play in the Great Western Suburban League.

  • 1883

    Havelock Road Cemetery opened.

  • 1885

    The Subway, a tunnel built under the railway from Dudley Road to the gasworks, was completed.  

    The first local newspaper, the ‘Southall News,’ was published with an estimated circulation of 500 copies.

  • 1886

    Two sculpted figurines from the Pala Period in eastern India (AD 750 to AD 1150) were attached to the rear of the Manor House (now in Gunnersbury Park Museum).

  • 1887

    Mr. H.C. Hanson, appointed postmaster, opened Southall's first post office at the corner of Featherstone Terrace and Featherstone Road.  

    W.W. Deloitte gifted four acres near Park View Road for the Holy Trinity Church, and the church was built in 1890. Queen Victoria’s Jubilee party was held in Southall Park, and Deloitte built six alms houses in North Road to commemorate the Jubilee.

  • 1889

    The Baptist Church was built on Western Road, and the West Middlesex Golf Club was formed, partly near Dormers Wells.

  • 1890

    Holy Trinity Church was completed.

  • 1895

    Otto Monsted, a Danish margarine manufacturer, built the Maypole Dairy in Southall, one of the world's largest margarine plants. 

    Southall became the ‘Southall Norwood Urban District Council’ with a population of 8,500. 

  • 1897

    New council offices, now Southall Town Hall, were built on land gifted by the Earl of Jersey and opened by Lady Jersey on 8 November. 

  • 1901

    The first trams operated in Southall, with the fare from Shepherd’s Bush to Uxbridge at 8d. 

    A fire station was built next to the Town Hall at a cost of £175.

  • 1905

    A public library was opened by the Countess of Jersey on Osterley Park Road. 

    St. George's Church was built near Tudor Road between 1905-06.

  • 1906

    Southall County School, now Villiers High School, was built on Boyd Avenue at a cost of £15,115.

  • 1907

    Tudor Road School was built.

  • 1911

    Two cinemas were built: ‘The Empire’ on the corner of Northcote Avenue and Uxbridge Road and ‘The Palace’ on South Road, later known as Liberty Cinema.

  • 1919

    On 10th July, peace celebrations were held in Southall Park to mark the end of World War One.

  • 1922

    A new telephone exchange was built on Cambridge Road.

  • 1924

    Southall Studios, one of Britain’s earliest film studios, opened.

  • 1926

    The Associated Equipment Company (AEC), manufacturers of buses and commercial vehicles, moved to a 62-acre site near Windmill Lane.

  • 1927

    A new Southall Police Station was built on the site of the current station.

  • 1930s

    Welsh migrants arrived in Southall in search of work due to depressed conditions in Wales and the northeast.

  • 1932

    A large gasholder was erected on the gasworks site, a notable Southall landmark until 2019.

  • 1935

    The Dominion Cinema was officially opened on 14 October by Gracie Fields.

  • 1936

    The Quaker Oats Company built a factory in Southall. 

    Southall became a municipal borough following a charter grant by Edward VIII.

  • 1937

    Durdans Park and Jubilee Gardens were opened as new parks. 

    On 24 July, Lord Faringdon officially opened the Southall Municipal Sports Ground at Spikes Bridge, now Spikes Bridge Park.

  • 1950s

    A significant African-Caribbean community developed in Southall in response to post-war labour shortages.

  • 1950

    Hanwell Asylum was renamed St Bernard’s Hospital.

  • 1951

    Woolf Rubber Ltd opened a factory at Hayes Bridge, recruiting labourers from India due to difficulties in employing local workers.

  • 1956

    The Indian Workers Association (IWA) was established in Southall, with founding members including Amar Singh Takhar and Jaswant Singh Dhami.

  • 1957

    The IWA launched a welfare service at Southall Community Centre to assist immigrants who could not speak, read, or write English.

  • 1958

    A Vickers Viking V624 airplane crashed onto houses in Kelvin Gardens, resulting in seven fatalities.

  • 1959

    Phoenix House, a seven-story office block, was built on The Green to accommodate government departments.

  • 1962

    Asian workers in Southall took their first industrial action at the Rockware Glass Factory, leading to the dismissal of 165 workers, including union leader Vishnu Dutt Sharma.

  • 1965

    Southall municipal borough merged with Ealing and Acton to form the London Borough of Ealing. 

    The IWA played a prominent role in a strike at Woolf Rubber Factory, involving mainly Indian Punjabi workers.

  • 1965

    The IWA purchased the Dominion Cinema for £75,000, establishing it as a base for social, political, and cultural activities for the growing Asian community.

  • 1974

    The Albert Dane Centre opened to support disabled residents.

  • 1976

    The murder of Gurdip Singh Chaggar in June led to the establishment of the Southall Youth Movement to respond to racist attacks.

  • 23 April 1979

    The National Front held a meeting at Southall Town Hall, opposed by local communities, leading to mass arrests, violence, and the death of Blair Peach.

  • 1979

    Southall Black Sisters was founded. 

    The Ealing District Hospital opened on 5 November, situated in Southall. 

    Misty in Roots, a roots reggae band formed in Southall, released their first album Live at the Counter Eurovision.

  • 1981

    The Hambrough Tavern on Southall Broadway was burned down following an uprising against the presence of racist skinheads.

  • 1993

    The Glassy Junction pub opened on South Road, becoming the first UK pub to accept Indian currency.

  • 1997

    The Southall rail crash resulted in seven fatalities after a First Great Western train from Paddington collided with a goods train just outside Southall railway station.

  • 1999

    Planning permission was granted for the Abu Bakr Mosque on Southall Broadway.

  • 2002

    The film Bend It Like Beckham, written and directed by Gurinder Chadha, used Southall locations.

  • 2003

    The newly rebuilt Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara, the largest Sikh temple in Southall, opened on Havelock Road.

  • 2013

    The Home Office’s ‘Go Home’ advertising campaign visited Southall, but the vans were confronted by members of Southall Black Sisters.