Wood Lane

Wood Lane (A219, formerly A40) is a street in London. It runs north from Shepherd's Bush, under the Westway (A40) past Wormwood Scrubs where it meets Scrubs Lane. The road is wholly in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (W12 postal district). It is the home of several BBC buildings: BBC White City, BBC Television Centre and BBC Woodlands the offices of BBC Worldwide.

The northern stretch of this road (from the Westway to Scrubs Lane) runs parallel to the boundary of the London congestion charge zone.

History

In the 1780s, the road was known as Turvens Lane after Turvens House located a short distance north of Shepherd's Bush Green. By the 1830s it had received its current name. In the 1860s the railway arrived with a line running parallel with Wood Lane but the area was still rural in character with the buildings of Wood Lane Farm, Eynam Farm and Hoof's Farm to the east of the road and a plant nursery to the west covering the land east of present day Frithville Gardens and south of the BBC Television centre. Even into the 20th century the land either side of Wood Lane remained undeveloped until the area was chosen for the site of the 1908 Franco-British exhibition and 1908 Summer Olympics.

The area to the west of Wood Lane, north of Loftus Road stadium, south of Du Cane Road and east of Bloemfontein Road was laid out as the exhibition site. The numerous pavilions faced with white stone earned the exhibition the nickname "the White City" which subsequently remained with the area, even after the exhibition closed and its pavilions were demolished.

White City Stadium built to host the Olympics was located on the site of BBC White City.

Wood Lane Underground stations

The Central London Railway (CLR, now the Central Line) opened Wood Lane station in 1908 on the north side of its Wood Lane Depot to serve the exhibition. Originally intended to be a temporary service it survived until 1947 when it was replaced by White City station a short distance to the north.

The Metropolitan Railway also opened a station on its line between Paddington and Hammersmith (now the Hammersmith & City Line). The station, also called Wood Lane although separate from the CLR's station, was adjacent to the railway bridge over Wood Lane. This station survived until it was destroyed by fire in 1959.

As part of the proposals for the new White City shopping centre development, a new station on the Hammersmith & City Line, also called Wood Lane is under construction to the east of Wood Lane.

Other instances of Wood Lane in the UK

Situated in the Handsworth area of Birmingham in the B20 postal area, the road connects the A4040 Wellington Road with Handsworth Wood Road. The Calthorpe Arms pub lies at the corner of Wood Lane and Wellington Road. Also near this end are the Lea Hall allotments, with Lea Hall next to them. The rest of the road is residential with a mixture of council and independent houses. The nearby Wood Lane playing fields are not directly linked to the road. A lot of the road is thin so it is difficult for traffic to flow smoothly, particularly as there are cars regularly parked on either side. The road is served by the bus route 654 which also goes to the One Stop Shopping Centre, and Hamstead. A railway line passes under the road, with its nearest station at Perry Barr.

Some other instances of Wood Lane in the UK are located in Fulham, Dagenham and Rainham, all located within the Greater London area, as well as ones in Manchester, Leeds, Wigan and Sheffield.

External links

Maps
* [http://www.motco.com/MapImages/81001/81001024-w.jpgMotco.com] Extract of "Fifteen Miles Round London", J. Cary, 1786, showing Turvens Lane
* [http://www.londonancestor.com/maps/london-north.htm Londonancestor.com] Extract of "The Environs of London", H Waters, 1832, showing Shepherd's Bush and Woodlane Farm
* [http://www.mappalondon.com/london/north-west/shepherds-bush-map.htm Mappalondon.com] Extract of "Library Map of London & Its Suburbs", Edward Standford, 1862, showing Shepherd's Bush
* Extract of Ordnance Survey First Edition Map, 1874, showing Wood Lane