The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 as the London Borough of Hammersmith from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Fulham and Hammersmith. The name was changed to Hammersmith and Fulham in 1979. The borough borders Brent to the north, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the east, Wandsworth to the south, Richmond upon Thames to the south west, and Hounslow and Ealing to the west.
Traversed by the east–west main roads of the A4 Great West Road and the A40 Westway, many international corporations have offices in the borough. The local council is Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council. The borough is amongst the four most expensive boroughs for residential properties in the United Kingdom, along with Kensington and Chelsea, the City of Westminster and Camden.UK House Price Index England (2018). National Statistics HM Land Registry
The borough is unique in London in having three professional football clubs: Chelsea, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers.
History The area of the modern borough broadly corresponds to the ancient parish of Fulham, which was part of the county of Middlesex. The manor (estate) of Fulham can be traced back to the seventh century when it was granted to the Bishop of London.Edward Walford, 'Fulham: Introduction', in Old and New London: Volume 6 (London, 1878), pp. 504-521. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol6/pp504-521 [accessed 1 August 2021]. The chapelry of Hammersmith was given its own vestry in 1631, making it a separate civil parish from Fulham.
From 1856 the area was governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London.Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. 120) In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London. From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards. From 1856 until 1886 the two parishes of Fulham and Hammersmith were administered together as the Fulham District. The Fulham district was dissolved in 1886 when the vestries for its two parishes took on district functions.
In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs, the two parishes becoming the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham and the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith.London Government Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. 14)
The modern borough was formed in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the former metropolitan boroughs of Fulham and Hammersmith. The new borough was originally called the London Borough of Hammersmith, but the council changed the borough's name to the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham with effect from 1 April 1979. (See downloadable boundary-legislation-changes-from-1973.xls spreadsheet.)
Fulham saw industrialisation and urbanisation from the start of the 19th century, with the establishment of the world's first energy utility company, at Sands End in 1824, followed by road and rail transport development to the east of the borough. Vacant land by the new railway sidings on the boundary with Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council led to the development of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, visited by Queen Victoria in 1879 when she attended Bill Cody's Wild West Show at West Brompton. There followed numerous international fairs and exhibitions for a century until the construction of Earls Court II in the borough in the 1980s. This was dismantled by developers in 2015.
At the other end of today's borough, in 1908, the Franco-British Exhibition and Olympic Games were hosted in Hammersmith, at White City, London, but the site then took many decades to be redeveloped. In 1960, the BBC opened the BBC Television Centre. Westfield London opened in 2008, a large development with new transport links and a shopping centre.
Districts The borough includes the areas: Brook Green Chelsea Harbour (adjoining Chelsea) College Park (adjoining Kensal Green) East Acton (adjoining London Borough of Ealing) Fulham Hammersmith Old Oak Common (adjoining Harlesden) Parsons Green Sands End Shepherd's Bush Walham Green West Kensington White City
see also parks and open spaces in Hammersmith and Fulham
Governance
The local authority is Hammersmith and Fulham Council, which usually meets at Hammersmith Town Hall.
Greater London representation Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly, the borough forms part of the West Central constituency.
Demographics
According to the 2001 census Hammersmith and Fulham has a population of 165,242. 60% of the borough's population is White British, 20% white non-British (among which are large French, Polish, Portuguese and Irish communities), 5% black Caribbean, 8% black African with various other ethnicities (including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese) making up the remaining 11 per cent.
The borough has the second-highest proportion of single adults of any borough in England and Wales (55%), and a higher than average proportion for the London area of young adults aged 20–29 (24%).
Around 50% of households are owner–occupiers, and 22% of households were listed as "other" – that is, not single persons living alone or families. These are generally two or more unrelated adults living together, such as students or cohabiting couples.
The borough comprises a patchwork of extremely affluent as well as some less affluent neighbourhoods; The areas of Fulham, Parsons Green, Brackenbury Village, Brook Green, Ravenscourt Park and the Riverside compose of highly expensive Victorian and Edwardian houses, contrasting to the areas of White City and Shepherd's Bush. The unemployment rate is well below average at under 5%, although of these, 29% were listed as long-term unemployed.
See external links below for more census information from the borough.
Ethnicity Ethnic GroupYear1971 estimations1981 estimations1991 census2001 census2011 census2021 censusNumber%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number% White: Total –88.8%118,91684.7%122,51382.5% 128,602 77.8% 124,222 68.1%115,67963.2% White: British–––––– 95,909 58.0% 81,989 44.9%70,10538.3% White: Irish–––––– 7,983 4.8% 6,321 3.5%4,8122.6% White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller–––––– – – 217 0.1%930.1%White: Roma––––––––––1,4850.8% White: Other–––––– 24,710 15.0% 35,695 19.7%39,18421.4% Asian or Asian British: Total ––––7,2114.85% 8,636 5.2% 16,635 9.5%19,30610.5% Asian or Asian British: Indian––––2,343 2,733 % 3,451 1.8%4,1002.2% Asian or Asian British: Pakistani––––1,174 1,711 % 1,612 0.8%2,0101.1% Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi––––685 1,011 % 1,056 0.5%1,2770.7% Asian or Asian British: Chinese––––1,100 1,303 % 3,140 1.7%4,2532.3% Asian or Asian British: Other Asian ––––1,909 1,878 % 7,376 4.0%7,6664.2% Black or Black British: Total ––––15,13810.1% 18,397 11.2% 21,505 11.8%22,45312.2% Black or Black British: African––––3,717 8,534 % 10,552 5.7%13,2437.2% Black or Black British: Caribbean––––8,820 8,072 % 7,111 3.8%6,6263.6% Black or Black British: Other Black––––2,601 1,791 % 3,842 2.1%2,5841.4% Mixed or British Mixed: Total –––––– 6,300 3.8% 10,044 5.5%12,3186.7% Mixed: White and Black Caribbean –––––– 2,008 % 2,769 1.5%3,1571.7% Mixed: White and Black African –––––– 1,033 % 1,495 0.8%1,7771.0% Mixed: White and Asian –––––– 1,609 % 2,649 1.4%3,1421.7% Mixed: Other Mixed –––––– 1,650 % 3,131 1.7%4,2422.3% Other: Total ––––3,6402.45% 3,307 2.0% 10,387 5.5%13,4007.3% Other: Arab–––––– – – 5,228 2.8%5,5343.0% Other: Any other ethnic group ––––3,6402.45% 3,307 2.0% 4,859 2.6%7,8664.3% Non-White: Total –11.2%21,44115.3%25,98917.4% 36,640 22.2% 58,271 31.9%67,47736.8% Total ––140,357100%148,502100% 165,242 100% 182,493 100%183,156100%
Religion
The following shows the religious identity of residents residing in Hammersmith and Fulham according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses.
Religion20012011 2021Number%Number%Number%Holds religious beliefs121,89873.8123,66767.8111,84361.0Christian105,16963.698,80854.183,67345.7Muslim11,3146.818,24210.021,29011.6Jewish1,3120.81,1610.61,2280.7Hindu1,8011.12,0971.12,2091.2Sikh3180.24420.24500.2Buddhist1,2710.82,0601.11,7230.9Other religion7130.48570.51,2270.7No religion29,14817.643,48723.856,05930.6Religion not stated14,1968.615,3398.415,2988.4Total population165,242100.0182,493100.0183,200100.0
Immigration This list includes top-15 sources of immigration to Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham for 2021 census: #CountryNumber1 5,4082 5,0943 3,4224 3,2585 3,0366 2,9437 2,5538 2,4469 2,31810 2,03811 1,99412 1,67513 1,63514 1,63315 1,568
Economy Sony Mobile Communications has its UK headquarters in the borough."Sony Ericsson at a glanc.(Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)(Sony Corp.)(Brief Article)." Employee Benefits. 2 March 2005. Retrieved on 18 November 2009.
Iberia operates the Iberia House in the borough."Iberia Airlines ." Latin American Travel Association. Retrieved on 6 September 2011. "Contacto Iberia House 10 Hammersmith Broadway London W6 7AL Reino Unido" All Nippon Airways operates the London Office on the fourth floor of Hythe House."ANA City Offices/Ticketing Offices Europe ." All Nippon Airways. Retrieved on 22 December 2008. "London Office 4th floor, Hythe House 200 Shepherds Bush Road London W6 7NY""Ward Boundaries ." London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Retrieved 22 December 2008. South African Airways has its United Kingdom office in the South African Airways House."Legal Information – (EU) ." South African Airways. Retrieved on 20 September 2009. CE Europe, a subsidiary of Capcom, has its head office in the George House in Hammersmith in the borough. As of May 2011, it relocated to the Metro Building in Hammersmith."Contact." Capcom. Retrieved on 12 August 2011. "UK: CE Europe Ltd 26–28 Hammersmith Grove, 9th Floor London W6 7HA" and "Germany: CEG Interactive Entertainment GmbH Barmbeker Strasse 4 b 22303 Hamburg, Germany" and "France: Capcom Entertainment France 30 bis, rue du Viel Abreuvoir FR.78100 Saint Germain En Laye""Office Relocation for CE Europe to the Metro Building." Maris Interiors. May 2011. Retrieved on 13 August 2011. "Maris are pleased to announce the commencement of the office fit-out for CE Europe Ltd, who are relocating offices to the Metro Building, Hammersmith, London, W6." and "Maris are relocating CE Europe's London operations from their present offices in George House, 26–28 Hammersmith Grove to Hammersmith's Metro Building." Iran Air's London offices are also located in the borough."IranAir moves to new offices." (Archive) Iran Air. Retrieved on 29 February 2012. "177–179 Hammersmith Road, London, W6 8BS" The airline moved there by Wednesday 4 January 2012."News from Iran Air." (Archive) Iran Air UK. Retrieved on 29 February 2012.Disney and L'Oréal also all have UK headquarters in Hammersmith, as well as a number of other major businesses.
For a 15-year period Air France had its UK and Ireland office in Hammersmith. In 2006 the UK and Ireland office was moved to Hatton Cross, London Borough of Hounslow."AIR FRANCE and KLM celebrate official inauguration of new office in London. " Air France. 6 July 2006. Retrieved on 13 February 2010.
Until 2013, Virgin Group Ltd. had its corporate headquarters at The School House, Brook Green. The office was moved to the Battleship Building, near the Westway in Paddington, in the City of Westminster.
Also, TAP Portugal runs an administrative office in the Borough, near to Hammersmith Bus Station.
Sport