Hammersmith

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Template:Infobox London place Image:The lyric hammersmith.jpg

Hammersmith is a town in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is situated to the south of Shepherd's Bush, on the north side of the River Thames.

A bustling commercial and transport centre, Hammersmith is home to two shopping malls, as well as the offices of Coca-Cola, Disney, EMI, L'Oreal, Sony Ericsson and AOL UK, among others. Hammersmith's pedestrianised riverside is popular for its many pubs, and excellent views of the river and its annual Boat Race.

Hammersmith is home to Queen Charlotte's maternity hospital, named after Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III. Queen Charlotte's has existed since 1739 making it the oldest maternity hospital in the UK.

1 Culture and Entertainment
2 Transport
3 Nearest Places
4 External links

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Culture and Entertainment

Hammersmith has a number of attractions;

The Carling "Hammersmith Apollo"[1] concert hall / theatre (formerly the Hammersmith Odeon)
The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre [2]
The "world famous" Hammersmith Palais nightclub. (featured in The Clash song "(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais).

Image:The dove pub1.jpg

"The Dove" riverside pub, the oldest surviving riverside pub in London with, reputedly, the smallest bar in the world, frequented in the past by Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene 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. Furnival Gardens, which lies to the east, covers the site of Hammersmith Creek and the High Bridge. The site of the creek can be ascertained by a mound near the Great West Road.
Riverside studios [3]: a cinema and performance space, and formerly BBC studios.

Hammersmith has provided a location for several TV programmes, including the BBC comedy series "Bottom", Channel 4's TFI Friday, and the vampire drama "Ultraviolet". The opening credits of Bottom show the Hammersmith Broadway (also mentioned in The Pogues' song "Dark Streets of London") development, then called Centre West, when it was under construction. In addition, the Flying Squad were Hammersmith-based in the 1970s TV series "The Sweeney".

In 1930, Gustav Holst composed a work for military band (later rewritten for orchestra) entitled Hammersmith to reflect his impressions of the town, having lived across the river in nearby Barnes for nearly forty years. It begins with a haunting musical depiction of the River Thames flowing underneath Hammersmith Bridge. Holst was a music teacher at St Paul's Girls' School, where he composed many of his most famous works, including The Planets suite. The music wing of the school is named after him.

Architecturally, Hammersmith is notable for

"The Ark" office building [4]
"Hammersmith Bridge Road Surgery" Doctor's office [5]

US Broadcasters NBC and ABC both have their London News Bureau in Hammersmith.

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Transport

The area is on the main A4 trunk road heading west from central London towards the M4 motorway and Heathrow Airport. The A4, a busy commuter route, passes over the area's main road junction, Hammersmith Broadway, on a long viaduct, the Hammersmith Flyover. Hammersmith Bridge, the first suspension bridge over the River Thames, carries traffic to and from Barnes and South-West London.

Hammersmith is served by two tube stations, one is the western terminus of the Hammersmith & City Line, the other by the Piccadilly and District Lines . The latter tube station is part of a larger office, retail and transport development, locally known as "The Broadway" after its large encompassing roundabout. This development includes the Broadway Shopping Centre and a large modern bus station, which is open 24 hours a day and served by a large number of buses, night buses, airport transfer buses and some long distance coaches.

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