Editing Fulham (section)

==Sport, entertainment and life-style==

===Sport===
[[File:Stamford-Bridge,WestStand entrance, day.jpg|right|thumbnail|[[Stamford Bridge (stadium)|Stamford Bridge]], home of [[Chelsea FC]]]]
The first organised sporting activity in Fulham took place at the [[Lillie Bridge Grounds]] in the 1860s when British Amateur Athletics were introduced and the first codified [[Boxing]] under [[Marquess of Queensberry Rules]] matches were staged. The catalyst for sport in Fulham was the [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] rowing blue and sports administrator, Welshman [[John Graham Chambers]]. Later, with the destruction of the Lillie Bridge Grounds by a riot in 1889, they were replaced first by the [[Fulham F.C.]] stadium [[Craven Cottage]] and the [[Chelsea F.C.]] stadium at [[Stamford Bridge (stadium)|Stamford Bridge]].
Other sports facilities were opened at The Queen's Club for [[Rackets (sport)|rackets]] and tennis and at the private members' [[Hurlingham Club]], for a range of sporting activities in the south of the borough. [[Hurlingham Park]]'s tennis courts are used as netball courts and tennis nets are taken down and so restricting access to the courts for tennis. Hurlingham Park hosts the annual Polo in the Park tournament, which has become a recent feature of the area. The Hurlingham club is the historic home of [[polo]] in the United Kingdom and of the world governing body of polo.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

Public tennis courts are located in Bishops Avenue, off Fulham Palace Road and on Eel Brook Common. Rugby is played on Eel Brook Common and in [[South Park, Fulham|South Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurlinghamclub.org.uk|title=Private Members Club - London - UK - The Hurlingham Club|website=The Hurlingham Club|access-date=29 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730105042/https://www.hurlinghamclub.org.uk/|archive-date=30 July 2017}}</ref> Normand Park in Lillie Road is the entry into the Virgin Active-operated ''Fulham Pools'' swimming facilities and neighbouring tennis courts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/played-in-london-directory-sporting-assets-london/DirectoryofHistoricSportingAssetsinLondon.pdf|title=Played in London : a directory of historic sporting assets in London|publisher=English Heritage|date=2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202002151/https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/played-in-london-directory-sporting-assets-london/DirectoryofHistoricSportingAssetsinLondon.pdf/|archive-date=2 February 2017}}</ref>

Fulham has five active [[Bowls]] clubs: The Bishops Park Bowls club, The Hurlingham Park Bowls Club, Normand Park Bowls Club, The Parson's Green Bowls club and The Winnington in Bishops Park.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}
[[File:Fulham Baths 01.JPG|thumb|right|Fulham Baths]]

===Entertainment===
The historic entertainment destinations in Fulham, have included [[Earls Court Exhibition Centre|Earl's Court Pleasure Gardens]], the brain-child of [[John Robinson Whitley]], straddling the border with Kensington since 1879, then the 1894 [[Great Wheel]] and the 6,000-seater Empress Hall,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/EmpressHall.htm|title=Empress Theatre / Empress Hall, Lillie Road, Earls Court, London|website=Arthurlloyd.co.uk|access-date=29 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730025633/http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/EmpressHall.htm|archive-date=30 July 2017}}</ref> built in 1894 at the instigation of international impresario, [[Imre Kiralfy]] — the scene of his spectacular shows and later sporting events and famous ice shows — and latterly, Earl's Court II, part of the [[Earl's Court Exhibition Centre]] in the neighbouring, [[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/epw055910|title=Britain From Above|website=Britainfromabove.org.uk|access-date=29 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730023027/http://britainfromabove.org.uk/image/epw055910|archive-date=30 July 2017}}</ref> The first closed in 1959, replaced by an office block, the [[Empress State Building]]. The second, opened by [[Diana, Princess of Wales|Princess Diana]], lasted just over 20 years until 2014. Along with the architecturally pleasing Mid-Victorian Empress Place, formerly access to the exhibition centre, it is destined for high rise re-development, but with usage as yet to be confirmed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/planning/planning-applications/major-planning-applications/earls-court-planning-application|title=Earls Court planning application|date=16 December 2015|website=Lbhf.gov.uk|access-date=29 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730013255/https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/planning/planning-applications/major-planning-applications/earls-court-planning-application|archive-date=30 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saveearlscourt.com|title=Save Earl's Court! – Home|publisher=Saveearlscourt.com|access-date=15 January 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116090110/http://www.saveearlscourt.com/|archive-date=16 January 2014}}</ref>

No trace is left today of either of Fulham's two theatres, both opened in 1897. The 'Grand Theatre' was on the approach to [[Putney Bridge]] and was designed by the prolific [[WGR Sprague]], author of venues such as [[Wyndham's Theatre]] and the [[Aldwych Theatre]] in London's [[West End of London|West End]]. It gave way to office blocks in the late 1950s. The 'Granville Theatre', founded by [[Dan Leno]], to the design of [[Frank Matcham]], once graced a triangle of land at [[Walham Green]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/FulhamTheatres.htm|title=Theatres and Halls in Fulham, London|website=Arthurlloyd.co.uk|access-date=29 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731194137/http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/FulhamTheatres.htm|archive-date=31 July 2017}}</ref> After the [[Music hall]] era had passed, It served as a film and television studio, but was finally demolished in 1971. It too has been replaced by an office block in Fulham Broadway.<ref>{{cite book|author=Denny, Barbara|date=1997|title=Fulham Past|location=London, UK|publisher=Historical Publications|page=117|isbn=0-948667-43-5}}</ref>

The performing arts continue in Fulham, like the notable [[Fulham Symphony Orchestra]] and the successful Fulham Opera.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fulhamopera.co.uk|title=Fulham Opera – Fulham Opera's Site|website=Fulhamopera.co.uk|access-date=29 July 2017}}</ref> St John's Parish Church, at the top of [[North End Road]], stages choral and instrumental concerts as do other churches in the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stjohnsfulham.org/index.php/music|title=MUSIC|website=Stjohnsfulham.org|access-date=29 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730020355/http://www.stjohnsfulham.org/index.php/music|archive-date=30 July 2017}}</ref>

There is a cinema complex as part of the Fulham Broadway Centre. [[Fulham Town Hall]], built in 1888 in the ''classical renaissance'', was used as a popular venue for concerts and dances, especially its Grand Hall. Behind Fulham Broadway, the heart of the original village of [[Walham Green]] has undergone pedestrianisation, including the spot once occupied by the village green and its pond next to St. John's Parish Church and bordered by a number of cafés, bars, and a dance studio in the old Fulham Public Baths. The largest extant supermarket in Fulham, is located on the site of a cinema later converted to the iconic "Dicky Dirts" jean store with its sloping shop-floor, at the top of [[North End Road]]'s [[Street market]]. It started a new trend in how retail was done.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.advertisingarchives.co.uk/detail/6540/1/Magazine-Advert/Dickie-Dirts|title=The Advertising Archives - Magazine Advert - Dickie Dirts - 1980s|publisher=Advertising Archives|access-date=29 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095425/http://www.advertisingarchives.co.uk/detail/6540/1/Magazine-Advert/Dickie-Dirts|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

The debut albums by 1970s new wave bands [[The Stranglers]] ([[Rattus Norvegicus (album)|''Rattus Norvegicus'']]) and [[Generation X]] ([[Generation X (album)|''Generation X'']]) were recorded at TW Studios, 211 Fulham Palace Road. The Greyhound music venue at 176 Fulham Palace Road hosted up and coming punk, post-punk and indie bands in the late 1970s and the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/kmlivemusic/5539021113 | title=London Lost Music Venues: Rock Music 12 - the Greyhound | date=8 January 2011 }}</ref> Film music creator, [[Hans Zimmer]] double [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] winner, launched his career in a studio behind the Lillie Langtry public house in [[Lillie Road]] in the 1970s.<ref name = "EC"/>

===Gin, breweries and pubs===
[[File:Lillie Langtry pub (formerly, 'The Lillie Arms) 1835.jpg|thumb|left|Lillie Langtry pub (formerly, 'The Lillie Arms'), 1835]]
The most illustrious brewery in Fulham was the [[Swan Brewery]], Walham Green, dating back to the 17th century. Among its patrons were kings and other royalty.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol2/pp168-178 "Industries: Brewing", in ''A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 2, General; Ashford, East Bedfont With Hatton, Feltham, Hampton With Hampton Wick, Hanworth, Laleham, Littleton'', ed. William Page (London, 1911), pp. 168-178] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103094104/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol2/pp168-178 |date=3 November 2016 }}; accessed 29 July 2017.</ref> It was followed by the North End Brewery in 1832, Cannons again in North End in 1867 and finally on account of [[Temperance movement|temperance]], the [[non-alcoholic beer|alcohol-free]] phenomenon that was [[Kops Brewery]] founded in 1890 at a site in [[Sands End]].{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} In 1917 Kops Brewery closed and was converted into a margarine factory.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk/page4233.htm| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201202022147/http://www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk/page4233.htm| archive-date = 2 December 2020| title = Kops Brewery}}</ref>

Gin distilling came to the remnants of the North End Brewery in Seagrave Road after a brief period of service as a timber works in the 1870s and lasted for almost a century. The premises were taken over by distillers Vickers who at the outbreak of the [[First World War]] sold out to Burnett's, producers of White Satin Gin, until a 1970s take-over by a [[Kentucky]] liquor business. None of the breweries remains.<ref name = "EC"/>

With its long history of brewing, Fulham still has a number of pubs and [[gastropub]]s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Amies, Chris|date=2004|title=Images of London: Hammersmith and Fulham Pubs|publisher=Tempus Publications|isbn=978-0752432533}}</ref> The oldest tavern is the ''Lillie Langtry'' in Lillie Road, originally the ''Lillie Arms'' named after its first freeholder, Sir John Scott Lillie, who built it in 1835 as part of the 'North End Brewery' complex, run from 1832 to 1833 by a Miss Goslin.<ref>Féret, Charles. (1900) ''Fulham Old and New'', volume II, p. 271-73.</ref> It was intended originally to service the Kensington Canal workers and bargees. Later, it was the watering hole of the new railway builders, motor and omnibus company staff and latterly Earl's Court exhibition and Chelsea F.C. visitors. Of the three popular neighbouring pubs acquired by developers during 2014–15, the ''Imperial Arms'' and the ''Prince of Wales'' were forced to shut; only the ''Atlas'', reconstructed after bomb damage in the [[Second World War]], has been reprieved.

''[[The White Horse (pub)|The White Horse]]'' in [[Parsons Green]] is colloquially known by many as the "Sloaney Pony",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/barguide/story/0,,668959,00.html|title=London (part two)|publisher=Observer.guardian.co.uk|access-date=19 May 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921222846/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/barguide/story/0,,668959,00.html|archive-date=21 September 2012}}</ref> a reference to the "[[Sloane Ranger]]s" who frequent it. Pubs which are [[Grade II listed building]]s include the ''[[Duke of Cumberland, Fulham|Duke on the Green]]'' and ''[[Aragon House]]'' both facing Parsons Green, ''[[The Cock, Fulham|the Cock]]'' in [[North End Road]], and the ''[[Temperance Billiard Hall, Fulham|Temperance]]'' in Fulham High Street. Other pubs include ''the Durrell'' in Fulham Road, the locally and [[Michelin Guide]] listed 1866 ''Harwood Arms'' in Walham Grove and ''the Mitre'' on Bishops Road.<ref>[http://pubshistory.com/LondonPubs/Fulham UK historical street directory of London and the UK] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011172045/http://pubshistory.com/LondonPubs/Fulham/ |date=11 October 2016 }}, pubshistory.com; accessed 29 July 2017.</ref>

===Open space===
[[File:Bishops-park.JPG|thumb|right|[[Bishop's Park (Fulham)|Bishop's Park]]]]
Fulham has several parks, cemeteries and open spaces, of which [[Bishop's Park (Fulham)|Bishop's Park]], [[Fulham Palace]] Gardens, [[Hurlingham Park]], [[South Park, Fulham|South Park]], [[Eel Brook Common]] and [[Parsons Green]] are the largest.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

Among the other spaces are Normand Park, the vestige of a convent garden with a bowling green, [[Lillie Rec|Lillie Road Recreation Ground]] with its gym facility and Brompton Park in Seagrave Road. The [[Thames]] riverside walk in Bishop's Park is interrupted by the Fulham football ground, but resumes after the neighbouring flats and continues to the Crabtree pub and beyond, past the Riverside Cafe on towards [[Hammersmith Bridge]], affording views of the river and rural scenes on the opposite bank. It is part of the [[Thames Path]].{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}