Editing Greenford (section)

==History==
Greenford was an ancient parish in the historic [[Elthorne Hundred]], county of [[Middlesex]].

=== Industrial ===
Greenford is considered to be birthplace of the modern [[organic chemical]] industry, as it was at [[Sir William Henry Perkin|William Perkin]]'s chemical factory in North Greenford, by the [[Grand Union Canal]], that the world's first [[aniline]] dye was discovered in March 1856. Perkin called his amazing discovery '[[mauveine]]'. Today there is a [[blue plaque]] marking the spot in Oldfield Lane North, just south of the Black Horse [[public house]]. Local anecdote says that Queen Elizabeth I would only eat bread made from wheat grown in Greenford,{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} and until 2013/14 Greenford was the home to the [[Hovis]] factory.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bradbury |first=Poppy |url=http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/local-news/hovis-close-greenford-distribution-centre-5972145 |title=Hovis to close Greenford distribution centre |publisher=Get West London |date= 20 November 2012|access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> The former [[Rockware Glass|Rockware glassworks]] on the canal is commemorated by Rockware Avenue. Greenford formed part of [[Greenford Urban District]] from 1894 to 1926 and was then absorbed by the [[Municipal Borough of Ealing]].

===J. Lyons and Co.===
[[File:Grand Union Canal, Greenford - geograph.org.uk - 835456.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A modern view of the [[Grand Union Canal]] through Greenford, with the former J. Lyons & Co. factory in the background]]
{{main|J. Lyons and Co., Greenford}}
Post [[First World War]], tea blender and food manufacturer [[J. Lyons and Co.]] were looking for a secondary site on which to expand production beyond [[Cadby Hall]], [[Hammersmith]]. In 1921 they bought the first piece of an eventual {{convert|63|acre}} site, due to its location close to good transport links from both the [[Grand Union Canal]] and the [[Great Western Railway]]'s [[Great Western Main Line]], and the [[West Coast Main Line]] and onwards to the Midlands at [[Willesden Junction railway station|Willesden Junction]].

The factory officially opened in July 1921, with the first single-storey buildings known as "Zig-Zag" due to their northern light-aligned windows allowing maximum light into the production area. There were steam and electrical power plants on site, which powered both the plant as well as the staff canteen and medical facilities, accessible to all plant employees and their dependents.<ref name=PBird/> Transport docks and a canal basin had been developed, allowing shipment of tea and coffee directly from [[London Docks]] into [[HM Customs]] excise controlled [[bonded warehouse]]s. The extensive onsite railway infrastructure allowed precise positioning of heavy raw goods into the factory, as well as the extraction of finished product. Lyons bought their own steam shunters to move wagons between the GWR exchange sidings and the factory system.<ref name=PBird/>

Lyons quickly became Greenford's biggest employer. A later pioneer in electronic machines and computing, Lyons deployed the latest factory automation technology, making Greenford a showplace that was regularly visited by the media, academics, competitors and royalty, with more than one visit by [[George V|King George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]]. In the 1950s, the site developed the breakfast cereal [[Ready Brek]].<ref name=PBird/> Areas of the site not initially developed for factory use were landscaped, with many trees planted. As the factory developed these diminished, particularly after the development of the [[Lyons Maid]] [[Bridge Park factory]] in the 1950s, and the new administration block in 1971.<ref name=PBird/>

After the merger of Lyons with [[Allied Bakeries]] in the 1980s, and the focus of the new [[Allied Domecq]] business to focus on spirits, with the sell-off of the businesses associated with the factory, the need for the facility dwindled. Redeveloped from 1998, today it is known as [[Lyon Way Industrial Estate]].<ref name=PBird>{{cite web|url=http://kzwp.com/lyons/greenford.htm|publisher=Peter Bird|title=The First Food Empire: A History of J. Lyons & Co|access-date=21 January 2012}}</ref>

===Art and culture===
Five hundred yards north east from William Perkin's dye factory was a triangular field in which he kept horses. On this ground was built the Oldfield Tavern public house, which became a popular venue for a rock group called the Detours, who met a drummer there called [[Keith Moon]]. On Thursday 20 February 1964 they were introduced to the audience of the Oldfield Tavern as [[the Who]].<ref>Joe McMichael, Jack Lyons  (2004) [https://books.google.com/books?id=w_bXxPnQtooC&pg=PA11 The Who Concert File]. Omnibus Press. {{ISBN|1-84449-009-2}}.  Accessed 25 June 2010</ref><ref>John Atkins (2000) [https://books.google.com/books?id=AcdRcQMWEVQC&dq=%22the+who%22+%22oldfield+tavern%22&pg=PA15 The Who on record: a critical history, 1963–1998] McFarland, {{ISBN|0-7864-0609-7}}</ref> (The tavern has not survived, however, and has since been replaced by a small block of flats and a [[Texaco]] petrol station).
Andy Locke, Dave Kerr-Clemenson and Wal Scott were all in [[Edison Lighthouse]], and with chart-topping Love Grows all came from Greenford.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}

===Expansion===
{| class="wikitable"  style="float:left; font-size:85%; margin-left:10px;"
|+'''Greenford (parish) population'''
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1881
| style="text-align:center;"| 538
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1891
| style="text-align:center;"| 545
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1901
| style="text-align:center;"| 672
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1911
| style="text-align:center;"| 843
|-
! style="text-align:center;"| 1921
| style="text-align:center;"| 1,199
|-
| colspan=2| Absorbed by Ealing parish [[Ealing|►]]
|-
| colspan="2" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"|source: [[Census#United Kingdom|UK census]]
|}{{clear}}