Located on the Devil's Highway, an old Roman road from London to Silchester, "Sheppard's Bush Green" was first recorded as a place name in 1635. The name Shepherd's Bush is thought to have originated from the use of the common land here as a resting point for shepherds on their way to Smithfield Market in the City of London. Evidence of human habitation can be traced back to the Iron Age. Shepherd's Bush enters the written record in the year 704 when it was bought by Waldhere, Bishop of London as a part of the "Fulanham" estate, but over the years, all the surrounding boroughs wanted no part of the small bit that is 'the green'. White City Stadium was built to host the Olympic Games of 1908 after the scheduled hosts Italy pulled out. It was constructed on land immediately adjacent to the Exhibition, but was a separate enterprise. Its main legacy is the modern Marathon distance, from Windsor Castle to Shepherd's Bush and around the track to the Royal Box - 26 miles 385 yards. The Free and Independent Republic of Frestonia was declared in 1977 by squatters who had already been living for several years in buildings scheduled for demolition. Threatened with eviction by the Greater London Council, they applied to join the United Nations and issued their own stamps. Actor David Rappaport was their Foreign Minister, and playwright Heathcote Williams was their Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Wood Lane, BBC Television Centre opened in 1960 on the site of the old White City Exhibition. Many of the nation's favourite shows were made at or broadcast from "the concrete doughnut", including Monty Python's Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Z-Cars, Blue Peter, Jackanory, Porridge, the Morecambe and Wise show and countless others. Wormwood Scrubs first entered the public record as Wormeholt in 1189, the year that Richard the Lionheart became King of England. Originally forest, by the beginning of the 19th century it was known as Wormholt Scrubs (or Common), and most of the trees had been cleared. In 1812 the government leased the land (and later bought it) for military exercises. Wormwood Scrubs Act 1879 Wormwood Scrubs was leased by the government in 1812 in order to exercise cavalry horses - at the time it was feared that Napoleon Bonaparte might invade. The War Office bought the land in 1878, and the next year Parliament passed the Wormwood Scrubs Act, allowing the military to use it for training when necessary, but to otherwise leave it for "the perpetual use by the inhabitants of the metropolis for exercise and recreation". Under the act the military were forbidden from building any "permanent erections" other than rifle butts, and the land was to be managed by the Metropolitan Board of Works (subject to War Office approval). These days the relevant authorities are the Ministry of Defence and Hammersmith & Fulham council - the military can order the public off the land if they need to, but it cannot be sold off unless it "ceases to be used by the citizens of London". Use it or lose it. An early - and very famous - film featuring Shepherd's Bush is The Blue Lamp (1950), which has a dramatic car chase finale after a young Dirk Bogarde shoots Dixon of Dock Green in the Harrow Road. Steptoe & Son's junkyard had a fictional address – 24 Oil Drum Lane, Shepherds Bush. Quadrophenia 1979: Shepherd's Bush Market, Goldhawk Road, Wells Road, Uxbridge Road, Wormholt Estate, Latimer Road, the Bramley Arms. please log in to view this image https://www.richardgregory.org.uk/history/shepherds-bush-history.htm (c) DMD. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It seems some sad soul is trying to claim the credit for this even though I've left the references in. How thick and lonely must they be?
Tough game, our defence as to tighten up, defending as a team is really needed tomorrow and then hopefully catch them on the break. A draw out of this one would be a massive result.
Anyone any ideas parking close(ish) to the ground. Or best parking at Stanmore and working way in on the tube...?
Stanmore is an excellent shout old boy. Always guaranteed a seat and a civilised journey into the big smoke.
Form team? They're 11th or something with 2 wins 2 draws and 2 defeats The very definition of inconsistent. If they're a form team there's nothing for us to worry about this season. We'll get another draw here I think
A bit random. There's a big tesco on the corner of Warwick Road and Cromwell Road junction with a high rise car park above. It'll be a 20 min walk or 3 min bus ride along Holland Park to Shepherd's Bush Green. Ground is 5 mins from there along Wood Lane, passing the old bbc HQ.
If you park there and go to the game, it’ll cost you £70. Just go on parkonmydrive or justpark and you should be able to get a parking space near the ground for less than a tenner.
It takes about 5 minutes, or even less if I simply copy and paste the previous one. It started as a piss take when someone posted facts about a game, and being a bit of trivia type myself, I thought it was fun to keep going, and a few others seemed to enjoy it, including opposition fans who have said that they found things they never knew. I'll knock it on the head if it's bothering folk.