H&F history timeline

  1. 3000 BCE

    Evidence that Neolithic peoples were starting to populate the Fulham riverside area.

  2. 43 AD

    Roman invasion of Britain

    The Romans invade Britain giving London its original name, Londinium. Evidence of Roman settlement has been found near Fulham Palace and on Fulham High Street. Goldhawk Road is along the lines of a Roman road.

  3. 470 AD

    Fulham Palace

    Bishop Waldhere acquires the manor of Fulham. Elizabeth I visits the palace later in 1600 and a great dinner is held in her honour. An estimated 120 London bishops have lived there.

  4. 879 AD

    Vikings visit Fulham

    The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that a Viking force arrived in the Thames and encamped at Fulham. The Viking arrival at Fulham is marked by the presence of a Viking ship on Hammersmith & Fulham crest.

  5. 1294

    Small beginnings

    Hammersmith appears to have been a small Saxon fishing in the first record we have of it.

  6. 1672

    Fulham Pottery was founded by John Dwight.

  7. 1745

    James Lee and Lewis Kennedy found the Vineyard Nursery in Hammersmith.

  8. 1808 to 1814

    Great painter in town

    Joseph Mallord William Turner a great painter, lived in Hammersmith creating some of his most important works.

  9. 1816

    Great communicator

    Francis Ronald invents the telegraph that lies one of the foundations for the great communications revolution that allows us to communicate across continents today.

  10. 1827

    Gateway to West London

    The first Hammersmith bridge opens.

  11. 1864

    New railway

    The Hammersmith and City Railway opens to great celebration.

  12. 1879

    Fulham Football Club is established.

    Great designer and writer moves in

    William Morris, a great designer and political activist, comes to live at Kelmscott House in Hammersmith.

  13. 1882

    Queens Park Rangers Football Club is established.

  14. 1895

    Lyrical opening

    The Lyric Theatre as we know it today is called The New Lyric Theatre Opera House. The theatre gains a worldwide reputation throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

  15. 1905

    Chelsea Football Club is established.

  16. 1908

    Franco-British Exhibition opens in White City

    The Franco-British exhibition is open from May to October 1908.

    It attracts more than 8 million visitors.

    Today, many of the roads in the area are named after African locations and countries which had displays at the White City Exhibition including:

    • South Africa Road
    • India Way
    • Bloemfontein Road
    • Loftus Road
    • Australia Road
    • New Zealand Way.
       

    The Olympics are held in London for the first time

    The 1908 Summer Olympics is held in London from 27 April to 31 October. The White City Stadium in White City hosts the first modern marathon.

  17. 1914

    A new market

    Shepherd’s Bush Market opens between Goldhawk Road and Uxbridge Road. It features traders trading goods and foods of all types from all over the world.

  18. 1919

    Palais de Danse

    The Hammersmith Palais is established at 242 Shepherds Bush Road, W6 seeing some of the greatest acts of the 20th and 21st centuries perform there.

  19. 1932

    Hammersmith Odeon opens

    The Hammersmith Odeon at 45 Queen Caroline Street, W6 opens, gaining a legendary reputation with several iconic gigs played there by Bob Marley and The Wailers in 1976. It is now known as the Eventim Apollo.

    Find out about the history of Black music at the Hammersmith Odeon.

  20. 1933

    Important studio

    Riverside Studios begins life as a movie studio. It is later taken over by the BBC hosting such productions as Dr Who. In 2019 it was renovated to become a hi-tech, state of the art venue you can visit today.

  21. 1940 to 1945

    Bombings

    Approximately 5,500 H&F residents are killed by Nazi bombings.

  22. 1945

    Musician born

    Labi Siffre is born at Queen Charlotte's & Chelsea Hospital - which was then based in Goldhawk Road. He goes on to be a musician of worldwide renown.

    Find out more about Labi Siffre.

  23. 1961

    Iconic flyover

    The Hammersmith flyover opens.

  24. 1976

    The legendary Bob Marley and the Wailers play at the Hammersmith Odeon

    Bob Marley was in the midst of becoming one of the biggest artists on the planet when he was booked in for a series of 6 gigs over 4 nights at the Odeon, 15 to 18 June 1976.

    Find out about Bob Marley's gigs at the Hammersmith Odeon.

  25. 1977

    New record shop

    Situated at 44 Uxbridge Road, W12 in Shepherd’s Bush, Greensleeves Records becomes a dominant force in the worldwide phenomenon of Reggae and Dancehall.

    Find out more about Greensleeves Records.

  26. 1980

    Toots and the Maytals at Hammersmith Palais

    Reggae legends Toots and the Maytals headline a one-off concert at the Hammersmith Palais. The following day it is released as an album.

    Find out about the history of Black music at the Hammersmith Palais.

  27. 1987

    Hammersmith & Fulham first

    Janet Olufunmilayo Adegoke is elected Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham in 1987. She is the first Black woman to become a Mayor of a London borough.

  28. 1992

    Historic resident remembered

    An autobiography about former Fulham resident Esther Bruce is published. Esther was one of the Black Londoners to be born in Britain and the book, Aunt Esther's Story, is one of the first books to document the life of a black working-class woman in the country.

    Find out more about Esther Bruce.

  29. 1993

    Stadium renamed

    The West London Stadium is renamed the Linford Christie Stadium in honour of the Olympian. He is one of the UK’s most successful athletes.

  30. 2007

    The Hammersmith Palais closes.

  31. 2008

    New shopping experience

    Westfield Shopping Centre is opened in October 2008. Situated on the former site of the 1908 Franco-British exhibition, it was the largest shopping centre in London at that time.

  32. 2019

    Great former resident recognised

    Fanny Eaton’s portrait, an artist model connected to the movement associated with William Morris associates, appears at the Pre-Raphaelite Sisters exhibition at the National Gallery between October 2019 and January 2020.

  33. 2022

    Esther Bruce is honoured with a blue plaque near Charing Cross Hospital.

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