Visit Southall Places

Welcome to Visit Southall Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Southall

  

Southall Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Southall

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Southall history

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Southall formed part of the chapelry of Norwood in the ancient parish of Hayes, in the Elthorne hundred of the historic county of Middlesex. For Poor Law it was grouped into the Uxbridge Union and was within Uxbrid Rural Sanitary District from 1875. On 16 January 1891 the parish adopted the Local Government Act 1858. In 1894 it became the Southall Norwood Urban District. In 1936 the urban district was granted a charter of incorporation and became a municipal borough.

19th century

The Grand Junction Canal opened in 1796 as the major freight transport route between London and Birmingham . The arrival of Brunel’s Great Western Railway in 1839 led to the establishment and growth of brick factories, flour mills and chemical plants . The Martin Brothers set up a ceramics factory in 1877 in an old soap works next to the canal .

20th century

The old parish church of Southall, St John’s, was found to be too small for its congregation and emigrated to a new building in Church Avenue, which was completed in 1910 . The original church building, in Western Road, is now a youth centre .

Southall culture & places

Since the end of World War II, Southall has become largely a South Asian residential district, sometimes known as “Little India” Along with its Indian and Pakistani population who mostly hail from Punjab, the town has more recently become home to Afghan, Sri Lankan and Somali communities.

Media

Westside 89.6 FM broadcasts urban music and was formerly based in Southall . Desi Radio predominantly broadcasts in Punjabi and is available throughout West London on 1602 AM and on DAB across Greater London . Sunrise Radio broadcasts for the wider Asian community nationally .

In film and TV

Southall was the main location for the film Bend It Like Beckham . The film was filmed in Southall, London, during its filming stages .

Sport

Southall F.C. currently play in the Premier Division of the Combined Counties Football League . The local club was formed in 1871 and nurtured past players such as Les Ferdinand, who went on to play for the national team .

Southall toponymy

The name Southall derives from the Anglo-Saxon dative æt súð healum, “At the south corner (of the land or wood)” The name separates it from Northolt which was originally norþ heal, “North corner” which through a later association with holt, “wood, copse” developed into Northolt.

You can visit Southall places with Walkfo Southall to hear history at Southall’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Southall has 89 places to visit in our interactive Southall map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Southall, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Southall places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Southall & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 89 audio facts unique to Southall places in an interactive Southall map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Southall Places Map
89 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Southall historic spots	Southall tourist destinations	Southall plaques	Southall geographic features
Walkfo Southall tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Southall

  

Best Southall places to visit

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Southall has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Southall’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Southall’s information audio spots:

City of Westminster Cemetery, Hanwell City of Westminster (Hanwell) Cemetery is a cemetery located in Hanwell, Ealing, west London . It is owned and managed by the City of London’s Parks Service .

Cranford Park Cranford Countryside Park is a 144-acre public park in Cranford, in the London Borough of Hillingdon . Situated in close proximity to Heathrow Airport, it is bordered by the M4 Motorway to the north, the A312 trunk road to the east and the towns of Harlington and Cranford to the South West and South East respectively .

Southall Gas Works Southall Gas Works is a former gas works site of around 88 acres (36 ha) in Southall, west London . It is currently being redeveloped for mixed-use including 3,750 homes as part of Berkeley Group’s The Green Quarter .

Our Lady Queen of Apostles Church, Heston Our Lady Queen of Apostles is a Catholic church in Heston in the London Borough of Hounslow . It was built in the early 1960s and contains stained glass designed by Pierre Fourmaintraux .

St Mary with St Richard, Northolt St Mary the Virgin is a 13th-century Anglican parish church in Northolt, London. It is one of London’s smallest churches, its nave measuring 15 yards (14 m) by 8 yards (7.3 m) The church was built around 1290 and expanded over the centuries. The chancel was added in 1521 and the spired bell tower in the 16th century.

Southall rail crash The Southall rail crash occurred on 19 September 1997, on the Great Western Main Line at Southall, west London. An InterCity 125 high speed passenger train failed to slow down in response to warning signals and collided with a freight train crossing its path. The signaller was unaware that the automatic warning system had been turned off in the cab of the express.

Beck Theatre The Beck Theatre is a 600-seat theatre in Hayes, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was built in 1977 at a cost of £2.5 million.

St Leonard’s Church, Heston St Leonard’s Church is the Grade II* listed Church of England parish church for Heston in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located in Heston, London, and is situated in the West London boroughs of the London borough.

Elthorne Hundred Elthorne was a hundred (ancient subdivision) of the historic county of Middlesex, England. The hundred’s name means ‘thorn bush of Ella’

Visit Southall plaques