Perivale

Perivale is a small suburb in the London Borough of Ealing, 10 mi west of Charing Cross, central London. Landmarks in the suburb include the A40, a large road that connects Central London with the M40 motorway, and the large Art Deco Hoover Building, as well as St Mary's Church (C:15th century), the River Brent and Perivale Wood Local Nature Reserve run by the Selborne Society.

Toponymy
Until the 18th century Perivale was called Little Greenford or Greenford Parva, to distinguish it from Great Greenford.

History
Perivale was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex. It formed part of Greenford Urban District from 1894 to 1926, and was then absorbed by the Municipal Borough of Ealing. Before the 1930s residential building expansion, the fields of Perivale were used to grow hay for the working horses of Victorian London, a scene described in the ending of John Betjeman's poem 'Return to Ealing':

"'...And a gentle gale from Perivale/blows up the hayfield scent.'"

Geography
A large part of Perivale is used in the form of a business and industrial park. Although mainly residential, there are some office blocks and parades of shops on Bilton Road, A40 slip road and in the Medway Village. It is home to one of the first American-style diners in the UK called Starvin' Marvin's. Perivale is also home to two golf courses: Ealing Golf Club and Perivale Golf Course.

The River Brent runs through Perivale. On 30 November 2009 the Environment Agency warned residents of a flooding along River Brent from Hendon to Brentford, after a day of notably heavy rain. Several premises were temporally flooded in Brentford and Perivale.

In the media
Perivale was the setting for the 1989 season twenty-six Doctor Who serial Survival as the hometown of the Seventh Doctor's companion Ace. There were several locations used in and around town during filming which included Bleasdale Avenue, Medway Parade, Colwyn Avenue, Woodhouse Avenue, Children's Play Area, Ealing Central Sports Ground, Horsenden Lane South, and the nearby Horsenden Hill. Victorian Perivale was also the location of a manor which was the setting of another season twenty-six serial, Ghost Light. Parts of the film Snatch were also filmed in Perivale and the nearby Horsenden Hill.

Henry Perowne, the principal character in Ian McEwan's novel Saturday was born in Perivale, though he lived in London during the events of the novel. Only Fools and Horses used Horsenden Hill for location shooting in the episode where Del Boy and Rodney 'look after' Marlene and Boysie's dog (only to feed it reheated pork and give it food poisoning). One of the episodes of the car show Top Gear was set in Perivale.

Sport and leisure
Non-League football club Hanwell Town F.C. have been playing in Perival at Reynolds Field since 1981.

Notable people

 * Mike Cole, bassist of 1970s pop group Mungo Jerry, was born in Perivale
 * Alan Devonshire, former West Ham and England footballer, lived in Perivale
 * Neal Foulds, snooker player and commentator, lived in Perivale
 * Nicky Hopkins (1944-1994), renowned session pianist (for The Beatles and many others), was born in Perivale
 * Derek Marlowe (1938-1996), playwright/novelist/screenwriter, was born in Perivale
 * Lee McQueen, Apprentice Winner 2008, was born in Perivale
 * Carole Middleton, mother of The Duchess of Cambridge, was born in Perivale
 * Tom Newman, record producer (of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells and others), was born in Perivale
 * Richard Oakes, guitarist of indie band Suede, was born in Perivale
 * Stacey Owen, 1980s glamour model, started life in Perivale before moving to Glasgow
 * Jeff Stevenson, comedian, lived in Perivale
 * Nikkala Stott, glamour model, lived in Perivale
 * Janet Street-Porter, journalist and TV personality, lived in Perivale
 * Chris Thomas, record producer (of The Beatles, The Sex Pistols and others), was born in Perivale
 * Rick Wakeman, Yes keyboardist, was born in Perivale
 * Jonathan Halliday, Barrister was born in Perivale

Transport
Perivale has a station on the Central line of the London Underground system, and is also near to Alperton tube station on the Piccadilly line. Two bus routes (E5 and 297) link the town to Ealing, Greenford, Southall, Wembley and Willesden.

Nearest tube stations

 * Perivale tube station
 * Alperton tube station
 * Greenford station
 * Hanger Lane tube station
 * Sudbury Town tube station

Nearest railway station

 * South Greenford railway station
 * Wembley Central station

Nearby places

 * Alperton
 * Ealing
 * Greenford
 * Hanwell
 * Horsenden Hill
 * Northolt
 * Wembley