Alperton () is an

area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

of north-west London, England, within the

London Borough of Brent Brent () is a London boroughs, borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Brent Reservoir, W ...

. It forms the southern part of the town of

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

and is west north-west of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

, on the border with the London Borough of Ealing. It includes a handful of high-rise and many mid-rise buildings as well as streets of low-rise houses with gardens. It adjoins the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

's Paddington Arm, which is fed by the Brent Reservoir.

Toponymy

The name ''Alperton'' means "farmstead or estate associated with a man named Ealhbeorht", deriving from an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

personal name and ''tūn'', meaning farmstead or village in

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

Demography

Alperton has one of the capital's highest populations of black or minority ethnic groups ( BME). In the 1991 census, 43.2% of Alperton ward's population was Asian, only one point less than White. British Indians formed 31.5% in 1991 and 32.4% in 2001, with white having decreased to 27.8%. According to the 2011 census, the largest ethnic group was Indian, 42% of the population, well above Brent's average of 18%. Other Asian was second largest at 17%. The most spoken foreign language was Gujarati, by 3,213 residents, followed by Tamil, spoken by 1,001 residents. In the 2011 census 47.7% of residents are of the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

faith, Christians: 27.2% and Muslims: 11.9%.

Transport

The

runs through Alperton and its

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, Working animal, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mod ...

, is part of the Grand Union Canal Walk.

Trains

Alperton has its own tube station of the same name, served by the

Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a Deep level underground, deep-level London Underground line running between the west and the north of London. It has two western branches which split at Acton Town tube station, Acton Town and serves 53 stations. The li ...

and located in the district. Other close stations include Hanger Lane tube station ( Central line) to the south; Stonebridge Park station ( Bakerloo line and Lioness line) to the east; and

Wembley Central station Wembley Central is an interchange station in Wembley, north-west London. It is situated on the east-west High Road and is near to both Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena. The station provides Bakerloo line services of the London Underground, Wat ...

(Bakerloo line, Lioness line, Southern & West Midlands Trains) to the north.

Notable people

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

endgame study In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a type of chess problem that starts with a composed position—i.e. one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—where the goal is to find the essentially unique way for ...

composer and author John Roycroft was born in Alperton * Gary Waddock, former footballer and now manager of Aldershot Town, grew up in Alperton * Footballer Joe Wiggins (1909–82) was born in Alperton

In popular culture

The towpath of the Grand Union Canal in Alperton is featured in various scenes in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

TV soap

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

. It first appeared in an episode which aired on 3 October 1985, when the character

Den Watts Den Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den". Den was the original landlord of The Queen Victoria public house from Albert ...

(played by

Leslie Grantham Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor who played "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West Germany, West German ...

) meets

Michelle Fowler Michelle Fowler (also Holloway) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BB ...

(played by Susan Tully) and it is revealed Den is the father of Michelle's baby. It was used again on numerous occasions, most famously on 23 February 1989, when Den Watts was shot before falling into the canal and supposedly dying. Den returned to the canal with daughter Sharon Watts on 3 October 2003, when he returned to Albert Square alive.

Schools

Alperton Community School Alperton Community School is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school and sixth form with Academy (English school), academy status. It has a specialism in maths, computing and arts and it is located in the Alperton area of the Londo ...

: The school is divided into two sites: the lower school on Ealing Road near Alperton tube station, consisting of Years 7, 8 and 9 and the upper school on Stanley Avenue, consisting of Years 10, 11, 12 and 13. The lower school was renovated in 2017.

References

External links

History of Alperton at Brent Heritage

News and information about developments in central Alperton at Alperton.org
{{LB Brent Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Brent Places formerly in Middlesex