Alperton () is an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved 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 su ...

of north west

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England, within the

London Borough of Brent The London Borough of Brent () is a London borough in north-west London. It borders the boroughs of Harrow to the north-west, Barnet to the north-east, Camden to the east, the City of Westminster to the south-east, as well as the Royal Borough ...

. 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 north-west Londo ...

and is west north-west of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

. 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 British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter s ...

's Paddington Arm, which is fed by the

Brent Reservoir The Brent Reservoir (popularly called the Welsh Harp) is a reservoir in North West London. It straddles the boundary between the boroughs of Brent and Barnet and is owned by the Canal & River Trust. The reservoir takes its informal name from a ...

Toponymy

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

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

personal name and ''tūn'', meaning farmstead or village in Old English.

Demography

Alperton, Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir - geograph

Alperton has one of the capital's highest populations from 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 faith, Christians: 27.2% and Muslims: 11.9%.

Transport

Road

Ealing Road (A4089) and Bridgewater Road (A4005) are major roads that run through Alperton. Alperton Lane (B456) is another useful thoroughfare. The A406

North Circular Road The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a ring road around Central London in England. It runs from Chiswick in the west to Woolwich in the east via suburban North London, connecti ...

passes by the east of Alperton. The

runs through Alperton and the Grand Union Walk is its old towpath, which was originally used by horses drawing the canal barges, and is now a recreational facility that serves Alperton.

Trains

Alperton station is on the Piccadilly line and located in the district. Other close stations include Hanger Lane ( Central line) to the south; Stonebridge Park ( Bakerloo line & Watford DC Line) to the east; and Wembley Central (Bakerloo line,

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

's Watford DC Line, Southern & West Midlands Trains) to the north.

Notable people

* Keith Moon, drummer with

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are conside ...

, lived in Alperton as a boy. *

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

endgame study composer and author John Roycroft was born in Alperton *

Gary Waddock Gary Patrick Waddock ( ; born 17 March 1962) is a former professional footballer. He is assistant head coach of Cambridge United. A former midfielder, he spent most of his career playing for Queens Park Rangers and Luton Town. He also had stin ...

, former footballer and now manager of Aldershot Town, grew up in Alperton * Footballer

Joe Wiggins Joseph Albert Wiggins (1 April 1909 – 1982) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward and full back for Brentford, Leicester City, Gillingham, Rochdale and Oldham Athletic in the Football League. He also played ...

(1909–82) was born in Alperton

In popular culture

Alperton, The Pleasure Boat public house - geograph

The towpath of the

in Alperton has been used for various scenes in the BBC TV soap EastEnders. It was first used in an episode which aired on 3 October 1985, when the character Den Watts (played by Leslie Grantham) meets Michelle Fowler (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 Sharon Watts (also Rickman, Mitchell and Beale) is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Letitia Dean. Sharon is one of ''EastEnders'' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Julia ...

on 3 October 2003, when he returned to Albert Square alive.

Schools

* Alperton Community School: The school is divided into two sites: the lower school on Ealing Road near Alperton Underground 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 has recently been renovated and it benefits from state of the art learning facilities.

Locale

Neighbouring areas

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