Ealing

“EALING, a parish in the Kensington division of the hundred of Ossulstone, county Middlesex, 1½ mile N. of Brentford, 6½ miles W. of London by road, or 5.J by the Great Western railway. It contains the hamlet of Little Ealing and chapelry of Old Brentford, which together contain above 10,000 inhabitants.

It has recently become a favourite suburb of the metropolis, and contains many handsome villas and well-wooded seats. The living is a via* in the diocese of London, value £679, in the patronage of the bishop. The parish church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a plain brick structure, and contains a brass of R. Aunsham, dated 1490, also monuments of the Gulstons, Serjeant Maynard, the eminent lawyer, Robert Orme, the Indian historian, Oldmixon, the dramatist, Horne Tooke, and Mrs. Trimmer. There are also two district churches-St. George's, Old Brentford, a perpetual curacy, value £168, in the gift of the vicar; and Christ Church, a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Miss R. F. Lewis, by whom it was erected. The principal charities are Lady Capel's school for boys, with an income from endowment of £149; Lady Rawlinson's for girls, with an income of £144; besides others, producing altogether about £560 a year. The Independents have a large chapel, and there are National, British, and infant schools. Within this parish are several handsome seats, as Gunnersbury Park, belonging to Baron Rothschild; Ealing Park, once the residence of Bishop Pearse, where is a rare species of plant, called the Asiaticus rariotes; and Castle Beare Hill. Among those who once lived here were Spencer Percival, Fielding, Dr. Owen, and Peter le Courager. The Bishop of London is lord of the manor. Little Ealing is situated a quarter of a mile to the S.W., and Drayton Green 1 mile to the W. A fair is held on the 24th June.

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from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868