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Shepherd's Bush is a neighbourhood in West London centered on Shepherd's Bush Green which was largely developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Originally a pasture for shepherds on their way to Smithfield market, in 1844 the West London Railway officially opened, and in 1864 the Metropolitan Railway built the original Shepherd's Bush station, making it possible to commute into central London for the first time, thereby opening up the area to residential development. Businesses soon followed, and in 1903 the west side of Shepherd's Bush Green became the home of the Shepherd's Bush Empire, a music hall whose early performers included Charlie Chaplin. In 1908 Shepherd's Bush became one of the principal sites for the Summer Olympics and, in the same year, hosted the Franco-British Exhibition (also known as "The Bush Exhibition", and "The Great White City"), a large public fair, which attracted 8 million visitors and celebrated the Entente Cordiale signed in 1904 by the United Kingdom and France. Many other exhibitions would follow until interrupted in 1914 by the Great War. In 1915 the Gaumont Film Company constructed Lime Grove Studios, "the first building ever put up in this country solely for the production of films", later occupied by the BBC until their move to nearby White City. During World War II the area suffered from enemy bombing, especially from V-weapons which struck randomly and with little warning. After the war, the neighbourhood suffered even greater damage from poor planning than it had from the Luftwaffe - the construction of the Westway and the M41 spur (now the West Cross Route) to the M40 motorway cut Shepherd's Bush off from Holland Park, demolishing much elegant Victorian housing and leading to some of the worst urban blight in London. In 2008 the Westfield London shopping centre opened its doors on the former White City exhibition site, with a retail floor area of 150,000m² (the equivalent of about 30 football pitches), it was reported to be the largest shopping centre in London, and the third-largest in Britain. Westfield is set to grow still further as planning permission has been given for a huge northward expansion of the retail area. ==Origins== The origins of the name ''Shepherds Bush'' are obscure. The name may have originated from the use of the common land here as a resting point for shepherds on their way to Smithfield Market in the City of London. There appears to have been an ancient custom of pruning a hawthorne bush to provide a shelter for shepherds protecting them from the elements as they watched their flocks. Alternatively the neighbourhood may simply be named after a local landowner.〔The London Encyclopedia〕 In any event, in 1635 the area was recorded as "Sheppards Bush Green".〔Taggart, Caroline, p.219, ''The Book of London Place Names''〕 Evidence of human habitation can be traced back to the Iron Age. Shepherd's Bush enters the written record in the year 704 when it was bought by Waldhere, Bishop of London as a part of the "Fulanham" estate.〔(GCSE History of Shepherd's Bush ) Retrieved July 2011〕 However, the neighbourhood appears to have been of little note until the mid-seventeenth century, when a cottage on the Goldhawk road became the home of one Miles Sindercombe, a disgruntled Roundhead who in 1657 made several attempts to assassinate Oliver Cromwell. Sindercombe planned to ambush the Lord Protector using a specially built machine with muskets fixed to a frame. His plan failed, Sindercombe was sentenced to death, and his cottage was eventually demolished in the 1760s.〔Denny, p.51〕 An Eighteenth century map by John Rocque shows Shepherd's Bush to be almost entirely rural, with a few scattered buildings around the Green, such as Shepherd's Bush House. The basic road layout is however broadly similar to that of today, with the "North High Way" (today the Uxbridge Road) stretching west of the Green, and Turvens Lane (Now Wood Lane) running to the north.〔Denny, p.8〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of Shepherd's Bush」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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