Gunnersbury is a place in the London Borough of Hounslow

London Borough of Hounslow

-Political composition:Since the borough was formed it has been controlled by the Labour Party on all but two occasions. In 1968 the Conservatives formed a majority for the first and last time to date until they lost control to Labour in 1971. Labour subsequently lost control of the council in the...

, with its northern edge in the London Borough of Ealing

London Borough of Ealing

The London Borough of Ealing is a borough in west London.-Location:The London Borough of Ealing borders the London Borough of Hillingdon to the west, the London Borough of Harrow and the London Borough of Brent to the north, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to the east and the London...

, west London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. It has an area of less than half a square kilometre and is within the west area of the Chiswick W4 postal district of London.

Toponymy

The name "Gunnersbury" means "Manor house of a woman called Gunnhildr", and is from an old Scandinavian personal name + Middle English

Middle English

Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....

 -bury, manor or manor house.

Development

Gunnersbury consists mainly of pre-war housing of a variety of types, including flats, terrace, semi detached, and detached houses, some of which are ex-local authority built.

The defining symbol of Gunnersbury is the 18-storey high BSI (British Standards Institution) building on Chiswick

Chiswick

Chiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...

 High Road

High Street

High Street, or the High Street, is a metonym for the generic name of the primary business street of towns or cities, especially in the United Kingdom. It is usually a focal point for shops and retailers in city centres, and is most often used in reference to retailing...

. Below this building Gunnersbury station

Gunnersbury station

thumb|right|District Line train for Richmond in 1955Gunnersbury station is a London Underground and National Rail station in Gunnersbury in west London. The station is served by the District Line and London Overground trains on the North London Line and is managed by London Underground. On the...

 serves the Richmond branch of the District line

District Line

The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...

 and the London Overground

London Overground

London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...

 to Stratford

Stratford, London

Stratford is a place in the London Borough of Newham, England. It is located east northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an agrarian settlement in the ancient parish of West Ham, which transformed into an industrial suburb...

.
In 2001 a former bus garage to the north of the BSI building was converted into Chiswick Park business park. It houses a number of companies including SBS Broadcasting Networks Ltd, Teletext Ltd, CBS News, Technicolor, Discovery Channels Europe, Intelsat

Intelsat

Intelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...

, Singapore Airlines, Qantas Airlines, Foxtons

Foxtons

Foxtons is a London and Surrey estate agent with 32 offices, dealing with both lettings and sales. It was founded by Jon Hunt in 1981 and was acquiredby private equity firm BC Partners in 2007 for £390m....

 Estate Agents, and an Esporta health club.

Immediately to the east is Gunnersbury Triangle

Gunnersbury Triangle

The Gunnersbury Triangle is a Local Nature Reserve in the London boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow, immediately to the east of Gunnersbury. An area of woodland, it supports a population of thousands of different species of birds, plants, and other wildlife...

 nature reserve. An area of woodland, it supports a population of thousands of different species of birds, plants, and other wildlife.
It has free admission and its entrance is on the south of Bollo Lane, a few yards from Chiswick Park Tube Station

Chiswick Park tube station

Chiswick Park is a London Underground station in Chiswick in west London. The station is served by the District Line and is between Turnham Green and Acton Town stations...

.

Gunnersbury also lends its name to a nearby secondary school, in Brentford

Brentford

Brentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...

. Gunnersbury Catholic School is a boys only Catholic comprehensive. It was originally a Grammar School based on Gunnersbury Avenue and backing onto Gunnersbury Park

Gunnersbury Park

Gunnersbury Park is a park in the Brentford ward of the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, England. Purchased for the nation from the Rothschild family, it was opened to the public by Neville Chamberlain, then Minister of Health, on 21 May 1926...

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