What's so good about Wood Lane? Wood Lane, London Middlesex England

Wood Lane  runs north from Shepherd's Bush past Wormwood Scrubs Prison where it meets Scrubs Lane it is the home of the iconic BBC Television Centre - not to mention Westfield Shopping Centre.

According to Wikipedia, in the 1780s, the road was known as Turvens Lane after Turvens House located a short distance north of Shepherd's Bush Green. By the 1830s it had received its current name.

And although it is hard to believe when you look at Wood Lane today, it was a rural area right up until the 1860s with Wood Lane Farm being one of the main features.

 Even into the 20th century the land either side of Wood Lane remained undeveloped until the area was chosen for the site of the 1908 Franco-British exhibition and 1908 Summer Olympics.

The Central London Railway opened Wood Lane station in 1908 on the north side of its Wood Lane Depot to serve the exhibition. Originally intended to be a temporary service it survived until 1947 when it was replaced by White City station a short distance to the north.

The Metropolitan Railway (now the Hammersmith & City Line) also opened a station on its line between Paddington and Hammersmith . The station, also called Wood Lane although separate from the CLR's station, was adjacent to the railway bridge over Wood Lane.

To serve the new White City shopping centre development, a new station on the Hammersmith & City Line, also called Wood Lane opened on 12 October 2008 to the east of Wood Lane.