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13
SECTION I.
General description and Area of
District.
Name.
Acton is supposed to have derived its name from
the quantity of oak timber which it produced; "ac"in
the Saxon language signifying an oak.
Boundaries of Parish.
The Parish is bounded by that of Willesden on
the north, Hammersmith on the east, Chiswick and
Brentford on the south, and Ealing on the west.
Geology.
The soil towards the north is a stiff clay, and
towards the south a rich loam, the southern part at
one time being occupied by market gardeners.
Acton Wells.
Acton Wells, formerly the site of three wells of
mineral water, springing out of a deep clay, were in
great repute for their medicinal virtues about the middle
of the 16th Century.
The Assembly Room was then a place of very
fashionable resort; and the neighbouring hamlets of East
Acton, and Friar's Place, were filled with persons of all
ranks, who came to reside there during the summer season.
Moated Meadow.
To the north of the Parish near the Great Western
Station, in a field called Moated Meadow, is a deep
trench inclosing a parallelogram of about 100 yards in
length and 40 in breadth, supposed by some to have
been a Roman Camp; but the name of the meadow
seems to intimate that it is the site of a moated house,
of which there have been several in the neighbourhood.