"This was once part of London, but it was badly damaged in the Fall. The brick buildings toppled, the wooden buildings burned. Hillchanger Tower lost its crenellations."[2]
Ealing Gardens is a community just outside London, which serves as the first station of the Great Hellbound Railway.
"Not everyone who lives here is a Rubbery Man or a market gardener. Other people – the very poor, the very eccentric, and the very unpopular – have found homes here as well."[3]
A Peppercap.
Ealing was once part of London on the Surface, but it suffered serious damage during the Fall,[4] landing some distance away from the rest of the city.[5] It eventually redeveloped,[6] as some buildings were shoddily repaired, new constructions were built in a mix of styles,[7] and areas that couldn't be salvaged were turned into mushroom farms.[8]
Ealing's citizenry is an eccentric mix of Rubbery Men,[9]London's poor and outcast,[10] and fungus farmers.[11] When the Great Hellbound Railway arrived, it brought along new visitors and residents of various stripes:[12] retirees from Tracklayer's Union and their families,[13][14]Bohemians seeking inspiration,[15] enterprising paleontologists,[16] and even Monster-Hunters.[17] It also brought the Ministry of Upper River Development, which now oversees the growing community.[18]
Aescwine Hill
"It's the Hillchanger Tower. The one that appears on Aescwine Hill and then travels other places. I've thought for some time that represented another power."[19]
Aescwine Hill is a key landmark near the outskirts of Ealing.[20] The summit is a favorite painting spot for landscape artists,[21] if they can brave the enormous scorpions that infest the slopes.[22] Aescwine is one of the resting points for Hillchanger Tower, which travels across the Hinterlands[23][24] but returns to Aescwine every midnight.[25]
Commercial Development
"The lack of ordinary shops does not mean a lack of trade entirely. There are still people who will sell clothes or food out here; there are still a few sources of Prisoner's Honey, for those who have reached the Upper River and cannot live without."[26]
Hinterland Scrip
Since Ealing exists outside the immediate range of the Echo Bazaar, it historically saw very little commerce, and the few peddlers here sold food, clothes, and Prisoner's Honey.[26] After the Railway arrived, commercial development increased, for better or for worse.[27]Mr Hearts licensed a butcher's shop in Ealing,[28] though the butcher himself is not fond of his job,[29] and some have taken advantage of the open space to establish circuses without competition from Mrs Plenty's Carnival.[30]
During her tenure as Lord Mayor of London, Virginia opened a spa in Ladybones Road for the betterment of London's souls,[31][32] but results were middling and the spa was a disappointment. With the help of the GHR, Virginia opened another location in Ealing, far away from any oversight,[33] but the spa's treatments remain questionably effective.[34]
The Rubbery Community
"Even here, they are subject to stares and unflattering comment. But they are more numerous in these parts than elsewhere."[35]
"People around here often mention Helicon House, a gathering place of Rubberies and Bohemians..."[36]
Rubbery Men make up a large portion of Ealing's population. Sadly, even here they face discrimination from the town's human residents,[37] and the Railway's growing influence has had a negative impact on the existing Rubbery community.[38][39]
The Tentacled Entrepreneur recently moved most of his business operations to Ealing.[40] His factories are staffed with Rubbery Men,[41] and the few humans present work as security guards.[42] Strict hygiene is enforced,[43][44] and the Rubbery Men work on an assembly line[45] to manufacture various goods.[46] Despite the factories' careful management and seeming profitability, they are not the Entrepreneur's primary source of income.[47]
Following the Tentacled Entrepreneur's recent sponsorship,[48]Helicon House has become an important institution in Ealing, especially for the Rubbery community.[49] Helicon's very existence is kept secret to most humans, even within the counterculture of London,[50] and any human visitors are vetted thoroughly by the doorman before they may enter.[51] Within Helicon's walls, Rubbery Men are free to express and engage with their artistry and culture,[52][53] allowing ideas, both old and new, to flourish and evolve.[49]
↑Tour the Neighbourhood, Fallen London"This was once part of London, [...] it was badly damaged in the Fall. The brick buildings toppled, the wooden buildings burned."
↑Tour the Neighbourhood, Fallen London"The architecture is a Rubbery parody of London: old ruins propped up [...] new buildings built in [...] imitation of known styles."
↑Fill a stomach, Fallen London"You smuggle your donation to [...] Union workers – some of them living with their families, and with not really enough to go round."
↑Constellations, Fallen London"[...] it's easier to make out the silhouettes on the horizon: the outline of Aescwine Hill [...]"
↑Upper River Artistry, Fallen London"The more Nocturnalist Bohemians have taken a liking to Ealing Gardens. [...] some simply paint landscapes of the vista from Aescwine Hill.
↑Offer your defensive escort, Fallen London"[...] a little trouble, [...] a troupe of [...] scorpions the size of house-cats [...] Your party does not get even halfway up the hill before you are swarmed by [...] scorpions?"
↑Build the station at Moulin, Fallen London"[...] the Hillchanger Tower. The one that appears on Aescwine Hill and then travels other places," [...] It has taken up a place in Moulin now [...]"
↑Spa Services, Fallen London"[...] as Mayor, Virginia took over a [...] townhouse on Ladybones Road and converted it into a spa. [...] the results were not wholly satisfactory. [...] with your assistance, she has built a branch of that spa here in Ealing Gardens, where she can offer advanced treatments without the supervision of any Ministry."
↑Rubbery Observances, Fallen London"Saving Flute Street, nowhere in London [is] [...] a home for Rubbery Men. Even here, they are subject to stares and unflattering comment. But they are more numerous in these parts than elsewhere. The Tentacled Entrepreneur built his first factory [...] down that block."
↑Ministry Enforcement, Fallen London"'Property of the Ministry of the Upper River – Severest Penalties for Squatters.' [...] a tentacle draws a curtain at the window, then flicks it back into place."
↑Outflank the Ministry's servant, Fallen London"Make it look as though the Rubberies have every right to be here. [...] Afterward, a magnificently tentacled face presses itself to the window. [...] with gratitude."
↑Tour the Neighbourhood, Fallen London"[...] the Tentacled Entrepreneur brought most his operations here, where the factories could expand and the workers live [...]"
↑ 49.049.1Visit Helicon House with the Dean of Xenotheology, Fallen London"Several of the Rubbery people are gathered around a sculpture displayed at the centre of the room. "We shouldn't approach without permission," [...] "Their current posture is one associated with... sacred receptiveness. [...] This is a time of extraordinary change for them. A few years ago, Rubbery culture had nothing like this— [...] From a back room [...] a Rubbery Euphonium."
