[3] In 1922, Gover proposed that the prefix was a personal name, Heahmaer or Hæmar, and stating that the suffix must be Anglo-Saxon from -myðe,[4] meaning the junction of two rivers, as Hammersmith Creek merged with the Thames here.

In 1745, two Scots, James Lee and Lewis Kennedy, established the Vineyard Nursery, over six acres devoted to landscaping plants.

During the next hundred and fifty years the nursery introduced many new plants to England, including fuchsia and the standard rose tree.

Called the Hammersmith Ghost murder case, it set a unique standard in English legal history.

[14] Hammersmith is located at the confluence of one of the arterial routes out of central London (the A4) with several local feeder roads and a bridge over the Thames.

[16] "The Ark" office building, designed by British architect Ralph Erskine and completed in 1992, has some resemblance to the hull of a sailing ship.

[18] 22 St Peter's Square, the former Royal Chiswick Laundry and Island Records HQ, has been converted to architects' studios and offices by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands.

[20] Several of Hammersmith's pubs are listed buildings, including the Black Lion,[21] The Dove,[22] The George,[23] The Hop Poles,[24] the Hope and Anchor,[25] the Salutation Inn[26] and The Swan,[27] as are Hammersmith's two parish churches, St Paul's[28] (the town's original church, rebuilt in the 1890s) and St Peter's, built in the 1820s.

[37] The pub was frequented by Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene; James Thomson lodged and likely wrote Rule Britannia here.

It was initially based in Westcott Lodge, later moving to St Paul's Church, then to Blythe House and now Lytton Hall, near West Kensington tube station.

[43] Hammersmith Bridge closed in August 2020 to pedestrians, cyclists and road traffic, severing the link with Barnes in the southwest.

The length of King Street places the westernmost shops and offices closest to Ravenscourt Park Underground station on the District line, one stop west of Hammersmith itself.

[8][45] In August 2020, it closed to pedestrians, cyclists and road traffic as the cast iron pedestals that hold the suspension system in place became unsafe.

[47] In 1930, Gustav Holst composed Hammersmith, a work for military band (later rewritten for orchestra), reflecting his impressions of the area, having lived across the river in Barnes for nearly forty years.

Holst taught music at St Paul's Girls' School and composed many of his most famous works there, including his The Planets suite.