West Hampstead

West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden in north-west London. Mainly defined by the railway stations of the same name, it is situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the north-east, Swiss Cottage to the east, South Hampstead to the south-east, Kilburn to the west and south-west, and Cricklewood to the north-west. The area is mainly residential with several small shops, restaurants, cafes, bakeries concentrated on the northern section of West End Lane and around West End Green. It is served by three stations: West Hampstead on the Jubilee line, West Hampstead Overground station and West Hampstead Thameslink station. It is part of the Kilburn postal district (NW6).

West Hampstead
West Hampstead is located in Greater London
West Hampstead
West Hampstead
Location within Greater London
Population33,751 
OS grid referenceTQ255855
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLondon
Postcode districtNW6
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly

History
A map showing the West End ward of Hampstead Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916

West End hamlet

An area, known as "le Rudyng" (indicating a woodland clearing) in the mid-13th century, had by 1534 come to be called West End. It was then a freehold estate belonging to Kilburn Priory, and was so called because it was at the west end of another, larger estate. Although it is possible that there was a dwelling on the estate prior to 1244, an estate house was certainly extant by 1646.[1] West End Lane (named as such by 1644), the main road through the area, is still bent at a right-angle at the north and south ends where it connects to Finchley Road and Edgware Road respectively. This is because the lane used to form the boundary between a number of different estates.[1]

By the early 17th century several houses were present, and by the middle of that century London merchants were building larger houses in the area. By 1800 West End was a hamlet of two to three dozen houses and cottages located in parkland, mostly on the west side of West End Lane and Fortune Green Lane, and north of the present-day railway lines. West End Lane had been rerouted, making it straighter and lying further to the west than previously. In 1851 residents were mainly agricultural labourers, gardeners, craftsmen and tradespeople, with an innkeeper, two beershop keepers, a schoolmistress and a few gentry.[1] There were three main large houses: West End House, West End Hall and Lauriston Lodge.[2]

West Hampstead

Transformation of the area started with the construction of three railway lines across West End Lane: Hampstead Junction Railway, built by 1857; Midland line, opened in 1868; and Metropolitan & St. John's Wood line, opened in 1879. West Hampstead was the name adopted by Metropolitan & St. John's Wood for its station on West End Lane. The period of greatest development for the area was the 15 years from the opening of that station, with estates on the west side of West End Lane being turned from farmland and parkland into housing estates.[1][2] Large scale development on the east side of West End Lane started in 1897, with the redevelopment of the properties where the three large houses of West End Hall, Canterbury House and Treherne House had stood until then.[1]

Notable buildings and sites
  • Emmanuel Church, an Anglican church on the corner of Lyncroft Gardens, opened in 1903.
  • Hampstead Cemetery on Fortune Green Road, opened in 1876[3]
  • Hampstead Cricket Club moved to Lymington Road in 1877.
  • Hampstead Synagogue on Dennington Park Road, built on the site of Lauriston Lodge, opened in 1892.
  • Lilian Baylis House at 165 Broadhurst Gardens, opened in the 1880s. It was originally the Falcon Works, a place for tradespeople to work from. A few years later it was turned into a venue for concerts, meetings and other gatherings and named West Hampstead Town Hall.[4] In 1928, Crystalate Gramophone Record Manufacturing took it over and moved its recording studio there. In 1937, Decca took it over and the building became Decca Studios until 1980.[5] Artists including David Bowie and the Rolling Stones recorded there, but the Beatles failed their audition there on 1 January 1962, before they signed with Parlophone. It is now used as rehearsal space by the English National Opera.
  • Railway Hotel on the corner of West End Lane and Broadhurst Gardens, built in 1881.[4] From 1961 to 1970 it housed Klooks Kleek, a jazz and rhythm n’ blues club, whose notable acts included Cream, Ten Years After, Stevie Wonder, Buddy Guy and Rod Stewart. The live album John Mayall Plays John Mayall was recorded there in 1964 by running cables out of the window to Decca Studios,[6] which was two buildings away.
  • St. James Church on Sherriff Road, the first church in the UK to house a main-branch post office and community centre, the Sheriff Centre.[7]
  • West Hampstead Fire Station was opened in 1901[1] and is still operating, responding to over 2,000 emergency calls a year. Its service area covers 12 square miles (31 km2), including Hampstead, West Hampstead, Kilburn, Cricklewood and parts of Golders Green.
Stations in West Hampstead
Up arrow Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham
Up arrow LU Jubilee and Metropolitan lines
Up arrow Thameslink and Midland Main Line
Left arrow North London line to Richmond
London Overground London Overground station
Thameslink Thameslink station
 West Hampstead
(on West End Lane)
Jubilee Line LU Jubilee line station
Jubilee LineMetropolitan Line Finchley Road
OSI: London Overground
 Finchley Road
(MR) (1868–1927)
 London Overground Finchley Road & Frognal
OSI: Jubilee LineMetropolitan Line
Right arrow North London line to Stratford
Down arrow Thameslink and Midland Main Line
Down arrow LU Jubilee and Metropolitan lines
Down arrow Chiltern Main Line to Marylebone
OSI = Out of station interchange

There are three railway stations named West Hampstead, all within close proximity, and a number of other tube stations in the area. Numerous bus routes pass through the district.

Notable residents

There are four English Heritage blue plaques in West Hampstead commemorating historic personalities that have lived there.[8] The plaques mark the residences of painter David Bomberg at 10 Fordwych Road, conductor Sir Adrian Boult at 78 Marlborough Mansions on Cannon Hill, newspaper proprietor Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe at 31 Pandora Road, and ophthalmologist Dame Ida Mann at 13 Minster Road.[8]

Other notable people

Location in context
  • West End Green, near the northern end of West End Lane
    West End Green, near the northern end of West End Lane
  • Shops on West End Lane
    Shops on West End Lane
  • Shops, Library on West End Lane
    Shops, Library on West End Lane
  • West Hampstead tube station
    West Hampstead tube station
  • West Hampstead London Overground station
    West Hampstead London Overground station
  • West Hampstead Thameslink station
    West Hampstead Thameslink station

References
  1. C R Elrington (Editor), T F T Baker, Diane K Bolton, Patricia E C Croot (1989). A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9 – Hampstead, Paddington. pp. 42–47. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Wade, Christopher (ed.) (1992). The Streets of West Hampstead, Camden History Society. (2nd ed.)
  3. [Camden History Society: The Streets of West Hampstead, Camden History Society (1992)]
  4. Weindling, Dick; Colloms, Marianne (2013). Decca Studios and Klooks Kleek: West Hampstead's Musical Heritage Remembered. History Press. ISBN 9780750952873.
  5. Weindling, Dick; Colloms, Marianne (20 September 2013). "Making Music in West Hampstead and Kilburn". West Hampstead Life. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  6. "Roger Dean interview". Users.skynet.be. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  7. "Post office opens in London church". BBC News.
  8. "Search Blue Plaques". Blue plaques search – West Hampstead. English Heritage. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  9. Bose, Mihir (31 August 2017). "The ins and outs of cricketer Steven Finn's life". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  10. "Town Hall Talks Down Teething Troubles as Bin Collections Go Fortnightly". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  11. Klaus, H. Gustav (2004). "Heinemann, Margot Claire (1913–1992), writer and teacher". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/39546. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  12. Walker, Shaun (5 August 2018). "Dua Lipa's father stages music festival for 'peace-loving' Kosovo". The Observer. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
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