Harrow on the Hill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harrow on the Hill refers variously to the following areas of differing extent:

A local authority ward of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London, or
A current Church of England parish, or
The original town from which the ward, parish and the current local authority derive their names.

It is also the name of a nearby London Underground railway station.

Its name came from Anglo-Saxon hearg = "heathen temple".

Contents

[edit] The Ward

The ward's boundaries encompass not just the majority of the hill but also reach out to Roxeth, Sudbury Hill and parts of West Harrow. The recent population figures [1] are:-

1991 9,578
2001 10,632

The referenced document also contains a (copyright) map of the ward.

[edit] The Parish

The ancient parish of Harrow originally extended for some distance around the hill but reduced gradually as urbanisation took over from farmland. The parish church is dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin and is located near to the highest part of the hill. It has long been a landmark due to the prominent hilltop position and in more recent years as a navigational reference (or sometimes unintentional target) for aircraft approaching RAF Northolt. The parish immediately to the north (covering the area between Wealdstone and Harrow Hill) is St. John The Baptist, Greenhill which was created out of part of the parish of St. Mary in 1866 [2].

[edit] The Town and the Station

The area around the High Street (much of which is occupied by various buildings belonging to Harrow School) is the proper town of Harrow[3], dating from before Norman times[4]. It is to be distinguished from the London Borough of Harrow wherein it lies or the adjacent area of Greenhill, Harrow which is often misdescribed as "Harrow Town Centre" but is merely the main local shopping area. This confusion is attributable to the false assumption that the local station bears the name of its immediate location (and the habit of the Metropolitan Railway matching station names to a more "marketable", but not always immediate, district), in this case Harrow on the Hill Underground station was built in Greenhill parish as close as possible to the town as geography and objections from Harrow School permitted; not many years earlier its location was farmland [5] overlooked by the town of Harrow[6]. The Town Hall, local Fire Station and Police Station were until more recent years all located in or near the High Street[7].

[edit] References

  1. ^ 2001 Census - Harrow on the Hill Ward Profile [London Borough of Harrow Department of Environmental Services, Planning Services]
  2. ^ GENUKI (UK and Ireland Genealogy) "Harrow on the Hill".
  3. ^ "Middlesex", pub. Middlesex County Council 1954; "Domesday", pub. 1086; Ordnance Survey maps, various c.1801-present.
  4. ^ British History on line and sundry other references.
  5. ^ 1868 Ordnance Survey Grid reference 515338,187983.
  6. ^ 1868 Ordnance Survey Grid reference 515168,187263.
  7. ^ Ordnance Survey, partial 25 inch to 1 mile map, about 1955
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../h/a/r/Harrow_on_the_Hill_b4f2.html"
In other languages