Harrow, London

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Harrow
Harrow, London (Greater London)
Harrow, London

Harrow shown within Greater London
OS grid reference TQ145885
London borough Harrow
Ceremonial county Greater London
Region London
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town HARROW
Postcode district HA1
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
European Parliament London
UK Parliament Harrow East
Harrow West
London Assembly Brent and Harrow
List of places: UKEnglandLondon

Coordinates: 51°35′01″N 0°20′47″W / 51.5836, -0.3464

Harrow is a town in the London Borough of Harrow, North West London. It is a suburb situated 12.2 miles (16.4 km) west northwest of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Harrow is widely known for Harrow School, attended by Winston Churchill and Indian Prime Minister Nehru, however Harrow County School also had a tradition of noted staff and pupils, e.g. Sir Paul Nurse, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, Michael Portillo, Clive Anderson and Geoffrey Perkins. Harrow is home to a large University of Westminster campus near Northwick Park Hospital (although both these landmarks actually lie within the London Borough of Brent). Harrow was a municipal borough of Middlesex before its inclusion in Greater London in 1965.

Contents

[edit] Etymology

Its name came from Anglo-Saxon hearge = "(heathen) temple", which was probably on the hill of Harrow, where St. Mary's Church stands today.[1]

[edit] Present day

Harrow features a moderately large shopping area in the town centre. The main shopping district is located near Harrow-on-the-Hill tube station and Harrow Bus Station, and has two shopping centres. The St. Ann's Shopping Centre (formerly the site of Heathfield High School for Girls), opened by Princess Diana in 1987, is the older of the two and contains an extensive food court. St. George's opened by Catherine Zeta Jones is a smaller mall, but features a gym and a 13-screen vue cinema. Complementing the shopping centres are a number of high street shops and a large Debenham's department store.

[edit] Transport

Harrow-on-the-Hill platform sign
Harrow-on-the-Hill platform sign

The area has good public transport links and is served by the Metropolitan Line of the London Underground and also by the National Rail services of Chiltern Railways, London Midland and Southern (train operating company). Stations in the area are:

Harrow is near to the A40/M40, M25 and the M1 motorways.

The town centre also has a major bus station adjacent to Harrow-on-the-Hill station that serves as an important hub for buses in the area. Many routes to North and West London pass through this station. Notable routes serving Harrow include:

On 8th October, 1952, three trains collided at Harrow and Wealdstone station killing 112 people. Of the dead, 64 were railway employees on their way to work.

[edit] Nearby districts

[edit] Twinning

Harrow as seen from Northwick Park
Harrow as seen from Northwick Park

Harrow is twinned with:

[edit] Notable residents

see London Borough of Harrow

[edit] References

  1. ^ Room, Adrian: “Dictionary of Place-Names in the British Isles”, Bloomsbury, 1988. ISBN 0 7475 0170 X

[edit] External links