| Harlesden | |
Craven Park Road |
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Harlesden
Harlesden shown within Greater London |
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| Population | 14,818 (Harlesden ward 2007)[1] |
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| OS grid reference | TQ215835 |
| London borough | Brent |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | NW10 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| EU Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | Brent Central |
| London Assembly | Brent and Harrow |
| List of places: UK • England • London | |
Harlesden is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, UK. Its main focal point is the Jubilee Clock which commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.[2]
Harlesden has been praised for its vibrant Caribbean culture and unofficially named London's Reggae capital. The population includes people of Afro-Caribbean heritage, as well as Irish Catholic, Brazilian and smaller Portuguese and Colombian communities.
Harlesden has a rich culture of boxing, with two Olympic Gold medallists hailing from Harlesden: Audley Harrison who won gold in the Super-Heavyweight division at Sydney in 2000, and James Degale who won gold in the Middleweight division at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
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In the 19th century, Harlesden, then a rural village, began to develop some of its urban appearance with the arrival of the railways. Willesden Junction, Kensal Green and Harlesden station stations all had an effect on the developing village. Cottages for railway and industrial workers were built, as was grander housing for the local middle class.
Harlesden increasingly lost its rural nature, with factories replacing farms and woodland. From late Victorian times until the 1930s, housing completed its spread across the area, and Harlesden became part of the London conurbation. Mainly after World War I, one of Europe's biggest industrial estates was constructed at nearby Park Royal, and large factories there included McVitie & Price (later United Biscuits) from 1910, and Heinz from 1919.
The image of Harlesden today began to take shape in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Continued immigration from Ireland and new immigration from the Caribbean, the Indian sub-continent and Africa changed the racial and cultural make up of the area.[3] More recently the area has now become home to Brazilian and Portuguese communities. Much of the housing is made up of Victorian terraces which have been attracting young professionals unable to afford similar properties in nearby Kensal Green and Queen's Park.
| Brent Park/St Raphael's Estate/Neasden | Willesden | Brondesbury Park | ||
| Stonebridge | Kensal Green | |||
| Harlesden | ||||
| Park Royal | North Acton | Wormwood Scrubs |
Harlesden has excellent bus links, with many linking the north, west, south and central. London Buses running in the area are routes 18, 187, 206, 220, 224, 226, 228, 260, 266, 487 and PR2 running in the town centre, as well as routes 6 and 297 running just outside.
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