West Hampstead

West Hampstead
West Hampstead
 West Hampstead shown within Greater London
Population 33,751 
OS grid referenceTQ255855
London borough Camden
Ceremonial county Greater London
RegionLondon
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town LONDON
Postcode district NW6
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
EU Parliament London
UK ParliamentHampstead and Kilburn
London Assembly Barnet and Camden
List of places
UK
England
London

Coordinates: 51°33′15″N 0°11′20″W / 51.5543°N 0.1888°W

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, the West Hampstead Overground station and West Hampstead Thameslink railway station.

History

The village of West End

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) 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 a number of houses were present, and by the middle of that century London merchants were building larger houses in the area, so turning a hamlet into the village of West End.[1]

West Hampstead

At the beginning of the 19th century, there were three main large houses around the hamlet of West End: West End House, West End Hall and Lauriston Lodge which were later sold off for redevelopment with the arrival of the railways, which led to the transformation of the area from farmland into housing estates.[2] In 1879, the Metropolitan Railway adopted the name West Hampstead for its station on West End Lane, the main road through the area.[1]

Notable buildings and sites

Transport links

Stations in West Hampstead

Legend
Very generally: South - North
Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham
Jubilee and Metropolitan lines
Thameslink and Midland Main Line
◄ North London Line to Richmond

London Overground Overground and National Rail TLK stations

West Hampstead(on West End Lane}

Underground
Finchley Road London Overground OSI
Finchley Road (MR) (1868-1927)
London Overground Finchley Road & Frognal OSI
North London Line to Stratford
To St Pancras
LU to Baker Street
Chiltern Main Line to Marylebone
 OSI = Interchange is allowed
 between these two stations

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

West Hampstead signal box

The power signal box (PSB) for the northern end of the Thameslink route is in Iverson Road, West Hampstead, around the corner from the Thameslink station. The Network Rail signal box can be seen from the north end of the platforms on the left. As well as being a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week operational building, it also houses engineers and acts as a base for Mobile Operation Managers (MOMs). The upper floor of this box controls the signals and operation of the railway from Farringdon/St Pancras International as far as Sharnbrook (just north of Bedford Station). Also located in the box (in the same room as the signalling panels) is First Capital Connect's Thameslink control (also known to staff as the Service Delivery Centre or SDC). FCC's services between London Blackfriars and Bedford are controlled from here. South of Blackfriars, FCC trains are either controlled by southeastern control (to Sevenoaks) or FCC's other SDC at Croydon (for services to Brighton and Sutton/Wimbledon). Information on the service status of the line, including the operation of the information screens, is also controlled from here. East Midlands Trains do not have controllers at West Hampstead however.

Notable residents

There are four English Heritage blue plaques in West Hampstead commemorating the historic personalities that have lived there.[4] 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.[4]

Other notable people

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 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.
  2. ↑ The Streets of West Hamsptead, Camden History Society (1992).
  3. ↑ [Camden History Society: The Streets of West Hampstead, Camden History Society (1992)]
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Search Blue Plaques". Blue plaques search - West Hampstead. English Heritage. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  5. ↑ H Gustav Klaus: "Heinemann, Margot Claire (1913–1992)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 5 May 2014

Location in context

Neighbouring areas of London
Cricklewood Fortune Green Childs Hill
Kilburn Hampstead
   West Hampstead  
St John's Wood South Hampstead Swiss Cottage

External links