Headstone, London

Headstone is a residential area north-west of Harrow, London, and immediately north of North Harrow.[n 1] A green buffer exists between Headstone and North Harrow that consists of a moated manor site (Headstone Manor) and football and rugby pitches, making the area mostly separate from North Harrow. However, there are some points of flux and overlap. To the west the area abuts the large and predominantly agricultural pasture of Pinner Park.

Headstone
Headstone Manor Recreation Ground in autumn
Courtenay Avenue Average housing stock in Headstone Harrow Weald Common is in the background
Headstone Location within Greater London
Population	21,228 (2011 Census. Headstone North and South Wards)[1]
OS grid reference	TQ138907
London borough	Harrow
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HARROW
Postcode district	HA2, HA3
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
London Assembly	Brent and Harrow

History

Headstone Manor is fourteenth century with many later additions and renovations: it is a significant place of interest in its own right. The manor had an unrivalled status, see manorialism until after the Reformation and formation of the British Empire and to an extent, usually for such a site, relatively close to London, even until the Enlightenment which sparked the Industrial Revolution. This has led to the barns having remained largely intact to the present.[2]

The origin of the place name may be related to that of Wealdstone, which is a neighbouring area situated directly north of Harrow being the residential part north of its midpoint train station, Harrow & Wealdstone – this area acts as a second tier commercial hub for the area, the main hub being the Harrow shopping precincts and centres closer to Harrow-on-the-Hill station just 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south of Harrow & Wealdstone.

Housing

LCC Cottage estates 1918–1939

Estate name	Area	No of dwellings	Population 1938	Population density
Pre-1914
Norbury	11	218	867	19.8 per acre (49/ha)
Old Oak	32	736	3519	23 per acre (57/ha)
Totterdown Fields	39	1262	—	32.4 per acre (80/ha)
Tower Gardens White Hart Lane	98	783	5936	8 per acre (20/ha)
1919–1923
Becontree	2770	25769[lower-alpha 1]	115652	9.3 per acre (23/ha)
Bellingham	252	2673	12004	10.6 per acre (26/ha)
Castelnau	51	644	2851	12.6 per acre (31/ha)
Dover House Estate Roehampton Estate	147	1212	5383	8.2 per acre (20/ha)
1924–1933
Downham	600	7096	30032	11.8 per acre (29/ha)
Mottingham	202	2337	9009	11.6 per acre (29/ha)
St Helier	825	9068	39877	11 per acre (27/ha)
Watling	386	4034	19110	10.5 per acre (26/ha)
Wormholt	68	783	4078	11.5 per acre (28/ha)
1934–1939
Chingford[lower-alpha 2]	217	1540	—	7.1 per acre (18/ha)
Hanwell (Ealing)	140	1587	6732	11.3 per acre (28/ha)
Headstone Lane	142	n.a	5000
Kenmore Park	58	654	2078	11.3 per acre (28/ha)
Thornhill (Royal Borough of Greenwich)	21	380	1598	18.1 per acre (45/ha)
Whitefoot Lane (Downham)	49	n.a	n.a.
Source:*Yelling, J.A. (1995). "Banishing London's slums: The interwar cottage estates" (PDF). Transactions. London and Middlesex Archeological Society. 46: 167–173. Retrieved 19 December 2016. Quotes: Rubinstein, 1991, Just like the country.	Source says 2589- transcription error Part of a larger PRC estate around Huntsman Road

There is a large LCC cottage estate built on 153 acres (62 ha) south of the Uxbridge road housing 5,000 people.

Headstone South is predominantly made up of 1930s semi-detached housing.[3]

Amenities

St George's Church, Headstone

Harrow Weald Common adjoins the northern border of the area, open for walking and mountain biking equally, this is on the northern boundary of Harrow Weald (marked by Uxbridge Road). On this common which rises steeply in the north to climb the hill of Weald Wood, towards the southwestern, Headstone, side is the Bannister Sports Centre, an athletics track and training ground.

Pinner Park features a miniature railway and a cricket ground with pavilion.

St George's Anglican parish church, serving the area, was built by John Samuel Alder and consecrated in 1911.

Transport

The area benefits from frequent bus services towards the more commercialised Harrow, to Hatch End very close to the north, to Pinner south-westwards and Stanmore, north-eastwards.

Headstone Lane railway station has three trains per hour in both directions. The station is on the line between Watford Junction and London Euston, providing a fast but stopping service to these destinations and a therefore less convenient service without changing once for destinations of Aylesbury and Milton Keynes; it marks the heart of the neighbourhood, parts of which around the manor recreation grounds merge seamlessly with the area to the south, North Harrow.

Notes

1. North Harrow, like many London suburbs such as East Dulwich, is to the geographer a misnomer; however is north-west of the older Harrow-on-the-Hill and named after its station, which required a name; from Harrow-on-the-Hill there is a particularly straight road called The Ridgeway. It is thus centred west-northwest of Harrow.

References

1. Combined population for the 2 Headstone Wards. 2011
2. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1005558)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 August 2012. Headstone Manor – older, scheduled ancient monument listing in respect of its moated site. Two barns also have listed status – as has the building listed at Grade I – Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1285855)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
3. https://www2.harrow.gov.uk/documents/s152635/Ward%20boundary%20-%20Appendix%20B.pdf