West Hampstead

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, West Hampstead Overground station and West Hampstead Thameslink station. It is part of the Kilburn postal district (NW6).

West Hampstead
West Hampstead
Location within Greater London
Population33,751 
OS grid referenceTQ255855
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtNW6
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly

History
A map showing the West End ward of Hampstead Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.

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
  • Hampstead Cemetery on Fortune Green Road, opened in 1876[3]
  • Hampstead Synagogue on Dennington Park Road, built on the site of Lauriston Lodge, opened in 1892.
  • Emmanuel Church, West Hampstead on the corner of Lyncroft Gardens, opened in 1903.
  • West Hampstead Fire Station was opened in 1901[1] and is still operating, responding to over two thousand emergency calls a year. Its service area covers 12 square miles (31 km2), including Hampstead, West Hampstead, Kilburn, Cricklewood and parts of Golders Green.
  • Hampstead Cricket Club moved to Lymington Road in 1877.
  • Decca Studios on Broadhurst Gardens. Now used as rehearsal space by the English National Opera. David Bowie recorded his first single and the Rolling Stones their first album in the studios. They were also known for being where the Beatles failed their audition with Decca Records on 1 January 1962, before they signed with Parlophone.
  • Klooks Kleek on West End Lane. Now operating as the Railway Pub was a jazz and rhythm n’ blues club within the then Railway Hotel. Notable acts include Cream, Ten Years After, Stevie Wonder, Buddy Guy, Zoot Money and his Big Roll Band and Rod Stewart.
  • St. James Church on Sherriff Road, the first church in the UK to house a main-branch post office and community centre, the Sheriff Centre. [4]
Stations in West Hampstead
London Overground station
Thameslink station
West Hampstead
(on West End Lane)
Finchley Road
 OSI:
Finchley Road
(MR) (1868–1927)
Finchley Road & Frognal
 OSI:
OSI = Out of station interchange

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.

Notable residents

There are four English Heritage blue plaques in West Hampstead commemorating the historic personalities that have lived there.[5] 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.[5]

Other notable people
  • West End Green, near the northern end of West End Lane
  • Shops on West End Lane
  • Shops, Library on West End Lane
  • West Hampstead tube station
  • West Hampstead London Overground station
  • West Hampstead Thameslink station
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References
  1. 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.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. The Streets of West Hamsptead, Camden History Society (1992).
  3. [Camden History Society: The Streets of West Hampstead, Camden History Society (1992)]
  4. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-london-28380656/post-office-opens-in-west-hampstead-church
  5. "Search Blue Plaques". Blue plaques search – West Hampstead. English Heritage. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  6. Bose, Mihir (31 August 2017). "The ins and outs of cricketer Steven Finn's life". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  7. H Gustav Klaus: "Heinemann, Margot Claire (1913–1992)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 5 May 2014

Location in context
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