Kensal Green
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kensal Green | |
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference: | TQ235825 |
| Latitude: | 51.52740572722158° |
| Longitude: | -0.1899275440608259° |
| Administration | |
| London borough: | Brent |
| County level: | Greater London |
| Region: | London |
| Constituent country: | England |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom |
| Other | |
| Ceremonial county: | Greater London |
| Historic county: | Middlesex (1965) |
| Services | |
| Police force: | Metropolitan Police |
| Fire brigade: | London Fire Brigade |
| Ambulance service: | London Ambulance |
| Post office and telephone | |
| Post town: | LONDON |
| Postal district: | NW10 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Politics | |
| UK Parliament: | |
| London Assembly: | Brent and Harrow |
| European Parliament: | London |
| London | List of places in London | |
Kensal Green is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Brent. The area is also referred to as Kensal Rise.
Contents |
[edit] Location
A small area on the eastern edge of the London Borough of Brent, Kensal Green borders the boroughs of Westminster to the East, and Kensington and Chelsea to the South. Surrounding neighbourhoods include Willesden Green to the north, Harlesden to the West, Brondesbury and Queens Park to the East and Ladbroke Grove to the south.
The names Kensal Green and Kensal Rise are used interchangeably to denote the same neighbourhood, although some do attempt to differentiate between the areas based on proximity to the local tube and train stations. Roughly speaking, the area west of Chamberlayne Road and south of Kensal Rise railway station is considered Kensal Green while east of Chamberlayne Road and north of the station is considered Kensal Rise. These boundaries are by no means fixed however and residents are known to use both terms with little regard for geographical accuracy.
A third area south of Harrow Road, around the area of Kensal Road is infrequently referred to as Kensal Town. Since Harrow Road is generally considered to be the southern boundary of Kensal Green, most residents class Kensal Road and its environs as part of Westbourne Park. Once again, this is in no way an official classification.
[edit] History
Recorded as 'Kingisholt' ('The King's Wood') in 1253, the name Kensal Green is first mentioned in 1550. A map of 1849 shows that The Green lay immediately to the west of Flowerhills Lane (now Kilburn Lane), between what is now Regent Street and Harrow Road, with The Plough (see below) at it's north-east corner.
In the middle ages the land in the surrounding areas was owned by the Countess of Richmond (the mother of King Henry VII) and All Souls' College, Oxford. There was also a small manor of Chamberlayne Wood, named after Richard de Camera, an early 13th century priest who received income from the land. There were sheep farms between Kensal Green and Harlesden.
In the 18th century, along with farms and two larger houses, there was an inn called the Plough (frequented by artist George Morland). After 1814 the Green was used as a shooting range by the Cumberland Sharpshooters, a local rifle club. Another sporting activity was Willesden Steeplechases on the site of the future King Edward VII recreation ground (now Willesden Sports Centre) until the middle of the 19th century.
In the beginning of the 19th century the small hamlet of Kensal Green lived around the activities on the Grand Junction Canal. Barges with such cargoes as iron, coal, waste paper and gravel were towed through Kensal. A brick works was set up and the growth of the village began. In 1823 the Green was divided into plots for cottages owned by local tradesmen and inhabited by the poor.
The real grown of Kensal Green began in connection with the All Souls' Cemetery. It was opened in 1832 to solve the problem with burial grounds in London and soon became the place to be laid to rest amongst many prominent Victorians. The construction of two railways, the London & Birmingham line to the north and the Great Western line to the south, in 1837-8 facilitated the growth of Kensal Rise which became a London suburb.
In the 1840s the area south of the Harrow Road became Kensal New Town, and north of the cemetery was Kensal Green. St.John's Church was built in 1844 followed by a school and more inns.
Around this time Kensal Lodge and Kensal Manor House were associated with writer William Harrison Ainsworth and his guests, including Charles Dickens.
In 1858 St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery was opened west of All Soul's Cemetery. Many Irish immigrants were buried there, as well as Sir Anthony Panizzi (d. 1879), the principal librarian of the British Museum who was partly responsible for the creation of the famous Round Reading Room. After the two World Wars a Belgian War Memorial was created there.
In 1860 the Hampstead Junction Railway was opened. Next year a new station appeared called Kensal Green & Harlesden. In 1873 it was moved half a mile to the east and renamed Kensal Green. There was Willesden Junction station nearby. Buses and later trams also connected Kensal Green to London.
Large scale housing construction followed, mainly two-storey cottages. Sanitation was poor, and many residents kept pigs. Indeed, the slaughtering and selling off of a pig at the Plough was one of the highlights of the week. Towards the end of the 19th century local landlords All Souls College, Oxford stepped up the urban development. Chamberlayne Road was built to connected Kensal with Willesden Green. The new area was called Kensal Rise. Kensal Green Station was renamed Kensal Rise in 1890.
Schools and churches opened between 1877 and 1913. Housing now stretched all the way to Harlesden. Of interest are the houses built by Charles Langler and Charles Pinkham, like those in Clifford Gardens (about 1897) with decorated facades.
Despite the proximity of respectable Queens Park to the east, and gifts of land, libraries and clubs by Victorian philanthropists, Kensal had a reputation of being a near slum, although some better off people, like clerks, accounts and salesmen employed in the City lived here, too.
Amongst the leisure facilities in the area were the National Athletic Grounds (the site of Witmore Gardens today) laid out in 1890; Kensal Rise Library, opened by Mark Twain in 1900, as well as Kensal Green Lawn Tennis Club (1906) and the Constitutional Club (1909). A new Kensal Green station, on the Euston to Watford line was opened in 1904.
At the turn of the century many houses were overcrowded and lack full amenities. As late as 1971 25% of Kensal Green housing lacked full amenities. Not enough attempts to redevelop the area in the 1950s-70s were made, and even those met with strong local opposition. This saved Kensal Green's many Victorian houses all of which by now have been renovated.
At present, Kensal Green's most famous residents are the actress Tamsin Greig and her husband and fellow actor Richard Leaf.
[edit] Demographics
Nestled between areas of prosperity and urban degradation, Kensal Green is a contradiction in terms typical of many inner city neighbourhoods that has led to an eclectic mix of residents.
Up until the early 1980s the largest ethnic group in Kensal Green, and its environs (such as Harlesden, Willesden, Cricklewood and Kilburn) was Irish immigrants but the area also boasted a sizeable Afro-Caribbean contingent. Over the course of the two decades the Irish community has largely vacated the area, although the legacy of their presence remains, not least in the number of Irish pubs that continue to populate the area.
In the late 1980s the area gained an unenviable reputation as a run down and crime-ridden district, a name that the area has found hard to shake due to a number of high-profile crimes that have garnered widespread media attention. It was a reputation that led author John Preston to note:
'When he first moved to Kensal Green, Hugh had assumed that it would only be a matter of time before the area came up in the world. After all, it was close to fashionable areas such as Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove. But, as he'd discovered, there were certain parts of London that remained immune from any from of gentrification. Kensal Green was one of them; it seemed to have fallen off the property map altogether.'
Recent years have seen a renaissance in the neighbourhood's fortunes however. Due to the explosion in the London property market and Kensal Green's central location and excellent transport links, large numbers of young professionals have flocked to the area in the course of the last five years. This shift has been mirrored by the number of niche furniture stores, luxury delicatessens and 'trendy' gastropubs that have openned on Chamberlayne Road of late.
[edit] Transport
One of the key reasons that Kensal Green has proved so popular with young professionals in recent years is its excellent transport links.
Kensal Green tube (Zone 2) on the Bakerloo Line is only 20 minutes from Oxford Circus and the West End. Silverlink services also operate to London Euston, a journey that takes around 15 minutes.
Silverlink Metro (also known as the North London Line) operates out of Kensal Rise railway station and provides regular services to Richmond in the West and Stratford and North Woolwich in the East.
Extensive bus services also run from the area, including the No. 18 (Harlesden - Euston), No. 6 (Willesden Bus Garage - Aldwych) and No. 52 (Willesden Bus Garage - Victoria Station).
From February 2007 the London Congestion Charge will extend into Kensington and Chelsea and reach as far north as Harrow Road, the southern boundary of Kensal Green. Any vehicles travelling south down Ladbroke Grove or east along Harrow Road and into Central London will be liable to pay the £8 daily charge between 7.00AM and 6.30PM Monday to Friday.
Local residents have expressed concern that drivers seeking to avoid paying the congestion charge will move their route north through the streets of Kensal Green. While this problem will in all probability affect all areas north of the charge zone, it may be a particular problem in Kensal due to the fact that the main north-south artery through the neighbourhood, Chamberlayne Road, already suffers from congestion during peak times, as does Harvist Road and Harrow Road, two important east-west arteries.
[edit] Crime
For such a small and anonymous area of London, Kensal Green has attracted a disproportional amount of media coverage for a small number of highly newsworthy crimes. The district's close proximity to Harlesden has inevitably meant that occasionally the gang-related gun crime that blights the area has spilt over into Kensal Green.
In November 2001, three men and two women were wounded when three masked men opened fire at the now defunct Cactus Club on Station Terrace.
A particularly tragic episode occurred in September 2003 when 7 year-old Toni-Ann Byfield was shot dead along with her father in a bedsit on Harrow Road. The killer was apprehended and convicted in the summer of 2006.
Gangland violence claimed another life in August 2004 when Lee Subaran, 27, was shot dead at a party to celebrate the Notting Hill Carnival on Hazel Road. In July 2005 three men were jailed for life for his murder. The Old Bailey heard that Subaran may have been killed because he stood up to one of his killers years ago over bullying.
In January 2006, City Lawyer Thomas Ap Rhys Pryce was robbed and murdered on Bathurst Gardens as he walked home from Kensal Green tube station. Two men have been charged over the killing, one of which lived just two streets away from the scene of murder. It later emerged that the alleged killers had mugged an Asian man at Kensal Green station just 30 minutes before Ap Rhys Pryce was murdered. In the wake of the incident, Mayor Ken Livingstone launched a campaign to ensure that all tube stations are staffed until they are closed at night. TfL now play classical music (set off by a motion sensor) in the entrance to the station after dark. This is supposed to deter would-be robbers and murders from loitering around the station, but instead serves to make unaware visitors to the station feel as though they have stepped into a surreal Clockwork Orange esque nightmare land.
In spite of these high profile cases Kensal Green remains a comparatively safe part of north-west London - at least in comparison to its neighbouring areas. Nonetheless, figures from the Metropolitan Police show that crime against the person rose by 37% in 2005, the highest increase of any ward in the borough of Brent. Kensal Green is not the most dangerous place in the local area but on a statistical basis, it is the neighbourhood where public safety deteriorated the most in 2005.
[edit] Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green is the site of Kensal Green Cemetery, the oldest English cemetery still in operation, which contains many elaborate Victorian mausoleums, including those of William Makepeace Thackeray and Anthony Trollope. Architects who are buried at Kensal Green include the famous 19th century architectural family of Hardwick and Shaw. Philip Charles Hardwick, Philip Hardwick and John Shaw Junior are buried there.
Paradise by Way of Kensal Green, a pub on Kilburn Lane, is based on the final line of the poem "The Rolling English Road", by G. K. Chesterton:
" For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen, before we go to paradise by way of Kensal Green."
Every Sunday the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery run a tour starting at 14:00 at the Anglican Chapel and lasting 2 hours. On the first and third Sunday of the month, the tour descends into the catacombs beneath the Anglican Chapel.
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