Hampstead

For other places with the same name, seeHampstead (disambiguation).

Hampstead(/ˈhæmpstɪd,-stɛd/) is an area in London, England, which lies four miles (six kilometres) northwest ofCharing Cross,and extends fromthe A5 road (Roman Watling Street)toHampstead Heath,a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of theLondon Borough of Camden,a borough inInner Londonwhich for the purposes of theLondon Planis designated as part ofCentral London.

Hampstead
Downshire Hillin May 2009
Hampstead Location withinGreater London
OS grid reference	TQ265855
London borough	Camden
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	NW3
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Hampstead and Highgate
London Assembly	Barnet and Camden

Hampstead is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical, political, and literary associations. It contains a number of listed buildings,such asBurgh House,Kenwood House,theSpaniard's Inn,and theEverymancinema, one of the oldest in the world.With some of the most expensive housing in London,Hampstead is known as London's home for the rich and famous,with local residents past and present includingHelena Bonham Carter,Will Champion(Coldplay),Agatha Christie,T.S. Eliot,Sigmund Freud,Stephen Fry,Ricky Gervais,Jim Henson,George Orwell,Harry Styles,Elizabeth Taylor.Hampstead has been home to more Prime Ministers, and contains more millionaires within its boundaries, than any other area of the United Kingdom.

At the Stanfield Hall in Hampstead, the national Headquarters of theRosicrucian Society of Englandwere situated until 2022.

History

Toponymy

The name comes from theAnglo-Saxonwordshamandstede,which means, and is a cognate of, the Modern English "homestead".

To 1900

Archeological findings fromHampstead Heath,includingMesolithicflint tools, pits, postholes, and burnt stones, indicate ahunter-gatherercommunity around 7000 BCE. Objects like cinerary urns and grave goods discovered nearWell Walk,dating back to 70–120 CE, suggest the possibility of aRomansettlement or road in the vicinity.

Kenwood House,Hampstead

Roadworks onHeath Streetin Hampstead around 1865, inFord Madox Brown's paintingWork

A current day view of the location used for the Madox Brown painting on The Mount, just off Heath St

Early records of Hampstead can be found in a grant by KingEthelred the Unreadyto the monastery of St. Peter's at Westminster (AD 986), and it is referred to in theDomesday Book(1086)as being in theMiddlesexhundred ofOssulstone.Outlyinghamletsdeveloped atWest EndandNorth End.In additionPond Streetformed the southern limit of the settlement for many centuries.

The growth of Hampstead is generally traced back to the seventeenth century. Trustees of the Well started advertising the medicinal qualities of thechalybeatewaters (mineral waterimpregnated with iron) in 1700. A pump room andassembly roomwere established onWell Walk,supplied by water from springs in nearbyWell Road.Elegant housing was built in New End road,New End SquareandChurch Row.Although Hampstead Wells was initially most successful and fashionable, its popularity declined in the nineteenth century due to competition with other fashionable London spas. The spa was demolished in 1882, although a water fountain was left behind.

Hampstead started to expand following the opening of theNorth London Railwayin the 1860s (now theLondon Overgroundwith passenger services operated byTransport for London), and expanded further after theCharing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railwayopened in 1907 (now part ofLondon Underground'sNorthern line) and provided fast travel tocentral London.

Much luxurious housing was created during the 1870s and 1880s, in the area that is now the political ward of Frognal & Fitzjohns. Much of this housing remains to this day.

20th century

In the 20th century, a number of notable buildings were created including:

• Hampstead Underground station(1907), the deepest station on theUndergroundnetwork
• Isokon building(1932)
• Hillfield Court(1932)
• 2 Willow Road(1938)
• Swiss Cottage Central Library(1964)
• Royal Free Hospital(mid-1970s)

Keats House,Hampstead, whereKeatswrote hisOde to a Nightingale

Cultural attractions in the area include theFreud Museum,Keats House,Kenwood House,Fenton House,theIsokon building,Burgh House(which also houses Hampstead Museum), and theCamden Arts Centre.The large VictorianHampstead Town Hallwas recently converted and extended as an arts centre.

On 14 August 1975 Hampstead entered theUK Weather Recordswith theHighest 155-min totalrainfall at 169 mm. As of November 2008 this record remains.

The average price of a property in Hampstead was £1.5 million in 2018.

Geography

Hampstead High Streetsign

A map showing the wards of Hampstead Metropolitan Borough as they appeared in 1916.

Hampstead became part of theCounty of Londonin 1889 and in 1899 theMetropolitan Borough of Hampsteadwas formed. TheTown Hallon Haverstock Hill, which was also the location of the Register Office, can be seen in newsreel footage of many celebrity civil marriages. In 1965, the metropolitan borough was abolished and its area merged with that of theMetropolitan Borough of Holbornand theMetropolitan Borough of St Pancrasto form the modern-dayLondon Borough of Camden.

For some, the area represented by Hampstead today consists principally of the (electoral) wards of Hampstead Town and Frognal & Fitzjohns; others espouse a broader definition, encompassingSouth Hampstead,Belsize ParkandWest Hampstead.

Climate

Climate data for Hampstead (1991–2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	7.5 (45.5)	8.1 (46.6)	10.9 (51.6)	14.1 (57.4)	17.3 (63.1)	20.4 (68.7)	22.7 (72.9)	22.3 (72.1)	19.1 (66.4)	14.8 (58.6)	10.6 (51.1)	7.8 (46.0)	14.7 (58.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	2.3 (36.1)	2.2 (36.0)	3.7 (38.7)	5.5 (41.9)	8.3 (46.9)	11.2 (52.2)	13.3 (55.9)	13.3 (55.9)	11.1 (52.0)	8.3 (46.9)	5.0 (41.0)	2.7 (36.9)	7.3 (45.1)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	69.5 (2.74)	51.4 (2.02)	42.8 (1.69)	49.6 (1.95)	50.5 (1.99)	58.5 (2.30)	50.5 (1.99)	67.7 (2.67)	59.1 (2.33)	78.6 (3.09)	75.7 (2.98)	68.2 (2.69)	722.1 (28.43)
Average rainy days(≥ 1 mm)	12.1	10.7	9.1	9.1	8.5	8.7	8.4	9.2	9.0	11.0	11.9	11.9	119.6
Mean monthlysunshine hours	60.0	76.1	114.2	155.2	199.2	193.7	199.8	188.2	145.5	106.3	67.2	54.0	1,559.4
Source:Met Office

Politics

The formerHampstead Town HallonHaverstock Hill.

Hampstead is part of theHampstead and Kilburnconstituency, formed at the2010 general election.It was formerly part of theHampstead and Highgateconstituency.

Since July 2022 the area has been represented on Camden Council byConservative Partycouncillor Stephen Stark andLiberal Democratcouncillor Linda Chung.

Hampstead Liberalism

The area has a significant tradition of educated liberal humanism, sometimes referred to (often disparagingly) as "Hampstead Liberalism". In the 1960s, the figure of the Hampstead Liberal was notoriously satirised byPeter Simpleof theDaily Telegraphin the character ofLady Dutt-Pauker,an immensely wealthy aristocratic socialist whose Hampstead mansion, Marxmount House, contained an original pair ofBukharin's false teeth on display alongside precious Ming vases,neo-constructivistart, and the complete writings of Stalin.Michael Idov ofThe New Yorkerstated that the community "was the citadel of the moneyed liberal intelligentsia, posh but not stuffy."As applied to an individual, the term "Hampstead Liberal" is not synonymous with "champagne socialist"but carries some of the same connotations. The term is also rather misleading.

As of 2018, the component wards of Hampstead (South Hampstead, Frognal, Hampstead Town and Belsize) have mixed representation. Frognal ward elects two Conservative councillors, Belsize ward elects three Liberal Democrat councillors, South Hampstead elects three Labour councillors, while Hampstead Town is represented by one Liberal Democrat and one Conservative councillor.

South Hampstead is a competitive Labour and Conservative marginal, and Belsize is competitive between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, whereas Frognal is a safe Conservative ward. Hampstead Town (including the area of Hampstead Village andSouth End Green) has seen a number of tightly fought Conservative and Liberal Democrat contests, and the ward has had mixed representation in recent decades.

Brexit referendum

During the2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum,75% of voters across theLondon Borough of Camdenvoted to remain in the EU.Following the result many commentators used Hampstead as an archetype of the type of area that preferred to remain in the EU. This point was often made in alliterative contrast to poor post-industrial northern towns such asHartlepoolandHull,that preferred to leave.

Places of interest

Hampstead Heath west ponds

St Mary's Church, Hampstead

The Viaduct on Hampstead Heath

Isokon Building, Hampstead

St John's Church, Downshire Hill

Sites

To the north and east of Hampstead, and separating it fromHighgate,is London's largest ancient parkland,Hampstead Heath,which includes the well-known and legally-protected view of the London skyline from Parliament Hill. The Heath, a major place for Londoners to walk and "take the air", has three open-air publicswimming ponds;one for men, one for women, and one formixed bathing,which were originallyreservoirsfor drinking water and the sources of theRiver Fleet.The bridge pictured is known locally as 'The Red Arches' or 'The Viaduct', built in fruitless anticipation of residential building on the Heath in the 19th century.

Local activities include major open-air concerts on summer Saturday evenings on the slopes belowKenwood House,the FT Weekend Festival,book and poetry readings, fun fairs on the lower reaches of the Heath, period harpsichord recitals at Fenton House, Hampstead Scientific Society and Hampstead Photographic Society.

The largest employer in Hampstead is theRoyal Free Hospital,Pond Street,but many small businesses based in the area have international significance.George Martin'sAIRrecording studios, in converted church premises in Lyndhurst Road, is a current example, asJim Henson's Creature Shopwas before it relocated to California.

The area has some remarkable architecture, such as theIsokon buildingin Lawn Road, aGrade I listedexperiment in collective housing, once home toAgatha Christie,Henry Moore,Ben NicholsonandWalter Gropius.It was recently restored byNotting Hill Housing Trust.

Churches and synagogues

• Christ Church–Hampstead Square,NW3 1AB
• Heath Street Baptist Church, Heath Street, NW3 1DN
• St. Andrew's United Reformed Church, Frognal Lane, NW3 7DY
• St John-at-Hampstead– Church Row, NW3 6UU
• St John's Downshire Hill– Downshire Hill, NW3 1NU
• St Luke's – Kidderpore Avenue, NW3 7SU
• St Mary's Church(Roman Catholic)– 4 Holly Place, NW3 6QU
• Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel– Pilgrim's Place, NW3 1NG
• Village Shul, synagogue, located at 27 New End, Hampstead.

St Stephen's Rosslyn Hill (Church of England) was built in 1869 bySamuel Sanders Teulonon the Pond Street side of Hampstead Green. Deconsecrated in 1978 and stripped of much of its assets it was boarded up and subsequently invaded by squatters. In 1998 it was leased to the St Stephen's Restoration and Preservation Trust which, after 11 years of fundraising and grants returned it to the community as a centre for education, weddings, public meetings and social celebrations together with occasional classical music concerts. Winning anEnglish Heritageaward for the restoration of buildings at risk, the website www.ststephenstrust.co.uk has further information.

Museums

• Fenton House–Hampstead Grove,Hampstead, London, NW3 6SP
• Freud Museum– 20Maresfield Gardens,Hampstead, London, NW3 5SX
• Burgh House& Hampstead Museum – New End Square, Hampstead, London, NW3 1LT
• Keats House Museum– Keats Grove, Hampstead, London, NW3 2RR
• Kenwood House– Hampstead Lane, Hampstead, London, NW3 7JR

Theatres and cinemas

• Everyman Cinema, Hampstead– 5 Holly Bush Vale, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TX
• Hampstead Theatre– Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London, NW3 3EU
• Pentameters Theatre– 28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TE

Art Galleries

Hampstead was once home to many art galleries but few are now left. The Catto Gallery has been in Hampstead since 1986 and has represented artists likeIan Berry,Philip Jackson,Chuck Elliott,Walasse Ting,and Sergei Chepik over the years.

• Catto Gallery – 100 Heath Street, Hampstead, London NW3 1DP
• Gilden's Art Gallery, 74, Heath Street, London NW3 1DN
• Zebra One Gallery,– 1 Perrin's Court, Hampstead, London, NW3 1QX

Public houses

Hampstead is well known for its traditionalpubs,such asThe Holly Bush,gas-lit until recently;theSpaniard's Inn,Spaniard's Road, where highwaymanDick Turpintook refuge;The Old Bull and Bushin North End; and TheOld White Bear(formerly Ye Olde White Bear).Jack Straw's Castle,on the edge of the Heath nearWhitestone Pond,has now been converted into residential flats. Others include:

• The Flask– 14 Flask Walk, Hampstead, London, NW3 1HE
• Freemasons Arms – 32 Downshire Hill, Hampstead, London, NW3 1NT
• The Duke of Hamilton– 23–25New End,Hampstead, London, NW3 1JD
• The Horseshoe (formerly The Three Horseshoes) – 28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TE
• King William IV (aka KW4) – 77Hampstead High Street,Hampstead, London, NW3 1RE
• The Magdala– 2a South Hill Park, Hampstead, London, NW3 2SB
• The Garden Gate – 14South End Road,Hampstead, London, NW3 2QE
• The Wells Tavern– 30Well Walk,Hampstead, London NW3 1BX

Restaurants

Hampstead has served as a testing ground for a number of cafes and restaurants that later became successful chains. Those includeGiraffe World Kitchen,Gail'sand 'Bagel Street'. As a consequence, Hampstead has an eclectic mix of restaurants ranging from French to Thai. After over a decade of controversy and legal action from local residents,McDonald'swas finally allowed to open in Hampstead in 1992, after winning its right in court, and agreeing to a previously unprecedented re-design of the shop front, reducing the conspicuousness of its facade and logo,It closed in November 2013.Popular local eateries also include street food vendors, such as La Creperie de Hampstead, which is often frequented by domestic and global celebrities.

Schools

Main article:List of schools in Hampstead

Film locations

East Heath

Hampstead's rural feel lends itself for use in film, a notable example beingThe Killing of Sister George(1968) starringBeryl ReidandSusannah York.The opening sequence has Reid's character June wandering through the streets and alleyways of Hampstead, west of Heath Street, around The Mount Square. The Marquis of Granby pub, in which June drinks at the opening of the film, was actually The Holly Bush,at 22 Holly Mount. Another example isThe Collector(1965), starringTerence StampandSamantha Eggar,where the kidnap sequence is set in Mount Vernon.

Some scenes fromAn American Werewolf in London(1981) are shot onHampstead Heath,Well Walk and Haverstock Hill.

More recentlyKenwood Houseis the set of the "film-within-the-film" scene ofNotting Hill(1999).Outdoor scenes inThe Wedding Date(2005), starringDebra Messing,featureParliament Hill Fieldson the Heath, overlooking west London. Parliament Hill also features inNotes on a Scandal(2006) together with the nearby areas ofGospel OakandCamden Town.Four Weddings and a Funeral(1994) features the old Hampstead Town Hall on Haverstock Hill. The filmScenes of a Sexual Nature(2006) was filmed entirely on Hampstead Heath, covering various picturesque locations such as the 'Floating Gardens' andKenwood House.

A musical specifically focusing on the area,Les Bicyclettes de Belsize(1968), tells the story of a young man's cycle journey around Hampstead. After crashing into a billboard poster, he falls in love with the fashion model depicted on it. In February 2016, principal photography for Robert Zemeckis' war filmAlliedstarring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, began with the family home located on the corners of Christchurch Hill and Willow Road in Hampstead.

Cruella de Vil Mansion (Sarum Chase) is on the West Heath Road in movies 101 Dalmatians (1996.) and 102 Dalmatians (2001.)

Demography

The 2021 census showed that the population of Hampstead Town ward was 77.7% white (46.7% British, 28% Other, 2.4% Irish). The largest non-white group, Asian, claimed 8.9%. The religious data of the area showed that 32.6% was Christian, 37.9% irreligious and 11% Jewish. 2.7% of the population was unemployed and seeking work; this compared to 5.1% for thewider borough.

Transport

Hampstead tube station

Rail and Tube

Hampstead station is on one transport line, the Northern Line which has connections to other lines at Camden Town and Kings Cross & St Pancras stations and Embankment among others.

TheLondon Overground(North London line) also runs throughHampstead HeathandFinchley Road & Frognal.

Stations in Hampstead include:

• Belsize Park
• Finchley Road
• Finchley Road & Frognal
• Hampstead
• Hampstead Heath
• Swiss Cottage

All stations are inLondon fare zone 2,except Hampstead, which is in both zones 2 and3.Hampstead station serves the north western part of the wider district, near Hampstead's traditional centre. All the other three stations in the area are located to the south.

In the 1860s, theMetropolitan and St John's Wood Railwaywas authorised to build a branch line from Swiss Cottage to Hampstead withits terminusto be located at the junction of Flask Walk, Well Walk and Willow Road. Financial difficulties meant that the project was cancelled in 1870.

Bus

There is a major bus terminus near Hampstead Heath station (near theRoyal Free Hospital), served byLondon Busesroutes24and168.Routes46,268,C11,andN5also serve the Royal Free Hospital.

Hampstead tube station and High Street are served by routes 46, 268,603,and N5. Route210runs along the northernmost rim of Hampstead, stopping atJack Straw's Castle.

Finchley Road is served by routes13,113,187,268, C11, andN113.

Cycling

Cycling infrastructurein Hampstead is poor. In early 2016,Transport for London(TfL) consulted with the public on a new "Cycle Superhighway"(CS11) betweenSwiss Cottageandthe West End,which provide an unbroken, predominantly traffic-free cycle route from Hampstead to Central London. The scheme was cancelled following court action from theCity of Westminsterin 2018.

There arebus lanesalong the A41/Finchley Road that cyclists are allowed to use.

Ashared-use pathruns fromParliament HilltoJack Straw's Castle/Highgatethrough the centre of Hampstead Heath.

Road

TheA41/Finchley Roadpasses north–south through Hampstead. The road links the area directly toMaryleboneandOxford Streetto the south. The route runs northbound toGolders Green,Brent Cross,theM1 motorway,andWatford.

TheA502/Hampstead High Street runs fromCamden Townin the south, through Hampstead, to Golders Green andHendonin the north-west.

Nearest places

TheRoyal Free HospitalandA&Eis in Hampstead.

Notable residents

Main article:List of people from Hampstead

Sigmund Freud's final residence, now dedicated to his life and work as theFreud Museum,20 Maresfield Gardens,Hampstead.

Hampstead has long been known as a residence of the intelligentsia, including writers, composers, ballerinas and intellectuals, actors, artists and architects – many of whom created a bohemian community in the late 19th century. After 1917, and again in the 1930s, it became base to a community ofavant gardeartists and writers and was host to a number of émigrés and exiles from the Russian Revolution and Nazi Europe.

Blue plaques

There are at least60 English Heritage blue plaques in Hampsteadcommemorating the many diverse personalities that have lived there.

Local newspapers

The local newspapers, as of 2014, were theHampstead and Highgate Express—known locally as the "Ham and High" —and the freeCamden New Journal.The area is also home to the left-wing Labour magazineTribuneand the satirical magazineHampstead Village Voice.

See also

• The Bishops Avenue
• List of people from Hampstead

External links

Media related toHampsteadat Wikimedia Commons

• Hampstead and Maryleboneby G. E. Mitton atProject Gutenberg
• The Heath and Hampstead Society
• Archives relating to HampsteadatThe National Archives (United Kingdom)

Images

• Images of Hampsteadat theEnglish Heritage Archive
• Images of Hampsteadat theCountry Life Picture LibraryArchived22 October 2014 at theWayback Machine