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Kilburn, London

Coordinates:51°32′12″N0°12′14″W/ 51.5366°N 0.2039°W/51.5366; -0.2039
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Kilburn
Carlton Valeand The Shamrock public house
Kilburn is located in Greater London
Kilburn
Kilburn
Location withinGreater London
Population29,027 (2011 Census Brent and Camden Wards)[1]
[2]
OS grid referenceTQ245835
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtNW6
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
London
51°32′12″N0°12′14″W/ 51.5366°N 0.2039°W/51.5366; -0.2039

Kilburnis a locality on the boundary of three London Boroughs:Camden,Brentand theCity of Westminster.Kilburn High Road railway stationlies 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-west ofCharing Cross.

Kilburn developed from a linear hamlet that grew up on ancientWatling Street(the modern A5 Road), the hamlet took its name fromKilburn Priory,which was built on the banks of Kilburn Brook. Watling Street forms the contemporary boundary between the boroughs of Brent and Camden.

The area has London's highestIrishpopulation, as well as a sizableAfro-Caribbeanpopulation, and was once home to the black civil rights leaderBilly Strachan.[3]

Geographic and administrative context[edit]

Kilburn has never been an administrative unit and has therefore never had any formally defined boundaries. The area, which took its name from a nearby watercourse and eponymous priory, developed from a linear hamlet along Watling Street (here called Kilburn High Road) which was the boundary of theAncient parishesofWillesden– to the west of Watling Street and now part of Brent, andHampsteadto the east (now part of Camden). These parishes subsequently became aMunicipaland aMetropolitanBorough respectively (based on the same boundaries), before merging with neighbouring areas in 1965 to form modern London Boroughs of which they are now part.

A map showing the Kilburn ward of Hampstead Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.

If Kilburn is taken to extend into the City of Westminster then the historic districts it overlaps arePaddington,to the west of Watling Street, andMaryleboneto the east of it. Both of these areas became part of the City of Westminster in 1965. The electoral wards of 'Kilburn (Camden)' and 'Kilburn (Brent)' cover some of the area. Much of the area is in the NW6 postcode area, and by some interpretations the area extends into W9; however these do not define the Kilburn – post code areas were never intended to delineate districts and Kilburn (like many London districts) overlaps with others – some which have a history of formal definition (e.g. Willesden, Hampstead) and others which do not (e.g.Brondesburyin Willesden).

History[edit]

Kilburn High Road originated as anancient trackway,part of a route between the Brittonic settlements now known asCanterburyandSt Albans.UnderRoman rule,the route was paved. InAnglo-Saxontimes the road became known asWatling Street.[4]

Paving stones in Kilburn, commemorating the route ofWatling Streeton High Road (left) and commemorating the former Wells on the corner ofBelsize Roadand the High Road (right)
The Red Lion, est. 1444

Kilburn Priory was built on the banks of a stream variously recorded asCuneburna,KelebourneandCyebourne(in the latter source most other places with the phonetic sound/kiː/wererendered in writingCysuch asCynestone(Kingston)). The stream flowed fromHampsteadthrough this parish then throughPaddington– specifically through areas that became "Westbourne","Bayswater"andHyde Park–South Kensingtonand the narrow east part ofChelseainto theThames.The first two names perhaps imply meanings of "King's Bourne" and "Cattle Bourne". The wordBourneis the southern variant ofburn(any small "river" ), as still commonly used in the technical term,winterbourne- a watercourse which tends to dry up in dry periods. The river is known today as theWestbourne.From the 1850s many of its feeder ditches were diverted intocombined sewersfeeding away to the east; it was otherwise piped underground and became one of London'sunderground rivers.[5]

The name "Kilburn" was first recorded in 1134 asCuneburna,referring to thepriorywhich had been built on the site of the cell of a hermit known as Godwyn.[6] Godwyn had built his hermitage by the Kilburn river during the reign (1100-1135) ofHenry I,and both his hermitage and the priory took their name from the river.[7]

Kilburn Priorywas a small community of nuns, probablyAugustinian canonesses.It was founded in 1134 at the Kilburn river crossing on Watling Street (the modern-day junction of Kilburn High Road andBelsize Road). Kilburn Priory's position on Watling Street meant that it became a popular resting point for pilgrims heading for the shrines atSt AlbansandWillesden.Henry VIII's administration dissolved the priory in 1536–37, and nothing remains of it today[8] except the name ofAbbey Road(in nearbySt John's Wood), named from a track which once led to the priory.[9] The priory lands included a mansion and ahostium(a guesthouse), which may have been the origin of the Red Lion pub, thought to have been founded in 1444. Opposite, the Bell Inn opened around 1600, on the site of the old mansion.[7]

The fashion for taking "medicinal waters" in the 18th century came to Kilburn when a well ofchalybeatewaters (water impregnated with iron) was discovered near the Bell Inn in 1714. In an attempt to compete with the nearbyHampsteadWell, gardens and a "great room" opened to promote the well, and its waters were promoted in journals of the day as cure for "stomach ailments":[7]

Kilburn Wells, near Paddington.—The waters are now in the utmost perfection; the gardens enlarged and greatly improved; the house and offices re-painted and beautified in the most elegant manner. The whole is now open for the reception of the public, the great room being particularly adapted to the use and amusement of the politest companies. Fit either for music, dancing, or entertainments. This happy spot is equally celebrated for its rural situation, extensive prospects, and the acknowledged efficacy of its waters; is most delightfully situated on the site of the once famous Abbey of Kilburn, on the Edgware Road, at an easy distance, being but a morning's walk, from the metropolis, two miles from Oxford Street; the footway from the Mary-bone across the fields still nearer. A plentiful larder is always provided, together with the best of wines and other liquors. Breakfasting and hot loaves. A printed account of the waters, as drawn up by an eminent physician, is given gratis at the Wells.

— The Public Advertiser,July 17, 1773[10]

In the 19th century the wells declined, but the Kilburn Wells remained popular as atea garden.The Bell was demolished and rebuilt in 1863, the building which stands there today.[clarification needed]The Kilburn stretch of Watling Street, now calledEdgware Roadand Kilburn High Road, was gradually built up with inns and farm houses. Despite the discovery of the medicinal well in 1714, and the construction of gardens and a fine room to exploit the water, Kilburn did not attract any significant building until around 1819 in the area nearSt John's Wood.[7]These 19th century developments mark the emergence of the nucleated roadside hamlet from which the modern district of Kilburn developed.

Between 1839 and 1856 the newsagent and future First Lord of the AdmiraltyWilliam Henry Smithlived in a house to the west of Kilburn High Road. Solomon Barnett developed much of the area in the last decades of the 19th century, naming many of the streets after places in the West Country (e.g. Torbay) or after popular poets of the day (e.g. Tennyson) in honour of his wife.[citation needed]

The funeral ofMichael Gaughan,an Irish republican and a member of theProvisional Irish Republican Army(IRA) who died fromhunger strikein 1974, took place on 8 June 1974. Over 3,000 mourners lined the streets of Kilburn and marched behind his coffin - which was flanked by an IRA "honour guard" - to aRequiem Massheld in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.[11][12][13]TheBiddy Mulligan'spub on High Road, which was popular among the local Irish population,was bombedin retaliation on 21 December 1975 by theUlster Defence Association(UDA), anUlster loyalistgroup during theTroublesofNorthern Ireland.Although there were 90 people in the pub at the time of the bomb, there were few injuries. It was the only loyalist bombing to have occurred in London during the conflict in Northern Ireland.[14][15]

Demographics[edit]

Kilburn has a number of different ethnic groups, including people ofIrish,Afro-Caribbean,Indian,Bangladeshi,Pakistani,EritreanandEthiopiandescent. As the area is split between more than one London borough, statistics are gathered from different parts of Kilburn.[16][17]

4.7% of the population was born inIreland[18]with an even higher percentage of second-generation (born in England of Irish descent) people,[clarification needed]giving it the highest Irish population of any London area.[19]Irish community activities, pubs, localGAAsports clubs,[20]and annualSt Patrick's Daycelebrations are prominent in parts of the area. The 2007 Irish-language filmKingshas been associated with Kilburn, a number of scenes were filmed there, and is based onJimmy Murphy's play,The Kings of the Kilburn High Road.[21]

The Kilburn ward of Brent was 28% White British, 17% White Other, and 12% Black African in the 2011 census.[22]TheKilburn wardof Camden was 35% White British and 19% White Other.[23]TheMaida Vale wardof Westminster was 38% White British and 22% White Other.[24]

Housing and inequality[edit]

Large homes on Brondesbury Villas
Blocks in theSouth Kilburnhousing estate

Kilburn has a high degree of socio-economic inequality, as it is home to both large and expensiveVictorianhouses as well as deprived, often run-down council housing estates.[citation needed]

Landmarks[edit]

TheGaumont State Cinemaon Kilburn High Road
The Tricycle Theatre (now The Kiln)
St Augustine's Kilburn

Kilburn High Road[edit]

For the railway station, seeKilburn High Road railway station.

Kilburn High Road is the main road in Kilburn. It follows a part of the line of theRomanroute, Iter III in theAntonine Itinerary,which later took theAnglo-SaxonnameWatling Street.This was based on an earlierCelticroute fromVerlamiontoDurovernum Cantiacorum,modern daySt AlbansandCanterbury.

Running roughly north-west to south-east, it forms the boundary between the London boroughs ofCamdento the east andBrentto the west. It is the section of theEdgware Road(itself part of theA5) betweenShoot Up HillandMaida Vale.

There are two railway stations on Kilburn High Road:Brondesbury station(London Overgroundon theNorth London Line). Approximately 1.25 km (nearly a mile) further south isKilburn High Road station(also London Overground, on theWatford DC Line).Kilburn Park Underground station,on theBakerloo line,lies a little west of the southern end of the High Road.Kilburn Underground stationsits on the northern side of the intersection of Christchurch Avenue and Kilburn High Road, which marks the High Road's northern boundary.

The green space ofKilburn Grange Parkis located to the east side of Kilburn High Road.

The name ofIan Dury's first band,Kilburn and the High Roads,refers to this road, as does theFlogging Mollysong, "Kilburn High Road" and theShacksong, "Kilburn High Road".

Gaumont State Cinema[edit]

Main article:Gaumont State Cinema

A landmark in Kilburn High Road is theGrade II* listedArt DecoGaumont State Cinema, designed byGeorge Colesand opened in 1937. It was the biggest auditorium in Europe at the time, with seating for 4,004 people. For twenty years, the building was run as a bingo hall byMecca Bingo.In December 2007, it was purchased by Ruach City Church.[25][26]

The Kiln Theatre[edit]

The Kiln Theatre is located on Kilburn High Road north of Buckley Road. It was opened in 1980 as theTricycle Theatrein a convertedForesters'Hall, and was renamed the Kiln in April 2018.[27]The Kiln now includes a gallery and cinema as well as the theatre. It has a reputation for political dramas including dramatisations of significant court cases and a play about the US detention centre atGuantánamo Bay, Cuba,which subsequently transferred to theWest Endand toNew York City.Reflecting the culturally diverse local community, the Kiln Theatre presents many international pieces and films, often in original language with English subtitles, and hosts or runs social and educational programmes.[28]

Other buildings[edit]

The Carlton Tavern,before demolition (now rebuilt)
The former Biddy Mulligan's pub, site of theUlster loyalistbombing in 1975, pictured in 2009 by when it closed down

To the south, the Kilburn skyline is dominated by theGothicspire ofSt. Augustine's, Kilburn.Completed in 1880 by the architectJohn Loughborough Pearson,the church has an ornate Victorian interior, a carved stone reredos and screen and stained glass, adjacent to its partners, St Augustine's Primary andSecondary Schools.The church is sometimes nicknamed "the Cathedral ofNorth London"due to its size[29]- at the time of construction, it was the third-largest place of worship in London, afterSt Paul's CathedralandWestminster Abbey.

Located at 10 Cambridge Avenue, just off Kilburn High Road, is "The Animals WW1 memorial dispensary". The building itself dates back to the early 1930s. Formally opened in March 1931, it treated over 6,000 animals in its first year. The front of the building has a large bronze plaque above the door as a memorial to animals killed in the first world war. It's an impressive piece of bronze sculpture by F Brook Hitch of Hertford. Next door at 12-14 Cambridge Avenue, is one of the only surviving London examples of a "Tin Tabernacle"from 1863, which is currently used by a local arts charity. This very unusual building, originally built as St. James' Episcopal Chapel, is Grade II listed and is open to the public on Saturdays.[30]

Just to the south of St. Augustine's onCarlton Valestands the rebuiltCarlton Tavern,a pub built in 1920-21 forCharrington Breweryand thought to be the work of the architectFrank J Potter.The building, noted for its unaltered 1920s interiors andfaiencetileexterior, was being considered byHistoric EnglandforGrade II listingwhen it was unexpectedly demolished in March 2015 by theproperty developerCLTX Ltd to make way for a new block of flats.[31]The pub was subsequently rebuilt and re-opened following a community campaign and planning appeals.[32]

205 High Road was home to the Irish pubBiddy Mulligan's.It was built in 1862 as was originally known asThe Victoria Tavern.It was renamed in the 1970s, with the name Biddy Mulligan taken from a character of Irish comedianJimmy O'Dea,a character dressed as a female street seller inDublinfrom the 1930s onwards. The pub was bombed on 21 December 1975 by theUlster Defence Association(UDA), anUlster loyalistgroup that fought againstIrish republicansinNorthern Ireland(The Troubles). The pub was later renamed asBiddy's,before briefly turning into anAustraliansports bar calledSouthern K,and then closing in 2009 to make way for a newLadbrokesbranch.[14][15]

Transport[edit]

Area around Kilburn station

Tube/train[edit]

Kilburn High Road is served by several railway lines which traverse the road in an east–west direction, connecting the area with central London and outer north-west London suburbs. The railways were first introduced to Kilburn in 1852 when theLondon & North Western Railwayopened Kilburn & Maida Vale station (today'sKilburn High Road railway station), followed by two stations opened in theBrondesburyarea of Kilburn by theHampstead Junction Railway(1860) and theMetropolitan Railway(1879). Numerous plans were drawn up at the turn of the 20th century to construct anunderground railway tunnel under the length of the Edgware Road and Kilburn High Road,including an unusual scheme to build a type of subterranean monorail roller coaster, but these proposals were abandoned.[33]Today, Kilburn is served byLondon UndergroundandLondon Overgroundfrom the following stations:[34][35]

Despite its name,Kilburn tube stationis actually in Brondesbury Park[36]rather than in Kilburn itself.

Bus[edit]

Kilburn is served by many bus routes that go along the High Road. Most routes come south fromCricklewood,and serve various points in central and west London.[37]

Media[edit]

TheBrent & Kilburn Timesand theCamden New Journalprovide local news in print and online forms. In the 2017 film,The Only Living Boy in New York,Kate Beckinsale's character, Mimi, explains that she moved from Belsize Park to Kilburn because it felt more real.

Sport[edit]

Kilburn is home to Kilburn Cosmos RFC[38]

London Plan[edit]

The area is identified in theLondon Planas one of 35 major centres inGreater London.[39]

Notable residents[edit]

Notable people who live or have lived in Kilburn include:

References[edit]

  1. ^"Brent Ward population 2011".Neighbourhood Statistics.Office for National Statistics. Archived fromthe originalon 21 October 2016.Retrieved19 October2016.
  2. ^"Camden Ward population 2011".Neighbourhood Statistics.Office for National Statistics. Archived fromthe originalon 21 October 2016.Retrieved20 October2016.
  3. ^Horsley, David (2019).Billy Strachan 1921-1988 RAF Officer, Communist, Civil Rights Pioneer, Legal Administrator, Internationalist and Above All Caribbean Man.London: Caribbean Labour Solidarity. p. 14.ISSN2055-7035.
  4. ^"The Virtual Tour of Kilburn".Archived fromthe originalon 21 March 2007.Retrieved7 December2014.
  5. ^See London sewerage system
  6. ^Edward Wedlake Brayley(1834).The Graphic and Historical Illustrator: An Original Miscellany of Literary, Antiquarian and Topographical Information(JPG, PDF).J. Chidley. p.336.Retrieved7 December2014.cuneburna.
  7. ^abcd T.F.T. Baker; Diane K. Bolton; Patricia E.C. Croot (1989). C.R. Elrington (ed.)."Kilburn, Edgware Road and Cricklewood".A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9 (sourced from British History Online).Retrieved7 December2014.
  8. ^"Kilburn".Brent Heritage.2002. Archived fromthe originalon 18 July 2014.Retrieved7 December2014.
  9. ^ Mills, A. D. (2001).A Dictionary of London Place-Names(2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press (published 2010). p. 1.ISBN9780199566785.Retrieved16 June2016.Abbey Road (in St John's Wood) [...]. Developed in the early 19th century from an earlier track, and so named from themedieval prioryat Kilburn to which it led. Chiefly famous of course as the name of the 1969 Beatles album recorded here at the EMI studios!
  10. ^"Kilburn and St John's Wood".British History Online.Retrieved7 December2014.
  11. ^Aengus O Snodaigh."Take me home to Mayo – 25th anniversary of Michael Gaughan's death".An Phoblacht.Retrieved13 June2007.
  12. ^"work of Raymond Jackson".British Cartoon Archive.Archived fromthe originalon 24 October 2007.Retrieved13 June2007.
  13. ^"Kilburn Funeral".British Cartoon Archive.Retrieved13 June2007.
  14. ^ab "An IRA funeral march and the bomb at Biddy Mulligan's Pub".Kilburnandwillesdenhistory.blogspot.co.uk.8 August 2015.Retrieved6 January2018.
  15. ^ab [1][permanent dead link]
  16. ^Brent Council (2001)."Kilburn Ward 2001 census".Archived fromthe originalon 8 February 2009.Retrieved7 December2014.
  17. ^Camden Council (2001)."Kilburn Ward 2001 census".Archived fromthe originalon 9 February 2009.Retrieved7 December2014.
  18. ^UK Office for National Statistics."Kilburn Population".City Population.Retrieved16 June2019.
  19. ^ "In the Green Fields of Kilburn: Reflections on a Quantitative Study of Irish Migrants in North London"(PDF).Anthropology Matters Journal.February 2002. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 19 February 2012.Retrieved7 December2014.
  20. ^"Kilburn Gaels Hurling Club".Retrieved7 December2014.
  21. ^Ferriter, Diarmuid."Paddies' pain".Irish Examiner.Archived fromthe originalon 8 February 2009.Retrieved7 December2014.
  22. ^Services, Good Stuff IT."Kilburn - UK Census Data 2011".UK Census Data.Retrieved6 January2018.
  23. ^Services, Good Stuff IT."Kilburn - UK Census Data 2011".UK Census Data.Retrieved6 January2018.
  24. ^Services, Good Stuff IT."Maida Vale - UK Census Data 2011".UK Census Data.Retrieved6 January2018.
  25. ^"About".www.ruachcitychurch.org.Retrieved6 June2022.
  26. ^Leadbeater, Chris (30 January 2019)."Glorious ghosts of yesteryear – in search of London's 'lost' Art Deco cinemas".The Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved6 June2022.
  27. ^Iqbal, Nosheen (11 April 2018)."Kilburn's Tricycle relaunches as Kiln theatre with Zadie Smith's White Teeth".The Guardian.Retrieved11 April2018.
  28. ^"Our Impact".Kiln Theatre.2018. Archived fromthe originalon 6 July 2018.Retrieved5 July2018.
  29. ^"Saint Augustine's Kilburn".staugustinekilburn.org.Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2020.Retrieved9 September2020.
  30. ^"Tin Tabernacle Kilburn".Tin Tabernacle.Archived fromthe originalon 29 August 2018.Retrieved5 July2018.
  31. ^"Bulldozers level historic pub after being denied planning permission".The Telegraph.Archived fromthe originalon 16 April 2015.Retrieved17 April2015.
  32. ^"Rising from the rubble: London pub rebuilt brick by brick after illegal bulldozing".the Guardian.21 March 2021.Retrieved29 November2022.
  33. ^Badsey-Ellis, Antony (2005).London's lost tube schemes.Harrow: Capital Transport. pp. 62–63, 79–83, 264–267.ISBN1-85414-293-3.
  34. ^"Kilburn station".TfL.Retrieved14 January2014.
  35. ^"Kilburn High Road".National Rail.Retrieved14 January2014.
  36. ^Services, Good Stuff IT."Brondesbury Park - UK Census Data 2011".UK Census Data.Retrieved6 January2018.
  37. ^Transport for London (2012)."Buses from Kilburn High Road"(PDF).Bus route map.Retrieved14 January2014.
  38. ^"Kilburn Cosmos RFC".Kilburn Cosmos RFC.Retrieved5 June2020.
  39. ^Mayor of London(February 2008)."London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004)"(PDF).Greater London Authority.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2 June 2010.
  40. ^"Jack Dromey for Erdington".Archived fromthe originalon 11 July 2015.Retrieved9 July2015.
  41. ^"3am Interview: THE ROAD TO PERDIDO: AN INTERVIEW WITH CHINA MIEVILLE".3ammagazine.com.Retrieved6 January2018.
  42. ^Osley, Richard (30 October 2008)."Make a meal of it! Fawlty Towers actor in BBC Radio 2 row opens brand new hospital restaurant".Camden New Journal.New Journal Enterprises.Retrieved14 December2008.
  43. ^"A celebration of Louis Wain's Cats at Brent Museum".Blog.wellcomelibrary.org.Retrieved6 January2018.

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