Abbey Road, London

Last updated

Abbey Road
Abbey Road zebra crossing, London 2007-03-31.jpg
The crossing in the spring of 2007
Length0.9 mi (1.4 km) [1]
Location St John's Wood, Greater London
Postal code NW8
Nearest Tube station Underground no-text.svg St John's Wood
Coordinates 51°31′55.4″N0°10′38.4″W / 51.532056°N 0.177333°W / 51.532056; -0.177333
South endQuex Road, Kilburn
East endGrove End Road
St John's Wood
Other
Known for
Abbey Road, London
Routing of Abbey Road

Abbey Road is a thoroughfare in the borough of Camden and the City of Westminster in Greater London running roughly northwest to southeast through St John's Wood near Lord's Cricket Ground. It is part of the road B507. The road is best known for the Abbey Road Studios and for featuring on the cover of The Beatles' album of the same name, which was released in September 1969.

Contents

Location

The northwestern end of Abbey Road begins in Kilburn at the junction with Quex Road and West End Lane. The road was once a track leading to Kilburn Priory and its associated Abbey Farm and was developed in the beginning of the nineteenth century. [2] It continues southeast for roughly one mile crossing Priory Road, Belsize Road, Boundary Road, and Marlborough Place, ending at the junction of Grove End Road and Garden Road. It is joined from the west by Abercorn Place.

History

The Abbey National Building Society (now Santander UK) was founded in 1874 as The Abbey Road & St John's Wood Permanent Benefit Building Society in one Baptist Church on Abbey Road.

Abbey Road street sign Street sign for Abbey Road, in Westminster, London, England IMG 1461.JPG
Abbey Road street sign

EMI's Abbey Road Studios is located at the southeastern end at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood. The Beatles, Kanye West, Glenn Miller, Queen, Radiohead, Lady Gaga, Shirley Bassey, Aretha Franklin, ABBA, Cliff Richard, Kate Bush, Brockhampton, Kylie Minogue, Pink Floyd, and many other famous popular music performers have recorded at this studio. The Beatles named their last studio LP after this street, and the album's cover photograph shows the four group members walking across the zebra crossing just outside the studio entrance.

As a result of its association with the Beatles, this part of Abbey Road has been featured on the London tourism circuit. The crossing was given the official status of Grade II Listed Building by English Heritage in December 2010. [3] The zebra crossing featured on the Beatles cover has become a popular photo opportunity area, despite the road still being a busy thoroughfare for traffic.

The crossing may have been relocated several metres as part of traffic management work in the 1970s, with a spokesperson for Westminster City Council saying in 2010 that "by comparing photographs with the Ordnance Survey maps, we believe that the crossing might have been further north nearer 3 Abbey Road, which was the front house of the EMI Studios, because the steps of Neville Court appear to the right of the crossing in original photographs of the crossing, whereas the present crossing is near the junction of Abbey Road and Grove End Road". [4]

The Beatles' album cover has been parodied many times over the years. The street sign on the corner of Grove End Road and Abbey Road, which was frequently defaced or stolen, is now mounted high on the building on the corner to save the local council the expense of cleaning and replacing it. The council repaints the wall next to the zebra crossing every three months to cover fans' graffiti. [5]

Abbey Road is also an electoral ward in the City of Westminster. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 11,250. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilburn, London</span> Area of London, England

Kilburn is a locality on the boundary of three London Boroughs: Camden, Brent and the City of Westminster. Kilburn High Road railway station lies 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-west of Charing Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John's Wood</span> Area of London, England

St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends from Regent's Park and Primrose Hill in the east to Edgware Road in the west, with the Swiss Cottage area of Hampstead to the north and Lisson Grove to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbey Road Studios</span> Recording studio in London, England

Abbey Road Studios is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, Greater London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, which owned it until Universal Music Group (UMG) took control of part of it in 2013. It is ultimately owned by UMG subsidiary Virgin Records Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zebra crossing</span> Type of pedestrian crossing

A zebra crossing or a marked crosswalk is a pedestrian crossing marked with white stripes. Normally, pedestrians are afforded precedence over vehicular traffic, although the significance of the markings may vary by jurisdiction. They are known as "zebra" crossings as the stripes resemble the coat of a zebra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedestrian crossing</span> Place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue

A pedestrian crossing is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road signs and road traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead</span> Former local authority in London

Hampstead was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of the County of London in 1889. The parish of Hampstead became a metropolitan borough in 1900, following the London Government Act 1899, with the parish vestry replaced by a borough council. In 1965 the borough was abolished and its former area became part of the London Borough of Camden in Greater London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Westbourne</span> River in London, England

The Westbourne or Kilburn is a culverted small River Thames tributary in London, rising in Hampstead and Brondesbury Park and which as a drain unites and flows southward through Kilburn and Bayswater to skirt underneath the east of Hyde Park's Serpentine lake then through central Chelsea under Sloane Square. It passes centrally under the south side of Royal Hospital Chelsea's Ranelagh Gardens before discharging into Inner London's old-fashioned, but grandiose combined sewer system, with exceptional discharges into the Inner London Tideway. Since the latter 19th century, the population of its catchment has risen further but to reduce the toll it places on the Beckton Sewage Treatment Works and related bills its narrow basin has been assisted by private soakaways, and public surface water drains. Its depression has been replaced with and adopted as a reliable route for a gravity combined sewer. The formation of the Serpentine relied on the water, a lake with a long, ornate footbridge and various activities associated, which today uses little-polluted water from a great depth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A10 road (England)</span> Road in England

The A10 is a major road in England which runs between The City of London and King's Lynn in Norfolk.

<i>The Abbey Road E.P.</i> 1988 EP by The Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Abbey Road E.P. is an EP by Red Hot Chili Peppers, released in the UK in May 1988 through EMI America as a way of introducing UK fans to the band's back catalog as they were touring the UK that year. Out of the five tracks included on this EP, four had already been previously released on the band's first three albums while the other would end up on their fourth album Mother's Milk in tribute to Hillel Slovak, the band's original guitarist who died of a heroin overdose and plays guitar on the track. All songs on the EP were also featured on the band's hits compilation, What Hits!?.

<i>Abbey Road</i> 1969 studio album by the Beatles

Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969. It is the last album the group recorded, although Let It Be was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly recorded in April, July, and August 1969, and topped the record charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom. A double A-side single from the album, "Something" / "Come Together", was released in October, which also topped the charts in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Route 354</span> State highway in New York, US

New York State Route 354 (NY 354) is a state highway in New York in the United States. NY 354 is one of several highways radiating eastward from its western terminus in downtown Buffalo. The east terminus of NY 354 is in the village of Attica, where it ends at NY 98 and NY 238 as West Main Street. This highway runs through the center of Erie County to the northern county line of Wyoming County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Route 103</span> State highway in Schuyler County, Illinois, US

Illinois Route 103 is a 9.18-mile-long (14.77 km) state route in west-central Illinois, United States. The route, entirely in Schuyler County, runs from U.S. Route 24 near Ripley east to the intersection of US 67 and IL 100 across the Illinois River from Beardstown. In addition to connecting Ripley and Beardstown, IL 103 serves the community of Sugar Grove. The highway is part of both the National Highway System and the Lincoln Heritage Trail. It is maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation. The route was established in 1924 between Ripley and its current eastern terminus; its western terminus was moved north to its current location in 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iain Macmillan</span> 20th-century Scottish photographer

Iain Stewart Macmillan was the Scottish photographer famous for taking the cover photograph for the Beatles' album Abbey Road in 1969. He grew up in Scotland, then moved to London to become a professional photographer. He used a photo of Yoko Ono in a book that he published in 1966, and Ono invited him to photograph her exhibit at Indica Gallery. She introduced him to John Lennon, and Lennon invited him to photograph the cover for Abbey Road. He worked with Lennon and Ono for several years, staying for a while at their home in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia State Route 55</span> State highway in northern Virginia, US

State Route 55 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known for most of its length as John Marshall Highway, the state highway runs 64.71 miles (104.14 km) from the West Virginia state line, where the highway continues as West Virginia Route 55, east to U.S. Route 29 in Gainesville. West of its interchange with Interstate 81 (I-81) in Strasburg, SR 55 runs concurrently with the easternmost portion of US 48 as part of Corridor H. East of Front Royal, the state highway serves as the local complement of I-66 as it passes through the towns of Marshall, The Plains, and Haymarket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbey Road DLR station</span> Docklands Light Railway station

Abbey Road DLR station is a Docklands Light Railway station in West Ham in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It is located on the Stratford International extension of the Docklands Light Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilburn Priory</span> Historic monastic community Northwest of London

Kilburn Priory was a small monastic community of nuns established around 1130–1134 three miles north-west of the City of London, where Watling Street met the stream now known as the Westbourne, but variously known as Cuneburna, Keneburna, Keeleburne, Coldburne, or Caleburn, meaning either the royal or cow's stream. The priory gave its name to the area now known as Kilburn, and the local streets Priory Road, Kilburn Priory, Priory Terrace, and Abbey Road. Kilburn Lane connected the priory to the village of Kensal to the west.

Everest cigarette is a brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by British American Tobacco Zimbabwe Holdings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priory Road</span> Street in London

Priory Road is a street in Kilburn. Located in the London Borough of Camden it runs northwards from Belsize Road through South Hampstead crossing several streets including Abbey Road before finishing at a junction with Broadhurst Gardens, not far from West Hampstead tube station. It takes its name from the old Kilburn Priory located in the area until the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belsize Road</span> Street in London

Belsize Road is a street in the London Borough of Camden. It runs west to east from Kilburn High Road to close to Finchley Road in the Swiss Cottage area of Hampstead. It is part of the B509 route which continues eastwards as Adelaide Road to Chalk Farm tube station. Despite its name it is located to the west of Belsize Park in the South Hampstead area. Much of its route runs parallel to the Midland Main Line and Kilburn High Road station is at its eastern end. It meets a number of streets including Loudoun Road, Abbey Road and Priory Road.

References

  1. Google (30 October 2015). "Abbey Road, London" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  2. Mills, A.D. (2010). A Dictionary of London Place-Names. Oxford University Press. p. 1. ISBN   9780199566785.
  3. "Beatles' Abbey Road zebra crossing given listed status". BBC Online. 22 December 2010. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  4. "Beatles' Abbey Road zebra crossing given listed status". BBC News. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  5. Pollard, Lawrence (7 August 2009). "Revisiting Abbey Road 40 Years On". BBC Online. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  6. "City of Westminster Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. March 2011. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
Template:Attached KML/Abbey Road, London
KML is from Wikidata