Church End | |
---|---|
Location within Greater London | |
OS grid reference | TQ212845 |
London borough | |
Ceremonial county | Greater London |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LONDON |
Postcode district | NW10 |
Dialling code | 020 |
Police | Metropolitan |
Fire | London |
Ambulance | London |
London Assembly | |
Church End, commonly known locally as "Church Road", is a small locality in the London Borough of Brent, located north of Harlesden, west of Willesden and south of Neasden. The population is predominantly Afro-Caribbean.
The street Church Road is the main thoroughfare of the neighbourhood, which also includes a short crescent at the northern end, just off Willesden Magistrates Court. To the west, the Dudding Hill Line and Taylors Lane Power Station separates it from Brentfield Road in Stonebridge. The nearest train station at its northern end is Neasden and at its southern end is Harlesden. Bus routes 260 and 266 serve Church Road, with 297 at the northern end and 18/N18 at the southern end.
Church End is a deprived community with a large Caribbean and newer Somali population. Hassan Farah was credited with getting four local British Somali youngsters from the Queen's Road Community School to Oxbridge. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has had a serious effect on this community. At least 36 residents have died, making this cluster the second worst in England and Wales. [1] Many of the victims have been men, like Farah in their 40s and 50s- whole families have been wiped out. Brent has the highest age-standardised coronavirus death rate in the country, excess deaths being three times the national average. [1]
Church End arose as the area around St. Mary's Church near Willesden. It was known as "the Churchend" in the late 16th century. [2] During the 18th century, a village and inns developed around the church. The arrival of the railways in the 19th century lead to further development, though the area remained agricultural to begin with. An 1876 book noted "There are a few houses about the ch., at what is called Church End" and recorded there being two inns, the White Horse and the White Hart. [3] Industry and "poor housing" grew the area to be contiguous with Harlesden, though Roundwood Park was still green space. [4] By the 20th century it was one of the poorest parts of London and from the 1960s was known for high rates of unemployment. [5] [6] Road widening and building in the 1960s changed the character of the area. [4]
The council transferred Church End Estate and Roundwood Estate to Fortunegate in 1998 in a regeneration scheme. [6] A regeneration plan for the Church End Neighbourhood Centre was approved by the council cabinet in 2016. [7]
Church End Estate, along with Roundwood Estate and some of Harlesden, is associated with the Church Road Soldiers street gang. [8] Gang violence led to the fatal shootings in Church End in 2016 of two men in their twenties who were uninvolved in gangs, Oliver Tetlow and James Owusu-Ajyekum. [9] [10]
Brondesbury, which includes Brondesbury Park, is an area in the London Borough of Brent, in London, England. The area is traditionally part of the Ancient Parish and subsequent Municipal Borough of Willesden, one of the areas that merged to form the modern borough of Brent.
Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, North West London.
Neasden is a suburban area in northwest London, England. It is located around the centre of the London Borough of Brent and is within the NW2 (Cricklewood) and NW10 (Willesden) postal districts. Neasden is near Wembley Stadium, the Welsh Harp, and Gladstone Park; the reservoir and River Brent marks its boundaries with Kingsbury and Wembley, while Gladstone Park and the Dudding Hill line separates it from Dollis Hill and Church End respectively. The A406 North Circular Road runs through the middle of Neasden; to the west is the Neasden Underground Depot, Brent Park retail area and the St Raphael's Estate; on the east is Neasden tube station, the large Neasden Temple, and former Neasden Power Station. The area is known as the place where Bob Marley lived after moving from Jamaica, living at a house in The Circle; the house was honoured with a blue plaque in 2012.
Brent is a borough in north-west London. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Welsh Harp reservoir and the Park Royal commercial estate. The local authority is Brent London Borough Council.
Wembley is a large suburb in the London Borough of Brent, north-west London, 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It includes the neighbourhoods of Alperton, North Wembley, Preston, Sudbury, Tokyngton and Wembley Park. The population was 102,856 in 2011.
Willesden is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed part of the London Borough of Brent in Greater London since 1965. Dollis Hill is also sometimes referred to as being part of Willesden.
Harlesden is a Network Rail station on Acton Lane in northwest London, served by London Overground and by London Underground Bakerloo line trains. The railway line here is the border between the Harlesden and Stonebridge residential area in the east, and the Park Royal industrial estate to the west. The southern end of Willesden Brent Sidings separates the station from the West Coast Main Line.
Brent East was a parliamentary constituency in north west London; it was replaced by Brent Central for the 2010 general election. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.
Brent South was a constituency for the House of Commons of the UK Parliament; the areas of the constituency chiefly fell into the new Brent Central for the 2010 general election which was the date of its abolition. It elected one member (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Brent Central is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It is currently represented, since 2015, by Dawn Butler of the Labour Party.
Willesden West was a constituency in Middlesex adjoining the County of London and forming part of the London conurbation, in London itself from 1965. It returned one member to the House of Commons of the UK Parliament 1918–1974.
Stonebridge is a locality in the London Borough of Brent. Stonebridge is situated in southern Brent, on Harrow Road between Harlesden and Wembley. The A404 runs through the district known locally as Brentfield and Hillside, while to the south are railway tracks and to the west is the North Circular Road along with Stonebridge Park station. The area is known for the previously troubled 1960s Stonebridge housing estate, which was completely redeveloped in the 2010s.
The Dudding Hill Line is a railway line in west and north-west London running from Acton to Cricklewood. It is roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) long, with a 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) speed limit, and semaphore signalling. The line has no scheduled passenger service, no stations, and is not electrified. It is lightly used by freight trains and, very occasionally, passenger charter trains.
Tokyngton, also locally known as Monks Park, is a locality that forms the southeastern part of the town of Wembley in Greater London, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Most refer it as being either Wembley or Stonebridge, as the name Tokyngton is historical and out of favour, hardly used by locals and not noted as a destination on road signs, except for street names and public places bearing the name. Tokyngton was first mentioned in 1171, its name meaning "the farm of the sons of Toca". However the name does officially survive as an electoral ward of Brent London Borough Council.
Harlesden railway station was a station in northwest London on the south side of the southern section of a road called Craven Park, which is part of the A404 Harrow Road between Paddington and Wembley. The station was sometimes known as Harrow Road or as Stonebridge Park.
George Furness was an English Victorian construction engineer and benefactor. He described himself as a "contractor of public works". He worked all around the world, on railways, drainage, and brickwork among numerous other things.
Gladstone Park is situated in the Dollis Hill area of north-west London. It is about 35 hectares in area.
Chalkhill Estate is located in the Wembley Park area of North West London. It was originally one of three large council estates built in the London Borough of Brent by the early 1970s, along with Stonebridge and South Kilburn. The design was based on that of Park Hill in Sheffield. The high-rise estate was demolished by 2000 and gradually replaced by new low-rise builds.