The Harrow Road is an ancient route [1] in North West London which runs from Paddington in a northwesterly direction towards Harrow. It is also the name given to the immediate surrounding area of Queens Park and Kensal Green, straddling the NW10, W10, W2 and W9 postcodes. With minor deviations in the 19th and 20th centuries, the route remains otherwise unaltered.
Harrow Road is also a ward of the City of Westminster. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 12,034. [2]
Before urbanisation the entire road was known as the "Harrow Road" but, as various local authorities came into existence and imposed independent numbering schemes and more localised descriptions on the parts of the road within their respective boundaries, the principal name was replaced in a number of places along its course. The current street names (with road numbers) running from Paddington to Harrow are as follows:
Starting at the junction of Harrow Road and Edgware Road at Paddington Green in the City of Westminster:
At the junction of Ladbroke Grove the road leaves the City of Westminster and forms the boundary between the London Borough of Brent and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (except for the length between Kensal Green station and the entrance to Kensal Green Cemetery where it is entirely within Brent) until reaching Scrubs Lane where it becomes entirely within the borough of Brent.
Passing over the River Brent which formed the pre-1965 boundary between the former Municipal Borough of Willesden and the Metropolitan Borough of Wembley (both now defunct) and from which the modern borough takes its name:
Which passes through Tokyngton
Passing from the London Borough of Brent into the London Borough of Harrow at the Sudbury Court Drive junction:
What is now Harrow Road was a track in Iron Age Britain. By the 19th century, it had become the main street in Paddington. [3]
In the 20th century, many properties along Harrow Road were developed into high-rise social housing, though some 19th-century houses and commercial buildings north of the Paddington Basin were retained. These included Elgin Towers, constructed between 1966 and 1969, and demolished in 1994. [3]
The 1950 film The Blue Lamp is set around Harrow Road and features it prominently. [3]
In one version of the Bus Driver's Prayer , the line from The Lord's Prayer , "Hallowed be thy name" is replaced with "Harrow Road be thy name." [4]
In Sam Selvon's 1956 Lonely Londoners , the newly migrated Tanty lives in Harrow Road. The novel explores the clash of cultures, as she lives in this part of London "like how some people live in small village and never go to 'the city.'"
In the DJ_Khaled track, God Did from August 2022, Jay-Z mentions Harrow Road in the line "And bloke and 'nem from London, Harrow Road, Weston Inn" [5] which Jay-Z later discussed in a Podcast with Asher D [6] .
Kensal Green is an area in north-west London and along with Queens Park forms the western part of Kilburn. It lies mainly in the London Borough of Brent, with a small part to the south within Kensington and Chelsea. Kensal Green is located on the Harrow Road, about 4.4 miles (7.1 km) miles from Charing Cross.
Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed by the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel opened in 1847. It is also the site of St Mary's Hospital and the former Paddington Green Police Station.
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.
Paddington 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 Paddington 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 City of Westminster in Greater London.
Harrow is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north-west of Charing Cross and 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a population of 149,246 at the 2011 census, whereas the wider borough had a population of 250,149.
Ladbroke Grove is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue.
The region of Greater London, including the City of London, is divided into 73 parliamentary constituencies which are sub-classified as borough constituencies, affecting the type of electoral officer and level of expenses permitted.
Queen's Park is an area located partly in the City of Westminster and mostly in the London Borough of Brent. Some of the area within Westminster forms a civil parish, the first to be created in London since the right of communities to establish civil parishes was enacted in 2007. The area is located 3.9 miles (6.3 km) north-west of Charing Cross, and centred around a 30 acres (12 ha) park, which opened in 1887 and was named in honour of Queen Victoria. The area gives its name to Queens Park Rangers football club.
Sudbury is a suburb in the London Borough of Brent, located in northwest London, United Kingdom. The suburb forms the western part of Wembley and is centred around 0.6 miles (1 km) west of Wembley Central railway station.
London Buses route 18 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Sudbury & Harrow Road station and Euston bus station, it is operated by London United.
The A404 is a road in the United Kingdom that starts at Paddington in London and terminates near Maidenhead in Berkshire. It is 44.6 miles (71.8 km) long.
Kensal Town is a district located at the very north of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea where the Grand Union Canal forms the boundary with the City of Westminster. The area lies four miles north-west of Charing Cross and is part of the W postcode area. Kensal Town was an exclave of Chelsea from the middle ages, through to 1900.
Sudbury Hill is an area of the London Borough of Harrow in northwest London, England. It forms part of the HA1 postcode and Harrow post town.
College Park is a small mainly residential neighbourhood in Kensal Green, to the north of the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London and is near Kensal Green station and Willesden Junction station. It borders the London Borough of Brent to the north and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the east. It is part of College Park & Old Oak wards of the United Kingdom.
The 1968 Brent Council election took place on 9 May 1968 to elect members of Brent London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council.
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
Kilburn Lane is a street in Kilburn, London which runs west to east from Kensal Green, dividing Queen's Park to the north from Queens Park Estate to the south. Its route marks the boundary between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Brent. To the east it continues into South Kilburn as Carlton Vale. At the western end the street curves southwards until it meets Harrow Road, becoming Ladbroke Grove and continuing across the Grand Union Canal into North Kensington.
Queen's Park and Maida Vale is a proposed constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it will first be contested at the next general election.
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| Area 3 (South) | |
| Area 4 (South East) | |
| Area 5 (DBFO) (M25 links) | |
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| Area 7 (East Midlands) | |
| Area 9 (West Midlands) | |
| North West | |
| Area 12 (Yorks/Lincs) | |
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