Harlesden

Coordinates: 51°32′14″N 0°14′58″W / 51.53734°N 0.24955°W / 51.53734; -0.24955

Harlesden
Harlesden  Harlesden shown within Greater London
Population	12,227  [1]
OS grid reference	TQ215835
London borough	Brent
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	NW10
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
European Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Brent South
London Assembly	Brent and Harrow
List of places: UK • England • London

Harlesden is an inner-city town in the London Borough of Brent. Its main focal point is the Jubilee Clock which commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. It is generally a low-income area, and has been portrayed as a crime centre, with a Yardie gang culture, where Jesse Jackson and Prince Charles visited due to its high crime levels and has previously topped the league for the highest murder rate in Britain. It is slowly shaking off this image, and has been praised for its vibrant Caribbean culture and unofficially named London's Reggae capital. The population includes people of Afro-Caribbean heritage, as well as Irish Catholic, Brazilian and smaller Portuguese communities.

Harlesden has a rich culture of boxing, with two Olympic Gold medallists hailing from Harlesden: Audley Harrison who won gold in the Super-Heavyweight division at Sydney in 2000, and James Degale who won gold in the Middleweight division at Beijing in 2008.

History

In the 19th century, Harlesden, then a rural village, began to develop some of its urban appearance with the arrival of the railways. Willesden Junction, Kensal Green and Harlesden stations all had an effect on the developing village. Cottages for railway and industrial workers were built, as was grander housing for the local middle class.

Harlesden increasingly lost its rural nature, with factories replacing farms and woodland. From late Victorian times until the 1930s, housing completed its spread across the area, and Harlesden became part of the London conurbation. Mainly after World War 1, one of Europe's biggest industrial estates was constructed at nearby Park Royal, and large factories there included McVitie & Price (later United Biscuits) from 1910, and Heinz from 1919.

The image of Harlesden today began to take shape in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Continued immigration from Ireland and new immigration from the Caribbean, Indian sub-continent and Africa changed the racial and cultural make up of the area.^[2] More recently the area has now become home to Brazilian and Portuguese communities. Much of the housing is made up of Victorian terraces which have been attracting young professionals unable to afford similar properties in nearby Kensal Green and Queen's Park.

Transport and locale

Nearest places

• Stonebridge
• Church End
• Kensal Green
• Willesden
• Wembley
• Neasden
• Shepherd's Bush
• Acton
• Queen's Park
• Notting Hill

Harlesden has excellent transport links. It has bus routes 18, 187, 206, 220, 224, 226, 260, 266, 487 and PR2 running in the town centre as well as routes 6 and 297 running just outside.

It has two underground stations (Willesden Junction and Harlesden) serving the Bakerloo line as well as London Overground services running between Watford Junction & Euston, Richmond & Stratford and between Willesden Junction and Clapham Junction. The Clapham Junction train goes via the new Shepherd's Bush station, which was opened in 2008 to serve the 43-acre Westfield shopping centre.

Tube and railway stations

• Harlesden station
• Stonebridge Park station
• Willesden Junction station

Famous current/former residents

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008)

• Sabrina Washington
• James DeGale
• Hastings Banda
• Paul Merson
• Louis Theroux
• Shane Ritchie^[3]
• KT Tunstall
• Bashy

External links

• http://www.harlesdentown.com
• http://www.caribvoice.org/Features/harlesden.html
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1169598.stm
• http://www.yourlocallondon.com/willesden

References

v • d • e London Borough of Brent Districts Alperton · Brondesbury · Brondesbury Park · Church End · Colindale · Dollis Hill · Harlesden · Kensal Green/Kensal Rise · Kenton · Kilburn · Kingsbury · Neasden · North Wembley · Park Royal · Preston · Queensbury · South Kenton · Stonebridge · Sudbury · Wembley · Wembley Park · Willesden Attractions Brent Museum · Dollis Hill House · Neasden Temple · Oriental City · Tricycle Theatre · Wembley Stadium (old) Constituencies Brent South · Brent North · Brent East · Brent Central (future) · Hampstead and Kilburn (future) Parks and open spaces in Brent