History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

Kilburn and West Hampstead were once home to many churches and chapels. House building increased dramatically during the late nineteenth century at a time when attending a place of worship was mandatory for most people. Some were already committed to a faith but there was fierce competition between the denominations to persuade undecided residents to attend their services. A charismatic minister such as the Rev. Richard Kilpatrick at the impressive St Augustine’s Church in Kilburn Park Road, attracted huge numbers of worshippers. People moved between churches and sometimes between faiths while a developing neighbourhood encouraged non-conformist faiths to extend their influence, by building new places of worship. But this was expensive and a major role for all ministers was to fund raise and reduce construction debts. Many of the religious buildings have been demolished, redeveloped, or repurposed but the story behind why and when they were built is not always well documented. Nor is t...

Charles Booth’s ‘Inquiry into the Life and Labour of the People in London’ undertaken between 1886 and 1903, was conducted as a series of interviews. Liverpool-born Booth was a shipowner and sociologist. He financed and devised one of the most comprehensive oral surveys of London life, covering poverty, industry and religious influences. It included the creation of a series of ‘poverty’ maps. These were coloured to show the status of the residents, street by street, from the poorest to the very wealthiest. Here is an example of the local poverty map, but it is not possible to see the detail in this blog. The interviews included talking to the local clergymen, and their comments in 1898 and 1899 form the basis of this blog story, with additional material from policemen who walked the investigators around their beats. Locally, it was Inspector Wayman who described some of the streets and their residents. He had been based in West Hampstead for four years, and was described as a ‘melanc...

When the recent death of Queen Elizabeth led us to look at visits by royalty to Hampstead and its environs, we found some amusing and sad stories, extravagant displays of hospitality but also discovered that some reports were untrue. Probably the earliest error concerns Queen Boudica, the warrior queen of the Iceni who rebelled against the Roman invaders in 60-61AD. Some histories claimed she was buried under what is now a platform of King's Cross Station, others said on Hampstead Heath; in fact her final resting place is unknown. In Kilburn there is 4 Greville Place, marketed as George III’s hunting lodge, but built after the King died. Likewise, Lausanne Cottage, which stood on Kilburn High Road opposite the end of Willesden Lane, was said to be Charles II’s favourite hunting lodge. Again, the building date postdates the King’s death, this time by nearly 150 years. A visit to Kenwood King William IV drove through Hampstead in July 1835, to visit Lord Mansfield at Kenwood...