History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

As suburbs developed and spread into the country round London, rural pastimes could conflict with streets and houses. So far as the late nineteenth century hunts described below were concerned, it appears the object was a chase, ending with the capture not the death of the deer. But pursuing a deer or stag was unpredictable so far as the direction an animal might take.                Feb 1850, stag hunt in Camden Town In November 1878, around 1pm on a Saturday afternoon, shoppers in Kilburn were alarmed by the sight of a fine stag, running full tilt down the High Road, followed by a pack of dogs and several huntsmen. The chase began several miles away in Hendon where the stag had been kept on Mount Pleasant Farm. The first run was towards Stanmore, then the stag turned towards Willesden, ending up on Willesden Lane before turning south down the High Road. It got as far as Belsize Road where it ran towards the railway station which then had it...