History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

The firm of Saxby and Farmer was Kilburn’s largest employer. In 1863 they opened a factory in Canterbury Road and their patented railway signals were sold around the world during the railway boom. In 1871 they employed 414 men and 36 boys rising to 2,000 at their peak, until the factory closed in 1903 and the company moved to Chippenham.   The Neville’s Cross pub at 40 Denmark Street was built in 1865 on the corner with Neville Road. The owner Neville Newton was a publican at The Plough in Kensal Green. He may have named the pub after the 1346 battle of Neville’s Cross near Durham, when the invading Scottish army was defeated by the English. Or he named it after himself and the street where the pub stood at a crossroads. Soon after it opened, the licence was transferred to publican Charles Ashby.  1860s OS Map 1894 OS Map The two OS maps show the growth of South Kilburn between the 1860s and 1894. The red marks show the Neville’s Cross and Sir Robert Peel pubs. At 11.30 pm on...