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West Hampstead
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
West Hampstead is an area in northwest London, England, situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the east, Swiss Cottage to the south, and Kilburn to the west. Until the late 19th century, the area was a small village called West End. Modern West Hampstead emerged with the arrival of the railways, and the transformation of the area from farm land to housing estates. In 1879, the Metropolitan Railway adopted the name West Hampstead for their station on West End Lane, the main road through the area. Their motivation seemed to be to avoid confusion with the main retail area in central London, also known as the West End.
A few hundred yards south, toward central London, West End Lane becomes Abbey Road, of Beatles fame. The road leads to St John's Wood.
West Hampstead's proximity to the Metropolitan Line at Finchley Road and its own Jubilee Line stop (West Hampstead), together with a high concentration of fashionable bars and restaurants, means that the area is a popular destination for a night out for people who live in the northwestern suburbs of London. West End lane itself is home to a number of cafes, bakeries and small shops, a regular haunt for the local population, which adds to the area a distinct village atmosphere during the day. Both the West Hampstead Thameslink and West Hampstead Silverlink have stations on West End Lane making the area one of the best served by public transport in London.
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- The first public library in West Hampstead was opened in 1901, but was destroyed by a fire bomb in 1940.
- The West Hampstead Fire Station was opened in 1901 also. It is still operational, responding to over two thousand emergency calls a year. It covers 12 square miles, including Hampstead, West Hampstead, Kilburn, Cricklewood and parts of Golders Green.
- Tube: West Hampstead tube station, on the Jubilee line. Nearby is Finchley Road tube station, on the Jubilee line and Metropolitan Line.
- Trains: West Hampstead Thameslink station on Thameslink, and West Hampstead Silverlink station on the North London Line.
- Buses: 139 (West Hampstead to Waterloo via Oxford Street, 24 hours), 328 (Golders Green to Chelsea via Notting Hill), and C11 (Brent Cross Shopping Centre to Archway via Hampstead Heath).
- The contestants in The X Factor UK and Ireland series 3 2006 were housed in West Hampstead and would often be seen around the area.
- Simon Scott, from band Televise and former drumer from Slowdive lives in the area. Their first music video, for the single "I don't know why", was entirely shot in the neighbourhood.
- Decca Records had their recording studio on Broadhurst Gardens in West Hampstead. The studios gained some infamy as the site of The Beatles failed audition for Decca. The studios also saw David Bowie and The Rolling Stones record early albums.