Harrow Road
The Harrow Road is an ancient route[1] in North West London which runs from Paddington in a northwesterly direction towards Harrow. It is also the name given to the immediate surrounding area of Queens Park and Kensal Green, straddling the NW10, W10, W2 and W9 postcodes. With minor deviations in the 19th and 20th centuries, the route remains otherwise unaltered. There are dozens of other existing roads[2] throughout the United Kingdom using the same name which do not lead to or from Harrow but merely use the name of the town or, in some cases, a person of that name.
Harrow Road is also a ward of the City of Westminster. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 12,034.[3]
Description
Before urbanisation the entire road was known as the "Harrow Road" but, as various local authorities came into existence and imposed independent numbering schemes and more localised descriptions on the parts of the road within their respective boundaries, the principal name was replaced in a number of places along its course. The current street names (with road numbers) running from Paddington to Harrow are as follows:
Starting at the junction of Harrow Road and Edgware Road at Paddington Green in the City of Westminster:
- Harrow Road (Paddington), passing through Maida Hill, Queens Park and Kensal Green. This stretch runs partially alongside and underneath the Westway urban motorway.
At the junction of Ladbroke Grove the road leaves the City of Westminster and forms the boundary between the London Borough of Brent and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (except for the length between Kensal Green station and the entrance to Kensal Green Cemetery where it is entirely within Brent) until reaching Scrubs Lane where it becomes entirely within the borough of Brent.
- High Street (Harlesden), A 404
- Craven Park, A 404
- Hillside, A 404
- Brentfield, A 404
Passing over the River Brent which formed the pre-1965 boundary between the former Municipal Borough of Willesden and the Metropolitan Borough of Wembley (both now defunct) and from which the modern borough takes its name:
- Harrow Road (Wembley), A 404
Which passes through Tokyngton
- High Road (Wembley), A 404
- Harrow Road (Sudbury), A 404, changing to A 4005 at the junction with Watford Road (which continues the A 404)
Passing from the London Borough of Brent into the London Borough of Harrow at the Sudbury Court Drive junction:
- Sudbury Hill, A 4005
- London Road (Harrow), A 4005, changing to B457 at junction with Roxeth Hill
- High Street (Harrow), B 457
After Harrow on the Hill, the A404 continues to Pinner, Northwood, Rickmansworth, Amersham, High Wycombe, Marlow and Maidenhead.
References
- "A History of the County of Middlesex" 1989 - the road was not new in the 16th century
- Source = http://www.streetmap.co.uk
- "City of Westminster Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 16 October 2016.