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West Harrow

Coordinates: 51°34′47″N 0°21′12″W / 51.579710°N 0.353380°W / 51.579710; -0.353380
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Harrow (disambiguation).

West Harrow
St Peter's Church on Sumner Road
West Harrow is located in Greater London
West Harrow
West Harrow
Location within Greater London
Population10,373 (2011 Census. Ward)[1]
OS grid referenceTQ145875
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHarrow
Postcode districtHA1, HA2
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London
51°34′47″N 0°21′12″W / 51.579710°N 0.353380°W / 51.579710; -0.353380

West Harrow is a locality directly to the west/southwest of Harrow town in the London Borough of Harrow, in the county of Greater London and historically in the county of Middlesex.

History

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At the start of the 20th century, fields and farmland comprised the area that is now present-day West Harrow.[2] Situated on Bessborough Road at the western foot of Harrow Hill, three farms (Honeybun, Roxborough, and Roxeth) were developed into what became known as the Bessborough Estate.[3] The Roxeth farmhouse still stands and gained Grade II listed status in 1951.[4]

As the Metropolitan Railway extended to Harrow late in the 19th century, residential developments, including on the nearby Roxborough Park, sprung up in the surrounding area.[5] In the early 20th century, the Metropolitan Railway would market such developments as Metro-land. In John Betjeman’s acclaimed documentary Metro-Land (1973), he stands on Vaughan Road as he ponders the “nice little speculation” at the “foot of Harrow Hill, alongside the Metropolitan electric trains”, “built in the ‘80s or ‘90s”.[6]

In 1898, development began on the roads in the Bessborough Estate and they were largely completed by 1911.[3] The roads in the estate were named after former Harrow School headmasters including Charles John Vaughan (Vaughan Road), George Butler or Henry Montagu Butler (Butler Road and Butler Avenue), Robert Carey Sumner (Sumner Road) and Joseph Drury (Drury Road).[7] West Harrow Recreation Ground was added in 1923[3] and house building further west of the estate near Shaftesbury Avenue continued into the 1930s.[8]

The Metropolitan Railway laid tracks through the area in 1904 as it extended towards Uxbridge. Initially, no station was built in the area. However, as the Bessborough Estate expanded, landowners and residents pressured the Metropolitan Railway to build one nearby (Harrow-on-the-Hill being the closest at the time).[9] In 1913, a wooden halt accessible from Vaughan Road was built. The station platforms were reconstructed in 1971[10] and the station further renovated in 1989.[11]

In 2024, Harrow Council recommended a resident consultation after proposing West Harrow Recreation Ground and parts of Butler Road and Lance Road for designation as Local Areas of Special Character (LASC). The well-preserved quality of Victorian and Edwardian architecture was noted, as was the historical association of the street names to Harrow School.[3]

Governance

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Boundaries of the West Harrow ward within the London Borough of Harrow since 2022

West Harrow lies within the London Borough of Harrow, governed under the local authority of Harrow London Borough Council. The West Harrow ward dates back to 1934 when it was established as a ward of the Harrow Urban District,[12] albeit ward boundary revisions since then have changed the area it represents.

Ahead of the 2022 revisions, focus groups noted the ward lacked community identity.[13] The changes proposed by the council compacted the ward and transferred some areas from neighbouring wards, including Harrow on the Hill, to reflect what the community identifies as West Harrow.[14] Additionally, the number of councillors representing the ward was reduced from three to two.[13]

In 2022, Labour candidates Rekha Shah and Asif Hussain were elected councillors to represent the ward[15] while the Conservative Party took control of the council.[16]

West Harrow is in the Brent and Harrow constituency for the London Assembly which has been represented since 2021 by Krupesh Hirani (Labour).[17] It is also in the Harrow West parliamentary constituency[18] which has been represented since 1997 by Gareth Thomas (Labour).[19]

Borough Election – West Harrow ward (2022)[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rekha Shah 1,507 54.7
Labour Asif Hussain 1,459 52.9
Conservative Luke Andrew Titus Wilson 911 33.0
Conservative Caroline Mojisola Ojo 849 30.8
Green Monika Sobiecki 437 15.9
Liberal Democrats Em Dean 351 12.7
Turnout 2841 40

Geography

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West Harrow is located on the western side of Harrow, roughly covering the area to the west of Bessborough Road, to the south of Pinner Road and to the north of Whitmore Road. To the south east of West Harrow is Harrow on the Hill, to its north east is the town centre of Harrow, to its west is Rayners Lane, to its north is North Harrow, and to its south are Roxeth and South Harrow.

Demography

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Harrow is the second safest borough in the Greater London Authority area.[20]

West Harrow Park

Transport

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West Harrow Station on the Metropolitan line

References

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  1. ^ "Harrow Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  2. ^ Ordnance Survey (1897). Middlesex Sheet X. S.E. (Map) (Second ed.). Six-inch to the mile. OS.
  3. ^ a b c d "LSAC Report" (PDF). harrow.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Roxeth Farmhouse Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Roxborough Park Character Appraisal" (PDF). harrow.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  6. ^ Betjeman, John (host) (26 February 1973). "Metro-Land (1973)". Metro-Land. BBC.
  7. ^ "LSAC Report" (PDF). harrow.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  8. ^ Ordnance Survey (1935). Middlesex Sheet X. S.E. (Map). Six-inch to the mile. OS.
  9. ^ "Historic November". machorne.wordpress.com. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  10. ^ "LTM Collections, Platform reconstruction work at West Harrow Underground station". www.ltmuseum.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  11. ^ "West Harrow Community News". Harrow Observer. 14 September 1989.
  12. ^ "Harrow, including Pinner: Local government and public services". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  13. ^ a b "2022 Ward Boundary Changes" (PDF). www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  14. ^ "2022 Ward Boundary Changes Draft Proposals". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Election results for West Harrow, 5 May 2022". 5 May 2022.
  16. ^ "2022 Harrow Council Election Results". harrowtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Brent and Harrow constituency". www.london.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Parliamentary Constituencies". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Gareth Thomas (MP)". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Crime and Safety in Harrow". CrimeRate Co. 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
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