The SW edge of the Heath

Coordinates: 51°33′47″N 0°10′6″W / 51.56306°N 0.16833°W / 51.56306; -0.16833 Hampstead Heath (locally known as "the Heath") is a large, ancient London park, covering 320 hectares (790 acres).^[1] This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay.^[2] The Heath is rambling and hilly, embracing ponds, recent and ancient woodlands, a lido, playgrounds, and a training track, and it adjoins the stately home of Kenwood House and its grounds. The SE part of the Heath is Parliament Hill, whose view over London is protected by law.

The Heath has long been a popular place for Londoners to walk and take in the air. Running along its eastern perimeter are a chain of ponds - including three open-air public swimming pools - which were originally reservoirs for drinking water from the River Fleet. The Heath is a Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Metropolitan Importance,^[3] and part of Kenwood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Lakeside concerts are held there in summer. The Heath is managed by the City of London Corporation, and lies mostly within the London Borough of Camden with the adjoining Hampstead Heath Extension and Golders Hill Park in the London Borough of Barnet.

History[link]

The Heath first entered the history books in 986 when Ethelred the Unready granted one of his servants five hides of land at "Hemstede". This same land is later recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as held by the monastery of St. Peter's at Westminster Abbey, and by then is known as the "Manor of Hampstead".^[4] Westminster held the land until 1133 when control of part of the manor was released to one Richard de Balta; then during Henry II's reign the whole of the manor became privately owned by Alexander de Barentyn, the King's butler. Manorial rights to the land remained in private hands until the 1940s when they lapsed under Sir Spencer Pocklington Maryon Wilson^[5], though the estate itself was passed on to Shane Gough, 5th Viscount Gough.^[4]

Over time, plots of land in the manor were sold off for building, particularly in the early 19th century, though the Heath remained mainly common land. The main part of the Heath was acquired for the people by the Metropolitan Board of Works.^[6] Parliament Hill was purchased for the public for £300,000 and added to the park in 1888. Golders Hill was added in 1898 and Kenwood House and grounds were added in 1928.^[7]

From 1808 to 1814 Hampstead Heath hosted a station in the shutter telegraph chain which connected the Admiralty in London to its naval ships in the port of Great Yarmouth.

The City of London Corporation has managed the Heath since 1989.^[8] Before that it was managed by the GLC and before that by the London County Council (LCC).

The City of London proposed to build a new road on the Heath to service their 'Masterplan' developments. The proposal met with protests from local residents and celebrities, and was not proceeded with.^[9]

Geography[link]

The Heath sits astride a sandy ridge that rests on a band of London Clay. It runs from east to west, its highest point being 134 metres (440 ft).^[10] As the sand was easily penetrated by rainwater which was then held by the clay, a landscape of swampy hollows, springs and man-made excavations was created.^[2]

Public transport near the Heath includes London Overground railway stations Hampstead Heath and Gospel Oak and London Underground stations at Hampstead and Belsize Park to the south, Golders Green to the north-west, and Highgate and Archway to the east. Buses serve several roads around the Heath.

Areas of the Heath[link]

The Heath's 320 hectares (790 acres) include a number of distinct areas. "Boudicca's Mound", near the present men's bathing pond, is a tumulus where, according to local legend, Queen Boudicca (Boadicea) was buried after she and 10,000 Iceni warriors were defeated at Battle Bridge.^[11] However earlier drawings and paintings of the area show no mound other than a 17th century windmill.

In the south-east of the Heath, on the southern slopes of Parliament Hill, is the Gospel Oak Lido open air swimming pool, with a running track and fitness area to its north.

Wildlife[link]

Hampstead Heath is an important refuge for wildlife, including muntjac deer, grass snakes, foxes, rabbits, slow worms, squirrels, terrapins and frogs.

Common kingfishers, jackdaws and ring-necked parakeets, pipistrelles and Daubenton's bats may be seen over the ponds.

Highgate and Hampstead Ponds[link]

A pond on Hampstead Heath

There are over 25 ponds on Hampstead Heath, mostly collected in two distinct areas. On the east (Highgate) side is a series of eight former reservoirs (known as Highgate Ponds) originally dug in the 17th and 18th centuries.^[12] These include two single-sex swimming pools (the men's and ladies' bathing ponds), a model boating pond, a wildlife reserve pond and a fishing lake.

In the south-west corner of the Heath, towards South End Green, are three further ponds (known as Hampstead Ponds), one of which is the 'mixed pond', where both sexes may swim. These ponds are the result of the damming in 1777 of Hampstead Brook, one of the sources of the Fleet River, by the Hampstead Water Company which had been formed in 1692 to meet London's growing water demands.^[2]

In 2004 the City of London Corporation, which manages the Heath, tried to close the ponds on the grounds that they were an unsustainable expense and posed a health risk to swimmers. The swimmers challenged this and won in the High Court. To defray costs, the Corporation introduced a charge for swimmers of £2 per session, £1 for concessions. There was some opposition to this and some of the ticket machines were vandalized.^[13]

In January 2011 the City of London announced a scheme which it says will improve the safety of the dams in the event of a very rare storm which it says may happen once every 10,000 years.

Caen Wood Towers[link]

To the north east of the Heath is a derelict site within the conservation area comprising the grounds and mansion of the former Caen Wood Towers (renamed Athlone House in 1972). This historic building, currently in disrepair, was built in 1872 for Edward Brooke, aniline dye manufacturer (architect, Edward Salomons). In 1942 the building was taken for war service by the Royal Air Force and was used to house the RAF Intelligence School, although the 'official' line was that it was a convalescence hospital. The Operational Record (Form 540) of RAF Station Highgate (currently in the National Archives, Kew) was declassified in the late 1990s and shows the true role of this building in wartime service. The building sustained 2 near misses from V-1 flying bombs in late 1944, causing damage and injuries to staff. The RAF Intelligence School remained in Caen Wood Towers until 1948, when the building was handed over to the Ministry of Health. It was then used as a hospital and finally a post-operative recovery lodge, before falling into disrepair in the 1980s. The NHS sold off this part of their estate in 2004 to a private businessman who is currently redeveloping much of the site; however the House and its gardens fall within the conservation area of Hampstead Heath.

Parliament Hill Fields[link]

Parliament Hill Fields lies on the south and east of the Heath; it officially became part of the Heath in 1888. It contains various sporting facilities including an athletics track, tennis courts and Parliament Hill Lido.^[14] Parliament Hill itself is considered by some to be the focal point of the Heath,^[15] with the highest part of it known to some as "Kite Hill" due to its popularity with kite flyers.^[16] The hill is 98.1 metres (322 ft) high ^[17] and is notable for the excellent views it provides of the London skyline. The skyscrapers of Canary Wharf and the City of London can be seen, along with St Paul's Cathedral and other landmarks, all in one panorama, parts of which are protected views. The main staff yards for the management of the Heath are located at Parliament Hill Fields.^[8]

Kenwood[link]

Kenwood House false bridge

The area to the north of the Heath is the Kenwood Estate and House - a total area of 50 hectares (120 acres) which is maintained by English Heritage. This became part of the Heath when it was bequeathed to the nation by Lord Iveagh on his death in 1927, and opened to the public in 1928. One third of the estate (Ken Wood and North Wood) is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, designated by Natural England.^[18][19] It is home to many birds and insects and the largest pipistrelle bat roost in London.

The original house dates from the early 17th century. The orangery was added in about 1700.

The popular summer lakeside concerts, which started in 1951, ceased in February 2007 after protests from local residents.^[20] However, the return of the concerts was announced in March 2008 after English Heritage agreed a number of changes with Camden Council, notably with regard to noise levels.^[21]

The Vale of Health[link]

The Vale of Health is a hamlet (named "Hatchett's Bottom" until 1801) accessed by a lane from East Heath Road; it is surrounded entirely by the Heath.

Extension[link]

The Extension is an open space to the north-west of the main heath. It does not share the history of common and heathland of the rest of the Heath. Instead it was created out of farmland, largely due to the efforts of Henrietta Barnett who went on to found Hampstead Garden Suburb. Its farmland origins can still be seen in the form of old field boundaries, hedgerows and trees.

Golders Hill Park[link]

Golders Hill Park is a formal park adjoining the West Heath. It occupies the site of a large house that was bombed during World War II. It has an expanse of grass, with a formal flower garden a duck pond and a separate water garden that leads to a separate area for deer, near a recently-renovated small zoo. The zoo has donkeys, maras, ring-tailed lemurs, ring-tailed coatis, white-cheeked turacos and European Eagle Owls among other animals.There are also tennis courts, a butterfly house and a putting green.^[22]

Unlike the rest of the Heath, Golders Hill Park is fenced in, and is closed at night.

Hampstead Heath Constabulary[link]

The "Hampstead Heath Constabulary" consists of twelve constables, four with trained General Purpose police dogs all licensed to ACPO/Home Office standards. They have been responsible for patrolling the Heath 24 hours a day since 1992.^[23]

They are attested as constables under Article 18 of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government Provisional Order Confirmation (Greater London Parks and Open Spaces) Act 1967 before a City of London magistrate. This authorises them to enforce the Hampstead Heath bylaws. They enjoy full powers of a constable in relation to the bylaws and legislation of open spaces when in their jurisdiction of the Heath and have a good working partnership with the Metropolitan Police. All criminal offences on the Heath are investigated by the Metropolitan Police Service, the territorial police force for Greater London.

Activities[link]

The Heath is home to a range of activities, including 16 different sports.^[8] It is used by walkers, runners, swimmers and kite-flyers, and is regarded as the home of cross-country running in Britain.^[8] There is an annual 5000 metres run through the Heath organised by Umbrella,^[24] and until February 2007 Kenwood held a series of popular lakeside concerts.

The West Heath is regarded as one of the most notable night-time cruising grounds in London and this has led to a problem with used condoms and other litter.^[25] George Michael has revealed that he cruises on the Heath,^[26] an activity he then parodied on the Extras Christmas Special.^[27]

Swimming takes place all year round in two of the three natural swimming ponds: the men's pond which opened in the 1890s, and the ladies' pond which opened in 1925. The mixed pond is only open from May to September, though it is the oldest, having been in use since the 1860s.^[28]

Facilities include an athletics track, a pétanque pitch, a volleyball court and eight separate children's play areas including an adventure playground.^[8]

Culture[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The 1990 film It, an adaptation of the book by Stephen King, featured a fictional American writer who takes up residence at Hampstead Heath.^[29]

The film Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006) was shot entirely on Hampstead Heath.^[30] Notting Hill (1999) featured scenes shot at the Heath, located primarily around Kenwood House.^[31]

Hampstead Heath was featured on the television programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the London area, with a focus on Parliament Hill to the south. The episode was presented by Bill Oddie, who lives in nearby Gospel Oak, and watches birds there regularly.

In 2005, Giancarlo Neri's sculpture The Writer, a 9-metre tall table and chair, was exhibited on Hampstead Heath.^[32]

Whilst living in London, Karl Marx and his family went to the Heath regularly, as their favourite outing.^[33]

John Atkinson Grimshaw, Victorian era painter, painted an elaborate night-time scene of Hampstead Hill in oils. Hampstead Heath also provided the backdrop for the opening scene in Victorian writer Wilkie Collins' novel The Woman in White.

Hampstead Heath forms part of the main location for Will Self's 2006 novel The Book of Dave. Half of the book is set 500 years in the future, when all of London has been submerged by a catastrophic flood, leaving only the hilltops of Hampstead and the Heath as a tiny island - The Island of Ham. The parts of the book set in the present-day also make references to the Heath's high and dry location which would preserve the area in the event of sea level rises over 100m. Self writes, "...the Heath...this peculiar island, a couple of square miles of woodland and meadow set down in the lagoon of the city."^[34]

The radio story titled The Strange Case of the Murder in Wax written by Denis Green and Anthony Boucher and broadcast on January 7, 1946, featured a murderer who killed women on Hampstead Heath.

Mrs. Miniver, by Jan Struther, includes a chapter called "On Hampstead Heath", where actions take place.^[35]

A crucial event at the beginning of the novel Smiley's People, by John LeCarre (1979), takes place on Hampstead Heath, which is also the site of subsequent investigations.^[36] These scenes are also depicted in the BBC mini-series of the same name (1982).

Gallery[link]

• 

  Kenwood House

• 

  The Vale of Health

• 

  The Writer, temporary structure in 2006

• 

  Arsenal FC's Emirates Stadium viewed from Parliament Hill

• 

  View towards St Jude's church in Hampstead Garden Suburb from the Heath extension

• 

  Panorama of London from Parliament Hill

Bibliography[link]

• Hampstead Heath: Its Geology and Natural History. Prepared under the Auspices of the Hampstead Scientific Society with 3 maps ^(pull-out) and 11 plates.^[37]

References[link]

• London Pools Campaign advocacy website.
• City of London Corporation Swimming facilities on Hampstead Heath
• The London Encyclopaedia, Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert, Macmillan.

External links[link]

London portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hampstead Heath

• The official Hampstead Heath pages on the City of London website
  • Hampstead Heath map
  • Hampstead Heath trails leaflet
  • Hampstead Heath trails map
• Detailed guide to the ponds with photographs, by Andrew Selkirk, editor of Hampstead-based Current Archaeology magazine.
• History of Hampstead Heath
• The Heath & Hampstead Society
• BBC website
• Hampstead Heath on the VisitWoods website

v t e Parks and open spaces in London Royal parks Bushy Green Greenwich Hyde Kensington Regent's Richmond St James's Large urban parks Alexandra Battersea Blackheath Burgess Crystal Palace Finsbury Hampstead Heath Parliament Hill Southwark Victoria Wimbledon Country parks Bayhurst Wood Belhus Woods Eastbrookend Fairlop Waters Fryent Hainault Forest Havering High Elms Hornchurch Lee Valley South Norwood Stanmore Stockley Trent Commons Barnes Bromley Cannon Hill Clapham Eel Brook East Sheen Ham Hayes Kenley Mitcham Old Oak Peckham Rye Plumstead Putney Putney Lower Stanmore Stoke Newington Streatham Tooting Tylers Wandsworth Wimbledon Winn's Marshes Aveley Crayford Erith Hackney Hornchurch Ingrebourne Leyton Rainham Tottenham Walthamstow Wennington Woodland Bostall Coldfall Dulwich Epping Forest Grangewood Park Highgate Lesnes Abbey Oxleas Queen's Russia Dock Sydenham Hill House gardens Belair Park Boston Manor House Cannizaro Park Danson Park Grovelands Park Grove Park Hampton Court Park Kenwood House Langtons Morden Hall Park Osterley Park Syon House Entry-fee charging Kew Gardens London Wetland Centre Community gardens Phoenix Garden Calthorpe Project

Coordinates: 51°33′15″N 0°10′28″W / 51.5541°N 0.1744°W / 51.5541; -0.1744

Hampstead
Downshire Hill
Hampstead  Hampstead shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ265855
London borough	Camden
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	NW3
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Hampstead and Kilburn
London Assembly	Barnet and Camden
List of places: UK • England • London

Hampstead (/ˈhæmpstɪd/ or /-stɛd/), commonly known as Hampstead Village, is an affluent area of London, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. It has some of the most expensive housing in the London area. The village of Hampstead has more millionaires within its boundaries than any other area of the United Kingdom.^[1]

History[link]

Etymology[link]

The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon words ham and stede, which means, and is a cognate of, the Modern English "homestead".

To 1900[link]

Kenwood House, Hampstead

Roadworks on Heath Street in Hampstead around 1865, in Ford Madox Brown's painting Work

A current day view of location used for the Madox Brown painting

Although early records of Hampstead can be found in a grant by King Ethelred the Unready to the monastery of St. Peter’s at Westminster (AD 986) and it is referred to in the Domesday Book (1086), the history of Hampstead is generally traced back to the 17th century. Trustees of the Well started advertising the medicinal qualities of the chalybeate waters (water impregnated with iron) in 1700. Although Hampstead Wells was initially most successful and fashionable, its popularity declined in the 1800s due to competition with other fashionable London spas. The spa was demolished in 1882, although a water fountain was left behind.

Hampstead started to expand following the opening of the North London Railway in the 1860s (now the London Overground with passenger services operated by Transport for London), and expanded further after the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway opened in 1907 (now part of London Underground's Northern Line) and provided fast travel to central London.

Much luxurious housing was created during the 1870s and 1880s, in the area that is now the political ward of Frognal & Fitzjohns. Much of this housing remains to this day.

20th century[link]

In the 20th century, a number of notable buildings were created including:

• Hampstead tube station (1907), the deepest station on the Underground network
• Isokon building (1932)
• Hillfield Court (1932)
• 2 Willow Road (1938)
• Hampstead Theatre (2003)
• Swiss Cottage Central Library (1964)
• Royal Free Hospital (mid 1970s)
• the Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre (2006)

Keats House, Hampstead, where Keats wrote his Ode to a Nightingale

Cultural attractions in the area include the Freud Museum, Keats House, Kenwood House, Fenton House, The Isokon building, Burgh House, and the Camden Arts Centre. The large Victorian Hampstead Library and Town Hall was recently converted and extended as a creative industries centre.

On 14 August 1975 Hampstead entered the UK Weather Records with the Highest 155-min total rainfall at 169 mm. As of November 2008 this record remains.

Mark Pevsner, the grandson of Sir Nicholas Pevsner, described Hampstead as "a large collection of roads and passages which don't go in straight lines, houses of different ages, many of them good architecture but more often it's just the way they fit together, full of nice vistas and surprises. Hampstead is a huge collection of twists and turns."^{[unreliable source?]}

Politics[link]

Hampstead became part of the County of London in 1889 and in 1899 the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead was formed. The borough town hall on Haverstock Hill, which was also the location of the Register Office, can be seen in newsreel footage of many celebrity civil marriages. In 1965 the metropolitan borough was abolished and its area merged with that of the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn and the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras to form the modern-day London Borough of Camden. Hampstead is part of the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency, formed at the 2010 general election. It was formerly part of the Hampstead and Highgate constituency and since 1992 the member of parliament has been the former actress Glenda Jackson of the Labour Party.

The area is also home to the left-wing Labour magazine Tribune and the satirical magazine the Hampstead Village Voice. The local paid-for newspaper is the Hampstead and Highgate Express,^[2] known locally as the "Ham & High". Hampstead is also covered by the borough-wide Camden New Journal.

Since October 2008 the area has been represented on Camden Council by Liberal Democrat councilor Linda Chung, elected in a by-election to serve alongside Conservatives Kirsty Roberts and Chris Knight.

Hampstead Liberalism[link]

The area has a significant tradition of educated liberal humanism, often referred to (often disparagingly) as "Hampstead Liberalism". In the 1960s, the figure of the Hampstead Liberal was notoriously satirised by Peter Simple of the Daily Telegraph in the character of Lady Dutt-Pauker, an immensely wealthy aristocratic socialist whose Hampstead mansion, Marxmount House, contained an original pair of Bukharin's false teeth on display alongside precious Ming vases, neo-constructivist art, and the complete writings of Stalin.^[3] As applied to an individual, the term "Hampstead Liberal" is not synonymous with "champagne socialist" but it does carry some of the same implications, and both terms have correspondingly been used to describe figures such as Margaret Hodge.^[4]

Places of interest[link]

Hampstead Heath west ponds

The Viaduct on Hampstead Heath

Isokon Building, Hampstead

Freud's sofa, at 20 Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead

Sites[link]

To the north and east of Hampstead, and separating it from Highgate, is London's largest ancient parkland, Hampstead Heath, which includes the well-known and legally-protected view of the London skyline from Parliament Hill. The Heath, a major place for Londoners to walk and "take the air", has three open-air public swimming ponds; one for men, one for women, and one for mixed bathing, which were originally reservoirs for drinking water and the sources of the River Fleet. The bridge pictured is known locally as 'The Red Arches' or 'The Viaduct', built in fruitless anticipation of residential building on the Heath in the 19th century.

Local activities include major open-air concerts on summer Saturday evenings on the slopes below Kenwood House, book and poetry readings, fun fairs on the lower reaches of the Heath, period harpsichord recitals at Fenton House, Hampstead Scientific Society and Hampstead Photographic Society.

The largest employer in Hampstead is the Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, but many small businesses based in the area have international significance. George Martin's AIR recording studios, in converted church premises in Lyndhurst Road, is a current example, as Jim Henson's Creature Shop was, before it relocated to California.

The area has some remarkable architecture, such as the Isokon building in Lawn Road, a Grade I listed experiment in collective housing, once home to Agatha Christie, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson and Walter Gropius. It was recently restored by Notting Hill Housing Trust.

Churches[link]

• Christ Church – Hampstead Square, NW3 1AB^[5]
• St. Andrew's United Reformed Church, Frognal Lane, NW3 7DY^[6]
• St John-at-Hampstead – Church Row, NW3 6UU^[7]
• St John's Downshire Hill – Downshire Hill, NW3 1NU^[8]
• St Luke's – Kidderpore Avenue, NW3 7SU^[9][10]
• St Mary's Chapel – 4 Holly Place, NW3 6QU^[11][12]
• Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel

Museums[link]

• Fenton House – Hampstead Grove, Hampstead, London, NW3 6SP^[13]
• Freud Museum – 20 Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead, London, NW3 5SX^[14]
• Burgh House & Hampstead Museum – New End Square, Hampstead, London, NW3 1LT^[15]
• Keats House Museum – Keats Grove, Hampstead, London, NW3 2RR^[16]
• Kenwood House – Hampstead Lane, Hampstead, London, NW3 7JR^[17]

Theatres and cinemas[link]

• Everyman Cinema – 5 Holly Bush Vale, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TX^[18]
• Hampstead Theatre – Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London, NW3 3EU^[19]
• New End Theatre – 27 New End, Vale of Heath, Hampstead, London, NW3 1JD^[20]
• Pentameters Theatre – 28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TE^[21]

Public houses[link]

Hampstead is well known for its traditional pubs, such as the Holly Bush, gas-lit until recently;^[22][23] the Spaniard's Inn, Spaniard's Road, where highwayman Dick Turpin took refuge; The Old Bull and Bush in North End; and The Old White Bear (formerly Ye Olde White Bear).^[24] Jack Straw's Castle on the edge of the Heath near Whitestone Pond at the brow of the Heath has now been converted into residential flats. Others include:

• The Flask – 14 Flask Walk, Hampstead, London, NW3 1HE ^[25]
• Freemasons Arms – 32 Downshire Hill, Hampstead, London, NW3 1NT^[26]
• The Duke of Hamilton – 23–25 New End, Hampstead, London, NW3 1JD^[27]
• The Horseshoe (formerly The Three Horseshoes) – 28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TE^[28]
• King William IV (aka KW4) – 77 Hampstead High Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 1RE^[29]
• The Magdala – 2a South Hill Park, Hampstead, London, NW3 2SB^[30][31]
• The Garden Gate – 14 South End Road, Hampstead, London, NW3 2QE^[32]

Restaurants[link]

Hampstead has an eclectic mix of restaurants ranging from French to Thai. Notable and longstanding are La Gaffe, Gaucho Grill, Jin Kichi, Tip Top Thai, Al Casbah, Le Cellier du Midi and CrimeaJewel. After over a decade of controversy and legal action from local residents, McDonald's was finally allowed to open in Hampstead in 1992, after winning its right in court, and agreeing to a previously unprecedented re-design of the shop front, reducing the conspicuousness of its facade and logo.^[33]

Schools[link]

Film locations[link]

Hampstead's rural feel lends itself for use on film; a notable example being The Killing of Sister George (1968) starring Beryl Reid and Susannah York. The opening sequence has Reid's character June wandering through the streets and alleyways of Hampstead, west of Heath Street, around The Mount Square. The Marquis of Granby pub, in which June drinks at the opening of the film, was actually The Holly Bush,^[22] at 22 Holly Mount. Another example is The Collector (1965), starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar, where the kidnap sequence is set in Mount Vernon.

The 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth, starring Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie, was shot, in large part, in Hampstead Heath.

Some scenes from An American Werewolf in London (1981) are shot on Hampstead Heath, Well Walk and Haverstock Hill. Harry and Judith are killed in Hampstead Heath, behind the Priors on East Heath Road. Before David kills them, Harry and Judith get out of the taxi on East Heath Road at Well Walk.

More recently Kenwood House is the set of the "film-within-the-film" scene of Notting Hill (1999). Outdoor scenes in The Wedding Date (2005), starring Debra Messing, feature Parliament Hill Fields on the Heath, overlooking west London. Parliament Hill also features in Notes on a Scandal (2006) together with the nearby areas of Gospel Oak and Camden Town. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) features the old Hampstead Town Hall on Haverstock Hill. The cult film Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006) was filmed entirely on Hampstead Heath, covering various picturesque locations such as the 'Floating Gardens' and Kenwood House.

A musical specifically focusing on the area, Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (1968), tells the story of a young man's cycle journey around Hampstead. After crashing into a billboard poster, he falls in love with the fashion model depicted on it.

Transport[link]

Hampstead underground station

Hampstead has a major bus terminus known as Hampstead Heath located in South End Green. Its most frequent service is Route 24 which for over 100 years has linked this area with the West End, Victoria and Grosvenor Road in Pimlico. Bus routes that currently serve Hampstead are: 24 46 168 210 268 603 C11 and N5.

Nearest tube stations[link]

The nearest London Underground stations are Hampstead and Belsize Park on the Northern Line and Swiss Cottage on the Jubilee Line. The stations are within Travelcard Zone 2. Hampstead is the boundary with Travelcard Zone 3. Construction of North End tube station was started but not completed.

Nearest railway station[link]

Hampstead Heath railway station is situated by South End Green while Finchley Road & Frognal station is on the western side of Hampstead. Both stations are part of the London Overground network.

Nearest hospital[link]

• Royal Free Hospital

Nearest places[link]

Notable residents[link]

Hampstead has long been known as a residence of the intelligentsia, including writers, composers, ballerinas and intellectuals, actors, artists and architects — many of whom created a bohemian community in the late 19th century. After 1917, and again in the 1930s, it became base to a community of avant garde artists and writers and was host to a number of émigrés and exiles from the Russian Revolution and Nazi Europe.

Cultural references[link]

• Hampstead is referred to in the song "Young Conservatives" by The Kinks and in "Cross Eyed Mary" by Jethro Tull.
• Hampstead is referenced in a Monty Python sketch where a famous playwright (with a northern accent and working-class look) sarcastically remarks to his son (who works in a mine): "Hampstead wasn't good enough for you, eh? You had to go poncin' off to Barnsley".
• Hampstead is referred to in the hit Bollywood film "Desi Boyz".

Local newspapers[link]

The local newspapers, as of 2011, are the Camden New Journal and the Hampstead and Highgate Express.

See also[link]

London portal

• The Bishops Avenue

References and notes[link]