Belsize Park

Coordinates: 51°32′42″N 0°09′48″W / 51.5449°N 0.1632°W / 51.5449; -0.1632

Belsize Park is an area of north-west London, England, in the London Borough of Camden. It gives its name to a ward of the borough, called Belsize, which covers most of Belsize Park; the rest of Belsize Park is part of Hampstead Town.

It is located 3.4 miles (5.5 km) north-west of Charing Cross and has a station on the Northern line. Some nearby localities are Hampstead to the north and west, Kentish Town and Gospel Oak to the east, Camden Town to the south east and Primrose Hill to the south. It is a lively area with many restaurants, pubs and cafés along Haverstock Hill and also England's Lane. Hampstead Heath is a 10- to 12-minute walk. Primrose Hill park is a 5-minute walk from England's Lane and provides some of the best views of Central London.

Belsize Park is in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency whose present MP is Tulip Siddiq.

History

The name is derived from French bel assis meaning 'well situated'. The Manor of Belsize dates back to 1317.

NW3

NW3 can refer to:

NW postcode area

Postcode district boundaries: Bing / Google

The NW (North Western) postcode area, also known as the London NW postcode area, is a group of postcode districts covering part of northwest London, England. It is the successor of the NW sector, originally created as part of the London postal district in 1856.

Postal administration

The London postal arrangements were refined in 1917 when the sub-districts (as appended to postal addresses) were given new alpha-numeric identities for public use; the districts usually cover a wider area than their names might suggest. The district names are no longer included in the postal address because the first part of the postcode contains equivalent sorting information.

Within each NW postcode district, PO boxes are allocated to a unique postcode sector, except for two districts which use all available sectors for ordinary addresses and therefore have their separate non-geographic districts: NW1W for PO boxes in NW1 and NW26 for PO boxes in NW10.

Haverstock

Coordinates: 51°32′42″N 0°09′48″W / 51.5449°N 0.1632°W / 51.5449; -0.1632

Haverstock is an area and electoral ward in the London Borough of Camden. It is centred on Haverstock Hill and Chalk Farm, with Gospel Oak to the north; Kentish Town to the east; Camden Town to the south, and Swiss Cottage to the west.

History

There has been settlement in the area for hundreds of years, with Haverstock Hill being one of the main roads out of London to Hampstead and the north of England.

Geography

The area to the west of the hill, with the NW3 Belsize Park/Hampstead post code, is very wealthy, while the Queen's Crescent NW5 area to the east of the hill is home to Queen's Crescent Market. There is a high density of council housing, with Talacre Gardens the only real open space, although Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath are both close by. The area still remains a desirable compromise to fashionable areas such as Camden Town and expensive inner suburbs Belsize Park and Hampstead. The area is ethnically and socially diverse, and the marketplace and surrounding area is well known for its African, Jamaican, South American and Eastern European culture, well reflected in the ethnic food stalls and clothes shops in the area.

The Pogues

The Pogues are a Celtic punk band from London, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before breaking up in 1996. The band reformed in late 2001, and has been playing regularly ever since, on the US East Coast around St Patrick's Day and across the UK and Ireland. The group has yet to record any new music and, according to Spider Stacy on Pogues.com, has no inclination to do so.

Their politically tinged music was informed by MacGowan and Stacy's punk backgrounds, yet used traditional Irish instruments such as the tin whistle, banjo, cittern, mandolin and accordion.

The Pogues were founded in Kings Cross, a district of Central London, in 1982 as Pogue Mahone—pogue mahone being the anglicisation of the Irish póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse".

The Pogues have influenced many bands throughout the years, as Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys and Greenland Whalefishers.