Neasden
Encyclopedia
Neasden is an area in northwest London
, UK. It forms part of the London Borough of Brent
.
Neasden was a countryside hamlet on the western end of the Dollis Hill
ridge. The land was owned by St. Paul's Cathedral. In the medieval times the village consisted of several small buildings around the green near the site of the present roundabout.
In the 15th–17th century the Roberts family were the major landowners in the area. Thomas Roberts erected Neasden House (on the site of the modern Clifford Court) in the reign of Henry VIII.
In 1651 Sir William Roberts bought confiscated church lands. After the Restoration the estates went back to the Church, but were leased to the Roberts family. Sir William improved Neasden House and in 1664 it was one of the largest houses in Willesden parish.
During the 18th century the Nicoll family replaced the Roberts as the dominant family in Neasden. In the 19th century these farmers and moneyers at the Royal Mint wholly owned Neasden House and much of the land in the area.
Neasden was no more than a ‘retired hamlet’ when enclosure was completed in 1823. At this time there were six cottages, four larger houses or farms, a public house and a smithy
, grouped around the green. The dwellings include The Grove, which had been bought by a London solicitor named James Hall, and its former outbuilding, which Hall had converted into a house that became known as The Grange.
The Welsh Harp reservoir
was completed in 1835 and breached in 1841 with fatalities. It had a dramatic effect on the landscape as the damming of the River Brent
put many fields and meadows underwater.
In the early 1850s, Neasden had a population of about 110. In the Victorian times the horse was the main form of transport, and as London grew, the demand for horses in the capital soared in the second half of the 19th century. Neasden farms concentrated on rearing and providing horses for the city. Town work was exhausting and unhealthy for the horses, and in 1886 the RSPCA formed a committee to set up the Home of Rest for Horses with grounds in Sudbury and Neasden, where for a small fee town horses were allowed to graze in the open for a few weeks.
The urbanisation of Neasden began with the arrival of the railway. The first railway running through Neasden — Hendon-Acton and Bedford — St. Pancras was opened for goods traffic in October 1868, with passenger services following soon. In 1875, Dudding Hill, the first station in the area, was opened, and the Metropolitan Railway
was extended through Neasden shortly afterwards. Neasden station
was opened on Neasden Lane in 1880. New housing, initially for railway workers, was built in the village (particularly around Village Way) with all the streets named after Metropolitan stations in Buckinghamshire.
In 1883, an Anglican mission chapel, St Saviour's, was set up in the village. Its priest, the Reverend James Mills, became an important and popular figure in late 19th century Neasden. In 1885 Mills took over St Andrew's, Kingsbury and became vicar of a new parish, Neasden-cum-Kingsbury, created because of the area's rising population.
Before Mill's arrival, the only sporting facilities in Neasden had been two packs of foxhounds, both of which had disbanded by 1857. Mills became founder president of Neasden Cricket Club and encouraged musical societies. In 1893 a golf club was founded at Neasden House, however only 10% of its members came from Neasden.
In the 1890s change led to a conscious effort to create a village atmosphere. At this time, the Spotted Dog became a social centre for local people. By 1891 Neasden had a population of 930, half of whom lived in the village. Despite the presence of the village in the west, it was the London end that grew fastest.
In 1893 the Great Central Railway
got permission to join up its main line from Nottingham
with the Metropolitan. Trains ran on or alongside the Metropolitan track to a terminus at Marylebone
(this is now the modern day Chiltern Main Line
). The Great Central set up a depot south of the line at Neasden and built houses for its workers (Gresham and Woodheyes roads). The Great Central village was a “singularly isolated and self-contained community” with its own school and single shop, Branch No. 1 of the North West London Co-operative Society. It is now part of a conservation area. There was considerable sporting rivalry between the two railway estates and a football match was played every Good Friday
. By the 1930s the two railways employed over 1000 men.
Apart from the railways, Neasden was dominated by agriculture until just before the First World War
. In 1911, Neasden's population had swelled to 2,074. By 1913, light industry at Church End had spread up Neasden Lane as far as the station.
In the 1920s, the building of the North Circular Road
, a main arterial route round London, brought another wave of development; it opened in 1922–23. The 1924–25 British Empire Exhibition led to road improvements and the introduction of new bus services. Together with the North Circular Road, it paved the way for a new residential suburb at Neasden. In 1930 Neasden House was part demolished. The last farm in Neasden (covering The Rise, Elm Way and Vicarage Way) was built over in 1935. The Ritz cinema opened in 1935 and Neasden Shopping Parade was opened in 1936, and was considered the most up-to-date in the area. All of Neasden's older houses were demolished during this period, except for The Grange, and the Spotted Dog was rebuilt in mock-Tudor style. Industries sprung up in the south of the area, and by 1949, Neasden's population was over 13,000.
The Post Office Research Station
was located nearby in Dollis Hill
. There the Colossus
computers, among the world's first, were built in 1943-1944 and underneath it the Paddock
wartime cabinet rooms were constructed in 1939.
Neasden Power Station, which was built to provide power for the Metropolitan Railway, was closed and demolished in 1968.
The post-war history of Neasden is one of decline; traffic problems necessitated an underpass on the North Circular Road that effectively cut Neasden in half and had a disastrous effect on the shopping centre. The decline in industry through the 1970s contributed to the area's decline. But Neasden has survived, largely due to a succession of immigrant communities keeping the local economy afloat. Neasden Depot continues to be the main depot
of the London Underground
's Metropolitan Line
(and is also used by trains of the Jubilee Line
); it is London Underground's largest depot and as such it is a major local employer.
opened its first drive-through restaurant in the UK in Neasden in 1988. The Grange Tavern (previously called The Old Spotted Dog) on Neasden Lane was closed in the 1990s and demolished to make way for a block of flats, bringing to an end the inn that had stood there for around two centuries. Another old pub, The Pantiles which stood on the North Circular Road was converted to another McDonald's restaurant. The Swedish furniture retailer, IKEA
opened its second UK outlet in Neasden in 1988.
In 1995 Neasden became the home of the biggest Hindu temple outside India: the Neasden Temple
.
In 2004, the Shopping Centre area was partially redeveloped by the council in an effort to reverse its fortunes. It remains to be seen if these measures have proved effective. The Grange, which had housed a museum about the people of Brent was closed by the council in 2004.
The 2004 redevelopment proved to be unpopular with local businesses as it changed the layouts of parking, thus forcing customers and local trade to pass by due to the parking restrictions of the redevelopment.
magazine, Private Eye
. Since early in its history (when the magazine was actually printed in Neasden) the magazine has used Neasden as an exemplar of the suburban environment in pieces parodying current events, personalities, and mores (for example, the University of Neasden). Spoof sports reports usually feature the perennial losers, Neasden F.C.
.
. In it, Sir John Betjeman
described Neasden as “home of the gnome and the average citizen” (the former a reference to the preponderance of gnome statuettes in suburban front-gardens, but possibly also a nod in the direction of the Eye’s fictional proprietor, Lord Gnome). Background music was provided by William Rushton
’s recording of Neasden (1972) (“Neasden/You won’t be sorry that you breezed in”).
phenomenon which grew enormously in the late 1960s, Neasden was selected by BBC Radiophonic Workshop
composer David Cain
as the home of a fictional ensemble dedicated to historically-informed performances on authentic musical instruments from an indeterminate number of centuries ago. It was thus that in 1968, listeners to BBC Radio 3
were given a recital by the Schola Polyphonica Neasdeniensis whose members performed on the equally fictional Shagbut, Minikin and Flemish Clackett.
(Southern) Football League in the 1970s and 1980s and was named after the place, though it did not actually play in the area. The team eventually merged with North West Warriors to form North West Neasden. (See also — Son of Neasden and Neasden Academicals).
TV comedy series Red Dwarf in the episode 'Meltdown', Rimmer said that he was a member of the 'Amateur Wargamers and Recreaters of the Battle of Neasden Society'.
reported in 'My Queen and I' that the Victorian order medals were made on a production line in Neasden from used railway lines.
, credited as Britain's first black music radio station, was broadcast from a Neasden garden between 1981 - 1984.
asylum seeker
) was the tallest man in the world at 7ft 9ins.
and Matt Cooke
from BBC TV present the Your News
programme from Neasden: news.bbc.co.uk (originally broadcast on 27 September 2008).
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK. It forms part of the London Borough of Brent
London Borough of Brent
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 2,022. This rose slowly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 5,646 in the middle of the century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth increased...
.
History
The area was recorded as Neasdun in 939 AD and the name is derived from the Old English nēos = 'nose' and dūn = 'hill'. It means 'the nose-shaped hill' referring to a well-defined landmark of this area. In 1750, it was known as Needsden and the present spelling appeared at a later date.Neasden was a countryside hamlet on the western end of the Dollis Hill
Dollis Hill
Dollis Hill is an area of north-west London. It lies close to Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent. As a result, Dollis Hill is sometimes referred as being part of Willesden, especially by the national press...
ridge. The land was owned by St. Paul's Cathedral. In the medieval times the village consisted of several small buildings around the green near the site of the present roundabout.
In the 15th–17th century the Roberts family were the major landowners in the area. Thomas Roberts erected Neasden House (on the site of the modern Clifford Court) in the reign of Henry VIII.
In 1651 Sir William Roberts bought confiscated church lands. After the Restoration the estates went back to the Church, but were leased to the Roberts family. Sir William improved Neasden House and in 1664 it was one of the largest houses in Willesden parish.
During the 18th century the Nicoll family replaced the Roberts as the dominant family in Neasden. In the 19th century these farmers and moneyers at the Royal Mint wholly owned Neasden House and much of the land in the area.
Neasden was no more than a ‘retired hamlet’ when enclosure was completed in 1823. At this time there were six cottages, four larger houses or farms, a public house and a smithy
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
, grouped around the green. The dwellings include The Grove, which had been bought by a London solicitor named James Hall, and its former outbuilding, which Hall had converted into a house that became known as The Grange.
Brent Reservoir
The Brent Reservoir is a reservoir which straddles the boundary between the London boroughs of Brent and Barnet and is owned by British Waterways...
was completed in 1835 and breached in 1841 with fatalities. It had a dramatic effect on the landscape as the damming of the River Brent
River Brent
The Brent is a river within Greater London which is a tributary of the River Thames. It is 17.9 miles long, running north-east to south-west, and it joins the Thames on the Tideway at Brentford, Hounslow.- Hydronymy and etymology :...
put many fields and meadows underwater.
In the early 1850s, Neasden had a population of about 110. In the Victorian times the horse was the main form of transport, and as London grew, the demand for horses in the capital soared in the second half of the 19th century. Neasden farms concentrated on rearing and providing horses for the city. Town work was exhausting and unhealthy for the horses, and in 1886 the RSPCA formed a committee to set up the Home of Rest for Horses with grounds in Sudbury and Neasden, where for a small fee town horses were allowed to graze in the open for a few weeks.
The urbanisation of Neasden began with the arrival of the railway. The first railway running through Neasden — Hendon-Acton and Bedford — St. Pancras was opened for goods traffic in October 1868, with passenger services following soon. In 1875, Dudding Hill, the first station in the area, was opened, and the Metropolitan Railway
Metropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
was extended through Neasden shortly afterwards. Neasden station
Neasden tube station
Neasden Underground station is a London Underground station in Neasden. It is on the Jubilee Line, between Wembley Park and Dollis Hill. Metropolitan Line trains pass through the station but do not stop, except on rare occasions...
was opened on Neasden Lane in 1880. New housing, initially for railway workers, was built in the village (particularly around Village Way) with all the streets named after Metropolitan stations in Buckinghamshire.
In 1883, an Anglican mission chapel, St Saviour's, was set up in the village. Its priest, the Reverend James Mills, became an important and popular figure in late 19th century Neasden. In 1885 Mills took over St Andrew's, Kingsbury and became vicar of a new parish, Neasden-cum-Kingsbury, created because of the area's rising population.
Before Mill's arrival, the only sporting facilities in Neasden had been two packs of foxhounds, both of which had disbanded by 1857. Mills became founder president of Neasden Cricket Club and encouraged musical societies. In 1893 a golf club was founded at Neasden House, however only 10% of its members came from Neasden.
In the 1890s change led to a conscious effort to create a village atmosphere. At this time, the Spotted Dog became a social centre for local people. By 1891 Neasden had a population of 930, half of whom lived in the village. Despite the presence of the village in the west, it was the London end that grew fastest.
In 1893 the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
got permission to join up its main line from Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
with the Metropolitan. Trains ran on or alongside the Metropolitan track to a terminus at Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
(this is now the modern day Chiltern Main Line
Chiltern Main Line
The Chiltern Main Line is an inter-urban, regional and commuter railway, part of the British railway system. It links London and Birmingham on a 112-mile route via the towns of High Wycombe, Banbury, and Leamington Spa...
). The Great Central set up a depot south of the line at Neasden and built houses for its workers (Gresham and Woodheyes roads). The Great Central village was a “singularly isolated and self-contained community” with its own school and single shop, Branch No. 1 of the North West London Co-operative Society. It is now part of a conservation area. There was considerable sporting rivalry between the two railway estates and a football match was played every Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
. By the 1930s the two railways employed over 1000 men.
Apart from the railways, Neasden was dominated by agriculture until just before the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1911, Neasden's population had swelled to 2,074. By 1913, light industry at Church End had spread up Neasden Lane as far as the station.
In the 1920s, the building of the North Circular Road
A406 road
The A406 or the North Circular Road is a road which crosses North London, UK, linking West and East London. It, together with the South Circular Road, forms a ring road through the inner part of Outer London...
, a main arterial route round London, brought another wave of development; it opened in 1922–23. The 1924–25 British Empire Exhibition led to road improvements and the introduction of new bus services. Together with the North Circular Road, it paved the way for a new residential suburb at Neasden. In 1930 Neasden House was part demolished. The last farm in Neasden (covering The Rise, Elm Way and Vicarage Way) was built over in 1935. The Ritz cinema opened in 1935 and Neasden Shopping Parade was opened in 1936, and was considered the most up-to-date in the area. All of Neasden's older houses were demolished during this period, except for The Grange, and the Spotted Dog was rebuilt in mock-Tudor style. Industries sprung up in the south of the area, and by 1949, Neasden's population was over 13,000.
The Post Office Research Station
Post Office Research Station
The Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill, London, was first established in 1921 and opened by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald in 1933.In 1943 the world's first programmable electronic computer, Colossus Mark 1 was built by Tommy Flowers and his team, followed in 1944 and 1945 by nine...
was located nearby in Dollis Hill
Dollis Hill
Dollis Hill is an area of north-west London. It lies close to Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent. As a result, Dollis Hill is sometimes referred as being part of Willesden, especially by the national press...
. There the Colossus
Colossus computer
Not to be confused with the fictional computer of the same name in the movie Colossus: The Forbin Project.Colossus was the world's first electronic, digital, programmable computer. Colossus and its successors were used by British codebreakers to help read encrypted German messages during World War II...
computers, among the world's first, were built in 1943-1944 and underneath it the Paddock
Paddock (war rooms)
Paddock is the codeword for an alternative Cabinet War Room bunker for Winston Churchill's World War II government located in Dollis Hill, North West London under the Post Office Research Station. It was constructed in 1939 but only rarely used during the war, with only two meetings of the War...
wartime cabinet rooms were constructed in 1939.
Neasden Power Station, which was built to provide power for the Metropolitan Railway, was closed and demolished in 1968.
The post-war history of Neasden is one of decline; traffic problems necessitated an underpass on the North Circular Road that effectively cut Neasden in half and had a disastrous effect on the shopping centre. The decline in industry through the 1970s contributed to the area's decline. But Neasden has survived, largely due to a succession of immigrant communities keeping the local economy afloat. Neasden Depot continues to be the main depot
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
of the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
's Metropolitan Line
Metropolitan Line
The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in Transport for London's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening as the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863...
(and is also used by trains of the Jubilee Line
Jubilee Line
The Jubilee line is a line on the London Underground , in the United Kingdom. It was built in two major sections—initially to Charing Cross, in central London, and later extended, in 1999, to Stratford, in east London. The later stations are larger and have special safety features, both aspects...
); it is London Underground's largest depot and as such it is a major local employer.
Recent history
McDonald'sMcDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
opened its first drive-through restaurant in the UK in Neasden in 1988. The Grange Tavern (previously called The Old Spotted Dog) on Neasden Lane was closed in the 1990s and demolished to make way for a block of flats, bringing to an end the inn that had stood there for around two centuries. Another old pub, The Pantiles which stood on the North Circular Road was converted to another McDonald's restaurant. The Swedish furniture retailer, IKEA
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
opened its second UK outlet in Neasden in 1988.
In 1995 Neasden became the home of the biggest Hindu temple outside India: the Neasden Temple
Neasden Temple
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Neasden , is a Hindu temple in the London Borough of Brent in northwest London. Built entirely using traditional methods and materials, Neasden’s Swaminarayan Mandir is Britain’s first authentic Hindu temple. It was also Europe’s first traditional Hindu stone temple,...
.
In 2004, the Shopping Centre area was partially redeveloped by the council in an effort to reverse its fortunes. It remains to be seen if these measures have proved effective. The Grange, which had housed a museum about the people of Brent was closed by the council in 2004.
The 2004 redevelopment proved to be unpopular with local businesses as it changed the layouts of parking, thus forcing customers and local trade to pass by due to the parking restrictions of the redevelopment.
Private Eye
Neasden has achieved notoriety thanks to the British satiricalSatire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
magazine, Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
. Since early in its history (when the magazine was actually printed in Neasden) the magazine has used Neasden as an exemplar of the suburban environment in pieces parodying current events, personalities, and mores (for example, the University of Neasden). Spoof sports reports usually feature the perennial losers, Neasden F.C.
Neasden F.C.
Neasden F.C. is a fictional, spoof football team, the subject of a long-running joke in the British satirical magazine, Private Eye. It was invented by writer Barry Fantoni to satirize the clichés and hyperbole of football journalism and first appeared in the mid 1960s...
.
Metro-land
Neasden was one of the locations in the TV documentary Metro-land (TV)Metro-land (TV)
Metro-land is a BBC documentary film written and narrated by the then Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman. It was directed by Edward Mirzoeff and first broadcast in colour on February 26, 1973...
. In it, Sir John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
described Neasden as “home of the gnome and the average citizen” (the former a reference to the preponderance of gnome statuettes in suburban front-gardens, but possibly also a nod in the direction of the Eye’s fictional proprietor, Lord Gnome). Background music was provided by William Rushton
William Rushton
William Rushton may refer to:* W. A. H. Rushton British physiologist* Willie Rushton , British comedian...
’s recording of Neasden (1972) (“Neasden/You won’t be sorry that you breezed in”).
BBC Radiophonic Workshop
In a celebrated spoof of the Early MusicEarly music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
phenomenon which grew enormously in the late 1960s, Neasden was selected by BBC Radiophonic Workshop
BBC Radiophonic Workshop
The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, one of the sound effects units of the BBC, was created in 1958 to produce effects and new music for radio, and was closed in March 1998, although much of its traditional work had already been outsourced by 1995. It was based in the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in Delaware...
composer David Cain
David Cain (composer)
David Cain was a composer and technician for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. He was educated at Imperial College London, where he earned a degree in mathematics. In 1963, he joined the BBC as a studio manager, specialising in radio drama...
as the home of a fictional ensemble dedicated to historically-informed performances on authentic musical instruments from an indeterminate number of centuries ago. It was thus that in 1968, listeners to BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
were given a recital by the Schola Polyphonica Neasdeniensis whose members performed on the equally fictional Shagbut, Minikin and Flemish Clackett.
Athletico Neasden
Athletico Neasden was an amateur football team of mostly Jewish players, which played in the MaccabiMaccabi (sports)
Maccabi may refer to:* The Maccabi World Union, Maccabiah Games or any one of the following sport organizations around the world:...
(Southern) Football League in the 1970s and 1980s and was named after the place, though it did not actually play in the area. The team eventually merged with North West Warriors to form North West Neasden. (See also — Son of Neasden and Neasden Academicals).
Literature
David Sutherland’s children’s novel 'A Black Hole in Neasden' reveals a gateway to another planet in a Neasden back garden. Diana Evans's 2006 novel, 26a, details the experiences of twin girls of Nigerian and British descent growing up in Neasden.Red Dwarf
In the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV comedy series Red Dwarf in the episode 'Meltdown', Rimmer said that he was a member of the 'Amateur Wargamers and Recreaters of the Battle of Neasden Society'.
Victorian Order medals
Willie HamiltonWillie Hamilton
William Winter "Willie" Hamilton was a British politician who served as a Labour Member of Parliament for constituencies in Fife, Scotland between 1950 and 1987...
reported in 'My Queen and I' that the Victorian order medals were made on a production line in Neasden from used railway lines.
Dread Broadcasting Corporation
A pirate radio station, Dread Broadcasting CorporationDread Broadcasting Corporation
Dread Broadcasting Corporation was a west London pirate radio station established in 1981.DBC has been credited as Britain's first black music radio station, and eventually featured DJs like Neneh Cherry, and Ranking Miss P. Joe Strummer of The Clash even made a guest appearance on the station,...
, credited as Britain's first black music radio station, was broadcast from a Neasden garden between 1981 - 1984.
"The tallest man in the world"
On 18 February 2002, The Sun newspaper reported that Neasden resident Hussein Bisad (a 27-year-old SomalianSomalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
asylum seeker
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
) was the tallest man in the world at 7ft 9ins.
BBC Your News
Konnie HuqKonnie Huq
Kanak Asha "Konnie" Huq is a British television presenter, who is best known for being the longest-serving female presenter of Blue Peter, having presented it from 1 December 1997 until 23 January 2008...
and Matt Cooke
Matt Cooke (journalist)
Matthew 'Matt' Cooke is a British journalist who currently works for BBC News reporting at BBC London News and presenting 60 Seconds on BBC Three...
from BBC TV present the Your News
Your News
Your News was a weekly BBC News television programme made from user-generated content sent into the BBC by viewers and the public.-Broadcast:The programme was broadcast every weekend on the BBC News at 3:30pm and 10:30pm on Saturday and Sunday...
programme from Neasden: news.bbc.co.uk (originally broadcast on 27 September 2008).
Local attractions
- BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London
- Brent ReservoirBrent ReservoirThe Brent Reservoir is a reservoir which straddles the boundary between the London boroughs of Brent and Barnet and is owned by British Waterways...
- Neasden BunkerPaddock (war rooms)Paddock is the codeword for an alternative Cabinet War Room bunker for Winston Churchill's World War II government located in Dollis Hill, North West London under the Post Office Research Station. It was constructed in 1939 but only rarely used during the war, with only two meetings of the War...
, Brook Road NW2 - alternative Cabinet War Rooms (open only on Open House London weekend).
Nearest places
- Chalkhill estateChalkhill (estate)Chalkhill is an estate located in the Wembley Park area of northwest London.Chalkhill was developed as a Metroland estate from 1921 but it was in the 1960s that high density, high rise development providing flats, shops, a medical centre, car parking and open space where developed...
- WillesdenWillesdenWillesden is an area in North West London which forms part of the London Borough of Brent. It is situated 5 miles north west of Charing Cross...
- HarlesdenHarlesdenHarlesden is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, UK. Its main focal point is the Jubilee Clock which commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee....
- Dollis HillDollis HillDollis Hill is an area of north-west London. It lies close to Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent. As a result, Dollis Hill is sometimes referred as being part of Willesden, especially by the national press...
- Brent ParkBrent ParkBrent Park is an area of northwest London in the London Borough of Brent. It is located very close to St Raphael's Estate and Neasden.The area includes an IKEA store, along with a Tesco superstore...
- Wembley ParkWembley ParkWembley Park is an area of northwest London, UK. It is part of Wembley, and located in the London Borough of Brent. It includes Wembley Stadium, England's primary football stadium and a major sports and entertainment venue, and Wembley Arena, a concert venue...
Notable Neasdonians
- TwiggyTwiggyLesley Lawson née Hornby known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree....
(model and actress) - Ginger BakerGinger BakerPeter Edward "Ginger" Baker is an English drummer, best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. He is also known for his numerous associations with World music, mainly the use of African influences...
(musician) - Gerry AndersonGerry AndersonGerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
(producer, director and writer) - Bertie ElkinBertie ElkinBertie Henry West Elkin was a professional footballer who played for Fulham, Luton Town, Stockport County and Tottenham Hotspur.- Football career :...
, (professional footballer) - Mario FabriziMario FabriziMario Fabrizi was an English comedian and actor of Italian descent active in Britain in the 1950s and early 1960s....
(film, TV and radio personality) - Vinny FeeneyVinny FeeneyVincent "Vinny" Feeney, who boxed under the name Vince Feeney with the nickname of "the Sligo Kid", is a former professional boxer from the Maugheraboy area of Sligo Town....
(boxer) - Judy GrinhamJudy GrinhamJudy Grinham MBE is a British Olympic swimmer. She was born in the London suburb of Hampstead and grew up in Neasden. She married Pat Rowley in Neasden in 1960, in St...
(Olympic swimmer) - Charlie KunzCharlie KunzCharles Kunz was an American musician.Kunz was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1896, the only son of a master baker who played the French horn. He made his debut aged six and made his first appearance as a prodigy aged seven...
(musician) - Sir William Roberts (Member of Parliament)
- Jock RutherfordJock RutherfordJohn "Jock" Rutherford , also known as Jackie Rutherford, was an English footballer.-Football career:Born in Percy Main, Northumberland, Rutherford was known for his longevity; he played nearly six hundred Football League and FA Cup matches, despite four seasons of football being cancelled due to...
(footballer) - Gary WarrenGary WarrenGary Warren was an English child actor, best remembered for his role as Peter in the 1970 film The Railway Children. He also played Cedric in the TV series Catweazle , and in the sitcom Alexander the Greatest .Warren is now retired from acting...
(actor) - Graham Young ("The Teacup Poisoner")