Abbey Road is a thoroughfare in the borough of

Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...

and the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

running roughly northwest to southeast through St John's Wood near

Lord's Cricket Ground Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

. It is part of the road B507. This road is best known for the

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

and for featuring on the cover of The Beatles’ album of the same name, which was released in September 1969.

Location

The north western end of Abbey Road begins in Kilburn at the junction with Quex Road and West End Lane. The road was once a track leading to Kilburn Priory and its associated Abbey Farm and was developed in the beginning of the nineteenth century. It continues south east for roughly one mile crossing Belsize Road, Boundary Road, and Marlborough Place, ending at the junction of Grove End Road and Garden Road.

History

The

Abbey National The Abbey National Building Society was formed in 1944 by the merger of the Abbey Road and the National building societies. It was the first building society in the United Kingdom to demutualise, doing so in July 1989. The bank expanded throu ...

Building Society (now Santander UK) was founded in 1874 as ''The Abbey Road & St John’s Wood Permanent Benefit Building Society'' in one

Baptist Church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

on Abbey Road. EMI’s

is located at the south-western end at 3 Abbey Road, St John’s Wood. The Beatles, Kanye West,

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

, Queen,

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

, Lady Gaga,

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

, ABBA, Cliff Richard, Kate Bush,

Brockhampton Brockhampton may refer to: *Brockhampton (band), an American self-described "boy band" and music collective *Brockhampton, Gloucestershire, Cotswold, England * Brockhampton, Tewkesbury, a location In geography, location or place are used to deno ...

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

, and many other famous popular music performers have recorded at this studio. The Beatles named their last studio LP after this street, and the album’s cover photograph shows the four group members walking across the zebra crossing just outside the studio entrance. As a result of its association with the Beatles, this part of Abbey Road has been featured on the London tourism circuit. The crossing was given the official status of Grade II Listed Building by English Heritage in December 2010. The zebra crossing featured on the Beatles cover has become a popular photo opportunity area, despite the road still being a busy thoroughfare for traffic. There have been stories about the zebra crossing having been relocated from its original location, but these are ungrounded myths based on the stormwater drain located on the north eastern corner of the crossing, which has been there since the establishment of the sewer system in the

. The Beatles' album cover has been parodied many times over the years. The street sign on the corner of Grove End Road and Abbey Road, which was frequently defaced or stolen, is now mounted high on the building on the corner to save the local council the expense of cleaning and replacing it. The council repaints the wall next to the zebra crossing every three months to cover fans’ graffiti. Abbey Road is also an electoral ward in the City of Westminster. At the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

census, it had a population of 11,250.

References

External links

Abbey Road London, QuickTime VR

Abbey Road webcam

Satellite View of Crosswalk / Zebra CrossingGoogle Street View of Crosswalk / Zebra crossing#a79f92 Hex Color - Abbey Road - Color Hex Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbey Road (Street) Streets in the City of Westminster Streets in the London Borough of Camden Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster English Heritage sites in London Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster St John's Wood