Hampstead High Street is located in the
London Borough of Camden. It is the main
high street for
Hampstead Village
Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...
and is part of the
A502. Heading southeastwards from a junction with
Heath Street and
Holly Hill by
Hampstead tube station it runs downhill and features a number of
pubs, restaurants and shops before becoming
Rosslyn Hill which connects it further on to
Haverstock Hill, the whole stretch of which was one called Hampstead Road. Streets and alleys running off it include
Flask Walk
Flask Walk is a street in Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It runs eastwards from Hampstead High Street to a junction with Well Walk and New End Square. It is primarily residential but the western end of the street is a pedestrianise ...
, Perrin Court and Prince Arthur Road.
It is based on an ancient route and was known in the fifteenth century as Kingswell Street after the
wells that supplied water for the village and was later called Hampstead Hill. Many nearby developments took place in the late seventeenth century and early eighteenth century when the fashionable
Hampstead Wells
Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...
were at their height. The top end was widened in the late nineteenth century leading to the demolition of many alleyways and courtyards. In 1907 the
Northern Line Edgware extension built its surface station on the former Minerva Court site.
In 1835 the old King's Head pub was renamed the William IV after the reigning monarch
William IV rode up
Haverstock Hill to visit
Ken Wood on
the Heath.
[Wade p70]
References
Bibliography
* Bebbington, Gillian. ''London Street Names''. Batsford, 1972.
* Cherry, Bridget & Pevsner, Nikolaus. ''London 4: North''. Yale University Press, 2002.
* Wade, Christopher. ''The Streets of Hampstead''. Camden History Society, 2000.
Streets in the London Borough of Camden
Hampstead
{{coord missing, London