Kensal Green is an area in north-west London, and along with Kensal Town, it forms part of the northern section of North Kensington. It lies north of the canal in the

London Borough of Brent The London Borough of Brent () is a London boroughs, London borough in north-west London. It borders the boroughs of London Borough of Harrow, Harrow to the north-west, London Borough of Barnet, Barnet to the north-east, London Borough of Camden ...

, and also to the south, within Kensington and Chelsea. Kensal Green is located on the Harrow Road, about miles from Charing Cross. To the west on Harrow Road lies Harlesden, while in the opposite direction are Maida Hill and Westbourne. Queens Park and Brondesbury are to the north-east, Willesden is to the north-west, and Notting Hill lies to the south. Kensal Green is best known for the Grade I listed Kensal Green Cemetery.

Residents and businesses

As of June 2014, the area had seen significant gentrification, attracting people from surrounding areas such as Notting Hill and Queen's Park. It was characterised by numerous independent stores, restaurants, pubs and cafes, and was earning a reputation as a "celebrity haunt-meets-Nappy Valley." In 2009, Chamberlayne Road in Kensal Rise was named the "hippest street in Europe" by ''Vogue'' magazine,. Luxury goods maker

Mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

named its handbag Kensal and launched an advertising campaign with Cara Delevingne. The area is characterised by numerous independent stores, restaurants, pubs, and cafes. There are also various sports clubs, gyms and health studios such as Moberly Sports Centre and Gracelands Yard, as well as nearby Queens Park. The area also boasts Britain's first independent boutique cinema and social enterprise, The Lexi Cinema. It is staffed by local volunteers and its profits go to an eco-village in South Africa. It has been home to a number of residents including musicians Paloma Faith and Rita Ora, chef

Thomasina Miers Thomasina Jean "Tommi" Miers, OBE (born February 1976) is an English cook, writer and television presenter. She is the co-founder of the Wahaca chain of Mexican street food restaurants. Early life Thomasina Jean "Tommi" Miers was born in Fe ...

, film director, DJs and musicians

Don Letts Donovan "Don" Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band B ...

and Mark Rae, actress Thandiwe Newton, singer Lily Allen, model-turned-author Sophie Dahl, author Zadie Smith,

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

's ex-strategy guru Steve Hilton, the actor and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sienna Miller. It has traditionally been popular with those working in the media and creative industries but those buying properties increasingly include people working in the financial and technology industries, and others moving from nearby Notting Hill in search of more space. The area also attracts Americans thanks to The American School in London in neighbouring St John's Wood, as well as being popular with the French, partly due to a Lycée Français opening in Brent's former town hall.

Community

In 2014 residents successfully campaigned to save its local library after it was sold to a developer. More recently, independent local cinema Lexi raised £141,000 from locals and local businesses for a community hub. The hub was also supported by Brent Council and the Mayor of London. In 2021 residents of Clifford Gardens successfully campaigned against the asphalting of pavements. They set up a petition and managed to get 544 signatures in a week. When the workmen arrived with lorries and rollers on 20 March they were met by a large crowd of parents with children and buggies blockading the street.

Open space and public realm

Emslie Horniman's Pleasance Park located on Bosworth Road contains tennis courts, five-a-side football pitches and children's playground. Queens Park features tennis courts, golf, a petting zoo and an extensive children's playground. King Edwards Vll park is within walking distance. Brent Council announced planned improvements to the public realm in 2019 to enhance the pedestrian experience and reduce traffic. The changes include new cycle lanes, various measures to reduce congestion and an improved public realm with new pavements, carriageway resurfacing, community greening schemes and pocket gardens.

Transport

Kensal Green station ( Transport for London Travelcard Zone 2) on the Bakerloo line is about 20 minutes from

Oxford Circus Oxford Circus is a road junction connecting Oxford Street and Regent Street in the West End of London. It is also the entrance to Oxford Circus tube station. The junction opened in 1819 as part of the Regent Street development under John Nash, ...

and the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

. National Rail London Overground services also operate to London Euston, a journey that takes around 15 minutes. Trains also go to . London Overground's

North London Line The North London line (NLL) is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of west, north-west, north, and east London, England between Richmond in the south-west and Stratford in the east, avoiding central London. Its route is a rou ...

services also operate out of

Kensal Rise railway station Kensal Rise is a London Overground station on the North London line on Chamberlayne Road, Kensal Rise in north-west London. The station is in Travelcard Zone 2. History It opened in 1873 as ''Kensal Green'', replacing Kensal Green & Harlesde ...

(Transport for London Travelcard Zone 2) and provides regular services to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in the west, Stratford in the east, and Clapham Junction in the south. Extensive bus services also run from the area, including routes 18 (Sudbury - Euston), 6 (Willesden Bus Garage - Aldwych), 52 (Willesden Bus Garage - Victoria station via Notting Hill and

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

) and

452 __NOTOC__ Year 452 ( CDLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Herculanus and Sporacius (or, less frequently, year 1205 ' ...

(Kensal Rise - Vauxhall). Kensal Green is located on the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal (which passes by Kensal Green Cemetery) making it possible to walk and cycle along the canal to Little Venice, the Paddington Basin, Paddington Station and Regents Canal. In 2020 the Government gave final approval to the High Speed 2 (HS2) train link running from London to Birmingham. This will bring a major HS2 and Crossrail interchange station at Old Oak Common, within walking distance from Kensal Green. It is expected to open in 2026 and will provide

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

across London and to the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

, as well as direct connectivity with the Heathrow Express airport rail link and trains to Wales and the West of England. It will be the largest new railway station ever built in the UK.

Schools

The educational charity Ark, founded by venture capitalist Arpad Busson, runs three state primary schools in the area, including Ark Franklin in Harvist Road, which replaced Kensal Rise primary in September 2013 and is rated very highly by local residents. In 2024 Ark Franklin received a letter from the Minister of Education congratulating the school for being in the top 2% for early years performance. As of 2020, the following state primary schools are judged to be “good”: Ark Franklin; Princess Frederica CofE in College Road; and

Kenmont Primary School Kenmont Primary School (KPS) is a 3–11 mixed community primary school in Kensal Green, London, England.Edward Robert Robson for the

School Board for London The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 was the first to provide for ...

and has been

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

since 1984. Three state comprehensive schools are judged to be “good”, including

Queens Park Community School Queens Park Community School (commonly abbreviated to QPCS) is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Queen's Park, north west London, in the borough of Brent, England. Admissions There are, as of December 2020, 1 ...

in Aylestone Avenue, and

Capital City Academy Capital City Academy (commonly abbreviated to CCA) is a specialist sports and arts Academy in Willesden, North West London, in the borough of Brent. Design The School was designed by architect Sir Norman Foster and engineers Buro Happold, a ...

in Doyle Gardens. There is a small choice of local private schools. The primary schools are Seacole (co-ed, ages four to 11) in Bosworth Road and The Lloyd Williamson School (co-ed, six weeks to 11) in Telford Road. Bales College is a very small independent co-ed secondary school and sixth form college, catering for ages 11 to 20 on Harrow Road. Many parents use the private schools in nearby Belsize Park and Hampstead.

Kensal Green Cemetery

Kensal Green Cemetery is the first of the 'Magnificent Seven' cemeteries in London. It is the resting place of members of the royal family, including

Prince George, Duke of Cambridge Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (George William Frederick Charles; 26 March 1819 – 17 March 1904) was a member of the British royal family, a grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. The Duke was an army officer by professio ...

, and scores of figures in history including Isambard Kingdom Brunel,

Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered ...

, and William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland. Architects buried there include,

Decimus Burton Decimus Burton (30 September 1800 – 14 December 1881) was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and Reg ...

, Philip Charles Hardwick, and

John Shaw Jr. John Shaw Jr. (1803–1870) was an English architect of the 19th century who was complimented as a designer in the "Manner of Wren". He designed buildings in the classical Jacobean fashion and designed some of London's first semi-detached ...

From the Arts are playwright,

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

, actor Mario Fabrizi,

William Makepeace Thackery William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel '' Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and ...

, and

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...

. The family plot of engineers Marc Brunel and Isambard Kingdom Brunel is also here. Queen frontman

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

, actor Alan Rickman, and actress

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...

were cremated in the West London Crematorium, which is located within the grounds of the cemetery. Cemetery directors and The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery (a charity) lobbied the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage for funding to help preserve historical monuments at the site. The 2015 project, which involved repairs to the grade one listed Anglican Chapel and the boundary wall, was estimated to have cost more than £10m. The cemetery is listed Grade I on the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

. Many buildings and memorials are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as listed buildings.

History

Originally part of one of the 8

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

s within the district of Willesden, Kensal Green is first mentioned in 1253, translating from old English meaning ''the King's Holt'' (King's Wood). Its location marked the boundary between Willesden and the then Chelsea & Paddington, on which it remains today. It formed part of one of 10

s, most likely Chamberlayne Wood Manor, named after Canon Richard de Camera (''of the Chambers''). In the 15th century the then

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

Henry Chichele Henry Chichele ( , also Checheley; – 12 April 1443) was Archbishop of Canterbury (1414–1443) and founded All Souls College, Oxford. Early life Chichele was born at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, in 1363 or 1364; Chicheley told Pope Euge ...

(1414–1443), acquired lands in Willesden and Kingsbury. In 1443 he founded

All Souls' College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members o ...

and endowed it with the same lands in his will. As a result, most of Willesden and Kensal Green remained largely agricultural until the mid-1800s, well into the Victorian era. In 1805, the construction of the

Grand Junction Canal The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-p ...

passed through the district to join the Regent's Canal at Paddington. As the combined Grand Union Canal, this allowed passage of commercial freight traffic from the

to London Docks, and hence onwards to the River Thames. There were two dairy farms in Kensal Green by the early 1800s, which expanded greatly after the 1864 Act of Parliament which made it illegal to keep cattle within the City of London. Although by the late 1800s residential development had greatly reduced the farmland, still in the 1890s many sheep and pigs were raised in the district. One of the farms later became a United Dairies creamery, supplied by milk trains from Mitre Bridge Junction. St. John's Church was built on the corner of what is now Harrow Road and

Kilburn Lane Kilburn Lane is a street in Northwest London which runs through North Kensington, London, North Kensington, London and Kilburn, London, Kilburn, London. Its route marks the boundary between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Brent ...

in 1844 and was extensively refurbished in 2017 and fitted with new bells in anticipation of the 175th anniversary in 2019. The church was followed by a school, now Bales College, and more inns including The Plough on the opposite corner of the junction. In 1832 Kensal Green Cemetery was incorporated by Act of Parliament and opened in January 1833. This led to a revaluation of the surrounding lands, and in 1835 ecclesiastical commissioners were appointed by the Crown, who reported in 1846 that: "the larger portion of the Prebendal Estates possess, in our opinion, a value far beyond their present agricultural value."

With enough people living locally to create a new parish, in 1844 St. John the Evangelist Church in Kilburn Lane was consecrated. The 1851 census records just over 800 people living in the new parish. In the 1860s, Kensal Green manor house, situated where Wakeman Road joins Harrow Road, was demolished. Rapid increase in residential development followed, firstly with land west of Kilburn High Road, followed by the sale of Banister's Farm leading to the development of Bannister Road and Mortimer Road. Unfortunately at this time Kensal Green was suffering huge social problems and had a reputation of being a slum, with 55% off its residents living in poverty and squalor, despite being neighbours to thriving Queen's Park.The rapid residential development led to local commissioners reporting in 1880 that there was inadequate drainage and sewerage facilities, with most houses having only improved access to what were the old agricultural drains. In that same year, All Souls' College started to develop its lands north-west of Kilburn Lane, including All Souls' Avenue and College Road, with adjacent roads being named after leading Fellows of the college, and the installation of new sewerage facilities across the district. The college donated lands on which to build Kensal Rise Reading Room, to commemorate the

Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...

, in 1897. Opened by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

author

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

in 1901, it was later extended and renamed

Kensal Rise Library Kensal Rise Library is a public library in London, England, opened by American author Mark Twain in 1900. The site was donated by All Souls College, Oxford. The library's threatened closure prompted a large campaign to save it, led by figures inc ...

. The developments of the streets around

date from the last 10 years of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th. Although opened in April 1873 as Kensal Green at Chamberlayne Wood, then a remote dead end road; it was renamed Kensal Rise on 24 May 1890. Just north of the station the National Athletic Ground (one of the many early grounds of Queen's Park Rangers) opened in 1890. The ground which was later renamed the Kensal Rise Athletic Stadium also hosted cycling and athletics competitions before being turned over to housing in the 1920s. For a brief period before 1914 the Aeroplane Building and Flying Society had its headquarters at Kensal Rise and flew test gliders from the site. Kensal Green also boasted the Electric Pavilion Cinema which opened in November 1914 and was located on the corner of Chamberlayne Road and Bannister Road. The construction of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

started in 1835, with the first of line, from Paddington station to Maidenhead Bridge station, opened on 4 June 1838. In 1901, its major carriage washing and servicing facilities and locomotive depot were developed at Old Oak Common, bringing further employment and more immigrants to the district. The first major immigrant population had been Irish people fleeing the

Great Irish Famine The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a ...

, and then post- World War I. In World War II, due to the railway facilities, the district suffered greatly from German Luftwaffe bombing. After the war, the area became a refuge for the first

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...

born contingent. In the 1960s the college disposed of many freeholds, while retaining land in Willesden. Since the 1980s, the Irish-born community has reduced in size, although the legacy of their presence remains, not least in the number of Irish pubs and organisations and the many thousands with Irish ancestry who continue to populate the area. According to statistics from the 2001 census, the area has a very high proportion of young residents (28.4% 25–44 years old) and a very high educational level (30.7% hold a first degree or better). As of June 2014 the area had seen significant gentrification as people had been priced out of surrounding areas such as Notting Hill. In 2015 it was described as 'celebrity haunt-meets-Nappy Valley'.

Demographics

The largest ethnic group in Kensal Green ward according to the 2011 census was White British, 26%. The second largest was White other, 18%, followed by Black Caribbean, 12%. Neighbouring Queen's Park ward, which also covers eastern areas of Kensal Green, was 30% White British. The College Park ward, which covers the southern areas of Kensal Green, was 31.6% white British, 18.4% White other and 21.1% Black. Kensal Green ward has the highest Latin American population in London.

Tornado on 7 December 2006

On 7 December 2006 at 11.00 am, a tornado struck Kensal Green. Up to 150 houses were damaged, and six people were injured, one requiring hospital attention. Residential roads were closed off and residents had to seek temporary accommodation. Traffic was also diverted, causing disruption. The cost of the damage was estimated to be at least £2 million.

References

External links

Kensal Green
at the '' Survey of London'' online {{London Districts Districts of the London Borough of Brent Areas of London