West Harrow is a locality directly to the west/southwest of Harrow town in the

London Borough of Harrow The London Borough of Harrow () is a London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street (now the A5 road), Brent to the southeast, Ea ...

, in the county of Greater London and historically in the county of Middlesex.

Location

As its name suggests, West Harrow is located on the western side of Harrow, roughly covering the area to the west of Bessborough Road, to the south of Pinner Road and to the north of Whitmore Road. To the south east of West Harrow is

Harrow on the Hill Harrow on the Hill is a locality and historic village in the borough of Harrow in Greater London, England. The name refers to Harrow Hill, ,Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) and is located some half a mile south of the mod ...

, to its north east is the town centre of Harrow, to its west is

Rayners Lane Rayners Lane is a suburban district in the London Borough of Harrow that forms the western part of Harrow. Located between Pinner and West Harrow, it takes its name from a road in the area, also called Rayners Lane (formerly also spelt ''Rayner' ...

, to its north is

North Harrow North Harrow is a suburban area of North West London, situated north-west of central Harrow within the London Borough of Harrow. Its residential roads have expanded from North Harrow tube station, a station on the Metropolitan line of the Lo ...

, and to its south are Roxeth and

South Harrow South Harrow is the southern part of the town of Harrow, located south-west of Harrow-on-the-Hill in the London Borough of Harrow. Its development originally spread south and west from the hamlet of Roxeth in the urbanisation process and eas ...

. The surrounding streets comprise original two storey Edwardian buildings an further developments predominately from the 1920's & 30's.

Arts, sports and culture

The poet Tim Dooley, and several jazz musicians, pianist Alex Webb (musician) saxophonist

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

, and bassist Gary Crosby all live in the West Harrow area. The neighbourhood is home t
Oneforty
Harrow. This is a gallery venue space and music studio with a boutique bar and cafe which service various events. Oneforty hosts regular live music open mike events, markets, art classes, wellness practitioners and mind body therapists.
/sup>
Syd's Pizzeria and Coffee Shop
opened in West Harrow Park in 2018. The park is a good example of a Victorian

urban green space In land-use planning, urban green space is open-space areas reserved for parks and other "green spaces", including plant life, water features -also referred to as blue spaces- and other kinds of natural environment. Most urban open spaces ar ...

. The park also has: * free gym equipment * a large children's and under-fives play area * children's nursery * free to use tennis and basketball courts * cricket pitches * wild flower areas * paths which are disabled accessible West Harrow Bowling Club was founded in 1928. The club is affiliated to Bowls England, Middlesex County Bowling Association and Harrow and District Bowling Association and enters teams, sometimes mixed, in midweek and evening leagues. Friends of West Harrow Park work with the local community and Harrow Council to promote park amenities.
/sup> The West Harrow Allotment and Garden Association (WHAGA) was established in 1955. The Association aims to provide a voice for the plot holders on the two West Harrow allotment sites (as of January 2022 there are vacant plots available). The Association arranges trips to Wisley, the Royal Horticutural site, and other places. There is an annual plant sale in spring where you can get your runner beans, leeks, etc.
/sup> Archery - the Bowmen of Harrow Archery Club has been established now for over 30 years, with one of the few dedicated indoor ranges in the country. The club promotes archery in all its forms for young people and adults (Recurve, Barebow, American Flat Bow, Longbow, and Compound bows), except for Crossbow.
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Restaurants

West Harrow is within walking distance of North Harrow and Pinner Road restaurants and takeaways. The Indian gastro pub th
Kingsfield Armsthe Castle
an
White Horse
pubs are 15/20 minute walks.

Religion

The area is well served for all principal religions, though the only religious centres in West Harrow are St Peter's Anglican church, and The Light on the Hill Spiritualist Church. welcome.

Schools

Saint Peter's church hosts St Peter's Preschool - a day nursery located in West Harrow. The local primary school
Vaughan
is rated outstanding. Several secondary state schools about the borough serve West Harrow.
Whitmore
High School is the only one in West Harrow, & is rated 'outstanding' by

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, incl ...

Demography

In the 2011 census, 55.8% of the population was of BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) background.
/sup> Harrow is the second safest borough in the Greater London Authority area. West Harrow being one of the safest wards in Harrow. The overall crime rate in Harrow in 2020 was 60 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares favourably to London's overall crime rate, coming in 45% lower than the London rate of 87 per 1,000 residents. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Harrow is among the top 10 safest cities, and the 2,057th most dangerous location out of all towns, cities, and villages.
/sup>

Zoning information

West Harrow is almost exclusively residential, with a few threads of localized commercial zoning around its edges and a small number of corner shops.

History

Prior to the early 20th century, the area was overwhelmingly rural. The construction of the Uxbridge extension to the

Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the lin ...

in 1904, and specifically the new

West Harrow tube station West Harrow is a London Underground station in Harrow in north west London. The station is on the Uxbridge branch of the Metropolitan line, between Rayners Lane and Harrow-on-the-Hill stations, and in Travelcard Zone 5. It is the only sta ...

, triggered a steady growth of housing developments in the area, spreading out from the location of the new station and giving the area a new identity. In his 1973 BBC television film 'London

suburbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include Commercial area, commercial and mixed-use development, mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a ...

, '' Metroland'',' Sir

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture ...

stands in Vaughan Road and delivers a personal reflection on the growth of Metroland in rural Middlesex. Several of the roads in West Harrow are named after teachers at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

, as described by Betjeman in his film: Drury Road (

Joseph Drury Joseph Drury (11 February 1750 – 9 January 1834) was Head Master of Harrow School 1785–1805, and first of a dynasty of Drurys to teach at Harrow. Life Drury was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge. Admitted to Trinit ...

); Vaughan Road ( Charles Vaughan); Butler Road (

Henry Montagu Butler Henry Montagu Butler (2 July 1833 – 14 January 1918) was an English academic and clergyman, who served as headmaster of Harrow School (1860–85), Dean of Gloucester (1885–86) and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge (1886–1918). Early ...

); Bowen Road ( Edward Ernest Bowen); Sumner Road (

Robert Carey Sumner Robert Carey Sumner (1729–1771) was Master of Harrow School in England. Life Born on 9 March 1728–9 at Windsor, he was grandson of a Bristol merchant and nephew of John Sumner the headmaster of Eton College. He was educated at Eton College an ...

); and Heath Road (Benjamin Heath); Merivale Road (Charles Merivale, one of the pair who started the Boat Race), Lascelles Avenue (Brian Piers Lascelles); Velacott Road (Pail Cairn Vellacott DSO).

Area amenities

* West Harrow Park, The Ridgeway, West Harrow *Tennis courts *Basketball courts *West Harrow Bowling Club * St. Peter's Church (Church of England), Sumner Road, West Harrow * West Harrow Station, The Gardens, West Harrow

Transport and locale

Tube/Train

* West Harrow Station -

Geography

References

{{LB Harrow Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Harrow