Edgware Road is a major road in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. The route originated as part of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

and, unusually in London, it runs for in an almost perfectly straight line. Forming part of the modern

A5 road A5 Road may refer to: ;Africa * A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan * A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Bulawayo ;Americas * Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada * County Route A5 (California) or Bowm ...

, Edgware Road undergoes several name changes along its length, including Maida Vale,

Kilburn High Road Kilburn is an area in North West London, in the London Boroughs of Camden, Brent and the City of Westminster. Kilburn High Road railway station lies 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-west of Charing Cross. Kilburn developed from a linear hamle ...

, Shoot Up Hill and Cricklewood Broadway; but the road is, as a whole, known as Edgware Road, as it is the road leading to

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northwest London. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex east of the ancient Watling Street in what is now the London Borough of Barnet but it is now informally considered to cover a wider area, inc ...

. The road runs from central to suburban London, beginning at

Marble Arch The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today th ...

in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

and heading north to

in the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in north London, England. Forming part of Outer London, the borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It is the ...

. It is used as the boundary for four

London boroughs The London boroughs are the current 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs wer ...

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

and Brent to the west, and

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

and Camden to the east.

Route

The road runs north-west from

on the outskirts of London. It crosses the

Harrow Road Harrow Road is an ancient route in London, North West London which runs from Paddington in a northwesterly direction towards Harrow, London, Harrow. It is also the name given to the immediate surrounding area of Queen's Park, London, Queens Par ...

and

Marylebone Road Marylebone Road ( ) is an important thoroughfare in central London, within the City of Westminster. It runs east–west from the Euston Road at Regent's Park to the A40 Westway at Paddington. The road which runs in three lanes in both directi ...

, passing beneath the Marylebone flyover. The road passes through the areas of

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing C ...

, Kilburn and

Cricklewood Cricklewood is a town in North London, England, in the London Boroughs of Camden, Barnet, and Brent. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north-west of Charing Cross. Cricklewood was a small rural hamlet ...

. It then crosses the

North Circular Road The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a ring road around Central London. It runs from Chiswick in the west to North Woolwich in the east via suburban north London, connecting var ...

before

West Hendon West Hendon is a district of Hendon in North London, in the London Borough of Barnet. It is the NW postcode area, NW9 part of Hendon, located around the A5 Edgware Road and the Welsh Harp (Brent Reservoir). The area is known for the West Hendon E ...

Staples Corner Staples Corner is a major road junction in London, United Kingdom. It is about north-west from Charing Cross and directly to the west of the Brent Cross crossover. It is within the Brent Cross Cricklewood new town. It has two linked roundab ...

. After this, the road continues in the same direction, through the Hyde,

Colindale Colindale is a district in the London Borough of Barnet; its main shopping street on the A5 forming the borough boundary with neighbouring Brent. Colindale is a suburban area, and in recent years has had many new apartments built. It is also ...

Burnt Oak Burnt Oak is a suburb of London, England, located northwest of Charing Cross. It lies to the west of the M1 motorway between Edgware and Colindale, located predominantly in the London Borough of Barnet, with parts in the London Boroughs of Br ...

, and then reaches

The southernmost part of the road forms part of the

London Inner Ring Road The London Inner Ring Road, or Ring Road as signposted, is a route with an average diameter of , formed from a number of major roads that encircle Central London. The ring road forms the boundary of the London congestion charge zone, although ...

and, as such, is part of the boundary of the

London congestion charge The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00noon and 6:00pm Saturday and Su ...

zone. However, when the zone was extended in February 2007, the road became part of the "free through routes" which allows vehicles to cross the zone during its hours of operation without paying the charge. The southern part of the road between

and

, noted for its distinct

Middle Eastern cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine includes a number of cuisines from the Middle East. Common ingredients include olives and olive oil, pitas, honey, sesame seeds, dates, sumac, chickpeas, mint, rice and parsley, and popular dishes include '' kebabs'', ...

and many late-night bars and ''

shisha Shisha, sheesha, or Shisheh may refer to: * Mu‘assel or shisha tobacco, the molasses-based tobacco product heated in a hookah * Hookah lounge, or shisha bar * Hookah also known as waterpipe, the heated tobacco product or the device used to smoke ...

'' cafes, is known to Londoners by nicknames such as ''Little Cairo'',Telegraph: Never talk about what you wear...
/ref> ''Little Beirut''This Is London: Little Beirut
/ref> and, especially near Camden, ''Little

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

''. As it passes through the various neighbourhoods, the road name changes several times, becoming

, Kilburn High Road and Shoot-Up Hill (in Kilburn), and Cricklewood Broadway (in Cricklewood), before becoming Edgware Road once again with intermittent stretches as West Hendon Broadway, and

the Hyde The Hyde is a locality in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England, and is also the name of its accompanying main road on the A5. It is located to the east of Kingsbury, west of Hendon and south of Colindale. The area contains Hyde Hous ...

. Along the entire route, it retains its identity as the

under the

Great Britain road numbering scheme In Great Britain, there is a numbering scheme used to Categorization, classify and identify all roads. Each road is given a single letter (representing a category) and a subsequent number (between one and four digits). Though this scheme was in ...

. The A5 continues beyond the end of the Edgware Road, following the old Roman road for much of its route and terminating at

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

(a port for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

History

Before the Romans, today's Edgware Road began as an

ancient trackway Historic roads (or historic trails in the US and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient track ...

within the

Great Middlesex Forest The Forest of Middlesex was an area covering much of the county of Middlesex, England, that was north of the City of London and now forms the northern part of Greater London. The area was under Forest Law, and much of it as wooded. At its ancien ...

. The Romans later incorporated the track into

. Many centuries later, the road was improved by the Edgware-Kilburn

turnpike trust Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road toll road, tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain from the 17th ...

in 1711, and a number of the local inns, functioned as stops for coaches, although they would have been quite close to the starting point of coach routes from London. During the 18th century, it was a destination for Huguenot migrants. By 1811,

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

produced a re-design for what was then known as a section of the London to Holyhead road, a redesign considered one of the most important feats of pre-

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

engineering. Telford's redesign emerged only a year after the area saw the establishment of Great Britain's first

Indian restaurant Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...

. The area began to attract Arab migrants in the late 19th century during a period of increased trade with the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The trend continued with the arrival of Egyptians and Iraqis in the 1950s, and greatly expanded beginning in the 1970s and continuing to the present when events including the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

and unrest in Algeria brought more Arabs to the area. They established the present-day mix of bars and

cafes, which make the area known to

ers by nicknames such as "Little Cairo" and "Little Beirut." One of the two Edgware Road tube stations was one of the sites of the 7 July bombings. A bomb was detonated on a train leaving the

tube station The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

serving the

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

and Hammersmith & City lines and heading for Paddington tube station. Six people were killed in the blast. The perpetrator was the ringleader of the seven bombings, Mohammed Siddique Khan. On the first anniversary of the bombings, a memorial plaque to the victims was unveiled at the station.

Districts and surrounding area

The name "Edgware Road" is used to refer to informally to this area of London, meaning the area immediately to the north of Marble Arch. The district's northern boundary is the Marylebone flyover.Working for the future of Edgware Road
a 2006 planning document (in

PDF format Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating system ...

) from the

website The

postal codes A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

of the area are W1, W2, NW1 and NW2. The part of the road between Marble Arch and the Marylebone Flyover also separates the areas of

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

and

Bayswater Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

Edgware Road is well represented in terms of communities from across the Middle East and North Africa.BBC: Arabic London
retrieved 7 October 2007 Tyburn tree

Transport

Edgware Road has several London bus routes, and is intersected by several

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

lines along its length or nearby. A number of schemes have been put forward in the past to construct an Underground railway line underneath Edgware Road, including a plan to extend the

Bakerloo line The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs par ...

north to Cricklewood and an unusual proposal to build an underground monorail system, but these schemes did not succeed. Today,

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

provide the only public transport along the length of the road.

National Rail

Mainline and Overground rail stations: *

Marylebone station Marylebone station ( ) is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network, it is also known as London Marylebone a ...

(

Chiltern Main Line The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London () and Birmingham (Birmingham Moor Street railway station, Moor Street and Birmingham Snow Hill railway station, Snow Hill) on a route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington ...

) *

Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...

(

Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs between London Paddington and . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. The GWML is presently a part of t ...

) * (

Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line (MML), sometimes also spelt Midland Mainline, is a major Rail transport in Great Britain, railway line from London to Sheffield in Yorkshire via the East Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras railway ...

) * (Midland Main Line) * (

Watford DC line The Watford DC line is a suburban railway line from London Euston to Watford Junction in Greater London and Hertfordshire. The line is shared by services on London Underground's above-ground section of the Bakerloo line between Harrow & Weald ...

) * (Watford DC line)

London Underground

* Edgware Road (Bakerloo line) * (

and

Hammersmith & City line The Hammersmith & City line is a London Underground line that runs between Hammersmith in west London and in east London. Coloured pink on the Tube map, it serves 29 stations over . Between and it skirts the City of London, the capital's finan ...

s) * ( Central line) * (Bakerloo line) * (Bakerloo, Circle and District lines) *

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

(Circle and Hammersmith & City lines) * (

Jubilee line The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in east London, via the West End of London, West End, South Bank and London Docklands, Docklands. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the ...

) * (Bakerloo line)

Bus routes

Night bus N16 is the only route to run the full length of the Edgware Road, from Victoria station to Edgware. Day bus routes operating over a significant length of Edgware Road are: * 6 * 7 * 16 * 23 * 32 * 36 * 98 *

189 Year 189 ( CLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Silanus and Silanus (or, less frequently, year 942 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 189 for th ...

316 __NOTOC__ Year 316 ( CCCXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 1069 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 316 f ...

* 332 *

436 __NOTOC__ Year 436 ( CDXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Isodorus and Senator (or, less frequently, year 1189 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominatio ...

References

External links

Go west for a taste of Arabia – while it lasts
from

thelondonpaper ''The London Paper'' (stylised as ''thelondonpaper'') was a free daily newspaper, published by NI Free Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International (who also own the companies that publish ''The Sun'' and ''The Times''). It was available fr ...

{{coord, 51.5133, -0.1604, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, display=title Streets in the City of Westminster Streets in the London Borough of Brent Streets in the London Borough of Camden Streets in the London Borough of Barnet District centres of London