Hampstead () is an area 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, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...

, with a small part 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 borders

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

and Golders Green to the north, Belsize Park to the south and is surrounded from the northeast by Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. Hampstead is known for its intellectual, artistic, liberal, and literary associations. It contains a number of listed buildings, such as Burgh House, Kenwood House, the Spaniard's Inn, and the Everyman cinema. With some of the most expensive housing in London, Hampstead has had many notable residents, both past and present, including King Constantine II of Greece and his wife Queen Anne Marie, Helena Bonham Carter,

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

, T. S. Eliot, Jon English,

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

, Ricky Gervais, Jim Henson,

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His showmanship, artistry, and flamboyant fashion have had a Cultural impact of Harry Styles, significant impact on popular culture. Styles's musical ca ...

and

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

. As of 2004, Hampstead has been home to more Prime Ministers, and contains more millionaires within its boundaries, than any other area of the United Kingdom.Wade, David
"Whatever happened to Hampstead Man?"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 8 May 2004 (retrieved 3 March 2016). Inhabited since at least when the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

ruled Britain, Hampstead is one of the oldest areas in London. From the 17th century it became popular as a resort away from the capital, especially for the affluent. The area has been contained within many metropolitan governments since the 13th century, ending with the dissolution of the

Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead Hampstead was a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The pa ...

into the London Borough of Camden in 1965. Since then, it has become a major tourist destination within Camden, owing to its many historical sites and high street.

History

Toponymy

The name comes from the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

words ''ham'' and ''stede'', which means, and is a cognate of, the Modern English "homestead".

To 1900

Archeological findings from Hampstead Heath, including

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

flint tools, pits, postholes, and burnt stones, indicate a

hunter-gatherer A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...

community around 7000 BCE. Objects like cinerary urns and grave goods discovered near Well Walk, dating back to 70–120 CE, suggest the possibility of a Roman settlement or road in the vicinity. Ford Madox Brown - Work - artchive

Early records of Hampstead can be found in a grant by King Ethelred the Unready to the monastery of St. Peter's at Westminster (AD 986), and it is referred to in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

(1086) as being in the

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

hundred of Ossulstone. Outlying

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

developed at West End and North End. In addition Pond Street formed the southern limit of the settlement for many centuries. The growth of Hampstead is generally traced back to the seventeenth century. Trustees of the Well started advertising the medicinal qualities of the chalybeate waters ( mineral water impregnated with iron) in 1700. A pump room and assembly room were established on Well Walk, supplied by water from springs in nearby Well Road. Elegant housing was built in New End road, New End Square and Church Row. Although Hampstead Wells was initially most successful and fashionable, its popularity declined in the nineteenth century due to competition with other fashionable London spas. The spa was demolished in 1882, although a water fountain was left behind. Hampstead started to expand following the opening of the North London Railway in the 1860s (now the

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...

with passenger services operated by Transport for London), and expanded further after the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway opened in 1907 (now part of

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 ...

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...

) and provided fast travel to central London. Much luxurious housing was created during the 1870s and 1880s, in the area that is now the political ward of Frognal & Fitzjohns. Much of this housing remains to this day.

20th century

In the 20th century, a number of notable buildings were created including: * Hampstead Underground station (1907), the deepest station on the Underground network * Isokon building (1932) * Hillfield Court (1932) * 2 Willow Road (1938) * Swiss Cottage Central Library (1964) * Royal Free Hospital (mid-1970s) Cultural attractions in the area include the Freud Museum, Keats House, Kenwood House, Fenton House, the Isokon building, Burgh House (which also houses Hampstead Museum), and the Camden Arts Centre. The large Victorian Hampstead Town Hall was recently converted and extended as an arts centre. On 14 August 1975 Hampstead entered the UK Weather Records with the ''Highest 155-min total'' rainfall at 169 mm. As of November 2008 this record remains. The average price of a property in Hampstead was £1.5 million in 2018.

Geography

Hampstead became part of the County of London in 1889 and in 1899 the

was formed. The

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

on Haverstock Hill, which was also the location of the Register Office, can be seen in newsreel footage of many celebrity civil marriages. In 1965, the metropolitan borough was abolished and its area merged with that of the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn and the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras to form the modern-day

. For some, the area represented by Hampstead today consists principally of the (electoral) wards of Hampstead Town and Frognal & Fitzjohns; others espouse a broader definition, encompassing South Hampstead, Belsize Park and West Hampstead.

Climate

Politics

Hampstead is part of the Hampstead and Highgate constituency, re-established at the 2024 general election. Since July 2022 the area has been represented on Camden Council by Conservative Party councillor Stephen Stark and Liberal Democrat councillor Linda Chung.

Hampstead Liberalism

The area has a significant tradition of educated liberal humanism, sometimes referred to (often disparagingly) as "Hampstead Liberalism". In the 1960s, the figure of the Hampstead Liberal was notoriously satirised by Peter Simple of the ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'' in the character of Lady Dutt-Pauker, an immensely wealthy aristocratic socialist whose Hampstead mansion, Marxmount House, contained an original pair of Bukharin's false teeth on display alongside precious Ming vases, neo-constructivist art, and the complete writings of Stalin. Michael Idov of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' stated that the community "was the citadel of the moneyed liberal intelligentsia, posh but not stuffy."Idov, Michael.
The Demon Blogger of Fleet Street
" ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

''. 26 September 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2014. As applied to an individual, the term "Hampstead Liberal" is not synonymous with " champagne socialist" but carries some of the same connotations. The term is also rather misleading. As of 2025, the component wards of Hampstead (South Hampstead, Frognal, Hampstead Town and Belsize) have mixed representation. Frognal ward elects two Conservative councillors, Belsize ward elects three Liberal Democrat councillors, South Hampstead elects three Labour councillors, while Hampstead Town is represented by one Liberal Democrat and one Conservative councillor. South Hampstead is a competitive Labour and Conservative marginal, and Belsize is competitive between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, whereas Frognal is a safe Conservative ward. Hampstead Town (including the area of Hampstead Village and South End Green) has seen a number of tightly fought Conservative and Liberal Democrat contests, and the ward has had mixed representation in recent decades.

Brexit referendum

During the

2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...

, 75% of voters across the

voted to remain in the EU. Following the result many commentators used Hampstead as an archetype of the type of area that preferred to remain in the EU. This point was often made in alliterative contrast to poor post-industrial northern towns such as

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

and Hull, that preferred to leave.

Places of interest

Sites

To the north and east of Hampstead, and separating it from

, is London's largest ancient parkland, Hampstead Heath, which includes the well-known and legally-protected view of the London skyline from Parliament Hill. The Heath, a major place for Londoners to walk and "take the air", has three open-air public swimming ponds; one for men, one for women, and one for mixed bathing, which were originally reservoirs for drinking water and the sources of the

River Fleet The River Fleet is the largest of Subterranean rivers of London, London's subterranean rivers, all of which today contain foul water for treatment. It has been used as a culverted sewer since the development of Joseph Bazalgette's London sewe ...

. The bridge pictured is known locally as 'The Red Arches' or 'The Viaduct', built in fruitless anticipation of residential building on the Heath in the 19th century. Local activities include major open-air concerts on summer Saturday evenings on the slopes below Kenwood House, the FT Weekend Festival, book and poetry readings, fun fairs on the lower reaches of the Heath, period harpsichord recitals at Fenton House, Hampstead Scientific Society and Hampstead Photographic Society. The largest employer in Hampstead is the Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, but many small businesses based in the area have international significance. George Martin's AIR recording studios, in converted church premises in Lyndhurst Road, is a current example, as

Jim Henson's Creature Shop Jim Henson's Creature Shop is an American animation and special/visual effects company founded in 1979 by Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The company is based in Hollywood, California, United States. History Jim Henson's Creature Shop was ...

was before it relocated to California. The area has some remarkable architecture, such as the Isokon building in Lawn Road, a Grade I listed experiment in collective housing, once home to

, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson and

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...

. It was recently restored by Notting Hill Housing Trust.

Churches and synagogues

* Christ Church – Hampstead Square, NW3 1AB *Heath Street Baptist Church, Heath Street, NW3 1DN *St. Andrew's United Reformed Church, Frognal Lane, NW3 7DY * St John-at-Hampstead – Church Row, NW3 6UU * St John's Downshire Hill – Downshire Hill, NW3 1NU *St Luke's – Kidderpore Avenue, NW3 7SU * St Mary's Church (Roman Catholic)– 4 Holly Place, NW3 6QU * Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel – Pilgrim's Place, NW3 1NG *Village Shul, synagogue, located at 27 New End, Hampstead. * St Stephen's, Rosslyn Hill – A deconsecrated Church of England church on Pond Street, originally built in 1869 by Samuel Sanders Teulon, won an

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

award for the restoration of buildings at risk.

Museums

* Fenton House – Hampstead Grove, Hampstead, London, NW3 6SP * Freud Museum – 20 Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead, London, NW3 5SX * Burgh House & Hampstead Museum – New End Square, Hampstead, London, NW3 1LT *

Keats House Museum Keats House is a writer's house museum in what was once the home of the Romantic poet John Keats. It is in Keats Grove, Hampstead, in Inner London, inner north London. Maps before about 1915 show the road with one of its earlier names, John Str ...

– Keats Grove, Hampstead, London, NW3 2RR * Kenwood House – Hampstead Lane, Hampstead, London, NW3 7JR

Theatres and cinemas

* Everyman Cinema, Hampstead – 5 Holly Bush Vale, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TX * Hampstead Theatre – Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London, NW3 3EU * Pentameters Theatre – 28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TE

Art Galleries

Hampstead was once home to many art galleries but few are now left. The Catto Gallery has been in Hampstead since 1986 and has represented artists like Ian Berry, Philip Jackson, Chuck Elliott, Walasse Ting, and Sergei Chepik over the years. * Catto Gallery – 100 Heath Street, Hampstead, London NW3 1DP * Gilden's Art Gallery, 74, Heath Street, London NW3 1DN * Zebra One Gallery,– 1 Perrin's Court, Hampstead, London, NW3 1QX

Public houses

Hampstead is well known for its traditional pubs, such as The Holly Bush, gas-lit until recently; the Spaniard's Inn, Spaniard's Road, where highwayman Dick Turpin took refuge; The Old Bull and Bush in North End; and The Old White Bear (formerly Ye Olde White Bear). Jack Straw's Castle, on the edge of the Heath near Whitestone Pond, has now been converted into residential flats. Others include: * The Flask – 14 Flask Walk, Hampstead, London, NW3 1HE *Freemasons Arms – 32 Downshire Hill, Hampstead, London, NW3 1NT * The Duke of Hamilton – 23–25 New End, Hampstead, London, NW3 1JD *The Horseshoe (formerly The Three Horseshoes) – 28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TE *King William IV (aka KW4) – 77 Hampstead High Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 1RE * The Magdala – 2a South Hill Park, Hampstead, London, NW3 2SB *The Garden Gate – 14 South End Road, Hampstead, London, NW3 2QE * The Wells Tavern – 30 Well Walk, Hampstead, London NW3 1BX

Restaurants

Hampstead has served as a testing ground for a number of cafes and restaurants that later became successful chains. Those include Giraffe World Kitchen, Gail's and 'Bagel Street'. As a consequence, Hampstead has an eclectic mix of restaurants ranging from French to Thai. After over a decade of controversy and legal action from local residents,

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

was finally allowed to open in Hampstead in 1992, after winning its right in court, and agreeing to a previously unprecedented re-design of the shop front, reducing the conspicuousness of its facade and logo, It closed in November 2013. Popular local eateries also include street food vendors, such as La Creperie de Hampstead, which is often frequented by domestic and global celebrities.

Schools

Film locations

Hampstead's rural feel lends itself for use in film, a notable example being '' The Killing of Sister George'' (1968) starring Beryl Reid and Susannah York. The opening sequence has Reid's character June wandering through the streets and alleyways of Hampstead, west of Heath Street, around The Mount Square. The Marquis of Granby pub, in which June drinks at the opening of the film, was actually The Holly Bush,"The Killing of Sister George film locations"
. Movie-Locations.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009) at 22 Holly Mount. Another example is '' The Collector'' (1965), starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar, where the kidnap sequence is set in Mount Vernon. Some scenes from ''

An American Werewolf in London ''An American Werewolf in London'' is a 1981 comedy horror film written and directed by John Landis. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, the film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne and ...

'' (1981) are shot on Hampstead Heath, Well Walk and Haverstock Hill. More recently Kenwood House is the set of the "film-within-the-film" scene of '' Notting Hill'' (1999). Outdoor scenes in '' The Wedding Date'' (2005), starring Debra Messing, feature Parliament Hill Fields on the Heath, overlooking west London. Parliament Hill also features in '' Notes on a Scandal'' (2006) together with the nearby areas of Gospel Oak and

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

. '' Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994) features the old Hampstead Town Hall on Haverstock Hill. The film '' Scenes of a Sexual Nature'' (2006) was filmed entirely on Hampstead Heath, covering various picturesque locations such as the 'Floating Gardens' and Kenwood House. A musical specifically focusing on the area, '' Les Bicyclettes de Belsize'' (1968), tells the story of a young man's cycle journey around Hampstead. After crashing into a billboard poster, he falls in love with the fashion model depicted on it. In February 2016, principal photography for Robert Zemeckis' war film '' Allied'' starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, began with the family home located on the corners of Christchurch Hill and Willow Road in Hampstead. Cruella de Vil Mansion (Sarum Chase) is on the West Heath Road in movies 101 Dalmatians (1996.) and 102 Dalmatians (2001.)

Demography

The 2021 census showed that the population of Hampstead Town ward was 77.7% white (46.7% British, 28% Other, 2.4% Irish). The largest non-white group, Asian, claimed 8.9%. The religious data of the area showed that 32.6% was Christian, 37.9% irreligious and 11% Jewish. 2.7% of the population was unemployed and seeking work; this compared to 5.1% for the wider borough.

Transport

Rail and Tube

Hampstead station is on one underground line, the Northern Line which has connections to other lines at Camden Town and Kings Cross & St Pancras stations and Embankment among others. The

( Mildmay line) also runs through Hampstead Heath and Finchley Road & Frognal. Stations in Hampstead include: * Belsize Park * Finchley Road * Finchley Road & Frognal *

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

* Hampstead Heath *

Swiss Cottage Swiss Cottage is an area in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. The area was ...

All stations are in London fare zone 2, except Hampstead, which is in both zones 2 and 3. Hampstead station serves the north western part of the wider district, near Hampstead's traditional centre. All the other three stations in the area are located to the south. In the 1860s, the Metropolitan and St John's Wood Railway was authorised to build a branch line from Swiss Cottage to Hampstead with its terminus to be located at the junction of Flask Walk, Well Walk and Willow Road. Financial difficulties meant that the project was cancelled in 1870.

Bus

There is a bus terminus near South End Green in Hampstead (near the Royal Free Hospital), served by London Buses routes 1 and 24. Routes 46, 268, C11, and N5 also serve the Royal Free Hospital. Hampstead tube station and High Street are served by routes 46, 268, 603, and N5. Route 210 runs along the northernmost rim of Hampstead, stopping at Jack Straw's Castle. Finchley Road is served by routes 13, 113, 187, 268, C11, and N113.

Cycling

Cycling infrastructure Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...

in Hampstead is poor. In early 2016, Transport for London (TfL) consulted with the public on a new " Cycle Superhighway" (CS11) between

and the West End, which provide an unbroken, predominantly traffic-free cycle route from Hampstead to Central London. The scheme was cancelled following court action from 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 ...

in 2018. There are

bus lane A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, generally to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadway completely dedicated for use by buses, whilst ...

s along the A41/Finchley Road that cyclists are allowed to use. A

shared-use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, Bridle path, bridleways and ra ...

runs from Parliament Hill to Jack Straw's Castle/

through the centre of Hampstead Heath.

Road

The A41/ Finchley Road passes north–south through Hampstead. The road links the area directly to Marylebone and Oxford Street to the south. The route runs northbound to Golders Green, Brent Cross, the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

, and

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. The A502/Hampstead High Street runs from

in the south, through Hampstead, to Golders Green and

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

in the north-west.

Nearest places

Notable residents

Hampstead has long been known as a residence of the intelligentsia, including writers, composers, ballerinas and intellectuals, actors, artists and architects – many of whom created a bohemian community in the late 19th century. After 1917, and again in the 1930s, it became base to a community of ''avant garde'' artists and writers and was host to a number of émigrés and exiles from the Russian Revolution and Nazi Europe.

Blue plaques

There are at least 60 English Heritage blue plaques in Hampstead commemorating the many diverse personalities that have lived there.

Local newspapers

The local newspapers, as of 2014, were the '' Hampstead and Highgate Express''—known locally as the "Ham and High"—and the free '' Camden New Journal''. The area is also home to the left-wing Labour magazine '' Tribune'' and the satirical magazine ''Hampstead Village Voice''.

References and notes

External links

Hampstead and Marylebone
by G. E. Mitton at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

The Heath and Hampstead SocietyArchives relating to Hampstead
at

The National Archives (United Kingdom) The National Archives (TNA; ) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its parent department is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom, United K ...

Images

Images of Hampstead
at the English Heritage Archive
Images of Hampstead
at th
Country Life Picture Library
{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Camden Places formerly in Middlesex District centres of London