Harrow () is a large town in

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the

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

. Lying about north-west of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

and south of

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 entire town including its localities had a population of 149,246 at the 2011 census, whereas the wider borough (which also contains

Pinner Pinner is a suburb in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, England, northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 38,698 in 2021. Originally a mediaeval ...

and

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...

) had a population of 250,149. The original settlement was at

Harrow on the Hill Harrow on the Hill or Harrow-on-the-Hill is a locality and historic village in the borough of London Borough of Harrow, Harrow in Greater London, England. The name refers to Harrow Hill, ,Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) ...

, atop the Harrow Hill. The modern town centre of Harrow developed at the foot of the hill, in an area historically called Greenhill, following the opening of

Harrow-on-the-Hill station Harrow-on-the-Hill is an interchange railway station in Harrow, served by suburban London Underground services on the Metropolitan line and commuter National Rail services on the London–Aylesbury line. It is down the line from . Harrow-on ...

on the

Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...

in 1880. Harrow became the unofficial "capital" of the Metroland suburbia in the early 20th century.

Harrow & Wealdstone station Harrow & Wealdstone () is an interchange station in north-west London. It is located in both Harrow, London, Harrow and Wealdstone in the London Borough of Harrow. The station provides southbound Bakerloo line services of the London Underground; ...

on the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

had opened in 1837, but was more distant from Harrow, lying north of the hill. Workers were drawn to the area by the opening of several factories in

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow, London, Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont, Harrow, Belmont and Kenton, London, Kenton, ...

; Harrow was the base of the large Kodak factory, used for the manufacture of photographic materials and R&D, which was in operation for more than a century.

Historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

in the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manito ...

in the county of

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 ...

, Harrow became part of Greater London in 1965. Today, the historic area is distinguished as

and is a conservation area with

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s of

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...

and home to

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

, one of the seven major boys' boarding schools in England as defined by the

Public Schools Act 1868 The Public Schools Act 1868 ( 31 & 32 Vict. c. 118) was enacted by the British Parliament to reform and regulate seven leading English boys' boarding schools, most of which had grown out of ancient charity schools for the education of a certain ...

. The modern-day town meanwhile is an established commercial centre of outer north-west London and houses a campus of the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

Etymology

Harrow's name comes from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''hearg'' = '(heathen) temple', which was probably on the hill of Harrow, where

St. Mary's Church St. Mary's Church, St. Mary the Virgin's Church, St. Mary Church, Saint Mary Church, or other variations on the name, is a commonly used name for specific churches of various Christian denominations. Notable uses of the term may refer to: Albania ...

now stands. The name has been studied in detail by Keith Briggs. The original Greenhill hamlet derived its name from either an unidentified local green hill, or was imported from a manorial surname. It was not recorded 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 ...

but was mentioned as early as 1334 as ''Grenehulle''. In addition, one or more families bearing the ''Greenhulle'' or ''Greenhill'' surname lived there from at least 1247, and are likely to have taken their name from this location. The name Greenhill survives and the local council has continued the name by using it for Greenhill Way, a road which by-passes the mainly-pedestrianised and modernised shopping area based around College Road and St Anns Road. The name is also still used for the local

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

. It is possible that Greenhill went by an even older name, ''Norbury'', c.1300, but the hamlet of Norbury has not been identified with certainty. The name may have been correspondent to

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

, being north of what was then Harrow Hill.

History

The modern town centre of Harrow was formerly known as Greenhill, and was a small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of farms at the foot of Harrow Hill. For almost a millennium, the centre of Harrow was atop the hill, but this began to change during the 19th century. Circa 1852, the village had 8 houses, 17 cottages, and one inn, with 141 people. This area was part of the

, in the historic county of

. In 1850 a local board district was established for the central part of the

ancient parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Harrow on the Hill, including the old village and the adjoining hamlets of Greenhill,

Roxeth Roxeth was a Hamlet (place), hamlet in the ancient Harrow on the Hill parish, which now forms part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London, England. The ancient parish of Harrow on the Hill, or simply Harrow, was one of the largest par ...

, and

Urban development

Church of St John the Baptist Greenhill 1C

By 1865, a series of roads had been built in Greenhill, including College, Roxborough, Kymberley, Headstone, Clarendon, Byron and St Anns - but few houses. A

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

church, St John's Church, was built in 1866 on a farm and Greenhill subsequently became a separate

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in 1896. The church building has been

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed since 1994. The

connection dates from 1880 with the building of

, which led to a housebuilding boom and a population of 4,892 by 1902. Developments westward along the railway in the

Headstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The u ...

and

as well as Roxborough and

engulfed Greenhill with new developments, and soon enough there was nothing left of the original village. . In 1899, the junction of Grove Hill and Lowlands Road is said to have been the scene of Britain's first fatal car accident. There is a plaque to commemorate this at the top of Grove Hill where it meets the High Street and Peterborough Hill. In Greenhill, there was a workmen's club from the 1860s and a public hall, Victoria Hall, by 1888. The

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...

converted local board districts such as Harrow on the Hill into urban districts. The new town centre which had grown up around the station became known simply as Harrow to distinguish it from the original hilltop village. The name of the urban district which contained both places remained Harrow on the Hill until 1934 when the district was enlarged and renamed just Harrow. The Harrow Urban District was incorporated to become a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

in 1954, with the same area becoming the

on being transferred from Middlesex to Greater London in 1965. One of the oldest surviving buildings in what is today Harrow is the Grade I listed

Headstone Manor The Headstone Museum, also known as the Harrow Museum, is the local history museum for the London Borough of Harrow in England. Overview The museum was established in 1986 and is located in the grounds of Headstone Manor, records of which date ...

from the 15th century. Harrow contributed to the growing photographic industry in the UK; a large industrial premises was built in 1890 by the American

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

company in

, and by 1965 there were over 100 buildings on a 55-acre site at

Kodak Harrow The Kodak Works, Harrow was a photographic manufacturing plant and research and development centre on Headstone Drive, Harrow, North West London. Built by the American Kodak company in 1890, it was their largest factory in the United Kingdom an ...

, employing 5,500 people, including a research centre. This facility operated for 125 years. The long chimney has been a landmark in Harrow ever since. NatWest Harrow Grade II listed building

In 1914, a major

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

named Sopers opened on Station Road. The site became a

Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain that operated in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, as well as franchised locations across Europe and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and gr ...

store; it closed in May 2021 after the collapse of the Debenham's chain. Its facade dated from the 1960s. During the inter-war period Harrow had grown into a suburb. Almost two-thirds of housing stock in the present day Borough of Harrow dates back to the interwar period.

Railway accidents

The modern town of Harrow and much of the borough overall has been defined historically by the growth of the railways, as Harrow expanded and saw housing developments as a result of the building of the

into what was, in early Victorian times, the rural areas to the north-west of London. The borough now has many railway stations. Harrow has been the location of several serious train accidents. On 7 August 1838, Thomas Port died from injuries received in a train accident near Harrow. His gravestone in the parish churchyard of St Mary's, Harrow-on-the-Hill, states: "To the memory of Thomas Port, son of John Port of Burton-upon-Trent in the County of Stafford, Hat Manufacturer, who near this town had both legs severed from his body by the railway train. With great fortitude, he bore a second amputation by the surgeons and died from loss of blood, August 7th 1838, aged 33 years." On 26 November 1870, two trains collided at

, killing 9 and injuring 44. On 8 October 1952, three trains collided at Harrow & Wealdstone station, killing 112 people. Of the dead, 64 were railway employees on their way to work. This is the greatest loss of life in any United Kingdom railway accident in peacetime.

Battle of Britain

Although

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

is generally claimed to have started on 7 September 1940, many sources state that one of the earliest bombing raid from the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

occurred in Harrow and Wealdstone on 22 August 1940. It caused damage to cinemas, houses and a bank, but with no fatalities. Although Harrow was then in

, it was classed as a London area by the civil defence as it came under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police. The very first air raid on the present day London area is believed to be the accidental bombing of

Croydon Airport Croydon Airport was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. It opened in 1920, located near Croydon, then part of Surrey. Built in a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical style, it was developed as Britain's main airp ...

on 15 August 1940, which was then in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

Post-war

The town was part of the Harrow Urban District, a district council within the county of

, from 1934 until 1965, which also included parts of

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 ...

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 ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

and

. The

was formed in 1965 as the only London borough unaffected by boundary changes. By the 1950s, Harrow was described as the "capital city of

Metro-land Metro-land (or Metroland – see note on spelling, below) is a name given to the suburban areas that were built to the north-west of London in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Middlesex in the early part of the 20th century th ...

". The borough's council

Civic Centre A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...

building complex was built in 1970–1972, opened 6 May 1973, on Station Road in

. Six storeys high and designed by architect Eric Broughton, the building is considered "outdated and costly" in 2018 and was expected to be imminently redeveloped. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, many new office blocks were built in the town, especially in Lyon Road and the western end of College Road. In 1974, the Kodak Mural designed by

Pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle around ...

was completed on the first floor of the recently opened Civic Centre. It contains almost one thousand photographic tiles representing Harrow and designed to commemorate the town and borough's links with Kodak. Havelock Place

The town underwent regeneration in the 1980s with the building of a bus station in College Road and the

pedestrianisation Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

of St Anns Road. A statue called "Skipping Katie" was unveiled by the local council in May 1987 to celebrate the completion of the pedestrianisation. The landmark was designed by James Butler inspired by watching his daughter

skip Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aiding ...

. A plaque on Katie was unveiled in 2004 by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

to mark the 50th anniversary of the London Borough of Harrow. In the autumn of 1987,

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

visited Harrow, where she officially opened the new St Anns shopping centre amid a large crowd of locals. Located opposite the central train station on College Road, the centre was built on demolished buildings including Heathfield School for Girls, which moved away to

in 1982. Nearby St Anns shopping centre, another indoor retail outlet was built which was opened as St George's Shopping and Leisure Centre on

St George's Day Saint George's Day is the Calendar of saints, feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, regions, and cities of which he is the Patronages of Saint George, patron saint, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bu ...

in 1996. The town's Woolworths store on Station Road closed and was replaced by a new branch inside St George's. Other landmarks built during the decade include the Hygeia building in 1991, which has an erected golden coloured sculpture of Roman goddess

Hygeia Hygieia is a goddess from Greek mythology (more commonly spelled Hygeia, sometimes Hygiea; ; or , or ). Hygieia is a goddess of health ( – ''hugieia''), cleanliness and hygiene. Her name is the source for the word "hygiene". Hygieia devel ...

facing the bus station. Furthermore, in 1991, Lower Mead stadium on Station Road, the home of

Wealdstone F.C. Wealdstone Football Club ( ) is an English semi-professional Association football, football club based in Ruislip, London Borough of Hillingdon, and affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. They currently play in the National Lea ...

, was sold to

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

and demolished. In its place a new large Tesco superstore was built.

21st century

Bradstowe House seen from the roundabout

The town centre has undergone a new wave of redevelopment. In 2011, the one-way single lane section of Station Road was widened to allow two-way bus traffic. The 11 storey luxury apartments of Bradstowe House were completed in 2016 after long delays. Former office buildings on Lyon Road (including Coal House, once belonging to the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

) have been regenerated into new mixed use buildings in the 2010s, whereas on Pinner Road behind St George's centre a new eight storey development called Trident Point was built which includes a

Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...

supermarket opened in 2013. The former post-office sorting building on College Road, next to the train station, remained vacant for some years until plans for a 19-storey skyscraper were approved by the council in 2015. The development, called Harrow Square, was partly completed with 318 apartments across four buildings in 2018. It includes a bottom floor library still under construction which will replace the current Gayton Library on St John's Road. The building next to it, formerly First National House, has been refurbished into luxury apartments called The Hub. The borough received a £1 million grant from the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

that will go towards a new public square and a "pop-up test eatery" at the site of the former Cumberland Hotel on Lyon Road, expected to be completed by 2020. The 1930s

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

facade of the Safari Cinema, which has been hidden since the 1960s, is set to be restored from 2020. The council aims to invest over a billion in the town centres of Harrow and

and the Station Road corridor in between.

Geography

The borough of Harrow has a leafy, suburban character, much of which is a legacy of it being at the centre of the Metroland developments of the early 20th century. The town centre is about above sea level, almost below the top of Harrow Hill, which is an outlying knoll.Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) The hill is half a mile south of the town centre, and the settlement contains historic architecture and has a village atmosphere. The steep climb towards the hill is clearly visible from Lowlands Road. Other parts of Harrow are not as affluent but are still mostly leafy, particularly the northern part called

Harrow Weald Harrow Weald is a suburban district in Greater London, England. Located about north of Harrow, London, Harrow, Harrow Weald is formed from a leafy 1930s suburban development along with ancient woodland of Harrow Weald Common. It forms part of ...

. The rural northern slopes of Harrow, around

Harrow Weald Common Harrow Weald Common is an 18-hectare area of woodland, heath and pasture in Harrow Weald in the London Borough of Harrow. It is considered of considerable importance for wildlife, and it was formerly part of the ''Stanmore and Harrow Weald Common ...

, are part of the

Green Belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

and contain a conservation area and a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI) adjacent to another SSSI called Bentley Priory Nature Reserve which comes under

. The area also has the highest elevation in Harrow, as high as above sea level. Harrow Hill from Watford Road

There is also agricultural land close by the town, on fields at the eastern side of Harrow on the Hill, on Watford Road. This open farmland is only half a mile away from Harrow's town centre and is adjacent to

Northwick Park Hospital Northwick Park Hospital (NWPH) is a major National Health Service hospital situated in the town of Harrow, North West London, managed by the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust. It is located off Watford Road in the London Borough ...

and

Northwick Park Northwick Park is a formerly larger public park in the London Borough of Brent between eastern Harrow and Kenton, north-west London. Most of the park consists of playing fields, kite flying areas, and trees. It has often lent its name to an ...

open space. The farm borders Harrow Park and other open spaces and golf courses that are within Harrow on the Hill; other open spaces include: The Grove open space and Harrow Recreation Ground near the town centre;

West Harrow West Harrow is a suburban area in the London Borough of Harrow that forms the western part of Harrow, London, Harrow, historically in the county of Middlesex. The area was rural until the late 19th century when the Metropolitan Railway expan ...

Recreation Ground; Kenton Recreation Ground; Alexandra Park in

South Harrow South Harrow is the southern part of the town of Harrow, 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 easier acces ...

; Newton Park in

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

; Byron Recreation Ground in

; and the grounds of

. Much of Kenton, and before 1716 all of

, were parts of Harrow. Pinner is now a separate district within the borough of Harrow.

is the district north of

, and both of these are historically also part of Harrow. It is the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow, which also includes the towns of Pinner and

. The Harrow postcode area covers the entire borough and stretches into neighbouring boroughs: west into

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is a suburb in the London Borough of Hillingdon in northwest London. Prior to 1965 it was in Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

and Northwood, and east to

and

. The postcodes for Harrow town itself are HA1, HA2 and HA3. Harrow 15 mile radius

Harrow is from Pinner, each from Wembley, Stanmore and Northolt, and from Ruislip.

Economy

Central Harrow forms a commercial hub in the north-west of Greater London, with many retail outlets and commercial offices, and increasingly residential apartments in more recent regeneration schemes. Harrow is classified as one of 13 metropolitan centres in the

London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Greater London area in the United Kingdom that is written by the Mayor of London and published by the Greater London Authority. It is updated from time to time. The regio ...

. The area has two shopping centres, St Anns and St George's, containing

chain store A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many p ...

s typical of British high streets. There are also parades of shops throughout Station Road and the ascending, traditional College Road, and over of a fully pedestranised shopping/café streets roads (north of St Anns). A large

department store ( of floorspace) was on Station Road. After Debenhams was liquidated, the site is to become an independent department store called The Landmark due to open on 14 October 2021. There are also large

and

superstores. As of 2012, Harrow has of total town centre floorspace, the lowest of London's metropolitan centres. The creation of St George's in 1996, less than a decade after St Anns, gave Harrow a stronger competitive retail standing. On one index, the town centre's league position went from 106th (out of 1,000) to 71st (out of 1,400) from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. Harrow's competing shopping centres were recognised to be

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

and

Brent Cross Shopping Centre Brent Cross Shopping Centre is a large shopping centre in Hendon, North London, owned by Hammerson and Abrdn. Located by the Brent Cross interchange, it opened in 1976 as the UK's first Out-of-town shopping centres in the United Kingdom, out-of-t ...

. A 2003 council report showed that Harrow was less competitive as a retail centre by comparison. In 2015, Harrow ranked 99th in the Hot 100 UK retail locations published by

CACI CACI International Inc. (originally California Analysis Center, Inc., then Consolidated Analysis Center, Inc.) is an American multinational corporation, multinational professional services and information technology company headquartered in Nor ...

; it was 5th in Greater London, behind

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

and

Enfield Town Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 333,587 in 2021. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Hig ...

. In 2018, Harrow was ranked 59th in the nationwide "High Street Investment Ranking" carried out by

Knight Frank Knight Frank LLP is a global real estate consultancy and estate agency headquartered in London, England. Knight Frank's global network has more than 488 offices across 57 territories and more than 20,000 people managing commercial, agricultur ...

, and 6th in Greater London beaten by Uxbridge and

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

. The

district has a strong industrial connection, having been the location for the manufactures

Winsor & Newton Winsor & Newton (also abbreviated W&N) is an England, English manufacturing company based in London that produces a wide variety of fine art products, including acrylic paint, acrylics, oil paint, oils, watercolour painting, watercolour, gouache ...

(artists' materials), Whitefriars Glass, and

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

Demography

The town includes its localities within the Harrow post town:

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

, Kenton,

and

. The Borough's population was 250,149 in 2011. Harrow Borough's proportion of Jewish, Muslim and Hindu residents is above average. The

ethnic minority The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

population includes a large and established

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

community, who originally settled in large numbers in the borough after their expulsion from Uganda in 1972. The highest life expectancy (as of 2009–2013) for females was 89.5 years in Headstone North, and for males was 83.8 years in West Harrow. The lowest expectancies were 82.4 years in Wealdstone and 78.6 years in Greenhill respectively. The median age was highest in Headstone North (40 years) and lowest in Greenhill and Wealdstone (both 33 years). The life expectancies for Harrow are lower than both Pinner and Stanmore in the borough. According to a 2018 survey by the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...

(ONS), the borough of Harrow was the "happiest" in London and scored higher than the English average. Adversely, in another survey by an estate agent in 2019 the borough was found to be the "least friendly" in London. Average house prices within the borough stood at £479,682 as of 2017.

Governance

Harrow Council has been governed by the Labour Party since 2014. The town of Harrow generally is represented by 13 wards, each represented by three councillors. Harrow is in the Brent and Harrow constituency for the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

which has been represented since May 2021 by

Krupesh Hirani Krupesh Jadavji Hirani (born 29 November 1985) is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has been the London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow since 2021. He previously represented Dudden Hill ward on Brent Council from 2010 to ...

( Labour). Prior to this, it was represented by

Navin Shah Navin Fakirchand Shah (born September 1946) is a former British Labour Party politician who served as chair of the London Assembly between May 2020 and May 2021, and a Member of the London Assembly for Brent and Harrow from 2008 to 2021. B ...

( Labour) between 2008 and 2021. Keekira Thammaih was the first Indian and a first Asian to be the Mayor of Harrow, England in 2000 – 2001. Since the 2010 general election, most of Harrow town has been part of the

Harrow West Harrow West is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in Greater London created in 1945 and represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Until 1997 United Kingd ...

parliamentary constituency, most recently represented by Gareth Thomas ( Labour), but eastern districts such as Kenton fall within the

Harrow East Harrow East is a constituency in Greater London created in 1945 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Bob Blackman, a Conservative. Constituency profile The censuses of 2001 and 2011 show the overwhelmingl ...

constituency which is represented by

Bob Blackman Robert John Blackman Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP (born 26 April 1956) is a British politician who has been the chairman of the 1922 Committee and chair of the Backbench Business Committee since 2024. A member of the Conservative ...

(

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Education

Harrow is best known for

. An independent

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

for boys, founded in 1572, Harrow School is considered one of the finest secondary schools in the world. The nearby

John Lyon School John Lyon School (prior to 1965 The Lower School of John Lyon) is an academically selective private co-educational day school for pupils aged 3 to 18 in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1876, by the Gove ...

is another boys' independent school, while another known school is the

North London Collegiate School North London Collegiate School (NLCS) is a private day school for girls in England. Founded in Camden Town, it is now located in Edgware, in the London Borough of Harrow. Associate schools are located in South Korea, Jeju Island, Dubai, Vietnam ...

for girls located further in the borough in

. Harrow is also home to a large

campus, located near

and

the hospital ''The Hospital'' is a 1971 American absurdist satirical black comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring George C. Scott as Dr. Herbert Bock. It was written by Paddy Chayefsky, who was awarded the 1972 Academy Award for Best Original ...

. It serves as the university's base for Media, Arts and Design. The school dates back to 1897 specialising in art, photography and fashion, becoming a college in the 1960s under the name Harrow College of Higher Education. It merged with Polytechnic of Central London (PCL) in 1990, now known as the University of Westminster. Other educational institutes in or near central Harrow include:

Harrow High School Harrow High School is a co-educational academy in the London Borough of Harrow and a specialist Sports College. It was previously called Gayton High School and Harrow County School for Boys. The school has a sixth form for post-16 studies part ...

Whitmore High School Whitmore High School is a state secondary school in the London Borough of Harrow. The school's students are mostly drawn from the wider Harrow area. In March 2015, the school was judged "Outstanding" by Ofsted for the second time. The current ...

St Dominic's Sixth Form College St Dominic's Sixth Form College is a selective Roman Catholic sixth form college on Harrow on the Hill, England founded in 1878, originally founded as a boarding school. The college was opened and initiated by Cardinal Hume. The college was awa ...

, Salvatorian College and

Harrow College Harrow College is a further education college in England with two campuses, in Harrow and Harrow Weald.

. Greenhill School was built in the 1880s, but the building was demolished in 1967 to make way for shops on St Anns Road. The site is now home to a

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

Culture

Arts

The borough's Harrow Arts Centre is located in

and includes a theatre and several meeting rooms for various arts groups. The St George's centre has a large

Vue Vue or VUE may refer to: Places * Vue, Loire-Atlantique, a commune in France * The Vue, a skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina Arts, entertainment and media * Vue (band), a rock and roll band from San Francisco, California * Vue International, ...

cinema. Formerly Sheepcote Road was home to Granada Theatre, opened in 1937, which became a 3 screen cinema in 1973. The building, interior designed by

Theodore Komisarjevsky Fyodor Fyodorovich Komissarzhevsky (; 23 May 1882 – 17 April 1954), or Theodore Komisarjevsky, was a Russian, later British, theatrical director and designer. He began his career in Moscow, but had his greatest influence in London. He was note ...

, was

listed in 1988. The cinema went through ownership and name changes from 1989 until it was permanently closed in 1996, six months after the other cinema opening at St George's. After a few years in a derelict condition, the building became a health club gymnasium operated by

Gold's Gym Gold's Gym International, Inc. is an American chain of international wikt:co-ed, co-ed fitness centers (commonly referred to as gyms) originally started by Joe Gold in Venice, Los Angeles, Venice Beach, California. Each gym offers a variety of ca ...

. The theatre's original

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

organ is retained in the building, although currently not accessible to the public, is reported to remain in perfect working condition. An art-deco cinema called Dominion opened in 1936 adjoining Lower Mead football ground, on much of the site of Greenhill Farm. It was later purchased by

ABC Cinemas ABC Cinemas (Associated British Cinemas) was a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. Originally a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), it operated between the 1920s and the 1980s. The brand name was reused in ...

, and the Dominion's original

design (by

F.E. Bromige Frank Ernest Bromige (5 July 1902 – 23 December 1979) was a British architect of the Modernist and Art Deco styles. He is principally known for designing leisure buildings, especially cinemas, working mainly in Greater London and surrounding ...

) was covered in new metal cladding in 1962. In the 1970s the lower floor was converted to a bingo hall and in the 1990s the cinema became the Safari, showing Bollywood films. This closed in the 20teens and it was not until January 2020 when plans to restore the art deco (and building 78 flats at the site) were approved by Harrow council. This is currently under re-construction.

Religion

Some of the major churches in Harrow include the Grade I listed St Mary's Church, St John's Greenhill, All Saints Harrow Weald, Holy Trinity Wealdstone, Christ Church Roxeth, and Kenton Methodist Church. Harrow has a Hindu temple dedicated to Sri Lord Ayyappa and is known as Sri Ayyappan Kovil, located in the

neighbourhood. In the same area is the large

Harrow Central Mosque Harrow Central Mosque is a Sunni mosque and Islamic community hub in Harrow, England. The current centre opened in 2011 on no. 34 Station Road, adjacent to Harrow Civic Centre and a short distance south of Wealdstone town centre. The purpose-b ...

, and a smaller local mosque, Masjid Imam Muqbil, is located in

. On Bessborough Road in the town is the Mosaic Reform Synagogue, and there is a

United Synagogue The United Synagogue (US) is the largest umbrella body for Orthodox Judaism in Britain. It is structured as a charity which serves the United Kingdom, British Jewish community in the broadest possible way. One of the largest charities in the B ...

in the Kenton part of Harrow. There is a

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

centre in

Media

The 1918 novel ''

The Return of the Soldier ''The Return of the Soldier'' is the debut novel of English novelist Rebecca West, first published in 1918. The novel recounts the return of the shell shocked Captain Chris Baldry from the trenches of the First World War from the perspective ...

'' is based in Harrow. The wedding of characters

Peggy Mitchell Peggy Mitchell (also Butcher) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Peggy was initially played by Jo Warne when she first appeared in the episode broadcast on 30 April 1991, featuring in 10 episodes. Peggy was rein ...

and

Frank Butcher Frank Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Mike Reid (actor), Mike Reid. Frank makes his first appearance on-screen as a guest character in 1987, but due to a positive viewer reception, he is reintr ...

of ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' in 1999 was filmed in Harrow. The classroom in ''

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and was Rowling's debut novel. It follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who disco ...

'' was filmed at the Fourth Form Room of

. The school was also used to shoot many scenes of the drama ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

''. The British Asian soap drama ''Cloud 9'' was shot in Harrow in 2013. The exterior of Clark's house in the 2016 film '' Me Before You'' was shot in Harrow. The ''

Harrow Times ''Harrow Times'' is a British weekly local newspaper published by Newsquest, covering the London Borough of Harrow and surrounding areas. The ''Harrow Times'' has been published since March 1997. It also has an online edition. Since the closure ...

'' is a local newspaper for the borough, and formerly the historic ''

Harrow Observer The ''Harrow Observer'' was a paid-for local weekly tabloid newspaper covering stories from the London Borough of Harrow. It had separate editions for Pinner, Harrow, Stanmore and Wembley & Willesden. The former newspaper titles were retained by ...

'' that dates back to the 19th century. The ''

Brent & Kilburn Times The ''Brent and Kilburn Times'' is a British weekly newspaper published by Archant in the London Borough of Brent, currently published on Thursdays. It provides local news in Kilburn, Wembley and other surrounding areas. History The paper date ...

'' and ''

Watford Observer The ''Watford Observer'' is a weekly local newspaper, published by Newsquest. It serves the town of Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, Engl ...

'' also cover Harrow.

Radio Harrow Radio Harrow is a local charity radio station for Harrow, London, Harrow, London, England, promoting health and wellbeing within the local community through its broadcasting and National Health Service (England), NHS befriending service. Register ...

is a local charity radio that broadcasts from

. Launched in 2015 in its current form, its predecessor Radio Northwick Park had already been broadcasting for four decades before. A

student radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

called Smoke Radio broadcasts from the

campus since 2004.

Sports

Harrow is represented by the

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club

, who play in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(fifth tier); they are based in

, moving from their original stadium in Harrow in 1991. Another local club is

Harrow Borough F.C. Harrow Borough Football Club is an English football club based in Harrow, London. They were founded in 1933 and compete in the . Harrow Borough's home ground is Earlsmead Stadium, which has a capacity of 3,070. Harrow Borough moved into Earls ...

who are based at

Earlsmead Stadium Rogers Family Stadium (previously Earlsmead Stadium) is a football stadium in Harrow, north-west London, England. It is the home ground of Harrow Borough F.C. The stadium has a capacity of 3,070 people, which includes 350 seats and standing ...

and currently play in the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

Premier Division (seventh tier). Harrow Leisure Centre and

Harrow Skate Park Harrow Skate Park or Harrow Solid Surf is one of only two remaining 1970's shotcrete skateparks still operating in the United Kingdom. It is located next to Byron Park and Harrow Leisure Centre in Wealdstone in the London Borough of Harrow, Engl ...

are located by Byron Park in Wealdstone. There is a golf course at

Public services

Harrow borough is patrolled by the Metropolitan Police (the

territorial police force A territorial police force is a police service that is responsible for an area defined by sub-national boundaries, distinguished from other police services which deal with the entire country or a type of crime. In countries organized as federation ...

in Greater London). The service is mainly provided through Harrow Police Station on Northolt Road in South Harrow, and the borough overall has contact points supported by 22 Safer Neighbourhoods teams. Previous police stations at Kirkland House and in Wealdstone have closed down in the 2010s. The borough's basic command unit is combined with the London boroughs of

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 Brent. Harrow is served by

and specialists

St Mark's Hospital St Mark's Hospital, The National Bowel Hospital (informally St Mark's) is a hospital in Park Royal, Greater London, England. Managed by London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, it is the only hospital in the world to specialise entirel ...

and

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) is a specialist orthopaedic hospital located in Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow, run by the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust. It provides the most comprehensive range of neuro- ...

(in

), which are run by

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

. The local Harrow CCG manages public provision of homecare throughout Harrow which is state funded. A private hospital called Clementine Churchill is located in Harrow-on-the-Hill.

Transport

Rail and London Underground

Harrow-on-the-Hill Underground Station - geograph

Harrow is served by many

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 ...

and

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...

services: *

Harrow-on-the-Hill Harrow on the Hill or Harrow-on-the-Hill is a locality and historic village in the borough of London Borough of Harrow, Harrow in Greater London, England. The name refers to Harrow Hill, ,Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) ...

(

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 London Borough of Hillingdon, Hillingdon. Printed in mage ...

& Aylesbury Line/

Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways (legal name The Chiltern Railway Company Limited) is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Rail ...

) * Harrow & Wealdstone (

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 ...

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 ...

London Northwestern Railway West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a British train operating company. It operates passenger trains on the Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain, West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trading names: within t ...

and Southern) *

(Metropolitan line) *

(

Piccadilly line The Piccadilly line is a Deep level underground, deep-level London Underground line running between the west and the north of London. It has two western branches which split at Acton Town tube station, Acton Town and serves 53 stations. The li ...

) *

(Metropolitan/Piccadilly lines) *

(Metropolitan line) * Kenton (Bakerloo line & London Overground) * Headstone Lane (London Overground) * Northolt Park (

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 ...

/Chiltern Railways) n Boundary between Ealing & Harrow* Sudbury Hill Harrow (

/Chiltern Railways) *

(Metropolitan line) n boundary between Brent & Harrow*

Sudbury Hill Sudbury Hill is an area of the London Borough of Harrow in northwest London, England. It forms part of the HA1 postcode and Harrow post town. Located immediately north of North Greenford and almost a mile from Sudbury, Sudbury Hill was origi ...

(Piccadilly line) Harrow-on-the-Hill is the town's central station, located on College Road/Lowlands Road. The station provides direct Underground and rail links to the West End, the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, and through the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills or the Chilterns are a chalk escarpment in southern England, located to the north-west of London, covering across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire; they stretch from Goring-on-Thames in the south- ...

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

. The other major station - and both the largest and busiest of Harrow - is Harrow & Wealdstone, a short distance north from the town, which has direct trains to the West End,

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...

and beyond towards

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

respectively. Both stations are in

Travelcard The Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Elizabeth line, Docklands Light Railway, London Trams, London Buses and National Rail services in the Greater London area. Travelc ...

zone 5. Trains towards

Gerrards Cross Gerrards Cross is a town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies immediately south of Chalfont St Peter and a short distance west of the London Borough of Hillingdon, from which it is separated by the parish of Denham, Buckinghams ...

are served by the smaller Sudbury Hill Harrow station which also provides an alternative route towards the West Midlands. Harrow-on-the-Hill is a much busier tube station compared with the town's other principal station, Harrow & Wealdstone, recording over 10.3 million London Underground passengers in 2018/2019. However, the latter is served more extensively by National Rail services, as well as the London Overground and because of this it's a busier National Rail station. A short railway line called the

Stanmore branch line The Stanmore branch line was a railway line in Harrow, Middlesex (now Greater London), in the United Kingdom. Located to the north of London, it provided commuter rail services between Harrow and the village of Stanmore. Beginning at Harrow st ...

formerly ran from Harrow & Wealdstone via Belmont to , but this line was closed in 1964. On 23 December 1991, the IRA exploded a bomb on a train at

; there were no injuries.

Bus

Harrow bus station is adjacent to St Anns shopping centre and Harrow on the Hill railway station. All buses are managed by

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

and links are provided to

, Northwood,

Golders Green Golders Green is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet in north London, northwest of Charing Cross. It began as a medieval small suburban linear settlement near a farm and public grazing area green, and dates to the early 19th century. It ...

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...

and

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

. Many local buses have a H-prefix in the range 9–19. During the

privatisation of London bus services The privatisation of London bus services was the process of the transfer of operation of buses in London from public bodies to private companies. For half a century, operation of London bus services for public transport was under the direct con ...

, Harrow was one of the first places with its own London Regional Transport operating unit, called Harrow Buses and operating from November 1987 in red and cream branded livery. The scheme was not successful and the service gained the nickname "Harrowing Buses" from the local press. Harrow was the place where the first major electronic contactless smart card technology was being tested on buses. In a £2 million trial that started in February 1994, cards were provided by London Transport (brand), London Transport at the bus station and could be used on 21 bus routes in Harrow, the largest trial of its kind in the world. Within two months, 9,000 smart photocards were issued. The scheme was a success by the time it ended in December 1995, and led to the development of the Oyster card in 2003.

Road

There are no trunk roads in the vicinity of Harrow. The A312 road starts in Harrow as Bessborough Road - however the A312's section in Harrow is merely an urban road, and the primary trunk road starts over 3 miles away in Northolt. It is here where there is a crossing with the A40 road, A40 Western Avenue (London), Western Avenue. The A406 road, A406 is 5 miles away via Neasden,

or Hanger Lane Gyratory. There is access to junction 2 of the M1 motorway 6 miles away via the A41 road, A41 in

Gallery

Station Road, Harrow.jpg, Station Road, Harrow Royal Oak Harrow.jpg, Royal Oak public house on St Anns Road has existed since the early 20th century and is locally listed St_Ann's_Road,_Harrow_2.jpg, St Anns Road St Anns Road, Harrow.jpg, St Anns Road Harrow Era Mix.jpg, Middle section of Station Road, showing shops and the Time Building and apartments on Lyon Road behind it Harrow Bus Station 2.jpg, Harrow's central bus station Fat Controller, Harrow.jpg, Former Fat Controller pub, closed in 2010 Premier Supermarket, Station Road, Harrow - geograph.org.uk - 380202.jpg, Premier Supermarket on Station Road (1963), now an Iceland (supermarket), Iceland supermarket; the site was originally home to the Harrow Coliseum cinema which was demolished in 1956 Moon on the Hill, Harrow, HA1 (6163372441).jpg, Moon on the Hill pub Harrow Square blocks.jpg, New built Harrow Square blocks Debenhams in Harrow shortly before its final closure (1).jpg, The old Debenhams shortly before its closure in May 2021. The site is becoming an independent department store called The Landmark. Time Building.jpg, The Time Building on Station Road with a Miller Brewing Company, Miller-branded clock - formerly home of Time nightclub in 2000; today part converted into residential use

Notable people

Some notable people who were born and/or grew up in the Borough of Harrow are shown below. Peter Andre.jpg, Peter Andre Kate Nash (8179628760).jpg, Kate Nash Stuart Pearce.jpg, Stuart Pearce Diane Abbot Corbyn leadership rally August 2016.jpg, Diane Abbott Elton John Cannes 2019.jpg, Sir Elton John Dev Patel (29870651654).jpg, Dev Patel

Notes and references

;Notes ;References

External links

Harrow Council Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrow, London Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Harrow Metropolitan centres of London