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Queen's Park is an area and partial
civil 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 ...
in North West and
West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
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 ...
, located mostly in the
London Borough of Brent Brent () is a London boroughs, borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Brent Reservoir, W ...
, and partially in the London Borough of the City of Westminster. Some of the area within Westminster forms a
civil 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 ...
, the first to be created in London since the right of communities to establish civil parishes was enacted in 2007. The area is located 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 centred around a park, which opened in 1887 and was named in honour of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
. The area gives its name to Queens Park Rangers football club. The north of Queen's Park (in the
London Borough of Brent Brent () is a London boroughs, borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Brent Reservoir, W ...
) is an area of Brondesbury Park, and one of its open spaces. The south is in the
London borough The London boroughs are the current 32 districts of England, local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present ...
of 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 ...
. Kilburn Lane delineates the boundary between the boroughs, as well as both sides of the Queen's Park area, and the Queen's Park electoral wards for the two boroughs. Architecturally, Queen's Park is an important historic area, with a unified urban layout with a high level of building preservation. The park is a good example of a Victorian urban green space, and the surrounding streets largely comprise original two- and three-storey Victorian buildings.


Governance


Background

Queen's Park straddled the ancient parishes of
Willesden Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed ...
(the northern part, in the
London Borough of Brent Brent () is a London boroughs, borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Brent Reservoir, W ...
) and Chelsea (the southern part, in the
City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...
). The ''Queens Park Estate'' was developed in 1875–81, in Kensal Town which had been an
exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
of Chelsea from before the time of the Norman Conquest. In 1900 the exclave was removed from Chelsea and divided between its neighbours, with most of it, the area north of the Grand Union Canal, and including the ''Queens Park Estate'' joining with the area of the ancient parish of
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
to form the new
Metropolitan Borough of Paddington Paddington 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 p ...
. The park was laid out in the parish of
Willesden Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed ...
in 1886.The London Encyclopaedia, Weinreb and Hibbert, p 633 In 1874 the parish of Willesden adopted the
Local Government Act 1858 A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...
and a local board was formed. In 1965, Paddington merged with Westminster and Marylebone to form 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 ...
, while Willesden became part of the new
London Borough of Brent Brent () is a London boroughs, borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Brent Reservoir, W ...
.


Electoral wards

The area gives its name to two electoral wards in adjacent London boroughs. The area north of Kilburn Lane is the Queens Park ward of the
London Borough of Brent Brent () is a London boroughs, borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Brent Reservoir, W ...
and the area south of Kilburn Lane is the Queen's Park ward of 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 ...
. The Queens Park ward in the southeast of the London Borough of Brent is represented by three Labour Party councillors on Brent London Borough Council as of the 2018 election. This ward forms part of the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency, represented by Labour MP Tulip Siddiq. The Queen's Park ward in the northwest of the City of Westminster is represented by three Labour Party councillors on
Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings ...
. This ward forms part of the Westminster North parliamentary constituency, represented by Labour MP
Karen Buck Dame Karen Patricia Buck (born 30 August 1958) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Westminster North (UK Parliament constituency), Westminster ...
, whose spouse Barrie Taylor represented the Queen's Park ward from 1986 to 1990, then again from 1994 to 2018 in which year the title of Honorary Alderman was conferred upon him by the City Council.


Queen's Park Community Council

In May 2012, residents of the Westminster ward voted in favour of the establishment of a Queen's Park
civil 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 ...
and parish council. In June 2012, Westminster City Council approved the establishment of Queen's Park Community Council from 1 April 2014 as the first parish council created in London since new legislation was enacted in 2007. The community council area is coterminous with the City of Westminster ward of Queen's Park. The first election of councillors to the community council took place in May 2014 at the same time as other local elections. Subsequent elections are held every four years at the same time as elections to the city council, with the most recent being on 5 May 2022. Parish councils have no statutory responsibilities, but have a budget they can direct towards community projects.


Queen's Park Neighbourhood Plan

In November 2021, the City Council formally adopted the Queen's Park Neighbourhood Plan. It is therefore now part of the statutory Development Plan for Westminster and will be used alongside the council’s own planning documents and the Mayor’s London Plan in determining applications in the Queen's Park Neighbourhood Area.


History


19th century

The ''Queens Park Estate'' was developed between 1875 and 1881, in what is now 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 ...
, by the Artizans, Labourers & General Dwellings Company, and named in honour of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
. The park, which shares the name, lies a short distance north of the estate in the
London Borough of Brent Brent () is a London boroughs, borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Brent Reservoir, W ...
. It was laid out in 1886 by the City of London, and opened the following year. In 1879, the Royal Agricultural Society annual show was held on the area which would become Queen's Park. The site was chosen for its proximity to the railway network, Queen's Park Station having opened on 2 June 1879 on the main line from London to Birmingham, just in time to facilitate the movement of heavy machinery and stock. By the 1870s the annual shows had become major events and the Kilburn show was to be the largest ever held. The show was opened on 30 June 1879 by the Prince and Princess of Wales and saw an entry of 11,878 implements, 2,879 livestock entries and over 187,000 visitors. Poor weather and deep mud led to low attendance, but a visit by
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
on the fifth day, where she was driven on a specially constructed drive of ballast and brick from the new station along Salusbury Road on a route lined with cheering crowds, rallied visitors. In 1884, the North West London Park League was formed to secure the site as a people's park. The league appealed to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners not to sell the land for building until the future of the site could be assured as a public open space. In 1885 the Estates Committee of the commissioners agreed to offer the use of the central portion of the land of for public use and that the remaining portion of the site would be laid out as housing to derive the most benefit from the frontage onto the proposed park. The offer was to be made through the Lord Mayor to the
City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...
, conditional on Parliamentary sanction. On 5 September 1887 Queen's Park officially opened with several thousand people present. The houses around Queen's Park were erected over a number of years starting with the north side of Harvist Road of which the majority were completed by 1899. The west side of Chevening Road was also under construction in 1899 by local builders Bennet and Gimbrett to the design of G. A. Sexton. Many builders contributed to the estate which helped to generate the varied architectural character that can be seen on Kempe, Keslake and Chamberlayne Roads. The football team Queens Park Rangers was formed when a local boys' team, founded by the vicar of the nearby St John's Church, merged with Christ Church Rangers and took their name from the area. They went on to become a professional team in 1889. In July 2011 a plaque commemorating the event was unveiled by former star Stan Bowles on St Jude's Institute on Ilbert Street.


20th century

In 1915, the Bakerloo Line was extended to Queen's Park station, the nearby Kensal Green station appearing in 1916. Both stations offer easy access to
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
, Charing Cross and Waterloo mainline stations In 1917, Queens Park Rangers moved away from the area to the
Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...
stadium in nearby
Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...
. In summer 1979,
The Jam The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey, consisting of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in ...
recorded their music video When You're Young in Queen's Park, making use of the bandstand. In 1986, Brent Council with the support of English Heritage made the area around Queen's Park a Conservation Area in recognition of its special architectural and historic character. Subsequently, in 1993 the designated area was extended westwards towards Chamberlayne Road.


Geography


Neighbouring areas

Neighbouring areas include Kensal Town to the south,
Kensal Green Kensal Green, also known as Kensal Rise, is an area in north-west London, and along with Kensal Town, it forms part of the northern section of North Kensington, London, North Kensington. It lies north of the canal in the London Borough of Brent ...
to the west,
Willesden Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed ...
to the north and Kilburn and
Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing C ...
to the east. There is a degree of overlap in perceptions of the extent of these areas.


The park

The park was laid out by Alexander McKenzie between March 1887 and June 1887. McKenzie was a leading figure in Victorian park design, part of an influential group of landscape designers which included Robert Marnock, Joseph Meston and William Robinson who led garden design away from the parterres and geometry of earlier Victorian gardens to a more natural style of gardening. Designed without any straight paths, Queen's Park makes extensive use of bold tree planting and shrubberies with natural outlines, and large open areas of lawn for recreation and sport. Facilities in the park include six all-weather tennis courts, a pitch-and-putt course, an ornamental quiet garden, a children's playground with paddling pool, a children's animal farm and a café. A landmark in the park is the bandstand, which was completed in 1887 using ironwork supplied by Walter Fariane & Co. of Glasgow, and a timber roof with wrought-iron scrolled devices to each facet, and a central wrought- iron lantern. The bandstand was Grade-II listed in 2000. The park is managed by the
City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...
. In 2020 it won Green Flag status for the 24th year in a row, and an additional Green Heritage Site award for its care and conservation of open space and facilities. The City of London focuses on sustainable management, recycling as much waste as possible. Grass clippings and wood are used to make mulch for shrubberies; everyday waste like cans, bottles and plastics are separated and recycled. Residents bring in their Christmas trees, which are mulched and return for use on their own gardens. Rain water is recycled via a new drainage system. All water runs into a holding tank underground and can be pumped to various areas when needed.


Places of worship

Queen's Park has a range of places of worship: * St Anne with Holy Trinity, Brondesbury (
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
) * St Luke's Church, West Kilburn, Fernhead Road (
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
) * St John the Evangelist, Kensal Green, Kilburn Lane (
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
) * Church of The Transfiguration (
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
) * West Kilburn
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
Church * Imam Khoei Islamic Centre * Harrow Road Jamme Mosque, Lancefield Street


Culture

The local community host two annual festivals at Queen's Park. *Queen's Park Day in September brings together a funfair, stalls for local community groups and shops, various entertainments (including acrobats and bird of prey displays) and live music hosted by the Rhythm Studio who foster young bands and singers in the Queens Park area. *The Queen's Park Book Festival, in June, mixes national and international writers with local writing groups as part of the growing book festival movement across England.


Economy

The economic centre of Queen's Park is Salusbury Road, where there are many shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants. The weekly Queen's Park Farmers' Market has around 40 stalls and takes place every Sunday between 10am and 2pm in the grounds of Salusbury Primary School on Salusbury Road, draws people from across north west London. The market was awarded market of the year at the Farmers’ Market and Retail Association Local Food Awards in 2012.
AMC Networks AMC Networks Inc. is an American mass media and entertainment corporation headquartered in 11 Penn Plaza, New York City. The company owns and operates the AMC cable channel, BBC America, IFC, Sundance TV, and We TV. It also owns the art ho ...
opened a UK headquarters office housing 200 employees on Salusbury Road in 2017. It closed in 2022 and was replaced with a Jobcentre Plus.


Education

The area has several schools: * Salusbury Primary School * Ark Franklin Primary academy * Islamia Primary School, established in 1983 by Yusuf Islam, a voluntary-aided Islamic faith school that educates around 390 pupils aged 4 to 11. * Al-Sadiq and Al-Zahara Schools *Queen's Park Primary School in Droop Street is also home to the Westminster Children's University

*Princess Frederica C of E Primary school *St Luke's CE Primary School, Fernhead Roa

*The St Marylebone CE Bridge School, Herries Stree

*Wilberforce Primary School, Beethoven Street

*Hopscotch Under 5's *Kenmont Primary school


Transport

Queen's Park (London) station, Queen's Park station is a
tube Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a Japanese rock band * Tube & Berger, the alias of dance/electronica producers Arndt Rör ...
and
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...
station in Travelcard Zone 2; it has direct links to south and central London via the Bakerloo line or to Euston, Watford Junction and intermediate stations via
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 ...
Lioness line or to Harrow & Wealdstone station using Bakerloo line trains. Brondesbury Park station, on the London Overground Mildmay line, is near the northeast corner of Queen's Park. To the northwest of the area is Kensal Rise station also on the London Overground Mildmay line. Queen's Park is also well served by the
London Bus Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London ...
network with the 6, 18, 28, 36, 52, 98, 187, 206, 228, 302, 316, 452, N18 and N98 all passing through the area.


Notable residents

*
Mark Strong Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963) is a British actor best known for his film roles such as Prince Septimus in '' Stardust'' (2007), Archibald in '' RocknRolla'' (2008), Lord Henry Blackwood in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (200 ...
– actor *
Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen, Her accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivi ...
– singer / songwriter and author * Alison Brooks – architect *
Karen Buck Dame Karen Patricia Buck (born 30 August 1958) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Westminster North (UK Parliament constituency), Westminster ...
– Member of Parliament for Westminster North * Daniel Craig – actor * Fredo – rapper * Jason Isaacs – actor *
Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( ; born22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Dua Lipa, Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Lipa worked as a model before v ...
– pop star * Sienna Miller – actress * Cillian Murphy – actor * Thandiwe Newton – actress * Michael Page – professional boxer and mixed martial artist * Eartha Pond - former professional footballer, campaigner, and Chair of Queen's Park Community Counci

* Alexandra Shulman – ex-editor of British ''Vogue'' *
Zadie Smith Zadie Smith (born Sadie; 25 October 1975) is an English novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her debut novel, ''White Teeth'' (2000), immediately became a best-seller and won a number of awards. She became a tenured professor in the ...
– author * Samantha Spiro - actor * Edward Sutcliffe - painter


Notes


References


External links


Queens Park Area Residents' Association

Queens Park Day

Queens Park Community CouncilCity of London – Queen's Park
{{Model dwellings companies Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Brent Districts of the City of Westminster Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Brent Parks and open spaces of the City of London Corporation Civil parishes in London