Belsize Park
Encyclopedia
Belsize Park is an area of north-west London
, England, in the London Borough of Camden
.
It is located 3.4 miles (5.5 km) north-west of Charing Cross
and situated on the Northern Line
. It borders Hampstead
to the north and west, Kentish Town
and Gospel Oak
to the east, Camden Town
to the south east and Primrose Hill
to the south. It is a lively area and there are many restaurants, pubs and cafés along Haverstock Hill and also England's Lane. It is more spacious than Hampstead
Village, with wider roads. Hampstead Heath
is a 10–12 minutes' walk. Primrose Hill
Park is 5 minutes' walk from England's Lane and provides some of the best views of Central London
.
Belsize Park is in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency
for which the present MP
is Glenda Jackson
.
Although not specifically named on the Geographers' London Atlas, the area has many thoroughfares bearing the name: Belsize Avenue, Belsize Court, Belsize Crescent, Belsize Gardens, Belsize Grove, Belsize Lane, Belsize Mews
, Belsize Park (the road itself), Belsize Park Gardens, Belsize Place, Belsize Square, and Belsize Terrace. The name comes from the original 17th century manor house and parkland (built by Daniel O'Neill
for his wife, the Countess of Chesterfield
) which once stood on the site. The estate built up between 1852 and 1878, by which time it extended to Haverstock Hill. After World War I
, the construction of blocks of flats
began, and now a great many of the larger houses are now also converted into flats.
In World War II
, a large underground air-raid shelter
s was built here and its entrance can still be seen near the tube station at Downside Crescent. The area on Haverstock Hill north of Belsize Park underground station up to Hampstead Town Hall and including part of a primary school near the Royal Free Hospital was heavily bombed. When the area was re-built, the opportunity was taken to widen the pavement and re-build further back from the road.
and her husband Chris Martin
of Coldplay
, comedian Alexander Armstrong
, model Kate Moss
, TV presenter/newsreader Fiona Bruce
, Chef Gino D'Acampo
, actress Helena Bonham Carter
and her partner, director Tim Burton
, actors Don Warrington
, Kate Winslet
, Simon Pegg
, Sean Bean
, Sadie Frost
, and Jude Law
, plus Liam Gallagher
and Noel Gallagher
from Oasis
, all live there. Singer Siobhan Fahey
also lived there from the 1980s until 2008.
song Kayleigh
, in the line "loving on the floor in Belsize Park" and in the short film "Les Bicyclettes de Belsize
" of which the title song became a hit for Engelbert Humperdinck
. Belsize Park is also referenced on Sleeper's
1995 debut album "Smart
" in the song "Lady Love Your Countryside" with the lyrics "And we could spend our lives puking in Belsize Park".
The Camden Town Group
artist Robert Polhill Bevan and his wife Stanislawa de Karlowska
lived at 14 Adamson Road from 1900-1925.
Kirsty MacColl
's song "England 2 Columbia 0" features the line, "we went to a pub in Belsize Park and cheered on England as the skies grew dark..."
It is also the place of residence for the Jewish community targeted by Hitler during the Second World War in the novel The Morning Gift.
Novelist Peter Straub entitled his 1983 poetry collection "Leeson Square and Belsize Park" in part after his time in residence in the Belsize Park region of London. Belsize Park and the surrounding quarters were the setting for a long-running radio drama, Waggoners Walk. This daily serial ran from April 1969 to May 1980 each weekday on Radio 2
.
in North-West London
since the 1860s. In 1871, Belsize were one of the clubs at the inaugural meeting of the Rugby Football Union
, and therefore pioneers of the game of Rugby Union
. In 1878, Belsize moved to form Rosslyn Park RFC, becoming one of England
's leading clubs. In 1971, Belsize Park RFC was re-established by a group of local players. By the late 1970s, the special spirit had evolved, enticing friends from all over the world, including a number of established internationals, who relished the concept of good, free spirit rugby blended with partying and excess. The club is now one of the most central of all London
Rugby Clubs, playing and training in Regent's Park. There are 3 regular teams playing every Saturday during the season as well as a Touch Rugby squad in the summer.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England, in the London Borough of Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
.
It is located 3.4 miles (5.5 km) north-west of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
and situated on the Northern Line
Northern Line
The Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...
. It borders Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
to the north and west, Kentish Town
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The most widely accepted explanation of the name of Kentish Town is that it derived from 'Ken-ditch' meaning the 'bed of a waterway'...
and Gospel Oak
Gospel Oak
Gospel Oak is an inner urban area of north London in the London Borough of Camden below Hampstead Heath. It is bordered by the more affluent areas of Belsize Park to the west, Kentish Town to the south, Eastern Hampstead to the North and Dartmouth Park and Tufnell Park to the east...
to the east, Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
to the south east and Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill is a hill of located on the north side of Regent's Park in London, England, and also the name for the surrounding district. The hill has a clear view of central London to the south-east, as well as Belsize Park and Hampstead to the north...
to the south. It is a lively area and there are many restaurants, pubs and cafés along Haverstock Hill and also England's Lane. It is more spacious than Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
Village, with wider roads. Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath is a large, ancient London park, covering . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London clay...
is a 10–12 minutes' walk. Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill is a hill of located on the north side of Regent's Park in London, England, and also the name for the surrounding district. The hill has a clear view of central London to the south-east, as well as Belsize Park and Hampstead to the north...
Park is 5 minutes' walk from England's Lane and provides some of the best views of Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
.
Belsize Park is in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency
Hampstead and Kilburn (UK Parliament constituency)
Hampstead and Kilburn is a borough constituency electing one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:...
for which the present MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
is Glenda Jackson
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
.
History
The name is derived from French bel assis meaning 'well situated'. The Manor of Belsize dates back to 1317.Although not specifically named on the Geographers' London Atlas, the area has many thoroughfares bearing the name: Belsize Avenue, Belsize Court, Belsize Crescent, Belsize Gardens, Belsize Grove, Belsize Lane, Belsize Mews
Mews
Mews is a primarily British term formerly describing a row of stables, usually with carriage houses below and living quarters above, built around a paved yard or court, or along a street, behind large city houses, such as those of London, during the 17th and 18th centuries. The word may also...
, Belsize Park (the road itself), Belsize Park Gardens, Belsize Place, Belsize Square, and Belsize Terrace. The name comes from the original 17th century manor house and parkland (built by Daniel O'Neill
Daniel O'Neill (royalist)
Daniel O'Neill was an Irish army officer, politician and courtier.-Early life:O'Neill was the eldest son of Con MacNiall O'Neill, lord of Clandeboye and his wife, Ellis...
for his wife, the Countess of Chesterfield
Katherine Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield
Katherine Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield was the governess and confidante of Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange.She was born eldest daughter to Thomas Wotton, 2nd Baron Wotton and his wife, Mary, daughter of Sir Arthur Throckmorton of Paulerspury, Northamptonshire.She first married...
) which once stood on the site. The estate built up between 1852 and 1878, by which time it extended to Haverstock Hill. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the construction of blocks of flats
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
began, and now a great many of the larger houses are now also converted into flats.
In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a large underground air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...
s was built here and its entrance can still be seen near the tube station at Downside Crescent. The area on Haverstock Hill north of Belsize Park underground station up to Hampstead Town Hall and including part of a primary school near the Royal Free Hospital was heavily bombed. When the area was re-built, the opportunity was taken to widen the pavement and re-build further back from the road.
Famous residents
The area is a haunt for celebrities. Actress Gwyneth PaltrowGwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...
and her husband Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
of Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
, comedian Alexander Armstrong
Alexander Armstrong (comedian)
Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong is a British comedian, actor and television presenter.-Early life and career:Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, the youngest of three children, to Henry Angus Armstrong and his wife Emma Virginia Peronnet Thompson-McCausland, daughter of Lucius...
, model Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
, TV presenter/newsreader Fiona Bruce
Fiona Bruce
Fiona Elizabeth Bruce is a British journalist, newsreader and television presenter. Since joining the BBC in 1989, she has gone on to present many flagship programmes for the corporation including the BBC News at Six, BBC News at Ten, Crimewatch, Call My Bluff and, most recently, Antiques Roadshow...
, Chef Gino D'Acampo
Gino D'Acampo
Gennaro "Gino" D'Acampo is an Italian chef, television personality and winner of ITV's 2009 series of I'm a Celebrity… Get Me out of Here. D'Acampo lives in the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
, actress Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
and her partner, director Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
, actors Don Warrington
Don Warrington
Don Warrington, MBE is a Trinidadian British actor.-Personal life:Warrington was born in Trinidad and Tobago on 23 May 1951 and brought up in Newcastle upon Tyne, England from age five. His father was the Trinidadian politician, Basil Kydd, who died in 1958. He has two sons.His acting career...
, Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
, Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
, Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
, Sadie Frost
Sadie Frost
Sadie Frost is an English actress, who currently runs fashion label Frost French and has designed the kitchens for a new development in the East End of London.-Biography:Frost was born Sadie Liza Vaughan in London...
, and Jude Law
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
, plus Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher
William John Paul "Liam" Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, the former frontman of the English rock band Oasis and currently of the band Beady Eye. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press...
and Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
from Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, all live there. Singer Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Fahey is an Irish musician and founding member of the 1980s British girl group Bananarama, and later formed the BRIT Award and Ivor Novello award winning musical outfit Shakespears Sister.-Career:Fahey was born the eldest of three daughters to Helen and...
also lived there from the 1980s until 2008.
Transportation
The nearest underground stations are:- Belsize Park tube stationBelsize Park tube stationBelsize Park tube station is a London Underground station in Belsize Park, North-West London. The station is on the Edgware branch of the Northern Line, between Chalk Farm and Hampstead stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2. It is located at the northern end of Haverstock Hill...
(Northern LineNorthern LineThe Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...
) - Chalk Farm tube stationChalk Farm tube stationChalk Farm tube station is a London Underground station near Camden Town in London. The station is on the Edgware branch of the Northern line, between Camden Town and Belsize Park stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2. The station stands at the junction of Chalk Farm Road/Haverstock Hill and Adelaide...
(Northern LineNorthern LineThe Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...
) - Swiss Cottage tube stationSwiss Cottage tube stationSwiss Cottage tube station is a London Underground station at Swiss Cottage. It is on the Jubilee Line, between and . It is in Travelcard Zone 2 and on the Finchley Road.-History:...
(Jubilee LineJubilee LineThe Jubilee line is a line on the London Underground , in the United Kingdom. It was built in two major sections—initially to Charing Cross, in central London, and later extended, in 1999, to Stratford, in east London. The later stations are larger and have special safety features, both aspects...
) - Hampstead HeathHampstead HeathHampstead Heath is a large, ancient London park, covering . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London clay...
(North London LineNorth London LineThe North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
)
Cultural references
Belsize Park is mentioned in MarillionMarillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
song Kayleigh
Kayleigh
"Kayleigh" was a number two UK hit for British neo-progressive rock band Marillion in 1985. It remains the group's most successful single in terms of chart position. The single was kept from the UK Number 1 spot by charity single "You'll Never Walk Alone" by supergroup The Crowd in the summer of...
, in the line "loving on the floor in Belsize Park" and in the short film "Les Bicyclettes de Belsize
Les Bicyclettes de Belsize
Les Bicyclettes de Belsize is a 1968 British musical short film starring Judy Huxtable and Anthony May. It was directed by Douglas Hickox....
" of which the title song became a hit for Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)
Engelbert Humperdinck is a British pop singer, best known for his hits including "Release Me " and "After the Lovin'" as well as "The Last Waltz" .-Early life:...
. Belsize Park is also referenced on Sleeper's
Sleeper (band)
Sleeper were a British Britpop band in the 1990s fronted by Louise Wener. The band had eight UK Top 40 hit singles and three UK Top 10 albums. Their music was also featured in the soundtrack of Trainspotting.-Career:...
1995 debut album "Smart
Smart (album)
-Track listing:All tracks written by Louise Wener, unless stated otherwise.#"Inbetweener" - 3:18#"Swallow" - 2:42#"Delicious" - 3:01#"Hunch" - 3:38#"Amuse" - 2:09#"Bedhead" - 3:00#"Lady Love Your Countryside" - 2:40#"Vegas" - 3:14...
" in the song "Lady Love Your Countryside" with the lyrics "And we could spend our lives puking in Belsize Park".
The Camden Town Group
Camden Town Group
The Camden Town Group was a group of English Post-Impressionist artists active 1911-1913. They gathered frequently at the studio of painter Walter Sickert in the Camden Town area of London.-History:...
artist Robert Polhill Bevan and his wife Stanislawa de Karlowska
Stanislawa de Karlowska
Stanisława de Karłowska was a Polish-born artist, who was married to the Camden Town Group painter Robert Bevan.-Life and work:Stanisława de Karłowska was the daughter of Aleksander de Karłowski and Paulina z Tuchołków...
lived at 14 Adamson Road from 1900-1925.
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl was an English singer-songwriter.MacColl scored several pop hits from the early 1980s to the early 1990s...
's song "England 2 Columbia 0" features the line, "we went to a pub in Belsize Park and cheered on England as the skies grew dark..."
It is also the place of residence for the Jewish community targeted by Hitler during the Second World War in the novel The Morning Gift.
Novelist Peter Straub entitled his 1983 poetry collection "Leeson Square and Belsize Park" in part after his time in residence in the Belsize Park region of London. Belsize Park and the surrounding quarters were the setting for a long-running radio drama, Waggoners Walk. This daily serial ran from April 1969 to May 1980 each weekday on Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
.
Sport
There are records of a Belsize Park Rugby ClubBelsize Park Football Club
Belsize Park was a short-lived 19th century rugby football club that was notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union...
in North-West London
NW postcode area
The NW postcode area, also known as the London NW postcode area, is a group of postcode districts covering part of northwest London, England...
since the 1860s. In 1871, Belsize were one of the clubs at the inaugural meeting of the Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
, and therefore pioneers of the game of Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. In 1878, Belsize moved to form Rosslyn Park RFC, becoming one of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's leading clubs. In 1971, Belsize Park RFC was re-established by a group of local players. By the late 1970s, the special spirit had evolved, enticing friends from all over the world, including a number of established internationals, who relished the concept of good, free spirit rugby blended with partying and excess. The club is now one of the most central of all London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Rugby Clubs, playing and training in Regent's Park. There are 3 regular teams playing every Saturday during the season as well as a Touch Rugby squad in the summer.