In Part 1 we looked at the church and chapel(s) that gave these parts of Willesden their names. This time, we’ll discover more about the history of the areas by exploring the stories of some of their landmark buildings, starting with those in Church End.
1.
A
sketch map of the area, based on the 1895 O.S. map, with featured landmark buildings
shown.
The
“Six Bells” public house was built before 1724, and was known as the
Five Bells, until the ring at St. Mary’s was augmented to six, when the name
had to be changed! It later became known as The Old Six Bells. Being close to
the church, it was a favourite meeting place of the Willesden Vestry members,
during winter before their new Hall was built, when the church was cold. A Post
Office letter box was fixed in its wall in 1870, and the pub was later
converted into a shop, as seen in this photograph. The little pub has now disappeared.
2.
The
old "Six Bells", as a shop and post office, c.1920.
3. Willesden's Round House lock-up, in the
19th century. (Brent Archives
online image 2128)
The Round
House, was a “lock-up”, or “cage,” on the corner of Neasden Lane, close to
the church. It was used to house criminals waiting to see the Magistrate, and
is pictured in the story of Jack Sheppard, seen in Part 1. Some of the stone from
the building, after it was demolished, was used in the construction of St.
Mary’s School (see below).
4. The Vestry Hall, with original fire station
beside it.
The Vestry
Hall is a small building, that still stands by the roundabout where Neasden
Lane meets Willesden High Road, near to St. Mary’s Church. It was built in
1857, when the Willesden Vestry, a parish meeting which was the forerunner of the Local Council, decided that
they needed a purpose-built Hall. It would include a fireproof cupboard for the
precious Vestry Minutes, and would also house the Willesden fire engine.
When
the Vestry was replaced by the Willesden Local Board, in 1874, the public
enquiry was held in the Vestry Hall. This quaint landmark has survived fire,
has served as a nursery, and now houses the foodbank run by the Trussell Trust.
5. St. Mary's School, as proposed in 1845, and
in 1947. (Brent Archives
online images 3030 and 1286)
Willesden
National School (St. Mary’s School) was
one of the earliest schools to open in Willesden. The Vestry decided, in 1809,
to establish a Sunday School for 80 children of the poor, giving them a chance
to learn to read and write. The local farmers, who relied on children’s labour
at certain times of the year, were less than impressed by this idea, thinking
that the youngsters would get ideas “above their station”. The original Sunday
School became a day-school in 1818, transferring into a new building in 1853,
beside Willesden Lane (renamed Willesden High Road by 1900). It was funded by
public subscription.
The
School remained in use until 1972, and is fondly remembered by generations of
Church End schoolchildren. The new St. Mary’s School is in Garnet Road, to the west
of the Church. Willesden Magistrates’ Court is now on the site of the old
school (and the Six Bells).
In
1861, a new St. Mary’s Vicarage was built in Neasden Lane, opposite the
Church, and looking out over the cricket field behind. It was the latest in a
long line, dating back to the 12th century, and was itself replaced
by a handsome house, designed by the architect Caroe, in 1904. The Caroe house
was bought by British Thomson-Houston, the electrical engineers, for use as a conference
centre by their directors. A vicarage designed by Cachermaille-Day, was built
in 1939 on a site next door, nearer to the corner of Neasden Lane, and
surrounded by a lovely garden.
No
trace of these buildings remains. The site on the corner was sold to developers
in 2002, and now has a block of flats built on it. The present, much smaller vicarage
was built on the opposite side of Neasden Lane, beside St. Mary’s Parish Centre
(where Willesden Local History Society
holds its monthly meetings, when we are not in lockdown!).
6. The White Hart Hotel, c. 1882 and as
rebuilt in 1900. (Brent Archives
online images 1241 and 1474)
A pub
was in existence at the corner of Church Road and Willesden Lane by 1749. It
was first known as “The Gate”, and then “The Leather Bottle”, with the name
changed to The White Hart” in 1791. In Victorian times it was famous for
its pleasure garden, and was enlarged in 1882. During the next two decades, the
White Hart became the headquarters of the Neasden Cycling Club, and also the
Finchley Harriers (when Finchley became built up, the runners preferred the
more rural lanes and fields of Willesden for their cross-country runs!) The pub
was also the local horse-bus terminus. The White Hart closed in 2002, and was
demolished soon after, replaced by a block of flats, with a large shop on the
ground floor.
7. The White Horse public house, in 1874 and
1905. (Brent Archives
online images 7287 and 1084)
“The
White Horse” public house was also in Church Road, nearer to Harlesden, at
the corner with Roundwood Road. A beerhouse stood on the site by 1801, later becoming
fully-licensed. In 1888, it was replaced by a larger, brick building, which was
damaged during the Second World War. It was repaired, but slowly declined in
popularity. The White Horse was demolished in 1998, and replaced by flats, with
a Veterinary Surgery on the ground floor.
8. The Granada Cinema, Church Road, in 1933
and 1960. (Brent Archives
online images 10375 and 426)
The
Granada Cinema in Church Road opened in 1921, beside the industrial area of
Cobbold Road. Already a large building, its seating capacity was increased to
2,000 in 1928. As “The Empire”, it was a popular venue for the whole of
Willesden, with a famous cinema organ. The cinema closed in 1962, then reopened
as a bingo hall. It then a became a church, and finally has been developed as
flats, with the church still occupying the ground floor.
Chapel
End, as well as the chapels themselves,
also had a number of landmark buildings.
In
1828, the Vestry ordered the construction of a Pound, a walled area at
the corner of Petticoat Stile Lane (which soon became known as Pound Lane). Following
the Inclosure Act of 1810, which allowed existing landowners to divide up
common land, such as Willesden Green, among themselves, ordinary people had
nowhere to graze the few animals they kept.
9. The corner of Pound Lane and the High Road,
with the Pound on the right, from a drawing of around 1890.
Stray
dogs, horses, donkeys and sheep were rounded up, to prevent damage to gardens
and orchards. They could be confined until their owners paid a fee for their
release. The fee in 1830 was fourpence a day, plus the cost of feed, and a Mr
Kilby was appointed as Pound Keeper. He remained in office until 1886, when it
was decided that the Pound had outlived its usefulness. It was dismantled a few
years later.
10.
St.
Mary's Infants School, Pound Lane, c.1900 and c.1950. (Brent Archives online images 3028 and
3033)
St.
Mary’s Infants School was a small school,
for infants only. It was opened at Pound Lane in 1858, on land given by All
Souls College, Oxford (important land-owners in Willesden). This building
survives, and is now used by an Evangelical Church.
“The
Case is Altered” public house, originally a beerhouse, was probably built
in the 1850s, on a greenfield site. It was enlarged in 1877, but proved still
too small for the rapidly-expanding population. A rebuild in 1887, and further
expansion in 1915, provided the huge building we see today. The three-storey
red brick building, opposite the junction with Dudden Hill Lane, has since been
painted black, and provides hostel and bar accommodation, named “No.8.”
11.
The
Case is Altered public house, on the left, with the old Chapel in the distance,
c.1880.
“The
Crown” Public House, was built on Willesden High Road opposite the new
Chapel. Enlarged in 1905, this attractive building closed for business in 2015,
and still awaits a purchaser.
St.John
the Baptist church, in Dudden Hill
Lane, opened in 1901, as a Mission
Church of St. Andrew’s, Willesden Green. It closed as a church by 1937, and has
been used since as the Brent Indian Centre, more recently named the “Sir Learie
Constantine Centre,” in honour of the famous West Indian cricketer.
Willesden
Green Electric Palace was a small cinema that
opened next door to the first non-conformist Chapel in 1910. It was renamed
“The Savoy” in 1933, and “The Metro” in 1949. The building survived until 2018,
after being used as a cab office, then a church. It has now been demolished,
and the site remains empty so far.
The
purpose–built Pound Lane Drill Hall and training ground was opened in
1911, for military recruiting and training purposes. Col. Charles Pinkham, a local
businessman and politician, organised the Willesden Defence League, which
eventually became the Middlesex Volunteer Regiment. During the First World War,
Pinkham raised two Battalions of the 9th Middlesex Regiment, who
went to fight in Mesopotamia (now Iraq). The Drill Hall eventually became used
as a working men’s hostel, Pound Lodge, which was demolished around 2013, and
replaced by a St Mungo’s Hostel, of striking modern design.
In
1900, the London General Omnibus Company bought land for stables at Pound Lane.
Seven horse-buses an hour were running by 1903. Horse-drawn services were
withdrawn in 1911, (despite protests by locals, who did not trust the new motor
buses), and the site became the present Willesden Bus Garage. The bus
garage has been an important local employer for over 100 years, with 958 people
working there in 1949.
12.
An
aerial view of Willesden Bus Garage in 1921, with the Drill Hall across Pound
Lane from the back of it. What other Chapel End landmark buildings can you spot
in this picture?
Please
join me next weekend, for the final part of this series, when we will look at
some of the industries that came to Church End and Chapel End, and how local
housing changed in the 20th century.
Margaret Pratt.
