Primrose Hill (district)
Primrose Hill is a district in the London Borough of Camden, England.
The area east of the park was developed and became known as Primrose Hill. Primrose Hill is surrounded by St John's Wood to the west, Swiss Cottage to the northwest, Belsize Park to the north, Chalk Farm to the northeast, Camden Town to the east and Regent's Park to the south. The nearest Tube stations are Chalk Farm to the northeast and Swiss Cottage to the northwest. The defunct Primrose Hill railway station, now housing a business, sits on the railway lines that separate Primrose Hill from Camden Town. Primrose Hill Tunnel, the first railway tunnel in London, has had its eastern portals Grade II*- and its western portals Grade II* listed since 1974.[1][2]
Primrose Hill is an archetypal example of a successful London urban village, due to the location and the quality of its socio-historical development,[3] and is home to many prominent residents. Beginning in the late 1960s several of the roads were closed to motor traffic in response to an unacceptable level of collisions and consequent loss of life. The changes were carefully designed to render the area largely free of through motor traffic.[4]
Notable buildings and residents
[edit]There are seven English Heritage blue plaques in Primrose Hill commemorating the historic personalities that have lived there.[5] The plaques mark the residences of poet Sir Hugh Clough, historian and broadcaster A. J. P. Taylor and painter William Roberts at 11, 13, and 14 St Mark's Crescent respectively; revolutionary socialist and philosopher Friedrich Engels at 122 (and later 41) Regent's Park Road; photographer Roger Fenton at 2 Albert Terrace; poet and novelist Sylvia Plath at 3 Chalcot Square; and poet William Butler Yeats at 23 Fitzroy Road.[a][5]
Stanley Johnson and Lukas Heller each lived at different times at the Rocking Horse House on Regent's Park Road.[7] Broadcasters Joan Bakewell and Nicholas Crane and actors Daisy Ridley[citation needed] and Derek Jacobi live in the area.[8][9][10]
Elliott Square is a grouping of modernist 1960s houses by Douglas Streeter, built as part of the Chalcot Estate on land owned by Eton College. [11]
During the 1990s Primrose Hill was a popular place to live with some who worked in the film, music and fashion industries and who were referred to as the Primrose Hill set in British newspapers.[12]
References
[edit]Notes
- ^ Sylvia Plath also lived at 23 Fitzroy Road, from December 1962 and died there, by suicide, on 11 February 1963.[6]
Citations
- ^ "PRIMROSE HILL TUNNELS (EASTERN PORTALS)". Historic England. 14 May 1974. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
List Entry Number:1329904
- ^ "PRIMROSE HILL TUNNELS (WESTERN ENTRANCE)". Historic England. 14 May 1974. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
List Entry Number:1246989
- ^ Barr, Alistair (22 July 2007). "Primrose Hill, An Urban Village Examined" (PDF). Barr Gazetas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ Camden Cycling Campaign (2014). "Primrose Hill Example" (PDF).
- ^ a b "Blue Plaques". English Heritage. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Sylvia Plath | Blue Plaques". English Heritage. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ Ivey, Prudence (31 January 2018). "Property Local landmark: former Johnson family home, the legendary 'Rocking Horse House' in Primrose Hill, for sale for £11.25m". Evening Standard.
- ^ McGibbon, Rob (24 March 2019). "A Life in the Day: Labour peer Joan Bakewell on Pilates aged 85". The Times. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
She lives alone in Primrose Hill, north London
- ^ "Primrose Hill People: Nick Crane -". May 2017.
- ^ Farndale, Nigel (2 July 2012). "Derek Jacobi: 'I don't mind people having faith. But it ain't for me'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ "For Sale: Elliot Square, London NW3". The Modern House. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019.
- ^ Craik, Laura (1 June 2015). "Primrose Hill: the NW1 set has lost its cool". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019.
External links
[edit]
- Primrose Hill – An Urban Village Examined, [dead link] by Alistair Barr, Architect & Resident — Archived 2007-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
- Article on Primrose Hill Farmers' markets
- Primrose Hill Local Website — Archived 2019-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
- Primrose Hill and Regent's Park in Literature and Music, a bibliography
