North London Line - Brondesbury
North London Line.
The North London Line, coming from West Hampstead Station runs south westwards
TQ 24625 84278
Residential area, which is nevertheless lively with theatres and pubs down Kilburn High Road
Post to the north Kilburn
Post to the west Brondesbury
This posting only covers the south east corner of this square
Dyne Road
Willesden Town Hall. The offices of the Willesden local board were established here in 1891 and later were enlarged as Willesden Town Hall. When the area became part of the London Borough of Brent, all administration was transferred to Wimble, and the town hall was demolished in 1972. There are now flats on the site. There were also a number of works departments and yards associated with the local authority – opposite and adjacent to the town hall. All these are now the site of flats and offices.
1a Foundation House. Institute of Contemporary Musical Performance. Founded in the mid 1980s and provides courses relevant to modern music
Kingdom Hall. Jehovah’s Witnesses rear of 1a
1b Hamilton House. Offices of Brent Mind, Mencap, etc.
Kilburn High Road
Brondesbury Station. Opened in 1860 it now lies between West Hampstead and Brondesbury Park on the North London Line. It was built on the Hampstead Junction Railway line from old Oak Common to Camden Road and originally called Edgeware Road (Kilburn). It was rebuilt by the London North West Railway and the booking office remains. It has been renamed several times: Edgware Road in 1865, Edgware Road and Brondesbury in 1872 Brondesbury (Edgware Road) in 1873 Brondesbury in 1883. The station was still gas lit in the 1960s. The station was refurbished and new platform buildings erected in 1996, as part of the ungrading for Eurostar.
234 Kilburn Grange Cinema. This on the site of The Grange with public park behind. It opened in 1914 and was cited as ‘the largest purpose built cinema in Great Britain owned by the North Metropolitan Circuit. It takes up a whole block and the cinema’s name and date are on the facade. It has a corner entrance with a copper dome. Inside a galleried oval area leads to what were the tea room and the circle. It had a Nicholson & Lord 3Manual/38 speaking stops straight organ, replaced by a Wurlitzer 2Manual/8Ranks model ‘F’ theatre organ in 1927. In 1929 it was taken over by Gaumont British Theatres who became part of the Rank Organisation. It closed in 1975 and was converted into Butty’s Nightclub which later became the National Ballroom, and then the National Club for the local Irish community. The Club closed in 1999 and the building was left empty. It is now used by the Brazilian based ‘United Church of the Kingdom of God’.
The Grange. The cinema was on the site of The Grange a large house built in 1831, and the home of a successful coach builder, Peters.
236 Speedy Noodles. This was the Biograph Theatre converted from shops which opened in 1910 for Biograph Theatres Ltd. chain. It closed in 1917, and went back to being a shop.
244-266 Sir Colin Campbell Pub. Pub with Irish music and Guinness
269 The Tricycle Theatre. Converted from a converted Forester's Hall, the Tricycle opened in 1980 as the home of the Wakefield Tricycle Company – a touring theatre company which never played Wakefield. The theatre used the hall while the Foresters themselves maintain a decorative street frontage and shop. The Theatre was almost burnt down in 1987 from a fire started in an adjacent timber yard. It was rebuilt and expanded. In 1998 the Cinema was added and there is now also a Visual Arts Studio called the Paintbox, the James Baldwin Studio Theatre, an Art Gallery, Cafe, and rehearsal rooms.
The Tricycle Cinema shares an entrance with the Theatre. It also has an entrance in Buckley Road. It is designed by Tim Foster with an auditorium basement level. There is also a street level private box next to the projection box. The design on the screen curtain is in the form of a tricycle which is made up of names of sponsors, and patrons. It opened in 1998
274 Black Lion. Guest house and pub. Built 1898 By RA Lewcock with interior carved panels by F.T .Callcott. It is in red brick with a Pink & grey granite frontage. Etched glass in the windows and doors. There is a projecting cornice with an arcaded balustrade with decoration, cupola and weathervane finial and a lion mask and plaque inscribed "The Black Lion rebuilt 1898". Inside plasterwork, and gilded plaques by Callcott.
289 The Good Ship. Music pub which opened in 2005.
289-291 Mitchell and Phillips, Kilburn Brewery. This was run in the mid 19th by William Verey, a Hampstead resident. It was taken over by Truemans in 1920.
307-311 The Kings Head. This was previously called McGovern's and as the Kings Head had Elvis's head as their sign. Upstairs was the Luminaire, a music venue, and downstairs a 'dive bar' with a mirrored bar back from its days as an Irish pub., both venues closed at the end of 2010. The building may have been offices for the local gas company in the 1930s – and Drakes Courtyard behind was the gas works depot.
308 Nandos. Was the Lord Palmerston Pub and later called Roman Way.
332 Powers Bar Pub. May be closed
Palmerston Road
The road now intersects the Web Heath Estate
Railway
A signal box was in use at Brondesbury Station until 1962.
Sources
British History Online, Middlesex. Web site
British Listed Buildings. Web site
Cinema Theatres Association. Newsletter
Cinema Treasures. Web site
Clunn. The Face of London
Field. London Place Names
GLIAS Newsletter
London Borough of Brent web site
London Encyclopaedia
London Railway Record
Lost Pubs Project. Web site
Mitchell and Smith. The North London Line
Pevsner and Cherry... North West London
Stevenson, Middlesex
Tricycle Theatre. Web site
Walford. Village London
Willesden History Society. Newsletter
The North London Line, coming from West Hampstead Station runs south westwards
TQ 24625 84278
Residential area, which is nevertheless lively with theatres and pubs down Kilburn High Road
Post to the north Kilburn
Post to the west Brondesbury
This posting only covers the south east corner of this square
Dyne Road
Willesden Town Hall. The offices of the Willesden local board were established here in 1891 and later were enlarged as Willesden Town Hall. When the area became part of the London Borough of Brent, all administration was transferred to Wimble, and the town hall was demolished in 1972. There are now flats on the site. There were also a number of works departments and yards associated with the local authority – opposite and adjacent to the town hall. All these are now the site of flats and offices.
1a Foundation House. Institute of Contemporary Musical Performance. Founded in the mid 1980s and provides courses relevant to modern music
Kingdom Hall. Jehovah’s Witnesses rear of 1a
1b Hamilton House. Offices of Brent Mind, Mencap, etc.
Kilburn High Road
Brondesbury Station. Opened in 1860 it now lies between West Hampstead and Brondesbury Park on the North London Line. It was built on the Hampstead Junction Railway line from old Oak Common to Camden Road and originally called Edgeware Road (Kilburn). It was rebuilt by the London North West Railway and the booking office remains. It has been renamed several times: Edgware Road in 1865, Edgware Road and Brondesbury in 1872 Brondesbury (Edgware Road) in 1873 Brondesbury in 1883. The station was still gas lit in the 1960s. The station was refurbished and new platform buildings erected in 1996, as part of the ungrading for Eurostar.
234 Kilburn Grange Cinema. This on the site of The Grange with public park behind. It opened in 1914 and was cited as ‘the largest purpose built cinema in Great Britain owned by the North Metropolitan Circuit. It takes up a whole block and the cinema’s name and date are on the facade. It has a corner entrance with a copper dome. Inside a galleried oval area leads to what were the tea room and the circle. It had a Nicholson & Lord 3Manual/38 speaking stops straight organ, replaced by a Wurlitzer 2Manual/8Ranks model ‘F’ theatre organ in 1927. In 1929 it was taken over by Gaumont British Theatres who became part of the Rank Organisation. It closed in 1975 and was converted into Butty’s Nightclub which later became the National Ballroom, and then the National Club for the local Irish community. The Club closed in 1999 and the building was left empty. It is now used by the Brazilian based ‘United Church of the Kingdom of God’.
The Grange. The cinema was on the site of The Grange a large house built in 1831, and the home of a successful coach builder, Peters.
236 Speedy Noodles. This was the Biograph Theatre converted from shops which opened in 1910 for Biograph Theatres Ltd. chain. It closed in 1917, and went back to being a shop.
244-266 Sir Colin Campbell Pub. Pub with Irish music and Guinness
269 The Tricycle Theatre. Converted from a converted Forester's Hall, the Tricycle opened in 1980 as the home of the Wakefield Tricycle Company – a touring theatre company which never played Wakefield. The theatre used the hall while the Foresters themselves maintain a decorative street frontage and shop. The Theatre was almost burnt down in 1987 from a fire started in an adjacent timber yard. It was rebuilt and expanded. In 1998 the Cinema was added and there is now also a Visual Arts Studio called the Paintbox, the James Baldwin Studio Theatre, an Art Gallery, Cafe, and rehearsal rooms.
The Tricycle Cinema shares an entrance with the Theatre. It also has an entrance in Buckley Road. It is designed by Tim Foster with an auditorium basement level. There is also a street level private box next to the projection box. The design on the screen curtain is in the form of a tricycle which is made up of names of sponsors, and patrons. It opened in 1998
274 Black Lion. Guest house and pub. Built 1898 By RA Lewcock with interior carved panels by F.T .Callcott. It is in red brick with a Pink & grey granite frontage. Etched glass in the windows and doors. There is a projecting cornice with an arcaded balustrade with decoration, cupola and weathervane finial and a lion mask and plaque inscribed "The Black Lion rebuilt 1898". Inside plasterwork, and gilded plaques by Callcott.
289 The Good Ship. Music pub which opened in 2005.
289-291 Mitchell and Phillips, Kilburn Brewery. This was run in the mid 19th by William Verey, a Hampstead resident. It was taken over by Truemans in 1920.
307-311 The Kings Head. This was previously called McGovern's and as the Kings Head had Elvis's head as their sign. Upstairs was the Luminaire, a music venue, and downstairs a 'dive bar' with a mirrored bar back from its days as an Irish pub., both venues closed at the end of 2010. The building may have been offices for the local gas company in the 1930s – and Drakes Courtyard behind was the gas works depot.
308 Nandos. Was the Lord Palmerston Pub and later called Roman Way.
332 Powers Bar Pub. May be closed
Palmerston Road
The road now intersects the Web Heath Estate
Railway
A signal box was in use at Brondesbury Station until 1962.
Sources
British History Online, Middlesex. Web site
British Listed Buildings. Web site
Cinema Theatres Association. Newsletter
Cinema Treasures. Web site
Clunn. The Face of London
Field. London Place Names
GLIAS Newsletter
London Borough of Brent web site
London Encyclopaedia
London Railway Record
Lost Pubs Project. Web site
Mitchell and Smith. The North London Line
Pevsner and Cherry... North West London
Stevenson, Middlesex
Tricycle Theatre. Web site
Walford. Village London
Willesden History Society. Newsletter
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