Kilburn is an area of northwest London, not far from Marble Arch, surrounded by Willesden, Queen’s Park, and Kensal Rise to the west, Cricklewood to the north, Maida Vale to the south and Hampstead to the east.
It was always considered Irish and apparently still has the highest Irish population in London. But these days, as you go up and down the main road, Kilburn High Road. For those who live in Kilburn, the Kilburn High Road is The Road, it’s The Road north, The Road south, the river of their lives, where all occurs and where all is obtained.
Kilburn High Road is, unusually, dead straight, straight as an arrow. It points north west, or to be pedantic, north-north west, it is in fact part of one of the two of the most famous roads in the whole of England, Watling Street, a Roman road leading from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire. The other road was the Fosseway, which was an opposite diagonal road going from southwest to northeast.
Kilburn High Road is, unusually, dead straight, straight as an arrow. It points north west, or to be pedantic, north-north west, it is in fact part of one of the two of the most famous roads in the whole of England, Watling Street, a Roman road leading from London to Wroxeter in Shropshire. The other road was the Fosseway, which was an opposite diagonal road going from southwest to northeast.
So, Kilburnites can feel reassured that they are sitting, or standing, or walking along, or hanging out, on a stretch of straight Roman road that was the transport artery of Rome’s northern colony.
Or perhaps they don’t have to think about that, particularly when they are on the way to Poundland, 11—114 Kilburn High Road, to buy some affordable A3 batteries or a light bulb for the loo.
But hey, there’s more to Kilburn High Road than Poundland, as great as Poundland is.
How about notable residents? Lily Allen, Brian Eno, AA Milne, George Orwell, Kate Moss, Andrew Sachs. Interesting bunch, imagine having them all round for dinner.
There’s The Cooper’s Arms, Spicy Basil (Thai), the Sir Colin Campbell (Irish) pub, The Black Lion (Victorian gastropub), The Fiddler (late night live music place), The Juniper Brasserie & Bar. Yes, Kilburn is a place to relax, have a nice evening and pick a kind of cocktail list and dinner menu to suit your taste and wallet.
Inevitably there are all the usual retail chains like Sainsbury’s and JD Sports.
And for transport you have Kilburn High Road rail station and Kilburn and Brondesbury tube stations, plus of lots of buses going up and down the main drag. Nowadays there is quite a strong Asian influence and there are all kinds of stores and facilities such as the Kilburn Islamic Centre and Hilal Food Centre.
There’s also the Polskie Delikatesy. And there’s even a Pentecostal Christian church called Ruach City Church – I imagine the singalongs must be cathartic.
London is so international and has so many cultural influences that give a neighbourhood like Kilburn many food and religious choices. 2,000 years after the Romans, you can wander up and down Watling Street (Kilburn High Road) and enjoy the diversity.
