Editing Kentish Town (section)

==History==
Kentish Town was originally a small settlement on the [[River Fleet]] (the waterway is now one of [[Subterranean rivers of London|London's underground rivers]]).<ref>{{harvnb|Denford|2005|p=8}}</ref> It is first recorded during the reign of King John (1207) as ''kentisston''. By 1456 Kentish Town was a thriving hamlet. In this period, a [[chapel of ease]] was built for its inhabitants.

The early 19th century brought modernisation, causing much of the area's rural qualities, the River Fleet and the 18th-century buildings to vanish, although pockets still remain, for example [[Little Green Street]]. Between the availability of public transport to it from London, and its urbanisation, it was a popular resort.

[[File:LONDON, MARYLEBONE by BARTLETT, F.A. and B.J. DAVIES.jpg|260px|thumb|left|Topographical survey of (west to east); Paddington, St. Marylebone and St. Pancras Parishes. Engraving by B.R. Davies, {{convert|1145|x|950|mm|in|abbr=on|lk=in}}, dated 1834.]]
Large amounts of land were purchased to build the [[railway]], which can still be seen today. Kentish Town was a prime site for development as the Kentish Town Road was a major route from London northwards. [[Karl Marx]] was a famous resident, living at 46 Grafton Terrace from 1856. Jenny Marx described this eight-room house in Kentish Town as "A truly princely dwelling, compared with the holes we used to live in" (March 11, 1861 letter by [[Jenny Longuet|Jenny Marx]], quoted in Rachel Holmes, "Eleanor Marx: A Life", Bloomsbury Books, London, 2014, P 10).

1877 saw the beginning of mission work in the area as it was then poor. The mission first held their services outside but as their funding increased they built a mission house, [[chapel]], and vicarage. One mission house of the area was [[Lyndhurst Hall, Kentish Town|Lyndhurst Hall]] which remained in use before being taken over by the Council. The Council wished it to sell it for residential use, and the hall was demolished in 2006.

During the 19th century and early 20th century the area of Kentish Town became the home of several piano and organ manufacturers, and was described by [[The Piano Journal]] in 1901 as "...that healthful suburb dear to the heart of the piano maker".

A network of streets in the East of Kentish Town has streets named after places or persons connected with [[Christ Church, Oxford]] viz: [[Osney|Oseney]], [[Richard Busby|Busby]], [[Thomas Gaisford|Gaisford]], [[Caversham, Berkshire|Caversham]], [[Islip, Oxfordshire|Islip]], [[Thomas Wolsey|Wolsey]], [[St Frideswide's Priory|Frideswide]], [[Peckwater Quadrangle|Peckwater]] & [[Henry Hammond|Hammond]]. All these streets lay behind the Oxford Arms. Some of the freehold of these streets is still in the name of Christ Church Oxford.

A network of streets in the north of Kentish Town was part of a large estate owned by [[St John's College, Cambridge]]. Lady Margaret Road is named after [[Lady Margaret Beaufort]], foundress of St John's College. Burghley Road is named after [[Lord Burghley]], Chancellor to [[Elizabeth I]] and benefactor of St John's. Similarly, College Lane, Evangelist Road and Lady Somerset Road are street names linked to the estate of St John's College.

In 1912 the [[St Silas Church, Kentish Town|Church of St Silas the Martyr]] (designed by architect [[Ernest Charles Shearman]]) was finally erected and consecrated, and by December of that year it became a [[parish]] in its own right. It can still be seen today along with the church of [[St Luke's Church, Kentish Town|St Luke with St Paul]] and the Church of St Barnabas (handed over to the [[Church of Greece|Greek Orthodox Church]] in 1957). The present [[Church of England]] parish church is St Benet and All Saints, Lupton Street.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/in_jubilaeo_1935/page/n1 ''In jubiaeo: A short history of the church and parish of S. Benet and All Saints, Kentish Town, London, 1885-1935''] [no author] (London: St Benet and All Saints Church, 1935). Online resource, accessed 27 October 2018</ref>

In his poem ''Parliament Hill Fields,'' Sir [[John Betjeman]] refers to "the curious Anglo-Norman parish church of Kentish Town". This possibly refers to the former parish Church of St John Kentish Town.

Kentish Town Road contains one of London's many disused Tube stations. [[South Kentish Town tube station]] was closed in June 1924 after [[strike action]] at the [[Lots Road Power Station]] meant the lift could not be used. It never reopened as a station, although it was used as an air raid shelter during [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kentishtowner.co.uk/2013/01/23/wednesday-picture-south-kentish-town-nw5s-ghost-tube-station/|title=South Kentish Town Underground: NW5's Ghost Tube Station|work=Kentishtowner|date=23 January 2013}}</ref> The distinctive building is now occupied underground by a massage shop and on ground level by a 'Cash Converters' pawn shop at the corner of Kentish Town Road and Castle Road.  There have been proposals to rebuild the station.

Kentish Town was to see further modernisation in the post-World War II period. However, the residential parts of Kentish Town, dating back to the mid-19th century have survived.{{By whom|date=March 2012}}