Editing Kensal Green (section)

== History ==
Originally part of one of the 8 [[Manorialism|manor]]s within the district of [[Willesden]], 
Kensal Green is first mentioned in 1253, translating from old English meaning ''the King's Holt'' (King's Wood). Its location marked the boundary between Willesden and the then Chelsea & Paddington, on which it remains today. It formed part of one of 10 [[Manorialism|manor]]s, most likely Chamberlayne Wood Manor, named after Canon Richard de Camera (''of the Chambers'').<ref name=KGDir>{{cite web|url=http://www.kensalgreendirectory.com/history.php|title=History|publisher=Kensalgreendirectory.com|access-date=2 February 2012}}</ref> In the 15th century the then [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] [[Henry Chichele]] (1414–1443), acquired lands in Willesden and Kingsbury. In 1443 he founded [[All Souls' College, Oxford]] and endowed it with the same lands in his will. As a result, most of Willesden and Kensal Green remained largely agricultural until the mid-1800s, well into the [[Victorian era]]. In 1805, the construction of the [[Grand Junction Canal]] passed through the district to join the [[Regent's Canal]] at [[Paddington]]. As the combined [[Grand Union Canal]], this allowed passage of commercial freight traffic from the [[Midlands (England)|Midlands]] to [[London Docks]], and hence onwards to the [[River Thames]]. There were two [[dairy farms]] in Kensal Green by the early 1800s, which expanded greatly after the 1864 [[Act of Parliament]] which made it illegal to keep cattle within the [[City of London]]. Although by the late 1800s residential development had greatly reduced the farmland, still in the 1890s many sheep and pigs were raised in the district. One of the farms later became a [[United Dairies]] [[creamery]], supplied by [[British Railway Milk Tank Wagon|milk trains]] from [[Mitre Bridge Junction]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22605#n151 |title=Willesden: Economic history &#124; British History Online |publisher=British-history.ac.uk |access-date=28 March 2015}}</ref>

St. John's Church was built on the corner of what is now [[Harrow Road]] and [[Kilburn Lane]] in 1844 and was extensively refurbished in 2017 and fitted with new bells in anticipation of the 175th anniversary in 2019. The church was followed by a school, now Bales College, and more inns including The Plough on the opposite corner of the junction. In 1832 [[Kensal Green Cemetery]] was incorporated by Act of Parliament and opened in January 1833. This led to a revaluation of the surrounding lands, and in 1835 ecclesiastical commissioners were appointed by the Crown, who reported in 1846 that: "the larger portion of the Prebendal Estates possess, in our opinion, a value far beyond their present agricultural value."<ref name=KGDir/>
[[File:St. John the Evangelist, Kensal Green - geograph.org.uk - 998127.jpg|thumb|left|St. John the Evangelist]]
With enough people living locally to create a new parish, in 1844 [[St John the Evangelist Church, Kensal Green|St. John the Evangelist Church]] in Kilburn Lane was consecrated. The 1851 census records just over 800 people living in the new parish. In the 1860s, Kensal Green manor house, situated where Wakeman Road joins [[Harrow Road]], was demolished. Rapid increase in residential development followed, firstly with land west of Kilburn High Road, followed by the sale of Banister's Farm leading to the development of Bannister Road and Mortimer Road. Unfortunately at this time Kensal Green was suffering huge social problems and had a reputation of being a slum, with 55% off its residents living in poverty and squalor, despite being neighbours to thriving Queen's Park.The rapid residential development led to local commissioners reporting in 1880 that there was inadequate drainage and sewerage facilities, with most houses having only improved access to what were the old agricultural drains. In that same year, All Souls' College started to develop its lands north-west of Kilburn Lane, including All Souls' Avenue and College Road, with adjacent roads being named after leading Fellows of the college, and the installation of new sewerage facilities across the district. The college donated lands on which to build Kensal Rise Reading Room, to commemorate the [[Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria]], in 1897. Opened by [[United States|American]] author [[Mark Twain]] in 1901, it was later extended and renamed [[Kensal Rise Library]].<ref name=KGDir/>

The developments of the streets around [[Kensal Rise railway station]] date from the last 10 years of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th. Although opened in April 1873 as Kensal Green at Chamberlayne Wood, then a remote dead end road; it was renamed Kensal Rise on 24 May 1890. Just north of the station the National Athletic Ground (one of the many early grounds of [[Queen's Park Rangers]]) opened in 1890. The ground which was later renamed the Kensal Rise Athletic Stadium also hosted cycling and athletics competitions before being turned over to housing in the 1920s. For a brief period before 1914 the Aeroplane Building and Flying Society had its headquarters at Kensal Rise and flew test gliders from the site. Kensal Green also boasted the Electric Pavilion Cinema <ref>{{cite web|url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/15212 |title=Odeon Kensal Rise in London, GB |publisher=Cinema Treasures |access-date=30 March 2017}}</ref> which opened in November 1914 and was located on the corner of Chamberlayne Road and Bannister Road.

The construction of the [[Great Western Railway]] started in 1835, with the first {{convert|22.5|mi}} of line, from [[Paddington station]] to [[Taplow railway station|Maidenhead Bridge station]], opened on 4 June 1838. In 1901, its major carriage washing and servicing facilities and [[Old Oak Common TMD|locomotive depot]] were developed at [[Old Oak Common]], bringing further employment and more immigrants to the district. The first major immigrant population had been [[Irish people]] fleeing the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Irish Famine]], and then post-[[World War I]]. In [[World War II]], due to the railway facilities, the district suffered greatly from German [[Luftwaffe]] bombing.<ref name=KGDir/>

After the war, the area became a refuge for the first [[British African-Caribbean community|Afro-Caribbean]] born contingent. In the 1960s the college disposed of many freeholds, while retaining land in Willesden. Since the 1980s, the Irish-born community has reduced in size, although the legacy of their presence remains, not least in the number of Irish pubs and organisations and the many thousands with Irish ancestry who continue to populate the area. According to statistics from the 2001 census, the area has a very high proportion of young residents (28.4% 25–44 years old) and a very high educational level (30.7% hold a first degree or better).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brent.gov.uk/page-not-found|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304070341/http://archive.brent.gov.uk/demographic.nsf/Documents/Kensal%20Green%20Ward?openDocument|url-status=dead|title=Kensal Green Ward|archive-date=4 March 2012|website=www.brent.gov.uk}}</ref>

As of June 2014 the area had seen significant gentrification as people had been priced out of surrounding areas such as Notting Hill. In 2015 it was described as 'celebrity haunt-meets-Nappy Valley'.<ref name="phillips kensal"/>