Editing Kilburn, London

{{Short description |Area of London, England}}
{{Other uses|Kilburn (disambiguation){{!}}Kilburn}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                   = England
| map_type                  = Greater London
| region                    = London
| population                = 29,027
| population_ref            = (2011 Census Brent and Camden Wards)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13688601&c=Kilburn&d=14&e=62&g=6319895&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476899945109&enc=1|title=Brent Ward population 2011|access-date=19 October 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021060525/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13688601&c=Kilburn&d=14&e=62&g=6319895&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476899945109&enc=1|url-status=dead}}</ref><br><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13688647&c=Kilburn&d=14&e=62&g=6321814&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476977319097&enc=1|title=Camden Ward population 2011|access-date=20 October 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021060551/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13688647&c=Kilburn&d=14&e=62&g=6321814&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&o=362&m=0&r=1&s=1476977319097&enc=1|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| official_name             = Kilburn
| london_borough            = Brent
| london_borough1           = Camden
| london_borough2           = Westminster
| constituency_westminster  = [[Hampstead and Highgate (UK Parliament constituency)|Hampstead and Highgate]]
| constituency_westminster1 = [[Queen's Park and Maida Vale (UK Parliament constituency)|Queen's Park and Maida Vale]]
| post_town                 = LONDON
| postcode_area             = NW
| postcode_district         = NW6
| dial_code                 = 020
| os_grid_reference         = TQ245835
| coordinates               = {{coord|51.5366|-0.2039|display=inline,title}}
| static_image_name         = File:Carlton Vale, NW6 - geograph.org.uk - 215893.jpg
| static_image_caption      = [[Carlton Vale]] and The Shamrock public house
}}
'''Kilburn''' is an area in [[North West London|North West]] [[London]], in the [[London Borough of Camden|London Boroughs of Camden]], [[London Borough of Brent|Brent]] and the [[City of Westminster]]. [[Kilburn High Road railway station]] lies 3.5 miles (5.6&nbsp;km) north-west of [[Charing Cross]].

Kilburn developed from a linear hamlet that grew up on ancient [[Watling Street]] (the modern A5 Road), the hamlet took its name from [[Kilburn Priory]], which was built on the banks of Kilburn Brook. Watling Street forms the contemporary boundary between the boroughs of Brent and Camden.

The area has London's highest [[Irish people|Irish]] population, as well as a sizable [[British Afro-Caribbean community|Afro-Caribbean]] population, and was once home to the black civil rights leader [[Billy Strachan]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Horsley |first=David |title=Billy Strachan 1921-1988 RAF Officer, Communist, Civil Rights Pioneer, Legal Administrator, Internationalist and Above All Caribbean Man |publisher=Caribbean Labour Solidarity |year=2019 |location=London |pages=14 |language=en |issn=2055-7035}}</ref>

==Geographic and administrative context==
Kilburn has never been an administrative unit and has therefore never had any formally defined boundaries. The area, which took its name from a nearby watercourse and eponymous priory, developed from a linear hamlet along Watling Street (here called Kilburn High Road) which was the boundary of the [[Civil Parish#Ancient parishes|Ancient parishes]] of [[Willesden]] – to the west of Watling Street and now part of Brent, and [[Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead|Hampstead]] to the east (now part of Camden). These parishes subsequently became a [[Municipal Borough|Municipal]] and a [[Metropolitan Borough|Metropolitan]] Borough respectively (based on the same boundaries), before merging with neighbouring areas in 1965 to form modern London Boroughs of which they are now part.

[[File:Hampstead Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg|thumb|A map showing the Kilburn ward of Hampstead Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.]]
If Kilburn is taken to extend into the City of Westminster then the historic districts it overlaps are [[Paddington]], to the west of Watling Street, and [[Marylebone]] to the east of it. Both of these areas became part of the City of Westminster in 1965.
The electoral wards of 'Kilburn (Camden)' and 'Kilburn (Brent)' cover some of the area.
Much of the area is in the NW6 postcode area, and by some interpretations the area extends into W9; however these do not define the Kilburn – post code areas were never intended to delineate districts and Kilburn (like many London districts) overlaps with others – some which have a history of formal definition (e.g. Willesden, Hampstead) and others which do not (e.g. [[Brondesbury]] in Willesden).

{{Geographic location
|width=auto
|state=expanded
|title     = '''Neighbouring areas of Kilburn'''
|Northwest = [[Willesden Green]], [[Brondesbury]]
|North     = [[Fortune Green]]/[[West Hampstead]], [[Cricklewood]]
|Northeast = [[West Hampstead]]
|West      = [[Queen's Park, London|Queen's Park]], [[Brondesbury]]/[[Kensal Rise]]
|Centre    = Kilburn
|East      = [[South Hampstead]], [[Swiss Cottage]]
|Southwest = West Kilburn, [[Kensal Town]]
|South     = [[Maida Hill]]/[[Maida Vale]]
|Southeast = [[St John's Wood]]
}}

==History==
Kilburn High Road originated as an [[ancient trackway]], part of a route between the Brittonic settlements now known as [[Canterbury]] and [[St Albans]]. Under [[Roman Britain|Roman rule]], the route was paved. In [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] times the road became known as [[Watling Street]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://hampstead.rootschat.net/kilburn.htm |title= The Virtual Tour of Kilburn |access-date= 7 December 2014 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070321221332/http://hampstead.rootschat.net/kilburn.htm |archive-date= 21 March 2007 }}</ref>

{{multiple image
 |total_width=400
 |image1=Watling Street plaque Kilburn.jpg
 |width1=200
 |image2=Kilburn Wells Spa plaque.jpg
 |width2=200
 |footer= Paving stones in Kilburn, commemorating the route of [[Watling Street]] on High Road (left) and commemorating the former Wells on the corner of [[Belsize Road]] and the High Road (right)
}}
[[File:Kilburn Red Lion 2.jpg|thumb|The Red Lion, est. 1444]]
Kilburn Priory was built on the banks of a stream variously recorded as ''Cuneburna'', ''Kelebourne'' and ''Cyebourne'' (in the latter source most other places with the phonetic sound {{IPAc-en|k|iː}} were [[Middle English orthography|rendered in writing]] ''Cy'' such as ''Cynestone'' (Kingston)). The stream flowed from [[Hampstead]] through this parish then through [[Paddington]] &ndash; specifically through areas that became "[[Westbourne, London|Westbourne]]", "[[Bayswater]]" and [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] &ndash; [[South Kensington]] and the narrow east part of [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]] into the [[River Thames|Thames]]. The first two names perhaps imply meanings of "King's Bourne" and "Cattle Bourne".  The word [[Bourne (stream)|''Bourne'']] is the southern variant of ''burn'' (any small "river"), as still commonly used in the technical term, ''[[winterbourne (stream)|winterbourne]]'' - a watercourse which tends to dry up in dry periods. The river is known today as the [[River Westbourne|Westbourne]]. From the 1850s many of its feeder ditches were diverted into [[combined sewer]]s feeding away to the east; it was otherwise piped underground and became one of London's [[Subterranean rivers of London|underground rivers]].<ref>See London sewerage system</ref>

The name "Kilburn" was first recorded in 1134 as ''Cuneburna'', referring to the [[priory]] which had been built on the site of the cell of a hermit known as Godwyn.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/graphicandhisto00braygoog|page= [https://archive.org/details/graphicandhisto00braygoog/page/n346 336]|quote= cuneburna.|title= The Graphic and Historical Illustrator: An Original Miscellany of Literary, Antiquarian and Topographical Information|access-date= 7 December 2014|author= Edward Wedlake Brayley|author-link= Edward Wedlake Brayley|year= 1834|publisher= J. Chidley|format= JPG, PDF}}</ref>
Godwyn had built his hermitage by the Kilburn river during the reign (1100-1135) of [[Henry I of England|Henry I]], and both his hermitage and the priory took their name from the river.<ref name="BH">
{{cite web|url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22637|title= Kilburn, Edgware Road and Cricklewood|access-date= 7 December 2014|editor= C.R. Elrington |author1=T.F.T. Baker |author2=Diane K. Bolton |author3=Patricia E.C. Croot|year= 1989|work= A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9 (sourced from British History Online)}}</ref>

[[Kilburn Priory]] was a small community of nuns, probably [[Augustinian nuns|Augustinian canonesses]]. It was founded in 1134 at the Kilburn river crossing on Watling Street (the modern-day junction of Kilburn High Road and [[Belsize Road]]). Kilburn Priory's position on Watling Street meant that it became a popular resting point for pilgrims heading for the shrines at [[St Albans]] and [[Willesden]]. [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]'s administration dissolved the priory in 1536–37, and nothing remains of it today<ref name="BH2">{{cite web|url= http://www.brent-heritage.co.uk/kilburn.htm|title= Kilburn|access-date= 7 December 2014|year= 2002|work= Brent Heritage|archive-date= 18 July 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140718201057/http://www.brent-heritage.co.uk/kilburn.htm|url-status= dead}}</ref> 
except the name of [[Abbey Road, London|Abbey Road]] (in nearby [[St John's Wood]]), named from a track which once led to the priory.<ref>
{{cite book
| last1 = Mills
| first1 = A. D.
| year = 2001
| title = A Dictionary of London Place-Names
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UWKcAQAAQBAJ
| edition = 2
| location = Oxford
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| publication-date = 2010
| page = 1
| isbn = 9780199566785
| access-date = 2016-06-16
| quote = Abbey Road (in St John's Wood) [...]. Developed in the early 19th century from an earlier track, and so named from the [[medieval priory]] at Kilburn to which it led. Chiefly famous of course as the name of the 1969 Beatles album recorded here at the EMI studios!
}}
</ref>
The priory lands included a mansion and a ''hostium'' (a guesthouse), which may have been the origin of the Red Lion pub, thought to have been founded in 1444. Opposite, the Bell Inn opened around 1600, on the site of the old mansion.<ref name="BH"/>

The fashion for taking "medicinal waters" in the 18th century came to Kilburn when a well of [[chalybeate]] waters (water impregnated with iron) was discovered near the Bell Inn in 1714. In an attempt to compete with the nearby [[Hampstead]] Well, gardens and a "great room" opened to promote the well, and its waters were promoted in journals of the day as cure for "stomach ailments":<ref name="BH"/>

{{quote|Kilburn Wells, near Paddington.—The waters are now in the utmost perfection; the gardens enlarged and greatly improved; the house and offices re-painted and beautified in the most elegant manner. The whole is now open for the reception of the public, the great room being particularly adapted to the use and amusement of the politest companies. Fit either for music, dancing, or entertainments. This happy spot is equally celebrated for its rural situation, extensive prospects, and the acknowledged efficacy of its waters; is most delightfully situated on the site of the once famous Abbey of Kilburn, on the Edgware Road, at an easy distance, being but a morning's walk, from the metropolis, two miles from Oxford Street; the footway from the Mary-bone across the fields still nearer. A plentiful larder is always provided, together with the best of wines and other liquors. Breakfasting and hot loaves. A printed account of the waters, as drawn up by an eminent physician, is given gratis at the Wells.|''The Public Advertiser'', July 17, 1773<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45234|title= Kilburn and St John's Wood|work= British History Online|access-date= 7 December 2014}}</ref>}}

In the 19th century the wells declined, but the Kilburn Wells remained popular as a [[Tea garden (disambiguation)|tea garden]]. The Bell was demolished and rebuilt in 1863, the building which stands there today.{{clarify|date=June 2018}} The Kilburn stretch of Watling Street, now called [[Edgware Road]] and Kilburn High Road, was gradually built up with inns and farm houses. Despite the discovery of the medicinal well in 1714, and the construction of gardens and a fine room to exploit the water, Kilburn did not attract any significant building until around 1819 in the area near [[St John's Wood]].<ref name="BH"/> These 19th century developments mark the emergence of the nucleated roadside hamlet from which the modern district of Kilburn developed.

Between 1839 and 1856 the newsagent and future First Lord of the Admiralty [[William Henry Smith (1825–1891)|William Henry Smith]] lived in a house to the west of Kilburn High Road. Solomon Barnett developed much of the area in the last decades of the 19th century, naming many of the streets after places in the West Country (e.g. Torbay) or after popular poets of the day (e.g. Tennyson) in honour of his wife.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Queens Park |url=https://www.cameronsstiff.co.uk/pages/queens-park#/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=Camerons Stiff & Co |language=en}}</ref>

The funeral of [[Michael Gaughan (Irish republican)|Michael Gaughan]], an Irish republican and a member of the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) who died from [[hunger strike]] in 1974, took place on 8 June 1974.  Over 3,000 mourners lined the streets of Kilburn and marched behind his coffin - which was flanked by an IRA "honour guard" - to a [[Requiem|Requiem Mass]] held in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.<ref name="snodaigh">{{cite web | author= Aengus O Snodaigh | author-link= Aengus O Snodaigh | title= Take me home to Mayo – 25th anniversary of Michael Gaughan's death| work= [[An Phoblacht]]| url= http://republican-news.org/archive/1999/July01/01hist.html| access-date= 13 June 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title= work of Raymond Jackson| work= [[British Cartoon Archive]]| url= http://opal.ukc.ac.uk/cartoonx-cgi/ccc.py?mode=single&start=0&search=kilburn%20march| access-date= 13 June 2007| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071024065058/http://opal.ukc.ac.uk/cartoonx-cgi/ccc.py?mode=single&start=0&search=kilburn%20march| archive-date= 24 October 2007| df= dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title= Kilburn Funeral| work= [[British Cartoon Archive]]| url=http://editorial.gettyimages.com/Search/Detail.aspx?axd=DetailPaging.Search%7C1&axs=0%7C3309038%2c3309011%2c3328619%2c3262585%2c3366599%2c3328076%2c3280084%2c3274634%2c3089701%2c3096205%2c3322473%2c3379907%2c3331190%2c3364703%2c3424291%2c3280403%2c3381025%2c3356011%2c3325575%2c3368109%2c3366724%2c3327742%2c3333411%2c3395897%2c3304952%2c3133898%2c3336093%2c3300141%2c3096085%2c3326424%2c3258585%2c3294039%2c3397219%2c3263550%2c3328277%2c3346446%2c3278770%2c3346809%2c3318186%2c3200748%2c3164478%2c3359463%2c3096113%2c3351071%2c3097122%2c3253842%2c51242893%2c51244670%2c3096368%2c3278774%2c3377976%2c71217161%2c3304950%2c3165187%2c3324061%2c3380404%2c3267896%2c3349766%2c3327696%2c3319647&id=3309038| access-date= 13 June 2007 }}</ref> The ''Biddy Mulligan's'' pub on High Road, which was popular among the local Irish population, [[Biddy Mulligan's pub bombing|was bombed]] in retaliation on 21 December 1975 by the [[Ulster Defence Association]] (UDA), an [[Ulster loyalist]] group during the [[The Troubles|Troubles]] of [[Northern Ireland]]. Although there were 90 people in the pub at the time of the bomb, there were few injuries. It was the only loyalist bombing in London during the conflict in Northern Ireland.<ref name="kilburnandwillesdenhistory.blogspot.co.uk">
{{cite web
|url= http://kilburnandwillesdenhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/an-ira-funeral-march-and-bomb-at-biddy.html
|title= An IRA funeral march and the bomb at Biddy Mulligan's Pub
|website= Kilburnandwillesdenhistory.blogspot.co.uk|date= 8 August 2015
|access-date= 6 January 2018
}}
</ref><ref name="london24.com">
[http://www.london24.com/news/old-london/eight_old_pictures_of_kilburn_1_3690378] {{dead link|date=December 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}
</ref>

==Demographics==
Kilburn has a number of different ethnic groups, including people of [[Irish people|Irish]], [[British Afro-Caribbean community|Afro-Caribbean]], [[British Indian|India]]n, [[Bangladesh]]i, [[Pakistan]]i, [[Eritrea]]n and [[Ethiopia]]n descent. As the area is split between more than one London borough, statistics are gathered from different parts of Kilburn.<ref name="brentcensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.brent.gov.uk/demographic.nsf/24878f4b00d4f0f68025663c006c7944/8dcd4a30899e606680256ce9004553bf!OpenDocument|title=Kilburn Ward 2001 census|access-date=7 December 2014|author=Brent Council|year=2001|archive-date=8 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208235422/http://www.brent.gov.uk/demographic.nsf/24878f4b00d4f0f68025663c006c7944/8dcd4a30899e606680256ce9004553bf!OpenDocument|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="camdencensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/stream/asset/?asset_id=531178 |title=Kilburn Ward 2001 census |access-date=7 December 2014 |author=Camden Council |year=2001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209001443/http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/stream/asset/?asset_id=531178 |archive-date= 9 February 2009 }}</ref>

The Kilburn ward of Brent was 28% White British, 17% White Other, and 12% Black African in the 2011 census.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/kilburn-e05000094|title=Kilburn - UK Census Data 2011|first=Good Stuff IT|last=Services|website=UK Census Data|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> The [[Kilburn (Camden ward)|Kilburn ward]] of Camden was 35% White British and 19% White Other.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/kilburn-e05000140|title=Kilburn - UK Census Data 2011|first=Good Stuff IT|last=Services|website=UK Census Data|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> The [[Maida Vale (ward)|Maida Vale ward]] of Westminster was 38% White British and 22% White Other.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/maida-vale-e05000640|title=Maida Vale - UK Census Data 2011|first=Good Stuff IT|last=Services|website=UK Census Data|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref>

4.7% of the population was born in [[Ireland]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=UK Office for National Statistics |title=Kilburn Population |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/php/uk-wards-london.php?adm2id=E05000140 |website=City Population |access-date=16 June 2019}}</ref> with an even higher percentage of second-generation (born in England of Irish descent) people, {{Clarify|date=December 2014}} giving it the highest Irish population of any London area.<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.anthropologymatters.com/journal/2003-2/ryan2003_greenfieldskilburn.pdf |title=In the Green Fields of Kilburn: Reflections on a Quantitative Study of Irish Migrants in North London |access-date=7 December 2014 |date=February 2002 |work=Anthropology Matters Journal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219020157/http://www.anthropologymatters.com/journal/2003-2/ryan2003_greenfieldskilburn.pdf |archive-date=19 February 2012 }}</ref> Irish community activities, pubs, local [[Gaelic Athletic Association|GAA]] sports clubs,<ref name="kilburnhurling">{{cite web|url=http://www.kilburngaelshurlingclub.org|title=Kilburn Gaels Hurling Club|access-date=7 December 2014}}</ref> and annual [[St Patrick's Day]] celebrations are prominent in parts of the  area. The 2007 Irish-language film ''[[Kings (2007 film)|Kings]]'' has been associated with Kilburn, a number of scenes were filmed there, and is based on [[Jimmy Murphy (playwright)|Jimmy Murphy]]'s play, ''[[The Kings of the Kilburn High Road]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ferriter|first=Diarmuid|url=http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2007/09/27/story43673.asp|title=Paddies' pain|newspaper=Irish Examiner|access-date=7 December 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208225235/http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2007/09/27/story43673.asp|archive-date=8 February 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Housing and inequality===
{{multiple image
|align=left
 | image1            = Brondesbury Villas - geograph.org.uk - 820360.jpg
 | caption1          = Large homes on Brondesbury Villas
 | image2            = South Kilburn Estate - geograph.org.uk - 417246.jpg
 | caption2          = Blocks in the [[South Kilburn]] housing estate
}}
Kilburn has a high degree of socio-economic inequality, as it is home to both large and expensive [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] and [[Edwardian era|Edwardian]] houses as well as deprived, often run-down council housing estates.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

==Landmarks==
{{imagestack|
[[File:Gaumont State Cinema Entrance.jpg|thumb|The [[Gaumont State Cinema]] on Kilburn High Road]]
[[File:Tricycle Theatre Kilburn.jpg|thumb|upright|The Tricycle Theatre (now The Kiln)]]
[[File:St Augustine's Kilburn5.jpg|thumb|St Augustine's Kilburn]]}}

===Kilburn High Road===
{{For|the railway station|Kilburn High Road railway station}}
Kilburn High Road is the main road in Kilburn. It follows a part of the line of the [[Roman Britain|Roman]] route, Iter III in the [[Antonine Itinerary]],  which later took the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] name [[Watling Street]]. This was based on an earlier [[Celts|Celtic]] route from [[Verlamion]] to [[Durovernum Cantiacorum]], modern day [[St Albans]] and [[Canterbury]].

Running roughly north-west to south-east, it forms the boundary between the London boroughs of [[London Borough of Camden|Camden]] to the east and [[London Borough of Brent|Brent]] to the west. It is the section of the [[Edgware Road]] (itself part of the [[A5 road (Great Britain)|A5]]) between [[Shoot Up Hill]] and [[Maida Vale]].

There are two railway stations on Kilburn High Road: [[Brondesbury railway station|Brondesbury station]] ([[London Overground]] on the [[Mildmay line|Mildmay]] line). Approximately 1.25&nbsp;km (nearly a mile) further south is [[Kilburn High Road railway station|Kilburn High Road station]] (also London Overground, on the [[Watford DC Line]]). [[Kilburn Park tube station|Kilburn Park Underground station]], on the [[Bakerloo line]], lies a little west of the southern end of the High Road. [[Kilburn Underground station]] sits on the northern side of the intersection of Christchurch Avenue and Kilburn High Road, which marks the High Road's northern boundary.

The green space of [[Kilburn Grange Park]] is located to the east side of Kilburn High Road.

The name of [[Ian Dury]]'s first band, [[Kilburn and the High Roads]], refers to this road, as does the [[Flogging Molly]] song, "Kilburn High Road" and the [[Shack (band)|Shack]] song, "Kilburn High Road".

===Gaumont State Cinema===
{{Main|Gaumont State Cinema}}
A landmark in Kilburn High Road is the [[Grade II* listed]] [[Art Deco]] Gaumont State Cinema, designed by [[George Coles (architect)|George Coles]] and opened in 1937. It was the biggest auditorium in Europe at the time, with seating for 4,004 people. For twenty years, the building was run as a bingo hall by [[Mecca Bingo]]. In December 2007, it was purchased by Ruach City Church.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.ruachcitychurch.org/about |access-date=2022-06-06 |website=www.ruachcitychurch.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Leadbeater |first=Chris |date=2019-01-30 |title=Glorious ghosts of yesteryear – in search of London's 'lost' Art Deco cinemas |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/in-search-london-lost-art-deco-cinema/ |access-date=2022-06-06 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>

===The Kiln Theatre===
The Kiln Theatre is located on Kilburn High Road north of Buckley Road. It was opened in 1980 as the [[Tricycle Theatre]] in a converted [[Foresters Friendly Society|Foresters']] Hall, and was renamed the Kiln in April 2018.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Iqbal|first1=Nosheen|title=Kilburn's Tricycle relaunches as Kiln theatre with Zadie Smith's White Teeth|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/apr/11/indhu-rubasingham-relaunch-kilburn-tricycle-theatre-the-kiln-zadie-smith-white-teeth|access-date=11 April 2018|work=The Guardian|date=11 April 2018|language=en}}</ref> The Kiln complex includes a cinema. The theatre also runs an extensive community outreach programme. For nearly 30 years  (1984-2012) the Tricycle was run by [[Nicolas Kent]] who, as artistic director, built the theatre's reputation for political dramas including verbatim plays based on recent events, and for plays that reflected the experiences of local communities - Irish, Afro-Caribbean and Asian.  In 2012, [[Indhu Rubasingham]] succeeded Kent as artistic director. She continued the theatre's radical reputation. She also oversaw a major revamp of the building and, controversially, renamed the theatre the Kiln.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Billington |first=Michael |date=3 September 2018 |title=Over Kiln, the Tricycle theatre doesn't need a new name |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/sep/03/kiln-the-tricycle-theatre-indhu-rubasingham |access-date=1 March 2025}}</ref> In 2024 she left the Kiln, having been appointed director of the [[Royal National Theatre]]. She was succeeded at the Kiln by Amit Sharma.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=1 March 2025 |title=Amit Sharma appointed as artistic director and CEO of Kiln Theatre |url=https://kilntheatre.com/amit-sharma-appointed-as-artistic-director-and-ceo-of-kiln-theatre/ |access-date=1 March 2025 |website=Kiln Theatre}}</ref> Sharma said:  "''The Kiln is a theatre right at the heart of its community – a beacon for the people of Brent, bringing audiences to the borough from across London, the UK and internationally. There’s a magic that happens'' ''on that stage."''<ref name=":0" />

He outlined his first season and his plans for the theatre in a YouTube video.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MPNY_1Hcx8 |title=Amit Sharma announces his inaugural season as Artistic Director of Kiln Theatre |date=2024-06-05 |last=Kiln Theatre |access-date=2025-03-01 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

Other buildings[[File:Carlton Tavern - geograph.org.uk - 483947.jpg|thumb|left|[[Carlton Tavern, Kilburn|The Carlton Tavern]], before demolition (now rebuilt)]]
[[File:Biddys, Kilburn, NW6 (3660143131).jpg|thumb|The former Biddy Mulligan's pub, site of the [[Ulster loyalist]] bombing in 1975, pictured in 2009 by when it closed down]]
To the south, the Kilburn skyline is dominated by the [[gothic revival|Gothic]] spire of [[St. Augustine's, Kilburn]]. Completed in 1880 by the architect [[John Loughborough Pearson]], the church has an ornate Victorian interior, a carved stone reredos and screen and stained glass, adjacent to its partners, St Augustine's Primary and [[St Augustine's Church of England High School|Secondary School]]s. The church is sometimes nicknamed "the Cathedral of [[North London]]" due to its size<ref name="staug">{{cite web|url = https://www.staugustinekilburn.org/|title = Saint Augustine's Kilburn|website = staugustinekilburn.org|access-date = 9 September 2020|archive-date = 24 September 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200924195325/https://www.staugustinekilburn.org/|url-status = dead}}</ref> - at the time of construction, it was the third-largest place of worship in London, after [[St Paul's Cathedral]] and [[Westminster Abbey]].

Located at 10 Cambridge Avenue, just off Kilburn High Road, is "The Animals WW1 memorial dispensary". The building itself dates back to the early 1930s. Formally opened in March 1931, it treated over 6,000 animals in its first year. The front of the building has a large bronze plaque above the door as a memorial to animals killed in the first world war. It's an impressive piece of bronze sculpture by F Brook Hitch of Hertford. Next door at 12-14 Cambridge Avenue, is one of the only surviving London examples of a  "[[Tin tabernacle|Tin Tabernacle]]" from 1863, which is currently used by a local arts charity. This very unusual building, originally built as St. James' Episcopal Chapel, is Grade II listed and is open to the public on Saturdays.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tintabernaclekilburn.org.uk/|title=Tin Tabernacle Kilburn|website=Tin Tabernacle|access-date=July 5, 2018|archive-date=29 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829151507/http://www.tintabernaclekilburn.org.uk/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Just to the south of St. Augustine's on [[Carlton Vale]] stands the rebuilt [[Carlton Tavern, Kilburn|Carlton Tavern]], a pub built in 1920-21 for [[Charrington Brewery]] and thought to be the work of the architect [[Frank J Potter]]. The building, noted for its unaltered 1920s interiors and [[faience]] [[tile]] exterior, was being considered by [[Historic England]] for [[listed building|Grade II listing]] when it was unexpectedly demolished in March 2015 by the [[property developer]] CLTX Ltd to make way for a new block of flats.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bulldozers level historic pub after being denied planning permission|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/11525262/Bulldozers-level-historic-pub-the-day-before-it-is-due-to-be-listed.html|access-date=17 April 2015|work=The Telegraph|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416073456/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/11525262/Bulldozers-level-historic-pub-the-day-before-it-is-due-to-be-listed.html|archive-date=16 April 2015}}</ref> The pub was subsequently rebuilt and re-opened following a community campaign and planning appeals.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-21 |title=Rising from the rubble: London pub rebuilt brick by brick after illegal bulldozing |url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/mar/21/rising-from-the-rubble-london-pub-rebuilt-brick-by-brick-after-bulldozing |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

205 High Road was home to the Irish pub ''Biddy Mulligan's''. It was built in 1862 as was originally known as ''The Victoria Tavern''. It was renamed in the 1970s, with the name Biddy Mulligan taken from a character of Irish comedian [[Jimmy O'Dea]], a character dressed as a female street seller in [[Dublin]] from the 1930s onwards. The pub was bombed on 21 December 1975 by the [[Ulster Defence Association]] (UDA), an [[Ulster loyalist]] group that fought against [[Irish republican]]s in [[Northern Ireland]] ([[The Troubles]]). The pub was later renamed as ''Biddy's'', before briefly turning into an [[Australia]]n sports bar called ''Southern K'', and then closing in 2009 to make way for a new [[Ladbrokes]] branch.<ref name="kilburnandwillesdenhistory.blogspot.co.uk"/><ref name="london24.com"/>

==Transport==
[[File:Kilburn Station, London.honeydew.jpg|right|thumb|Area around Kilburn station]]

===Tube/train===
Kilburn High Road is served by several railway lines which traverse the road in an east–west direction, connecting the area with central London and outer north-west London suburbs. The railways were first introduced to Kilburn in 1852 when the [[London & North Western Railway]] opened Kilburn & Maida Vale station (today's [[Kilburn High Road railway station]]), followed by two stations opened in the [[Brondesbury]] area of Kilburn by the [[Hampstead Junction Railway]] (1860) and the [[Metropolitan Railway]] (1879). Numerous plans were drawn up at the turn of the 20th century to construct an [[Edgware Road Tube schemes|underground railway tunnel under the length of the Edgware Road and Kilburn High Road]], including an unusual scheme to build a type of subterranean monorail roller coaster, but these proposals were abandoned.<ref name=Badsey-Ellis>{{cite book|last=Badsey-Ellis|first=Antony|title=London's lost tube schemes|year=2005|publisher=Capital Transport|location=Harrow|isbn=1-85414-293-3|pages=62–63; 79–83; 264–267}}</ref>

Today, Kilburn is served by [[London Underground]] and [[London Overground]] from the following stations:<ref>{{cite web|title=Kilburn station|url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/stations/1000126.aspx|publisher=TfL|access-date=14 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kilburn High Road|url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/KBN/details.html|publisher=National Rail|access-date=14 January 2014}}</ref>

* [[Kilburn Park tube station|Kilburn Park station]] (London Underground [[Bakerloo line]]) - Central Kilburn
* [[Brondesbury railway station|Brondesbury station]] (London Overground [[Mildmay line]]) - North Kilburn
* [[Kilburn High Road railway station|Kilburn High Road station]] (London Overground [[Lioness line]]) - Central Kilburn

Despite its name, [[Kilburn tube station]] ([[Jubilee line]]) is actually in [[Brondesbury Park]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/brondesbury-park-e05000087#sthash.1sqzAf6A.dpbs|title=Brondesbury Park - UK Census Data 2011|first=Good Stuff IT|last=Services|website=UK Census Data|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref> rather than in Kilburn itself.

===Bus===
Kilburn is served by many bus routes that go along the High Road. Most routes come south from [[Cricklewood]], and serve various points in central and west London.<ref name="bus map">{{cite web |url = http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/maps/buses/pdf/kilburn-high-road.pdf |title = Buses from Kilburn High Road |access-date = 2014-01-14 |author = Transport for London |date = 2012 |work = Bus route map }}</ref>

{{clear}}

==Media==
The ''[[Brent & Kilburn Times]]'' and the ''[[Camden New Journal]]'' provide local news in print and online forms.
In the 2017 film, ''[[The Only Living Boy in New York]]'', Kate Beckinsale's character, Mimi, explains that she moved from Belsize Park to Kilburn because it felt more real. 

==Sport==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2014}}
Kilburn is home to Kilburn Cosmos RFC<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kilburn Cosmos RFC|url=https://kilburncosmos.co.uk/|access-date=2020-06-05|website=Kilburn Cosmos RFC|language=en-GB}}</ref>
*[[South Kilburn F.C.]] play in the [[Combined Counties League]]
*Kilburn is home to [[Kilburn Gaels GAA]] Hurling Club.
* Kilburn Football Club play in the Middlesex County League, and hold regular training sessions in Grange Park.
*One of the 12 founder members of [[the Football Association]] was formed in Kilburn in 1863. It was referred to as the [[N.N. Club]] or N.N. Kilburn, "N.N." being thought to stand for "Non Name". It supplied the first president of the Football Association.

==London Plan==
The area is identified in the [[London Plan]] as one of 35 major centres in [[Greater London]].<ref name=london_plan_f08>{{cite web|url=http://www.london.gov.uk/thelondonplan/docs/londonplan08.pdf |author=Mayor of London |author-link=Mayor of London |publisher=[[Greater London Authority]] |title=London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004) |date=February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602000714/http://www.london.gov.uk/thelondonplan/docs/londonplan08.pdf |archive-date= 2 June 2010 }}</ref>

==Notable residents==
Notable people who live or have lived in Kilburn include:
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
*[[Oni Akerele]]
*[[Lily Allen]], singer
*[[Gerry Anderson]]
*[[Roderick Bradley]]
*[[Todd Carty]]
*[[Edwyn Collins]]
*[[Jack Dromey]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jackdromey.org/about-jack |title=Jack Dromey for Erdington |access-date=2015-07-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711164649/http://www.jackdromey.org/about-jack |archive-date=11 July 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
*[[Brian Eno]]
*[[Big Zuu|Zuhair Hassan]], rapper
*[[Thomas Hodge (illustrator)|Thomas Hodge]]
*[[Thandiwe Newton]]
*[[Jason Isaacs]]
*[[Annie Mac]]
*[[Doreen Massey (geographer)|Doreen Massey]] 
*[[A. A. Milne]]
*[[George Orwell]]
*[[China Miéville]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.3ammagazine.com/litarchives/2003/feb/interview_china_mieville.html|title=3am Interview: THE ROAD TO PERDIDO: AN INTERVIEW WITH CHINA MIEVILLE|website=3ammagazine.com|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref>
*[[David Mitchell (comedian)|David Mitchell]], comedian
*[[Kate Moss]]
*[[Cillian Murphy]]
*[[Richard Pacquette]], footballer
*[[Daisy Ridley]]
*[[Gavin Rossdale]]
*[[Andrew Sachs]], actor<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thecnj.com/camden/2008/103008/news103008_08.html?headline=Make_a_meal_of_it%21_Fawlty_Towers_actor_in_BBC_Radio_2_row_opens_brand_new_hospital_restaurant|title=Make a meal of it! Fawlty Towers actor in BBC Radio 2 row opens brand new hospital restaurant|last=Osley|first=Richard|date=30 October 2008|work=[[Camden New Journal]]|publisher=New Journal Enterprises|access-date=14 December 2008}}</ref>
*[[Zadie Smith]]
*[[Tommy Sparks]]
*[[Josiah Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp]]
*[[Billy Strachan]], Civil rights leader
*[[Chucky Venn|Charles "Chucky" Venn]]
*[[Louis Wain]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.wellcomelibrary.org/2011/05/a-celebration-of-louis-wains-cats-at-brent-museum/|title=A celebration of Louis Wain's Cats at Brent Museum|website=Blog.wellcomelibrary.org|access-date=6 January 2018}}</ref>
*[[Jamie Waylett]], actor
*[[Robert Webb (actor)|Robert Webb]], actor
*[[David Winner (author)|David Winner]], author
*[[Bradley Wiggins]], cyclist
*[[Fredo (British rapper)|Fredo]], rapper {{div col end}}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
{{Commons category|Kilburn, London|Kilburn}}
* [http://www.brent.gov.uk/tourism.nsf/0/dc5523182de4c5c180256c3600553450?OpenDocument Tourist information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716200549/http://www.brent.gov.uk/tourism.nsf/0/dc5523182de4c5c180256c3600553450?OpenDocument |date=16 July 2012 }}
* [http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/KilburnTheatres.htm History of Kilburn's Theatres]

{{LB Brent}}
{{LB Camden}}
{{LB City of Westminster}}
{{London Districts}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kilburn, London| ]]
[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Districts of the London Borough of Brent]]
[[Category:Districts of the London Borough of Camden]]
[[Category:Districts of the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:Irish diaspora in England]]
[[Category:Major centres of London]]
[[Category:Places formerly in Middlesex]]