Brondesbury facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Brondesbury |
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![]() One of the small station buildings of Brondesbury Park Station, higher than the line which is in cutting. It has small cornices at the hood of window height and a modillioned bulky cornice (ledge) above. It built in yellow-brown brick with complementary coloured red brick dressings. |
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![]() Willesden Lane in Brondesbury |
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Population | 13,023 (Brondesbury & Brondesbury Park) |
OS grid reference | TQ245845 |
London borough | |
Ceremonial county | Greater London |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LONDON |
Postcode district | NW6 |
Dialling code | 020 |
Police | Metropolitan |
Fire | London |
Ambulance | London |
EU Parliament | London |
UK Parliament |
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London Assembly |
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Brondesbury (/ˈbrɒndzbəri/) is an area in London, England. It is mostly located in the London Borough of Brent. The area also includes a part called Brondesbury Park.
Brondesbury was once a quiet countryside area. It started to grow with new homes in the late 1800s, after the railway arrived. Today, it is a lively suburban area. Many different communities have lived here for a long time. These include British, Irish, Jewish, Black, and South Asian people. A famous Black civil rights leader named Billy Strachan once lived in Brondesbury with his family. He wrote for local newspapers and gave political speeches in the area.
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Getting Around Brondesbury: Transport Links
Brondesbury has good transport connections. This makes it easy to travel to other parts of London.
Train and Underground Stations
Two railway stations serve Brondesbury. They are part of the London Overground network on the North London Line. This line connects places like Richmond and Stratbury to Stratford.
- Brondesbury Station
- Brondesbury Park Station
You can also find Kilburn tube station nearby. It is on the Jubilee line, which is part of the London Underground system. This station is about 200 meters north of Brondesbury station.
Brondesbury's History: From Manor to Modern Area
Brondesbury has a long and interesting history. It was once a large estate with a manor house.
The Brondesbury Manor Estate
The area of Brondesbury was once part of a larger parish called Willesden. This parish was divided into several smaller areas. One of these was the Brondesbury manor. A "manor" was a large estate owned by a lord or a church.
The name Brondesbury likely came from a person named Brand, who was mentioned in old documents. The estate was owned by church officials until 1840. Over the centuries, the ownership of the land changed many times. Different families leased or bought parts of the estate.
The Old Manor House
By 1538, there was a manor house in Brondesbury. It was a moated house, meaning it had a ditch filled with water around it for protection. In the 1700s, the house was rebuilt. It became a large, three-story villa.
In 1789, a famous landscape designer named Humphry Repton worked on the gardens. He made the most of the house's hilltop location. He improved the views towards London. The house and its land were home to several important families over the years.
By the late 1800s, the house was leased as a school. It continued as a school until 1934. Then, it was bought by a builder and pulled down to make way for new streets and homes. This is how Manor Drive got its name.
Early Places of Worship
The first church in Brondesbury was Christ Church. It was built in 1866 on Willesden Lane. The church was designed in a 13th-century style. It was damaged during World War II in 1940 but was later repaired.
Other churches were built in the area over time. These include the Catholic Church of the Transfiguration. A more recent addition is the Christ Apostolic Church (Mount Joy). This church is part of the Aladura tradition, which is popular in western Nigeria.
Brondesbury in Pop Culture
Brondesbury has even made its way into music! The band Giles, Giles & Fripp, which later became the famous band King Crimson, named one of their albums The Brondesbury Tapes.
Neighbouring Areas Around Brondesbury
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Willesden Green | Willesden Green, Cricklewood | West Hampstead | ![]() |
Kensal Rise, Brondesbury Park | ![]() |
Kilburn, West Hampstead | ||
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Queen's Park | Kilburn Park, Kilburn | Kilburn |