Kenton, London facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kenton
The Beefeater Travellers Rest pub, and its adjoined Premier Inn hotel - the Travellers’ Rest was once the largest public house in the County of Middlesex
Kenton
Population	35,600 (2015 data, Kenton ward; Kenton East ward; Kenton West ward.)
OS grid reference	TQ175885
London borough	Brent Harrow
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HARROW
Postcode district	HA3
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Brent North Harrow East
London Assembly	Brent and Harrow
List of places UK England London 51°35′16″N 0°18′31″W / 51.5878°N 0.3086°W / 51.5878; -0.3086

Kenton is a lively area in north-west London, England. It's located just east of Harrow. Long ago, it was part of Middlesex county. Like many nearby places such as Harrow, Wembley, and Kingsbury, Kenton grew a lot in the early 1900s. This growth was part of the "Metroland" movement. This is when new suburbs were built along the Metropolitan Railway lines. Both the London and North Western Railway and the Metropolitan Railway reached Kenton by the 1920s.

The main road through Kenton is Kenton Road. This busy road runs from east to west. It connects Harrow to the important Edgware Road. Today, Kenton Road also marks the border between two London boroughs: Harrow and Brent.

A Look Back: Kenton's History

A train on the London to Birmingham railway, near where Kenton is today (1839).

The Windermere is a public house, located next to South Kenton station.

Kenton was first mentioned in records in 1232. Back then, it was called "Keninton." The name comes from an old Saxon name, "Coena," and the Old English word "tun," which means a farm. So, Kenton means "the farm of Coena." Coena and their family likely lived on a site nearby. Before the 1900s, Kenton was a tiny village. It was centered around what was then called Kenton Lane. Parts of this old lane are still around today.

The Windermere is a famous building in Kenton. It's a public house (a pub) and was built in 1938. It's so special that it's a Grade II listed site. This means it's protected because of its history. The Plough pub was the very first in Kenton. It opened in the early 1700s. The building you see today isn't the original one. Now, it's a restaurant serving Indo-Chinese food.

Kenton has several schools for young people. Local primary schools include Uxendon Manor and Priestmead Primary School. For older students, Claremont High School is the local high school.

The arrival of trains helped Kenton grow. Kenton station opened on June 15, 1912. It was built by the London and North Western Railway. Later, the Metropolitan Railway opened its own station. This was Northwick Park and Kenton station. It opened on June 28, 1923, and is now called Northwick Park.

Kenton's Location and Landscape

The Wealdstone Brook by a footbridge near Shaftesbury Drive.

Kenton started as a small area near The Grange. After Kenton station opened in 1912, it began to expand. It grew towards places like Wealdstone, Wembley, and Stanmore. By the 1920s, Kenton had become a proper suburb of London.

The area known as South Kenton is a bit different from Kenton itself. It's very close to North Wembley and Preston. South Kenton is completely within the Brent borough. Most of Kenton uses the HA3 postcode. However, the southern part is in HA9, and Northwick Park is in HA1.

Waterways in Kenton

The Wealdstone Brook is the only visible waterway in Kenton. It has two parts, or branches. One starts in Wealdstone, and the other in Stanmore. These two parts meet underground near Kenton Lane and Kenton Road. The western branch is mostly hidden underground. The eastern branch is also mostly underground from its start.

The brook mainly helps drain water from the land. It used to be quite polluted. This was due to dirty water and illegal connections from nearby houses. In 2013, a project found many homes were sending their waste into the brook.

Neighbouring areas of Kenton

	Wealdstone	Belmont	Queensbury
	Harrow		Kingsbury
		Kenton
	Northwick Park, Harrow on the Hill	North Wembley	Preston

Homes in Kenton

Nathans Road, a street near South Kenton station.

When the railways arrived, new homes quickly followed. Most of Kenton was built between World War I and World War II.

The London County Council built a special housing area called the Kenmore Park cottage estate. This was also done between the wars. It has 654 houses on a large piece of land.

Two important building companies helped shape Kenton. Thomas Francis Nash owned companies that built many private housing estates from the 1920s. These were in Kenton, Ruislip, and other "Metroland" areas. F. & C. Costin was another local company that built many homes in Kenton. Even today, local estate agents (people who sell houses) might describe homes as "Nash-built" or "Costin-built."

Fun Facts: Culture and Media

Kenton has appeared in popular culture a few times. Some of Kenton's streets were shown in an episode of the famous BBC-TV comedy show Fawlty Towers. This episode was called "Gourmet Night" and starred John Cleese.

There's also a song called "Kenton Kev." It was made by a band called The Magoo Brothers in 1988. The song talks about how quiet and sometimes boring the suburbs could feel. It also mentions local people and places. It's said that "Kenton Kev" is about Kevin Jones, a property expert who was born in Kenton.

Who Lives in Kenton: Demographics

Kenton is divided into three areas for voting purposes. These are Kenton East and Kenton West in Harrow, and Kenton in Brent. In 2015, the total population for these areas was 35,600 people.

Kenton is a very diverse place. More than 70% of its residents belong to different ethnic groups. This is higher than the average for Harrow and Brent. Like many areas in Harrow and Wembley, Kenton has a large number of people from Indian backgrounds.

How Kenton is Governed

Kenton is part of two different areas for the UK Parliament. These are the Harrow East and Brent North constituencies. A constituency is an area that elects one person to represent them in Parliament.

Currently, Bob Blackman from the Conservative party represents Harrow East. Barry Gardiner from the Labour party represents Brent North. These people are called Members of Parliament (MPs). They work in London to make laws and speak up for the people in their area.

Public Services in Kenton

Kenton Library (1955).

Kenton has many important public services. Kenton Library is run by Harrow Council and is on Kenton Lane. The Kenton Ambulance Station is located at the eastern end of Kenton. This is close to Kingsbury Circle. Northwick Park Hospital is also very close to Kenton.

Parks and Sports

There are three large open spaces in or near Kenton. These are Woodcock Park, Kenton Recreation Ground, and Northwick Park. Northwick Park is just to the west, in the northern part of Wembley.

The Kenton Sports Club is on Kenton Lane. It has facilities for cricket, tennis, and table tennis.

Education

Besides the primary schools mentioned earlier, Kenton has several secondary schools. These include St Gregory's Catholic Science College, Claremont High School, and JFS.

Places of Worship

Kenton Methodist Church.

Tower of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, on Kenton Road.

Kenton is home to many different religious buildings. Churches in the area include the Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, Kenton Baptist Church, Kenton Evangelical Church, and Kenton Methodist Church. Further east on Kenton Road, you'll find the All Saints Roman Catholic Church. There's also the St Panteleimon Greek Orthodox Church. This church is one of the few Greek Orthodox churches in London outside of North London. The building for St Panteleimon's was built in 1932.

There are two Hindu temples, called mandirs, in Kenton. These are Haridham Swaminarayan Temple and Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple. Kenton also has a Derasar, which is a temple for followers of Jainism. Near Woodcock Park, there is a United Synagogue for Jewish people. While there are no mosques directly in Kenton, the Harrow Central Mosque is quite close by.

Getting Around: Transport

Bus H18 in Kenton Lane.

Buses

Several London Bus routes run through Kenton.

Tube and Train Stations

You can find these stations in the Kenton area:

• Kenton Station (on the Bakerloo line and Watford DC Line)
• South Kenton Station (also on the Bakerloo line and Watford DC Line)
• Northwick Park Station (on the Metropolitan line)

Famous Faces from Kenton

Many well-known people have connections to Kenton:

• Actress Michele Austin, famous as PC Yvonne Hemmingway in the TV show The Bill, went to Claremont High School in Kenton.
• Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, a human rights lawyer, was born in Kenton.
• Cricketer Denis Compton (1918–1997) lived in Kenton.
• TV exercise instructor Mr Motivator (Derrick Evans) lived in Kenton.
• Actress Sophie Okonedo lived in Kenton.
• Stuart "Psycho" Pearce, a football manager and former player, went to Claremont High School in Kenton.
• Actress Pam St. Clement, best known as Pat in the BBC soap EastEnders, lived in Kenton.
• Ken Simmons (1929–2002), an expert on birds, lived here.
• Journalist and broadcaster John Timpson (1928–2005) was born in Kenton.
• Footballer Darren Ward was born in Kenton.
• Actress Mary Wimbush (1924–2005), known as Julia Pargetter in BBC Radio 4's The Archers, was born in Kenton.

Images for kids

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  Front entrance to St Mary Church

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  Front entrance to St Mary Church

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  Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan, Hindu mandir

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  Lindsay Drive in Kenton

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  Abbott's Drive in South Kenton

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  Kenton Road, near Kenton Park Parade, in 1955; the spire of St Mary's Church on Harrow Hill is visible in the background