St John's Wood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St John's Wood |
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St John's Wood High Street |
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OS grid reference | TQ265835 |
London borough | |
Ceremonial county | Greater London |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LONDON |
Postcode district | NW8 |
Dialling code | 020 |
Police | Metropolitan |
Fire | London |
Ambulance | London |
EU Parliament | London |
UK Parliament | |
London Assembly |
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St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from Regent's Park and Primrose Hill to Edgware Road, with the Swiss Cottage area of Hampstead to the north and Lisson Grove to the south.
The area is best known for Lord's Cricket Ground, home of Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex CCC, and is a regular international test cricket venue. It also includes Abbey Road Studios, well known through its association with the Beatles.
Contents
History
St John's Wood was developed from the early 19th century onwards. One of the first developers in the area was James Burton. It was one of the first London suburbs to be developed with a large amount of low density "villa" housing, as opposed to the terraced housing which was the norm in London up to the 19th century, even in expensive districts. Parts of St John's Wood have been rebuilt at a higher density, but it remains a highly desirable residential district, and one of the most expensive areas of London.
St John's Wood is the location of Lord's Cricket Ground, home of Middlesex County Cricket Club and of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), and the original headquarters of cricket. It is also famous for Abbey Road Studios and the street Abbey Road, where The Beatles recorded, notably the Abbey Road album, the cover of which features the band crossing the road.
The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery was formerly based at St John's Wood Barracks. The regiment moved to Woolwich on 6 February 2012; the barracks is to be demolished and developed as housing.
The area is also home to St. John's Wood Church Grounds, which contains the only nature reserve in the City of Westminster.
Places of worship
St John's Wood has a range of places of worship.
- Christian
- Abbey Road Baptist Church
- St John's Wood Church (Church of England)
- St Mark's Church, Hamilton Terrace (Church of England)
- The Church of Our Lady (Roman Catholic)
- Jewish
- The Liberal Jewish Synagogue
- The New London Synagogue
- Saatchi Shul
- Muslim
- London Central Mosque
Transport and locales
The main London Underground station is St John's Wood, which is on the Jubilee line. Maida Vale, Warwick Avenue and Kilburn Park are nearby on the Bakerloo line. The nearest London Overground station is South Hampstead. The 13, 46, 113 and N113, 139, 187, 189 and 274 bus routes transit St John's Wood.
St John's Wood in literature and music
- Count and Countess Fosco live at No. 5 Forest Road, St. John's Wood in Wilkie Collins's 1859 sensation novel The Woman in White.
- Irene Adler lives there (in Briony Lodge on Serpentine Avenue) in Arthur Conan Doyle's 1891 Sherlock Holmes story "A Scandal in Bohemia".
- In the first instalment of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga, The Man of Property (1906), Young Jolyon lives on fictional Wistaria Avenue with his second wife and family.
- St John's Wood is the home of fictional characters Bingo and Rosie Little in P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster short stories and novels, written from the early 1920s onward.
- Referenced in the Rolling Stones song, "Play with Fire", released in 1965.
- The protagonist of J.G. Ballard's novel Millennium People (2003), is a psychologist who lives in St. John's Wood, which he abandons to join a middle-class rebellion.
- Appears in two books by Howard Jacobson, as the setting for his 2004 book The Making of Henry, followed in his 2010 Man Booker Prize winning novel The Finkler Question as the planned location for the Museum of Anglo-Jewish Culture.
- Violet Hill, a street and area off Abbey Road with Violet Hill Gardens and Violet Hill Hospital, is the source of the name in Coldplay's 2008 song "Violet Hill".
Education
Independent
- The American School in London
- Arnold House School
- Abercorn School
- Barrow Hill Junior School
- Saint Christina's Primary School
- St John's Wood Pre-Preparatory School
Academy Trust and Federation
- Harris Academy St John's Wood
- George Eliot Primary School
State
- Robinsfield Infant School
Notable residents
Commemorative blue plaques
- Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, OM (1836–1912), painter, at 44 Grove End Road
- Gilbert Bayes (1872–1953), sculptor, at 4 Greville Place
- Sir Joseph Bazalgette, CB (1819–1891), civil engineer, at 17 Hamilton Terrace
- Sir Thomas Beecham, CH (1879–1961), conductor and impresario, at 31 Grove End Road
- Sir William Reid Dick, KCVO (1879-1961), sculptor, at 95a Clifton Hill
- Sir George Frampton (1860–1928), sculptor, at 32 Queen's Grove
- William Powell Frith (1819–1909), painter, at 114 Clifton Hill
- Dame Barbara Hepworth, DBE (1903-1975) and John Skeaping (1901-1980), sculptors, at 24 St Ann's Terrace
- Thomas Hood (1799–1845), poet, at 28 Finchley Road
- Thomas Huxley (1825–1895), biologist, at 38 Marlborough Place
- Melanie Klein (1882–1960), psychoanalyst, at 42 Clifton Hill
- Dame Laura Knight (1877-1970) and Harold Knight (1874-1961), painters, at 16 Langford Place
- Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980), painter, at Eyre Court, 1 Finchley Road
- Sir Charles Santley (1834-1922), opera singer, at 13 Blenheim Road
- Sir Bernard Spilsbury, Kt (1877-1947), pathologist, at 31 Marlborough Hill
- William Strang (1859-1921), painter and etcher, at 20 Hamilton Terrace
- Marie Tussaud (1761-1850), artist, at 24 Wellington Road
- C. F. A. Voysey (1857–1941), architect and designer, at 6 Carlton Hill
- John William Waterhouse (1849–1917), painter, at 10 Hall Road
Other notable residents
- Henry Barnett (banker and politician) was the original owner of a mansion at 100 Hamilton Terrace that Robbie Williams temporarily rented before the debut of his 2019 Christmas album song, "Idlewild", which mentions St John's Wood.
- Charles Bradlaugh (National Secular Society founder) lived at 20 Circus Road, now the site of the St John's Wood Library.
- Christabel Cockerell (painter) lived and worked in St John's Wood.
- Leonard N. Fowles (organist/composer) was organist and choirmaster for the former St John's Wood English Presbyterian Church.
- Meredith Frampton (painter/etcher) was born in St John's Wood and attended the St John's Wood Art School.
- Noel Gallagher (musician and songwriter) and Tony Hicks (musician) lived at the same address; Hicks recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
- Stephen Hough (concert pianist) lives and has a practice studio in St John's Wood.
- Eric Idle (actor and comedian) lived in St John's Wood; Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher stayed at his home while filming The Empire Strikes Back.
- Sir John Major (former prime minister) lived in St John's Wood, was on the Marylebone Cricket Club committee and attended matches at Lord's frequently.
- Stella Margetson (novelist and author) published St John’s Wood – an Abode of Love and the Arts and was the archivist for the St John’s Wood Society.
- Sir Paul McCartney (musician) has lived in St John's Wood since 1965.
- Rihanna (2019-2020), singer. Rented the home at 25 St. John’s Wood Park for 2 years.
- Keith Richards (rock musician and songwriter of The Rolling Stones) lived on Carlton Hill in the 1960s, where he wrote "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".
- Mark Ronson (DJ, songwriter, record producer and record executive), Samantha Ronson (DJ, singer and songwriter), and Charlotte Ronson (fashion designer) lived in St John's Wood as children, where their parents' home was a celebrity hangout.
- Sachin Tendulkar (cricketer) has a home in St John's Wood and captained Middlesex County Cricket Club's squad in its victory in the 2014 Lord's Bicentenary Celebration match.
- James Tissot (French painter and illustrator) lived with and painted his muse, Kathleen Newton, at his home at 44 Grove End Road, subsequently sold to Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema.
See also
In Spanish: St John's Wood para niños
John Gavin |
Desi Arnaz |
![]() | Henry Ian Cusick |
![]() | Pedro Pascal |
![]() | Frankie Muniz |