South Harrow
Coordinates: 51°33′50″N 0°21′09″W / 51.564°N 0.35241°W
South Harrow is south-west of Harrow-on-the-Hill in the London Borough of Harrow and its development originally spread south and west from the hamlet of Roxeth as a result of urbanization and easier access from Central London by rail. Six roads now converge at Roxeth hamlet centre at the bottom of Roxeth Hill. Its areas include, in the west, the geometric garden estate of Shaftesbury Circus/Avenue and in the south, beyond this historic heart, a newly developed shopping area, South Harrow tube station and the locality's own high street, Northolt Road.
History
South Harrow succeeded Roxeth and outlying southern fields of Harrow in which that hamlet stood. This was a rural area until the late 19th century with remaining agricultural fields converted to housing by the mid-20th century. South Harrow was in the parish of Harrow which has its well-conserved historic clustered village centre at Harrow on the Hill.
Parks and gardens
South Harrow has two recreational grounds:
Alexandra Park was named after Queen Alexandra, who frequently visited the area. There is a children's play area, natural rough area, and fitness zone. Nearby is Northolt Park (Chiltern Main Line).
Roxeth Recreation Ground is a large recreational ground containing Cricket and Football pitches, Ball courts, natural roughland and a children's play area. A bowling green, operated by Roxeth Bowls Club, closed in mid-2008, following rent increases from Harrow Council.[1] This recreation ground was donated to the people of South Harrow in the early 20th century and is known as Roxeth Park. During the Second World War it was made into a market garden; it was then returned to recreational use. It also hosts the Roxeth fair each summer and has been given a Green Flag award.
Various Religious denominations have places of worship in South Harrow, including: Anglican, Catholic, Free Church, Methodist, Salvation Army and Welsh Congregational. Tamils and Koreans meet in churches on Sunday afternoons.
Shops on Northolt Road (the main shopping street in South Harrow) sell Sri Lankan and Polish groceries. There are five Halal butchers, nine public houses and four chicken shops.
Education
Built in 1938, Roxbourne Junior School and Roxbourne Infant School share a site in Torbay Road. The schools were known as Roxbourne Middle School and Roxbourne First School between 1974 and 2010, when the London Borough of Harrow adopted a comprehensive system of education that transferred children to secondary schools at age 12 (after year 7). In 2010 the borough changed the age ranges catered for, and took the opportunity to replace the additional wing that had been added in 1974 to accommodate year 7, which contained asbestos. The new classrooms are used by Reception and year 6. At the same time a Nursery class was added to the Infant school. The Infant school now covers ages 4 to 7 as Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and year 2. The Junior school covers ages 8 to 11, as years 3, 4, 5 and 6. The Roxbourne schools have three classes in each year, each class numbering up to thirty pupils.
Welldon Park Junior School and Welldon Park Infant School are built on separate sites in Wyvenhoe Road. The original school opened in 1910 and was known as Welldon Park Primary School. At the outbreak of war the deputy headmaster was Mr Goodhead. A pupil at that time was Peter Walker, now Lord Walker, and he lived in Eastcote Lane. Mr Goodhead used a very thin whippy cane when the occasion justified. His particular expertise was Technical Drawing which he taught enthusiastically. Not a subject to be found in modern Primary Schools. The school was overcrowded by 1942 as more people moved from central London and as other schools were destroyed by the enemy. Classes had up to 40 children. In the main hall two classes sat back to back simultaneously. The same hall was used for school meals as well as the central ground floor corridor. The school served pupils from age 4 to 11 years and had a reputation for academic rigour under the headship of Mrs. Cooper in the 1950s and '60s. More recently it was separated into Welldon Park First School and Weldon Park Middle School before changing age ranges and names along with schools in the rest of the Borough. Today, the Infant School has two nursery class (an AM and a PM class), three reception classes, and two each of Years One and Two. The Junior school has three Year Three classes, along with two each of Years Four, Five and Six. For both schools, where there are three classes in a particular year group, this is the result of Harrow Council's policy of 'bulge classes' in schools, to increase the number of pupils offered places: the 'bulge' ripples upwards.
Whitmore High School was formed in 1974 and is now a sixth form specialist science school. It is in the process of being completely rebuilt by September 2010, following a £30 million grant.
Demography
South Harrow is mostly covered by the Roxbourne and Roxeth wards. White British was the largest ethnic group in both wards, 25% and 23% respectively. Other Asian was second biggest, 22% for both, followed by Indian, 19% and 20% respectively.[2][3]
Transport
Tube/Trains
Buses
| Route | Start | End | Operator |
| 114 | Ruislip | Mill Hill Broadway | Metroline |
| 140 | Heathrow Airport | Harrow Weald | Metroline |
| 258 | South Harrow | Watford Junction | Arriva Shires & Essex |
| 395 | Harrow | Greenford | Metroline |
| 398 | Ruislip | Wood End | London Sovereign |
| 487 | South Harrow | Willesden Junction | Metroline |
| H9/H10 Circular | Harrow H9: clockwise | Harrow H10: anticlockwise | London Sovereign |
| H12 | South Harrow | Stanmore | Metroline |
| 640 | South Harrow | Harrow Weald | Arriva Shires & Essex |
Football clubs
- Harrow Borough F.C. of the Isthmian League Premier Division
- Rayners Lane F.C. of the Hellenic Football League Division 1 East
 |
Rayners Lane | West Harrow Harrow |
Harrow-on-the-Hill | |
| South Ruislip |  |
Harrow-on-the-Hill Sudbury Hill | ||
| ||||
 | ||||
| Northolt | Northolt Park, Northolt | Sudbury Hill Greenford Park |
Notable people
- Dame Janet Baker, opera singer, was born in South Harrow
- Bill Bartlett, guitarist of 1960s psychedelic pop group The Lemon Pipers, was born in South Harrow
- Todd Carty, actor, star of Grange Hill, EastEnders and The Bill, grew up in South Harrow
- Kenneth Connor (1918–1993), actor, best known for his appearances in the Carry On films, lived in South Harrow
- Tom Fletcher, singer and guitarist of pop group McFly, and his sister Carrie Hope Fletcher, singer and West End actress, were born in South Harrow
- Johnny Kidd (1935–1966), British rock and roll legend lived in South Harrow
- Robin Leach, Brit presenter of US TV hit Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, was born in South Harrow
- Screaming Lord Sutch (1940–1999), musician and founder of the Monster Raving Loony Party, lived in South Harrow at the time of his death
- Rick Wakeman, keyboardist of prog rock band Yes, grew up in South Harrow
- Ernie Wise (1925–1999), of comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, lived in South Harrow
Gas explosion
On 7 May 2008 at 9.38pm two houses were destroyed completely and the third badly damaged by a gas explosion in South Harrow. Three people were treated by paramedics after being rescued by firefighters in the rubble. Two survived, but a man was pronounced dead at the scene. Residents of Stanley Road were evacuated. Scotland Yard announced that the explosion could have been a murder, but it was later found to be an accident.[4]
References
- ↑ "''Harrow Times'' article on threat of rent increase". Harrowtimes.co.uk. 2007-09-23. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
- ↑ http://www.ukcensusdata.com/roxbourne-e05000301
- ↑ http://www.ukcensusdata.com/roxeth-e05000302
- ↑ "BBC News, 8 May 2008". BBC News. 2008-05-08. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
External links
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