Camden Town

Not to be confused with London Borough of Camden.

Camden Town
Shopping street near to the markets
Camden Town  Camden Town shown within Greater London
Population	26,122 (Camden Town with Primrose Hill and Cantelowes wards 2007)
OS grid reference	TQ295845
- Charing Cross	2.4 mi (3.9 km)  SSE
London borough	Camden
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	NW1
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Holborn and St. Pancras
London Assembly	Barnet and Camden
List of places: UK • England • London

Camden Town is a district of Inner London in northwest London, England, and the central neighbourhood of the London Borough of Camden. It is located 2.4 miles (3.9 km) north-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was laid out as a residential district from 1791 and was originally part of the manor of Kentish Town and the parish of St Pancras, Middlesex. The town became an important location during the early development of the railways and is also located on the London canal network. Its industrial heritage has made way for retail, tourism and entertainment, including a number of internationally renowned markets and music venues that are strongly associated with alternative culture.

History

Toponymy

Camden Town is named after Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden. His earldom was styled after his estate, Camden Place near Chislehurst in Kent (now in the London Borough of Bromley), formerly owned by historian William Camden. The name, which appears on the Ordnance Survey map of 1822, was later applied to the early 20th century Camden Town Group of artists and the London borough of Camden, created in 1965.

Urban development

Camden Town stands on land which was once the manor of Kentish Town. Sir Charles Pratt, a radical 18th century lawyer and politician, acquired the manor through marriage. In 1791, he started granting leases for houses to be built in the manor. In 1816, the Regent's Canal was built through the area. Up to at least the late 19th century, Camden Town was considered an "unfashionable" locality. Camden Markets, which started in 1973 and have grown since then, attract many visitors all week. Camden Lock Village, then known as Camden Canal market, suffered a major fire, but no injuries, on 9 February 2008. It has since recovered.

Governance

Camden Town became part of the London borough of Camden in 1965 upon the borough's creation, but was previously in Metropolitan borough of St Pancras. The area is part of the Holborn and St Pancras parliamentary constituency; as of 2011 Frank Dobson of the Labour Party had been MP since 1983. For elections to the London Assembly it is part of the Barnet and Camden constituency and the AM is Brian Coleman of the Conservative Party. It is part of the London constituency for elections to the European Parliament.

Geography

Camden Town is on relatively flat ground at 100 feet (30 m) above sea level, 2.4 miles (3.9 km) north-northwest of Charing Cross. To the north are the hills of Hampstead and Highgate. The culverted, subterranean River Fleet flows from its source on Hampstead Heath through Camden Town south to the Thames. The Regent's Canal runs through the north of Camden Town.

Economy

Stables market horse sculptures

In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in London. Many restaurants are a little away from the markets, on Camden High Street and its side streets, Parkway, Chalk Farm Road, and Bayham Street. The plan to re-develop the historic Stables Market led to a steel and glass extension built on the edges of the site in 2006 and increased the market's capacity.

Camden street markets

Main article: Camden Market

Camden is well-known for its markets: these are relatively new, except for Inverness Street market, a small food market serving the local community, though now with only 3 fruit and vegetable stalls among more touristy stalls. Camden Lock market proper started in a former timber-yard in 1973, and is now surrounded by five more markets: Buck Street market, Stables market, Camden Lock village, and an indoor market in the Electric Ballroom. The markets are a major tourist attraction at weekends, selling goods of all types including fashion, lifestyle, books, food, junk/antiques and more bizarre items; they and the surrounding shops are popular with young people, in particular those searching for "alternative" clothing.

Transport

The Regent's Canal waterbus service

Tube

Camden Town Underground station is near the markets and other attractions. It is a key interchange station for the Bank, Charing Cross, Edgware and High Barnet Northern Line branches. The station was not designed to cope with the volume of traffic it handles since the area increased in popularity. It is very crowded at weekends, and, as of 2011, is closed to outbound passengers on Sunday afternoons for safety reasons. London Underground has made many proposals to upgrade the station. In 2004 a proposal requiring the compulsory purchase and demolition of 'the Triangle'—land bordered by Kentish Town Road, Buck Street and Camden High Street—was rejected by Camden Council after opposition from local people; of 229 letters, only 2 supported the scheme. Chalk Farm and Mornington Crescent tube stations also serve the area.

Rail

Camden Road is a London Overground station at the corner of Royal College Street and Camden Road. The nearest National Rail station is Kentish Town station on the Thameslink route on the Midland Main Line. St Pancras and Euston terminals are both within 20 minutes walk of Camden Town.

Roads

The twin Camden Locks

The area is a major hub for London Buses. Most night buses in north London stop in Camden Town. Parts of the A503 (Camden Road) and A400 (Camden High Street and Camden Street) are designated as Red routes which are major routes into London administered by Transport for London not the borough. Black taxis ply for hire in the area, and there are minicab offices. Illegal unlicensed "taxis" tout for business on the street, particularly late at night.

Regent's Canal

The Regent's Canal runs through the north end of Camden Town. Canalboat trips along the canal from Camden Lock are a popular activity, particularly in the summer months. Many of the handrails by the bridges show deep marks worn by the towropes by which horses pulled canal barges until the 1950s, and it is still possible to see ramps on the canal bank designed to assist horses which fell in the canal after being startled by the noise of a train. Camden Lock is a regularly used traditional manually operated double canal lock operating between widely separated levels. A large complex of weekend street markets operate around the Lock. The towpath is a pedestrian and cycle route which runs continuously from Little Venice through Camden Lock to the Islington Tunnel A regular waterbus service operates along the Regent's Canal from Camden Lock. Boats depart every hour during the summer months, heading westwards around Regent's Park, calling at London Zoo and on towards Maida Vale. Sightseeing narrow boat trips run from Camden Lock to Little Venice.

Landmarks

Punks close to the Electric Ballroom

Shops on Camden High Street

The Roundhouse Theatre

The Roundhouse is a locomotive engine roundhouse constructed in 1847 for the London and Birmingham Railway. It later had various uses and eventually became derelict. It was converted to a music venue in the 1960s, later closed, and re-opened in 2006 as a theatre and music venue.

Pubs and Clubs

• Devonshire Arms, also known as "The Dev" or more recently "The Hobgoblin", is a long established alternative pub/venue
• Electric Ballroom, hosts weekly club nights and acts as a live music venue
• Hawley Arms pub, the "London local" and frequent haunt of Amy Winehouse
• KOKO, formerly "The Camden Palace", is a major dance and rock venue on Camden High Street near Mornington Crescent tube station and hosted the famous Goon Show and Channel 4's Album Chart Show
• The World's End has been a pub since 1778, located on Camden Road near Camden Town tube station

Historic Places

• Arlington House, a hostel for the homeless, one of the Rowton Houses.
• Camden catacombs (see also Catacombs of London)
• The Camden Eye at 2 Kentish Town Road, was formerly known and as The Old Mother Red Cap, The Red Cap and Halfway House. It was also used as a prison.
• The Carreras Cigarette Factory (now Greater London House), a striking Art Deco Egyptian Revival building dating from 1926 to 1928, stands at Mornington Crescent and is distinguished by a pair of 8.5-foot (2.6 m)-high bronze statues of the Egyptian cat god Bastet.
• Jewish Museum
• The unusual Sainsbury's supermarket and flats on Camden Road were designed in a High-tech style by Nicholas Grimshaw and built on the site of the former large ABC Bakery.
• St Michael's Church, Camden Town
• St Pancras Old Church

Notable people

• Beryl Bainbridge lived in Albert Street from the 1960s until her death in 2010.
• Playwright Alan Bennett has lived in Gloucester Crescent for the last forty years.
• Anthony Head (actor/singer) was born here.
• Physicist, mathematician, and engineer Oliver Heaviside was born in Camden Town.
• The painter Walter Sickert lived and worked as part of the Camden Town Group in Mornington Crescent.
• Poet Dylan Thomas owned a house at 54 Delancey Street from 1951 until his death in 1953. There is a plaque on the house today.
• Popular jazz singer Amy Winehouse lived in Camden Town and was a regular visitor. She was found deceased in her Camden Square home in July 2011.

Media

The TV-am building

To the north of Camden Town station and running along the canal is a modern pop art complex designed by Terry Farrell as the original studios of TV-am. The studios are now used by MTV but retain the egg cup sculptures along the roof line of original owners. Associated Press Television News has its head office in a former gin warehouse on near Camden Lock called "The Interchange". The Camden New Journal and Camden Gazette are free, independent newspapers that cover the London Borough of Camden.

Cultural references

In literature

• Writer Charles Dickens, a one-time resident of Camden Town, placed various characters and places in his stories there as well: Bob Cratchit's family in A Christmas Carol (1843); the Micawbers in David Copperfield (1850); and in Dombey and Son (1846–1848), a description of the building of the London and Birmingham Railway, includes a trip through Camden Town.

In film

• The 1986 cult comedy film Withnail and I is set in Camden Town in 1969.
• The 2008 Mike Leigh film Happy-Go-Lucky largely takes place in Camden Town.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

• Mills, A.D. (2001), Dictionary of London Place Names, Oxford, ISBN 0192801066 

External links

London/Camden travel guide from Wikitravel