Sudbury, London

Sudbury
Sudbury  Sudbury shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ165852
London borough	Brent
	Harrow
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WEMBLEY
Postcode district	HA0
Post town	HARROW
Postcode district	HA1
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Brent North
London Assembly	Brent and Harrow
	Brent and Harrow
List of places: UK • England • London

Crabbs House, Barham Park

Sudbury is a suburb in the London Boroughs of Brent and Harrow, located in northwest London, UK.

Sudbury is an historical area having once extended from the 'South Manor- Sudbury' (thought to have been on Harrow Hill) to the area that is now known as Wembley Central. Much of the land that once formed Sudbury Common until the 1930s has now been developed as a relatively green residential suburb of London. Much of Sudbury was once in the ownership of the Barham family who give their name to a number of local landmarks including Barham School and Barham Park.

History

Early history

Until the 14th century Sudbury Manor, as it was then known, was the main residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The road to London and the proximity of Harrow School enhanced its status. Its upkeep was supported in part by Sir John Lyon, founder of Harrow School.

Georgian era

Wealthy sisters and local philanthropists the Copland Sisters after which many local landmarks from streets to schools were named commissioned Sir John Gilbert Scott, the architect who later designed the Albert Memorial and St Pancras station, to build the Church of St John in 1846 which marks the easterly extent of Sudbury. Opposite is Copland House, now a home for the elderly. The Coplands built Sudbury Lodge in the grounds of their father's home in Crabbs House.

This would later change hands and be owned by another wealthy and philanthropist family the Barham's. During the late Georgian period Sudbury was the home of the Express Dairy Company Limited run by the Barham Family. It was the first British Dairy to use glass milk bottles, the first to use milk churns and glass lined tanks to carry 30 0000 gallons of milk by train into London every night and one of the first to introduce pasteurisation to sterilise milk. It even supplied milk to Queen Victoria. For his services the owner and managing director George Barham Sr. was knighted in 1904. He died in 1913 leaving his business to his son Titus Barham.

Nineteenth century to Modern Times

Jubilee Gardens

Titus Barham died peacefully aged 77 years in 1937 the very same day he was due to be made the first Mayor of the new ward. He left considerable lands for the benefit of the public in this rural area. unfortunately some rash decisions by the local council in the early fifties saw the demolition of his mansion in the heart of Barham Park in 1956. Much of the area originally given over to arable land for use by dairy herds were lost during the interwar period.

Urbanisation began in earnest in the late 19th century with the arrival of the railways. Sudbury town entered the London commuter belt. The demand for housing was such that within the short interwar period much of the area had been urbanised. Despite this it remains an incredibly green area mainly due to strict planning control. In 1928 land was given over for the Vale Farm sports fields. There has been a swimming pool on the site since 1932.

Parks and recreation

Barham Park

Barham Park located in the heart of Sudbury is a landscaped garden dating from the 18th century. The foundation of Sudbury Lodge formally, home of George Barham, founder of Express Dairies, still stands amidst his walled gardens. Within is a genuine Georgian building, formally Crabb's House, which is well maintained and used as a library. The Park has floral display, three ponds, a conifer plantation, large and modern children's play area, hidden areas and a war memorial, as well as being the head quarters for the area's Parks Service. Chiltern Railways back onto the Park. It is the site of annual funfair and circus events. Sudbury Green open space off Harrow Road.

Sport

Sudbury was the former home of London Wasps rugby union team who moved there in 1923. During the late nineties they relocated to Buckinghamshire, and the ground at Sudbury Town has been developed for housing. The club house still stands and is still considered the club's spiritual home. A large swimming pool, outdoor tennis courts, cricket pitches and nets, AstroTurf pitches and a sports complex are located at Vale Farm. The complex is also the home ground of Wembley F.C., and contains a stadium with a 2,000 seat capacity. Other sports clubs in the district include Sudbury Golf Club and Sudbury Squash and Tennis Club.

The Lyons' Sports Club hosted the field hockey preliminaries for the 1948 Summer Olympics.

Historical buildings

Walled Garden, Barham Park

In the 19th century Sudbury was a large meadow stretching from Wembley to Harrow Hill. It was dotted by many farm houses and grand residences. A few buildings from this era still remain and a notable example is Hundred Elms Farm of Elms Lane to the North of Sudbury Town. Now a residential care home, the actual building is well maintained but is not open to the public.

Religious buildings

Church of St. John, Western Aspect

Sudbury Methodist Church is situated opposite Butlers Green, and St. Andrew's COE, St. George's Catholic and the Church of St John's the evangelist COE churches are located several hundred yards further up the Harrow Road. St George's was designed by prominent British "Arts & Crafts" architect James Leonard Williams (d.1926); his other work include Royal School of Needlework, All Saints church in Oxted, The Pound House in Totteridge, etc.

Over the past year extensive work has been completed in the Church of St John's. This church, located at the eastern edge of Sudbury where it borders Wembley, dates from the Georgian era.

Through the late 80s and mid 90s, it had fallen into a state of disrepair. Significant subsidence had threatened its foundations. Thanks to charitable works the extensive underpinning work on the historic church has been completed, saving it for future generations. Phase 2 of the restoration contracted to building firm BRICKSTONE has restored the rusted and broken ornate railings and gate to its former glory. Phase 3 involving restoration of the Lychgate was completed in time for the mayoral visit on remembrance Sunday 2009.

Transport

Tube

• Sudbury Town, on the Piccadilly line
• Sudbury Hill, on the Piccadilly Line

Rail

• Sudbury & Harrow Road, on Chiltern Railways
• Sudbury Hill Harrow, on Chiltern Railways

Road

• A404 (Harrow Road, Wembley)
• A4005 (Bridgewater Road & Harrow Road, Harrow)
• A4090 (Whitton Avenue East and West)
• A4127 (Greenford Road & Sudbury Court Drive)

Buses

There are a number of London Buses running in Sudbury:

• 18, Sudbury & Harrow Road Station - Euston, via Harlesden
• 92, St Raphael's North - Ealing Hospital, via Greenford
• 182, Harrow Weald Oxhey Lane - Brent Cross Shopping Centre, via Wembley
• 204, Sudbury Town Station - Edgware, via Kingsbury
• 245, Alperton Sainsburys - Golders Green, via Cricklewood
• 487, South Harrow Station - Willesden Junction, via Park Royal
• H17, Harrow Bus Station - Wembley Central Montrose Crescent, via Sudbury Hill
• N18, Trafalgar Square - Harrow Weald Bus Garage, via Baker Street

Politics

The area is represented on Brent London Borough Council by; Mary Daly Labour,

Paul Lorber Liberal Democrats Leader of the Liberal Democrats Group,

Chandubhai J Patel Liberal Democrats.

Notable residents

Drummer Carlo Little and actor Dev Patel are from Sudbury.

Nearby places

• Greenford
• Sudbury Hill
• Wembley
• Harrow on the Hill
• North Wembley
• Alperton
• South Harrow