Finchley Road is a designated

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights o ...

in north-west

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. The Finchley Road starts in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...

near central London as part of the A41; its southern half is a major dual carriageway with high traffic levels often frequented by lorries and long-distance coaches as it connects central London, via the A41 Hendon Way, to the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

Brent Cross Brent Cross is a major traffic interchange and area in the London Borough of Barnet, England. Originally the name of a crossroads, it is located a mile from the centres of Hendon and Golders Green. Notably, the Brent Cross Shopping Centre, ...

and other roads at that interchange. Its northern half, which dissects away from the A41 and is designated as the A598, runs through suburban areas via the centre of

Golders Green Golders Green is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet in north London, northwest of Charing Cross. It began as a medieval small suburban linear settlement near a farm and public grazing area green, and dates to the early 19th century. It ...

Henlys Corner Henlys Corner is a brief combining junction of the A1 and the North Circular Road in North London, in the middle of which is the crossroads of the A598. Connecting roads and public transport The intersecting local road is Finchley Road/Regent ...

, where the road north of it leads to

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

, from which Finchley Road gets its name. Its southern half, in which it gives its name to the centre-west part of

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, has two current railway stations including the name ''Finchley Road''.

London Buses route 13 London Buses route 13 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between North Finchley bus station and London Victoria station, Victoria station, it is operated by First Bus London. History In the 1930s route ...

runs through the entire road, while the route 113 runs only in its southern half.

History

Originally named Finchley New Road, it was built as a turnpike to provide an alternative to the hillier route north from London, which ran further east through the village of

Finchley Road looking south to O2 Centre

The original route, now the A502, ran from Camden Town along what is now Chalk Farm Road,

Haverstock Haverstock is an area of the London Borough of Camden: specifically the east of Belsize Park, north of Chalk Farm and west of Kentish Town. It is centred on Queens Crescent and Malden Road. Gospel Oak is to the north, Camden Town to the south. ...

Hill,

Rosslyn Hill Rosslyn Hill is a road in Hampstead, London, connecting the south end of Hampstead High Street to the north end of Haverstock Hill. It is the site of the Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, St. Stephen's Church and the Royal Free Hospital. It is se ...

, Heath Street and North End Road to Golders Green where it joins Finchley Road. It had two steep hills either side of Hampstead Village, and was difficult for horses with carriages to negotiate when muddy. The Finchley Road Act was passed in 1826 and the new turnpike road was completed in 1835. The new route (now the A41) started from what was then called the 'New Road' (the first London bypass) and is now

Marylebone Road Marylebone Road ( ) is an important thoroughfare in central London, within the City of Westminster. It runs east–west from the Euston Road at Regent's Park to the A40 Westway at Paddington. The road which runs in three lanes in both directi ...

, and ran north, first along what are now Park Road and Wellington Road, and becomes Finchley Road at

St John's Wood tube station St. John's Wood is a London Underground station located in St John's Wood in the City of Westminster, north-west London. It was opened in 1939 as a stop on the Bakerloo line. Today, the station is on the Jubilee line between Swiss Cottage and B ...

. It goes north through

Swiss Cottage Swiss Cottage is an area in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. The area was ...

, then turns slightly north west, forming an unofficial boundary between

and

West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden. Neighbouring areas includes Childs Hill to the north, Frognal to the east, Swiss Cottage to the south-east, South Hampstead to the south and Kilburn to the south-west. The neighbourh ...

, and then turns north again at

Child's Hill Childs Hill is one of two areas at the south end of the London Borough of Barnet along with Cricklewood which straddles three boroughs. It took its name from Richard le Child, who in 1312 held a customary house and "30 acres" of its area. It is ...

. The A41 diverges westward and Finchley Road becomes the A598. It continues past Golders Green Underground station (where it meets the old route), through

Temple Fortune Temple Fortune is a place in the London Borough of Barnet to the north of Golders Green. It is principally a shopping district used by residents of the Hampstead Garden Suburb. Between here and Golders Green, at Hoop Lane are two cemeteries – ...

to the

North Circular Road The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a ring road around Central London. It runs from Chiswick in the west to North Woolwich in the east via suburban north London, connecting var ...

, crossing it at

, where it becomes Regents Park Road (perhaps after the southern end of the route). This continues as Ballards Lane through Finchley Central to North Finchley. There it joins the former Great North Road (now the A1000). Tolls were collected at a

tollgate A tollbooth (or toll booth) is an enclosure placed along a toll road that is used for the purpose of collecting a Toll (fee), toll from passing traffic. A structure consisting of several tollbooths placed next to each other is called a toll p ...

at Childs Hill. After the road was built, many grand houses were built along its length, especially near

Fortune Green Fortune Green is a small area in West Hampstead, London Borough of Camden. Lying on the south-west side of the Finchley Road, Hampstead town council decided to build its overflow cemetery there in the 1840s. A guide to Hampstead Cemetery, with ...

Childs Hill Childs Hill is one of two areas at the south end of the London Borough of Barnet along with Cricklewood which straddles three boroughs. It took its name from Richard le Child, who in 1312 held a customary house and "30 acres" of its area. It is ...

and

. Finchley Road remains a heavily used route in and out of London. The most commercial part of the road is between Swiss Cottage Underground station and the

O2 Centre The O2 Centre is an indoor shopping and entertainment centre located on Finchley Road in north-west London, near Hampstead, England. Designed by HOK International and opened in 1998, it is now owned by Landsec. Despite the same name and orig ...

. ;Stagecoaches, first omnibuses and shelved tramway proposal In 1856 as many as ten stagecoaches a day ran along Finchley Road, serving Swiss Cottage, where the Atlas Line, a business of these, had started about six years before. Omnibuses reached the area north of Swiss Cottage by way of Finchley Road as far as Finchley Road station before 1880. Later omnibuses were extended along Finchley Road to meet others from Edgware Road along

West End Lane West End Lane is a street in inner north-west London, England (grid reference TQ2585) that runs for about one mile between Kilburn High Road to the south and Finchley Road to the north. Located in the London Borough of Camden, and the NW6 postal ...

, continuing north to Childs Hill and Hendon. Motorbuses had replaced horse omnibuses by 1911. Plans for an extensive network of tramways, along Adelaide and Finchley Roads, were dropped after opposition from the council, ground landlords, and residents. On 2 October 1993 five people were injured and damage caused when three bombs planted by the

Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

exploded.

Local railway stations

Today

Hampstead is served by Finchley Road Underground station (

Jubilee A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

and

Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in London Borough of Hillingdon, Hillingdon. Printed in mage ...

s) and, 435 meters further north, Finchley Road & Frognal London Overground station (

Mildmay line The Mildmay line is the service operated by London Overground on the North London and West London railway lines. It passes through the inner suburbs of London, between Richmond and Clapham Junction in the south-west and Stratford in the east, ...

). The road has as such become the colloquial name for the part of Hampstead between West Hampstead and Hampstead-on-the-Hill which is centred on Hampstead Underground station (

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...

Historically

was served by Finchley Road railway station on the

Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line (MML), sometimes also spelt Midland Mainline, is a major Rail transport in Great Britain, railway line from London to Sheffield in Yorkshire via the East Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras railway ...

(1868–1927).

Memorials

In 1906 a stone plaque was affixed at 139 Finchley Road by Charles Wells, to commemorate the site of residence of 19th century German operatic signer

Thérèse Tietjens Thérèse Carolina Johanne Alexandra Tietjens (17 July 1831, Hamburg3 October 1877, London) was a leading opera and oratorio soprano. She made her career chiefly in London during the 1860s and 1870s, but her sequence of musical triumphs in the ...

.Charles Samuel Cooper.
Outdoor Monuments of London: Statues, Memorial Buildings, Tablets and War Memorials
'. Homeland Association, 1928. p. 197

References

{{Coord, 51, 33, 55, N, 0, 11, 47, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Streets in the London Borough of Barnet Streets in the London Borough of Camden Streets in the City of Westminster Swiss Cottage District centres of London