Hampstead Heath

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Hampstead Village

Hampstead Village still retains most of its original village charm, despite some of the modern high street names creeping in. When McDonalds tried to open up a shop in the High Street, there was strong local opposition, and eventually they had to agree to a severely toned down frontage, so Hampstead's McDonalds is like no other. The streets are narrow and hilly, with alleys and lanes leading off. Beautiful cottages and buildings are everywhere.

Golden Yard, off Heath Street

Hampstead also has many beautiful churches. St John's Church in Downshire Hill was opened in 1823, and is the last privately owned church of its typein London.

Hampstead Parish Church in Church Row
Amongst the inmates of the cemetery are John Constable (painter), Hugh Gaitskell (labour leader), Kay Kendall (actress), several members of the du Maurier family, John Harrison (inventor of the marine chronometer), and Anton Walbrook (actor). The book "Buried in Hampstead", (Camden History Society, 1986) also notes that the following are buried there: Jane Austen's aunt, Coleridge's grandchildren, Leigh Hunt's daughter-in-law, Lily Langtree's cousin, Shelley's son's father-in-law, Robert Stephenson's wife, Queen Victoria's chaplain, and Evelyn Waugh's parents, as well as such luminaries as the Head of the Skin Department of St Bartholomew's Hospital, the Improver of Railway Refreshments, the Defuser of an Enemy Mine on the Hungerford Bridge, and a Singer in the First Performance of Hayden's Creation

Burgh House is a Queen Anne, Grade I listed building, built in 1703. At one time, it was the officer's mess of the Royal East Middlesex Militia. After the last war, which it was lucky to survive, it was bought by the local council. It is now the home of the Hampstead Museum of Local History. One of the rooms is an art gallery with regular exhibitions, and you can hold your wedding ceremony in the beautiful, wood panelled music room. There is a delightful, prize winning terraced garden, originally designed by Gertrude Jekyll and maintained in her style, full of little nooks and crannies, with tables and chairs set up for the enjoyment of afternoon tea in the dappled shade.

This is Fitzjohn's primary school, founded in 1954. The main building is long gone, but in the 1800s this was part of the Royal Soldiers' Daughters' Home, where the orphaned daughters of Crimean soldiers were trained for domestic service.

Mothers waiting to collect their children

Not strictly in Hampstead is Highgate Cemetery, famous for having Karl Marx as one of it's residents. He is in the newer, eastern part of the cemetery. The older, western part is the more interesting and has been designated a place of outstanding historic and architectural interest. The section called the Egyptian Way and the Lebanon Circle Catacombs are Grade I listed buildings, and the whole cemetery a Grade II listed park. The atmosphere is compelling and was put to good use by Hammer Horror films in the 1960s.

I hope you've enjoyed your tour of Hampstead. There are still many more gems to be painted, as time permits. Much of the information on the tour comes from:
The Streets of London by Christopher Wade, published by the Camden History SocietyHampstead to Primrose Hill, Britain in Old Photographs, by Malcolm J Holmes, from Camden leisure and Community Services.