Swiss Cottage

This article is about the district of London. For the building in County Tipperary, see Swiss cottage, Cahir.
Swiss Cottage

The current Ye Olde Swiss Cottage public house
Swiss Cottage
 Swiss Cottage shown within Greater London
OS grid referenceTQ266842
   – Charing Cross 3.25 mi (5.2 km)  SSE
London borough Camden
Ceremonial county Greater London
RegionLondon
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town LONDON
Postcode district NW3, NW6, NW8
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
EU Parliament London
UK ParliamentHampstead and Kilburn
London Assembly Barnet and Camden
List of places
UK
England
London

Coordinates: 51°32′33″N 0°10′24″W / 51.5424°N 0.1734°W / 51.5424; -0.1734

Swiss Cottage is a district of the London Borough of Camden in London. It is located 3.25 miles (5.23 km) north-northwest of Charing Cross. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and is the location of Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage forms part of Hampstead and sits at the triumvirate of postcodes of Hampstead NW3, St Johns Wood NW8 and Kilburn/West Hampstead NW6. It is the proposed site for the tallest residential tower in Camden.[1]

History

Toponymy

The district is named after an inn called The Swiss Tavern that was built in 1804 in the style of a Swiss chalet and on the site of a former tollgate keeper's cottage. The inn was later renamed Swiss Cottage.[2]

There was also an old building which was a dairy and a farmhouse when the area was rural in the 19th century. The dairy was designed like a Swiss cottage, rather than a chalet. The pub was only re-designed to resemble a Swiss chalet after this old dairy/farmhouse (later a restaurant, The Cottage Grill) was demolished in the mid-1960s. Before that time the pub did not look anything like a Swiss chalet or cottage. It is therefore debatable what gave the pub and the area the name of Swiss Cottage. Possibly the dairy built like a Swiss cottage prompted the change of name of the pub and then the area became known by that name.[3]

Urban development

The district formed part of the ancient parish of Hampstead. It developed following the Finchley Road Act 1826, which authorised construction of Finchley New Road and Avenue Road, with The Swiss Tavern built at the junction of the new roads.[4] The neighbourhood around Finchley Road and Avenue Road was redeveloped in 1937 and 1938 with the opening of an Odeon cinema and the Regency Lodge flats. After World War II, local authority housing was constructed by the London County Council in the area.[4] On 20 March 2014 a planning application was submitted for a 24-storey tower to be built next to Swiss Cottage tube station.[5] The application was rejected by Camden Council on 11 September 2014 following mass local protests. [6]

Government

Swiss Cottage is in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency; formed at the 2010 general election. It was formerly in the Hampstead and Highgate constituency, for which the MP was Glenda Jackson. It forms part of the Barnet and Camden London Assembly constituency. There is a Swiss Cottage electoral ward, electing councillors to Camden London Borough Council.

Geography

Swiss Cottage is located 3.25 miles (5.23 km) north-northwest of Charing Cross. Adjoining neighbourhoods include Hampstead Village to the northeast, Chalk Farm and Camden Town to the southeast, Belsize Park to the east, St John's Wood to the south and West Hampstead to the west. Regent's Park is within walking distance of Swiss Cottage (about 1.4 km).

It is bounded by five conservation areas; Belsize,[7] Elsworthy,[8] Fitzjohns-Netherhall,[9] South Hampstead,[10] St. John's Wood (Camden)[11] and St. John's Wood (Westminster).[12]

Demography

According to the 2011 census, 67% of the Swiss Cottage ward population was white (40% British, 25% Other, 2% Irish). 7% was Other Asian and 5% Indian. 33% were Christians, 24% irreligious, 11% Jewish and 10% Muslim.[13]

Economy

Swiss Cottage/Finchley Road is identified as a district centre in the London Plan and there are assorted shops the length of the Finchley Road.[14] Local major hotels include Marriott Regents Park, Danubius Regents Park and Hampstead Britannia Hotel. There are many smaller hotels in the area. Notable restaurants that include European, South-East Asian and Japanese cuisine.

Transport

The area is served by Swiss Cottage and Finchley Road tube stations on the Jubilee line of the London Underground and is a local hub for London Buses.[15] The former Swiss Cottage station was opened by the Metropolitan Railway in 1868; the current station dates from 1939.[16] South Hampstead railway station and Finchley Road & Frognal railway station on London Overground are also nearby.

Local bus routes are:

Night buses:

Culture

Swiss Cottage is a cultural centre within Camden and northwest London.[17] Local amenities include an Odeon Cinema, Sir Basil Spence's Grade II-listed Swiss Cottage Central Library and the Hampstead Theatre. Swiss Cottage is the location of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama that occasionally performs at the Embassy Theatre. Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre reopened in early 2006 after redevelopment; it now has two swimming pools, a gym and a climbing wall. Many of the area's cityscapes and London street scenes, particularly of Swiss Cottage, Adamson Road, Eton Avenue and Belsize Park were represented by the Camden Town Group painter Robert Bevan and his wife, the Polish painter Stanisława de Karłowska. They lived at 14 Adamson Road.

References

  1. ↑ Paul Wright. "Anger over plans for 24-storey tower at Ham&High office site in Avenue Road, Swiss Cottage". Hampstead Highgate Express.
  2. ↑ Mills, A.D. (2001). Dictionary of London Place Names. Oxford. pp. 222–223.
  3. ↑ My father had the restaurant during the War and until the lease ran out in the 1960s. The origin of the building was told to my parents.
  4. 1 2 'Hampstead: St. John’s Wood', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9: Hampstead, Paddington (1989), pp. 60-63.
  5. ↑ http://www.camdennewjournal.com/letters/2014/mar/letters-tower-block-views…
  6. ↑ Paul Wright. "Councillors reject Swiss Cottage tower plan following huge opposition". Hampstead Highgate Express.
  7. ↑ "Google". google.fr.
  8. ↑ "Camden Council: Elsworthy conservation area appraisal and management strategy". camden.gov.uk.
  9. ↑ "Camden Council: Fitzjohns and Netherhall conservation area statement". camden.gov.uk.
  10. ↑ "Camden Council: South Hampstead Conservation Area character appraisal and management strategy". camden.gov.uk.
  11. ↑ "Camden Council: St. John's Wood conservation area appraisal and management strategy". camden.gov.uk.
  12. ↑ http://transact.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/St%20Johns%20Wood%20CAA%20SPD.pdf
  13. ↑ http://www.ukcensusdata.com/swiss-cottage-e05000144
  14. ↑ "The London Plan" (PDF). london.gov.uk.
  15. ↑ Transport for London - Buses from Swiss Cottage
  16. ↑ Rose, Douglas (1999). The London Underground. Douglas Rose.
  17. ↑ Shaping Places in London through Culture
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