- Edgware Road, London
Edgware Road is a major
street [Edgware Road is a "street" in the urban planning sense of the term.] which passes through the west ofcentral London ,England , in theCity of Westminster .The southern part of the road, noted for its distinctArab flavour and many late-night bars and shisha cafes, is known toLondoner s bynickname s such as "Little Cairo," [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article850463.ece Times Online: London high life hit as rich Arabs decamp] , retrieved 29/03/07] [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/main.jhtml?xml=/fashion/2007/08/29/efdylan129.xml&page=2 Telegraph: Never talk about what you wear...] ] "Little Beirut," [ [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-359595-details/article.do This Is London: Little Beirut] ] etc.The road
As a
road , it runs north-west fromMarble Arch , and as theA5 road , passes underneathMarylebone Road , through Maida Vale, Kilburn andCricklewood (as Cricklewood Broadway). It is joined by the North Circular Road beforeWest Hendon atStaples Corner . After this, the road continues even further north, through The Hyde,Colindale ,Burnt Oak , and finally, toEdgware .The southernmost part of the road forms part of the
London Inner Ring Road and as such is part of the boundary of theLondon congestion charge zone. However, when the zone was extended in February 2007, the road became part of one of the "free through routes" which allows vehicles to cross the zone during its hours of operation without paying the charge.Certain stretches of the road are named separately. 'Edgware Road' is used for three such stretches; the other six are known as
Maida Vale ,Kilburn High Road , Shoot up Hill, Cricklewood Broadway, West Hendon Broadway, and The Hyde.The area
As an informal district of London, its southern boundary is
Cumberland Gate , just south ofMarble Arch and at the north-east corner of Hyde Park. [http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/docstores/publications_store/Edgware_Road_Action_Plan.pdf Working for the future of Edgware Road] , a 2006 planning document (in PDF format) from theCity of Westminster website] . The district's northern boundary is the Marylebone flyover.The postal codes of the area are W1, W2 and NW1.
The portion of the road stretching between Marble Arch and the Marylebone Flyover also separates the areas of
Marylebone andBayswater .History
Before the Romans, today's Edgware Road began as an
ancient trackway within the Great Middlesex Forest. The Romans later incorporated the track intoWatling Street .Centuries later, the road was improved by the Edgware-Kilburn turnpike trust in 1711, and a number of the local inns functioned as a stop for coaches, some of which still exist.
During the 18th century, it was a destination for Huguenot migrants. By 1811,
Thomas Telford produced a re-design for what was then known as a section of the London to Holyhead road, a redesign considered one of the most important feats of pre-Victorian engineering.; Telford's redesign emerged only a year after the area saw the establishment of Great Britain's firstIndian restaurant .The area began to attract Arab migrants in the late 19th century during a period of increased trade with the
Ottoman Empire . The trend continued with the arrival of Egyptians in the 1950s, and greatly expanded beginning in the 1970s and continuing to the present when events including theLebanese Civil War , the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, and unrest in Algeria brought more Arabs to the area.. They established the present-day mix of bars andshisha cafes, which make the area known toLondoner s bynickname s such as "Little Cairo" [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article850463.ece Times Online: London high life hit as rich Arabs decamp] , retrieved 29 March 2007] [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/main.jhtml?xml=/fashion/2007/08/29/efdylan129.xml&page=2 Telegraph: Never talk about what you wear...] ] and "Little Beirut." [ [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-359595-details/article.do This Is London: Little Beirut] ] These shisha cafés have been hard hit by the enforcement of the England-widesmoking ban in 2007.One of the two
Edgware Road tube station s was one of the sites of the July 7th bombings. A bomb was detonated on a train leaving the tube station serving the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines) and heading forPaddington tube station .Culture
The southernmost part of the road, south of the junction with Marylebone Road, is noted for its distinct
Arab flavour. Many Lebanese restaurants and shisha cafes line the street. TheOdeon cinema, once the location of the biggest screen in London, often shows films in Arabic.Edgware Road is unique as a district, rich in
ethnic culture, and is known for its high levels of Arab, African, and communities yet also in a very central area of London. [ Indeed, Iranian comedian Omid djalili described Edgware Road as being "after Mecca, damina and Damascus, the most islamic place ON EARTH!". [http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/05/27/arabic_london_feature.shtml BBC: Arabic London] , retrieved7 October 2007 ] [ [http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/Onlineresources/RWWC/themes/1301/1293 Museum of London: Arab London] , retrieved7 October 2007 ]In addition to branches of the typical
Starbucks ,Pret a Manger , Subway andCosta Coffee chains, Edgware Road is home to several Maroush restaurants, awhisky bar named Salt and a large variety ofkebab andshawarma restaurants that remain open through the night.Fact|date=February 2007 Edgware Road is noted for containing within it the famous Church Street Market.Institutions of note
*A
Wetherspoons tavern, The Tyburn, is named after the 'Tyburn tree', once the principal site of execution in London. Today, three golden triangles indicate the location of the tree, at the southernmost end of Edgware Road.
*AMarriott Hotel is situated to the east of the road on George Street, betweenMarble Arch and the Marylebone flyover.
*The Seymour Leisure Centre lies on Seymour Place.
*TheUniversity of London has residences on Brown Street, east of Edgware Road, and in Sussex Gardens and Talbot Square, to its west.
*The York Building is currently under construction. It will house luxury apartments, office space as well as retail area on its ground level.Nearby stations
Mainline rail stations:
*Marylebone station
*Paddington station London Underground stations:
*Edgware Road tube station (Bakerloo Line)
*Edgware Road tube station (Circle, District and Hammersmith & City Lines)
*Marble Arch tube station
*Marylebone tube station
*Paddington tube station References
External links
* [http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/food/article/1157140549763?packedargs=suffix%3DSubSectionArticle Go west for a taste of Arabia – while it lasts] from
thelondonpaper
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