Hatch End

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type = Greater London
region= London
population=
official_name= Hatch End
latitude= 51.6010
longitude= -0.3743
constituency_westminster= Harrow West
post_town= PINNER
postcode_area= HA
postcode_district= HA5
london_borough= Harrow
dial_code= 020
os_grid_reference= TQ125915

Hatch End is a place in the London Borough of Harrow, located 13 miles north west of Charing Cross in Central London. The suburb is part of the Pinner post town.

Attractions

Hatch End is home to the Harrow Arts Centre, a complex which centres around a large theatre and a smaller studio theatre. Music, dance, theatre, comedy and literature events are all hosted here, along with many workshops and summer schemes run during the holidays.

Also of interest is Letchford House built in 1670.

Local businesses include a number of furniture shops and restaurants – including Italian, Greek, Chinese, American and Indian. Many local people were opposed to the opening of the new Tesco Express store, as they believed that it would lead to the closure of well-established small shops.

Geography

The nearest regional centre for higher order goods is Harrow, 3 miles to the south, with two shopping malls and a 9-screen cinema, along with numerous restaurants, places of entertainment and bookshops. Pinner (1.7 miles south west) offers additional amenities, including a Woolworths, a DIY centre, a bookshop and two gift shops. Pinner also is the nearest London Underground station to Hatch End, and the two are linked by the H12 bus service. As Hatch End is less than a mile from the Greater London/Hertfordshire boundary, it is also convenient for Watford, (3 miles north), which also serves as a regional retail centre, linked by a regular train service.

Demographics

Hatch End is an outer suburban area which has experienced a rise in population since the early twentieth century due to the demographic processes of suburbanisation and urban-rural migration. It is served by good transport links into London Euston and therefore has a predominantly white, affluent population (491st highest mean income of 630 election Wards in London{Paycheck 2004}). Many of the residents have moved to the area from districts closer to central London in search of a better quality of suburban life. Fact|date=February 2007.

Day to day migration movements involve the daily commute into London. Its tree lined streets, open spaces and proximity to rural countryside as well as its leisure amenities and restaurants make Hatch End one of the most desirable places to live in the capital Fact|date=February 2007. Migrants into the area often cannot afford to move into detached properties which themselves account for 31% of the total housing stock in Hatch End. On the whole the area is safer, cleaner and less polluted than inner city suburbs, and has a lower crime rate.

54% of the population are Christian. The area is also one of many North-West London Jewish communities, of which Jews make up 12% of the population. Consequently the area has two synagogues (a third in neighbouring Pinner) and a kosher butcher. The suburb is home to a Hindu community which represents 12% of the population, although this figure is comparatively low compared to the borough average of 20%.

Transport and locale

Nearby places

* Pinner
* Wealdstone
* Stanmore
* Northwood

Nearest railway stations

Hatch End and Headstone Lane, both served by London Overground.

For the Transport for London map showing details of buses serving these stations, go to [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/maps/buses/pdf/hatchendandheadstonelane-12119.pdf]

Main Bus routes

The following London bus routes serve Hatch End (correct at 4 August 2008):
* H12 South Harrow to Stanmore
* H14 Hatch End to Northwick Park Hospital

Trivia

* Pink Floyd keyboardist Rick Wright was born here.
* Footballer Jerome Thomas attended Hatch End High School.
* Mark Ramprakash attended Grimsdyke First and Middle School, and played for Bessborough CC
* Melissa Carter attends Hatch End High School. She plays Lucy Beale in EastEnders.
* The comedian and writer Barry Cryer lives in Hatch End.
* Mrs Isabella Beeton lived in Hatch End while writing her epic "Book Of Household Management". There is now a restaurant called [http://www.hatchetsrestaurant.com Hatchets] on the site of her house.

References