In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Hampstead like this:
HAMPSTEAD, a metropolitan suburb, a parish, and a district in Middlesex. The suburb stands on the S side of a range of hills 400 feet high, on the line of Watling street, over a tunnel of the Kew branch of the North London railway, near a tunnel of the Northwestern railway, 5 miles NW of St. Paul's; is within the jurisdiction of the metropolitan police, and the central criminal court; has a station, of the name of HampsteadHeath, with telegraph, on the Kew branch of the North London railway; and has also a post office‡ under London NW, with receiving houses in High street, Adelaideroad, Victoria road, and Hampstead Green. ...
It is thought, from the discovery at it of many Roman antiquities, to have probably been a Roman station; it had only five houses, and these cottages, in 986; it was noted, in the time of Henry VIII., as a great place for washerwomen, to whom the linen of the citizens of London were sent; it became, in the 17th century, the occasional resort of distinguished individuals and families; it was also, in that century, and till 1701, the place of election for the county; it acquired, about the commencement of the 18th century, high celebrity as a watering place, on account of medicinal springs, which are now deserted; Oxford. Value, £400.* Patron, the Marquis of Downshire. The church is ancient, and has a low tower. The vicarage of Hermitage is a separate benefice. There are a Wesleyan chapel and a free school.
Hampstead through time
Hampstead is now part of Camden district. Click here for graphs and data of how Camden has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Hampstead itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Hampstead, in Camden and Middlesex | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/443
Date accessed: 25th April 2024
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