By Martin Sheppard. The area of Regent’s Park, Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill was initially not a prime German bombing target, due to its situation north of the heart of London and there being little or no heavy industry here.…
A book by Michael Dowd In the December issue of On The Hill, we published this postcard of a house on Gloucester Avenue in our ‘Postcards from Primrose Hill’ series, courtesy of @old_primrosehill_postcards. The postcard was recognised by local resident…
A remarkable but forgotten stables complex in Primrose Hill By Peter Darley Walking along Gloucester Avenue and over Fitzroy Bridge in early October, you would have found the road closed. Foundations were being placed for the crane that will lift…
By The Mole on the Hill Grandad, why are there three fruit and veg shops all on one road? I don’t know the answer to that, Lass. There’ve always been three. The people must be very healthy. Aye and rich.…
“When I came to my beloved Primrose Hill, with the golden leaves, I was full of such joy.” This week marks the 60th anniversary of the death of Sylvia Plath, here in Primrose Hill. Sylvia and her husband, the poet…
The first vicar of St Mary’s church was Charles Fuller who attracted a group of pious young women, one of which, Mary Emily André gifted the church £3000 on condition that the vicar married her. Shrewdly he did, and the…
It’s hard to imagine, but Primrose Hill was once the proposed site for a necropolis. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the city’s graveyards were overflowing due to the burgeoning population as a result of the industrial revolution. With…
Europe’s cathedrals are magnificent edifices, and, in general, grander than most castles and palaces. Simon Jenkins will be giving a talk at St Mary’s on 10 November where he plans to speak about his latest book, Europe’s 100 Best Cathedrals.…
Arthur Rackham was a well-known figure in Primrose Hill, working from Primrose Hill Studios, off Fitzroy Road. In our June issue of On The Hill we ran an article about a 1929 copy of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which Arthur…
The cherry trees all over Primrose Hill are at their beautiful best this week. Let’s enjoy every moment of them before the blossom is scattered by the wind. The six white flowering trees around the middle of Chalcot Square are…