St John's Wood

"St Johns Wood" redirects here. For the Australian locality, see St Johns Wood, Queensland.

St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends from Regent's Park and Primrose Hill in the east to Edgware Road in the west, with the Swiss Cottage area of Hampstead to the north and Lisson Grove to the south.^[1][2]

St John's Wood
St John's Wood High Street
St John's Wood Location within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ265835
London borough	Westminster Camden
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	NW8
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Cities of London and Westminster
London Assembly	West Central Barnet and Camden
List of places UK England London 51.5361°N 0.1751°W / 51.5361; -0.1751

The area includes Lord's Cricket Ground, home of Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex CCC and a regular international test cricket venue. It also includes Abbey Road Studios, well known through its association with the Beatles.

Origin

The area was once part of the Forest of Middlesex, an area with extensive woodland, though it was not the predominant land use.

The area's name originates, in the Manor of Lileston, one of the two manors (the other the Manor of Tyburn) served by the Parish of Marylebone.

The Manor was taken from the Knights Templar on their suppression in 1312 and passed to the Knights of St John, whose English headquarters was at Clerkenwell Priory.^[3]

The name of the knights was applied to a former wood within the area of the manor, which in turn gave its name to St John's Farm, the farmhouse of which was the site of St John's Wood Barracks on Ordnance Hill from 1804 to 2012.^[4]

The Priory allocated the estate to agricultural tenants as a source of produce and income.^[5] The estate remained Crown property until 21 March 1675 (1676 New Style) when Charles II granted the St John's Wood estate to Charles Henry Wotton.^[6] On 22 March 1732 (1733 New Style), city merchant Henry Samuel Eyre (1676–1754) acquired the majority of the estate, around 500 acres (200 hectares), from Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield. The St John's Wood estate came to be known as the Eyre estate in the 19th century after it was developed by the Eyre brothers. The estate still exists but is much reduced geographically.

A map showing the St John's Wood ward of St Marylebone Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.

A masterplan for the development of St John's Wood was prepared in 1794, but development did not start until 1804 when Henry Samuel Eyre II (1770–1851) and Walpole Eyre (1773–1856) held their first auction.^[7] One of the first developers was James Burton.^[8]

Built environment

St John's Wood was among the first London suburbs with lower-density villa housing and frequent avenues but fewer communal garden squares. Most of the villas have since been subdivided and replaced by small apartment blocks or terraces.^[9] This pattern of development has made it one of the most expensive areas of London.^{[citation needed]}

Lord's Cricket Ground, home of Middlesex County Cricket Club and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), is an international test cricket ground known as the Home of Cricket^[10] on account of its role as the original headquarters of cricket.

Abbey Road Studios is located on Abbey Road, where the Beatles recorded, notably the Abbey Road album, the cover of which features the band crossing the road.

RAK Studios, founded by producer Mickie Most, is located near Regent's Park. A number of notable songs were recorded there, including the Thompson Twins' "Hold Me Now", Johnny Hates Jazz's "Shattered Dreams", Kim Wilde's "Kids in America" and Big Country's "In a Big Country". The studios have a Nubian Jak Community Trust plaque for Errol Brown, who recorded there as lead singer for Hot Chocolate.^[11]

St. John's Wood Church Grounds contains the only nature reserve in the City of Westminster. Much of the neighbourhood is covered by a conservation area, a small part of which extends into neighbouring Camden.^[12]

Wellington Hospital is the largest independent hospital in the United Kingdom. The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth is also nearby.

Avenue Road was the street with the UK's most expensive home sales in 2020.^[13] In early 2021, prices for a property on the street averaged over £30.5 million.^[13]

Former

St John's Wood Barracks was the headquarters for The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery until 2012, when the regiment moved to Woolwich.^[14] In 2023, Ananda Krishnan's Usaha Tegas conglomerate began developing the Squire and Partners-designed site as a development called St John’s Wood Square.^[15]

Allitsen Road drill hall was formerly the headquarters of the 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters).

The St John's Wood Art School and Anglo-French Art Centre were in St John's Wood.

The former Marlborough Road tube station is at the northern end of St John's Wood and is now a power substation for Transport for London.

The Star (now a gastropub) was a pub for approximately two centuries.

Education

For education in St John's Wood, see List of schools in the City of Westminster.

Independent

• The American School in London
• Arnold House School
• Abercorn School
• Saint Christina's Primary School
• St John's Wood Pre-Preparatory School

Academy Trust and Federation

• Harris Academy St John's Wood
• George Eliot Primary School

State

• Robinsfield Infant School
• Barrow Hill Junior School

Places of worship

Christian

• St John's Wood Church (Church of England)
• St Mark's Church, Hamilton Terrace (Church of England)
• Abbey Road Baptist Church (Baptists Together)
• The Church of Our Lady (Roman Catholic)

Jewish

• St John's Wood United Synagogue (United Synagogue)
• The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (Liberal Judaism)
• The New London Synagogue (Conservative Judaism/Masorti)
• Saatchi Shul (Orthodox)

Buddhist

• Zen Centre

Islamic

• London Central Mosque

Transport and locales

The main London Underground station is St John's Wood, which is on the Jubilee line. Maida Vale, Warwick Avenue and Kilburn Park are nearby on the Bakerloo line. The nearest London Overground station is South Hampstead. The 13, 46, 113 and N113, 139, 187, 189 and 274 bus routes transit St John's Wood.^[16]

Notable residents

Commemorative blue plaques

• Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, OM (1836–1912), painter, at 44 Grove End Road^[17]
• Gilbert Bayes (1872–1953), sculptor, at 4 Greville Place^[17]
• Sir Joseph Bazalgette, CB (1819–1891), civil engineer, at 17 Hamilton Terrace^[17]
• Sir Thomas Beecham, CH (1879–1961), conductor and impresario, at 31 Grove End Road^[17]
• Sir William Reid Dick, KCVO (1879–1961), sculptor, at 95a Clifton Hill^[17]
• Sir George Frampton (1860–1928), sculptor, at 32 Queen's Grove^[17]
• William Powell Frith (1819–1909), painter, at 114 Clifton Hill^[17]
• Dame Barbara Hepworth, DBE (1903–1975) and John Skeaping (1901–1980), sculptors, at 24 St Ann's Terrace^[17]
• Thomas Hood (1799–1845), poet, at 28 Finchley Road^[17]
• Thomas Huxley (1825–1895), biologist, at 38 Marlborough Place^[17]
• Melanie Klein (1882–1960), psychoanalyst, at 42 Clifton Hill^[17]
• Dame Laura Knight (1877–1970) and Harold Knight (1874–1961), painters, at 16 Langford Place^[17]
• Oskar Kokoschka (1886–1980), painter, at Eyre Court, 3-21 Finchley Road^[17]
• Sir Charles Santley (1834–1922), opera singer, at 13 Blenheim Road^[17]
• Sir Bernard Spilsbury, Kt (1877–1947), pathologist, at 31 Marlborough Hill^[17]
• William Strang (1859–1921), painter and etcher, at 20 Hamilton Terrace^[17]
• Marie Tussaud (1761–1850), artist, at 24 Wellington Road^[17]
• C. F. A. Voysey (1857–1941), architect and designer, at 6 Carlton Hill^[17]
• John William Waterhouse (1849–1917), painter, at 10 Hall Road^[17]

Other notable residents

• Henry Barnett (banker and politician) was the original owner of a mansion at 100 Hamilton Terrace that Robbie Williams temporarily rented before the debut of his 2019 Christmas album song, "Idlewild", which mentions St John's Wood.^[18][19]
• Charles Bradlaugh (National Secular Society founder) lived at 20 Circus Road, now the site of the St John's Wood Library.
• Christabel Cockerell (painter) lived and worked in St John's Wood.
• Frank Cadogan Cowper (artist) lived at 38 Barrow Hill Road, St John's Wood from 1905—1909.
• Leonard N. Fowles (organist/composer) was organist and choirmaster for the former St John's Wood English Presbyterian Church.
• Meredith Frampton  (painter/etcher) was born in St John's Wood and attended the St John's Wood Art School.
• Noel Gallagher (musician and songwriter) and Tony Hicks (musician) lived at the same address; Hicks recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
• Stephen Hough (concert pianist) lives and has a practice studio in St John's Wood.
• Albert Houthuesen (artist) and Catherine Dean (artist) lived in a flat at 20 Abbey Gardens in the 1930s.^[20]
• Christmas Humphreys (barrister, judge and author) lived and died at 58 Marlborough Place.
• Eric Idle (actor and comedian) lived in St John's Wood; Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher stayed at his home while filming The Empire Strikes Back.^[21][22][23]
• Norman Kerr a Scottish physician and social reformer, who founder of the Society for the Study and Cure of Inebriety. Lived at Grove Road, (now Lisson Grove) and Hamilton Terrace.
• Sir John Major (former prime minister) lived in St John's Wood, was on the Marylebone Cricket Club committee and attended matches at Lord's frequently.^[24][25][26]
• Stella Margetson (novelist and author) published St John’s Wood – an Abode of Love and the Arts and was the archivist for the St John's Wood Society.
• Sir Paul McCartney (musician) has lived in St John's Wood since 1965.^[27]
• Arthur Prince (ventriloquist) died at his home in St John's Wood.^[28]
• Keith Richards (rock musician and songwriter of The Rolling Stones) lived on Carlton Hill in the 1960s, where he wrote "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".^[29][30]
• Mark Ronson (DJ, songwriter, record producer and record executive), Samantha Ronson (DJ, singer and songwriter), and Charlotte Ronson (fashion designer) lived in St John's Wood as children, where their parents' home was a celebrity hangout.^[31]
• Sachin Tendulkar (cricketer) has a home in St John's Wood and captained Middlesex County Cricket Club's squad in its victory in the 2014 Lord's Bicentenary Celebration match.^{[32][33][34][35]}

In popular culture

Music

• The Rolling Stones' 1965 song, "Play with Fire", includes the lyrics:^[36]

Your mother she's an heiress, owns a block in Saint John's Wood

And your father'd be there with her

If he only could

• Robbie Williams' 2019 Christmas album song, "Idlewild", includes the lyrics:

Then I moved into her big old house

I never been to Saint John's Wood

There were movie stars and media types

We were all up to no good

• Violet Hill, a street and area off Abbey Road, is the eponym for Coldplay's 2008 song "Violet Hill".^[37][38]
• Queen's videos for "Keep Yourself Alive" and "Liar" were filmed at St John's Wood Studios, a former film studio on St John's Wood Terrace, in 1973.^[39]
• Duran Duran’s video for their first single, "Planet Earth", was shot at St John's Wood by Russell Mulcahy in 1980.
• The Housemartins' 1986 video for their pop song hit "Happy Hour" was recorded at The Star pub on St John's Wood Terrace.^[40]
• Arctic Monkeys' 2007 video for "Teddy Picker" was recorded in St John's Wood, including at RAK Studios and The Star.

Literature

• In Wilkie Collins's 1859 sensation novel The Woman in White, Count and Countess Fosco live at No. 5 Forest Road, a fictional address in St. John's Wood.
• In Arthur Conan Doyle's 1891 Sherlock Holmes story "A Scandal in Bohemia", Irene Adler lives in Briony Lodge, on Serpentine Avenue, a fictional address in St John's Wood.
• In the first instalment of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga, The Man of Property (1906), Young Jolyon lives with his second wife and family on Wistaria Avenue, a fictional address in St John's Wood.
• In P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster short stories and novels, written from the early 1920s onward, Bingo and Rosie live in St John's Wood.
• The protagonist of J. G. Ballard's 2003 novel Millennium People is a psychologist who lives in St John's Wood, which he abandons to join a middle-class rebellion.
• St John's Wood is the setting for Howard Jacobson's 2004 book The Making of Henry and is the planned location for the Museum of Anglo-Jewish Culture in his 2010 Man Booker Prize winning novel The Finkler Question.^[41]

Film and television

• The short-lived 1990s sitcom Babes in the Wood was set in St John's Wood.^[42]
• Bedazzled, 30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia and The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer were filmed at the former St John's Wood Studios.^[43]
• Owing to the conveniently close location to Elstree Studios, (just over 10 miles), St John's Wood was used extensively for location shooting for many of the ITC adventure shows of the 1960s and 1970s, including The Saint, Return of the Saint, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), The Persuaders!.
• The former Marlborough Road tube station appears in Metro-Land, a 1973 documentary presented by John Betjeman.
• Henstridge Place and Woronzow Road featured in the “Give Us This Day Arthur Daley’s Bread” episode of the popular UK television series Minder.
• Peter O’Toole (actor) died at the Wellington Hospital 2013 in St. John’s Wood aged 81, and is considered one of the greatest actors of any generation, he attended The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

References

1. "Camden Council: St John's Wood (East and West) conservation area appraisal and management strategy at 1.1 measures "3.83 hectares" otherwise the area is in Westminster and at 5.3 "Eyre's estate" [approximately equal in size] measured 500 acres". Retrieved 27 March 2018.
2. "Westminster Council: St John's Wood Conservation Area Appraisal: 3.6 Sale of land in St John's Wood by the Crown began in the early 18th century. Henry Samuel Eyre acquired the largest portion in 1732: a 500 acre estate that stretched roughly from what is now Rossmore Road to Swiss Cottage, bounded by Hamilton Terrace to the west and Avenue Road to the east" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
3. London Encyclopaedia, Weinreb and Hibbert, 1983
4. "St John's Wood Barracks 1804-1900". St John's Wood Memories. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
5. Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales Vol. 3 "JOHN'S WOOD (ST.)", p.1067, 1870–72, John Marius Wilson archived
6. Galinou, Mireille. (2010). Cottages and villas : the birth of the garden suburb. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-300-16726-9. OCLC 639574771.
7. Galinou (2010). Cottages and Villas: The Birth of the Garden Suburb. Yale. pp. 61 & 88.
8. "Celebrating the birth in July 1761 of James Burton, the founder of St Leonards-on-Sea and builder-developer in Bloomsbury". Victoria County History. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
9. Elrington, C. R. (editor); Baker, T. F. T.; Bolton, Diane K.; Croot, Patricia E. C., "A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9, pp. 60–63" British-History.ac.uk, 1989. Retrieved 24 January 2011
10. "Lord's". Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
11. Press Association (27 November 2020). "Hot Chocolate frontman Errol Brown honoured with black plaque". The Guide. Prestwich and Whitefield.
12. "Map". www.camden.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
13. Hunt, Marianna (19 December 2020). "The price to live on Britain's most expensive street? £30.5m". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
14. Ross Lydall (6 February 2012). "Final salute: St John's Wood bids farewell to the King's Troop after two centuries – UK – News". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
15. Dave Rogers (23 May 2023). "Big names eye £400m resi scheme at former St John's Wood barracks". Building. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
16. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
17. at English Heritage
18. Ruth Bloomfield (23 January 2020). "A Modern-Day Makeover for a Banking Baron's Former London Villa". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
19. Louisa Clarence-Smith, Carol Lewis, Helen Davies (23 January 2020). "Downfall of Daniel Daggers, the not-so secret estate agent". The Times. Retrieved 6 March 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
20. Nathanson, Richard (2008). Walk to the Moon: The Story of Albert Houthuesen. The Putney Press. p. 82,105. ISBN 978-0-9516219-2-9.
21. Carrie Fisher (27 December 2016). "Carrie Fisher in 1999: "Star Wars Taught Me Everything"". Newsweek. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
22. Rhys Blakely (13 November 2012). "Why Eric Idle still looks on the bright side of life, even of John Cleese". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
23. Ed Potton (20 December 2016). "A Python heads for the planets". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
24. "St. John's Wood". Cwhr.co.uk.
25. Charlie Burgess (13 July 2020). "The sad goodbye when you give up your Lord's seats after 15 seasons". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
26. "Sir John Major resigns from MCC committee". BBC. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
27. Fusion Advertising & Design. "Area Guide to St John's Wood – Property guide to St John's Wood from". ludlowthompson.com. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
28. P.L. Mannock (15 April 1948). "'Sailor Jim' will never speak again". Daily Herald.
29. Rich Cohen (10 May 2016). "How the Rolling Stones Found "Satisfaction"". Slate. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
30. Detailed in Richards's 2010 autobiography, "Life"
31. Slater, Lydia (9 April 2010). "The Royal Family of Rock". Evening Standard. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
32. Masoom Gupte (10 June 2015). "Post retirement, vacation in London for Sachin Tendulkar". Economic Times. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
33. Shubro Mukherjee (2 July 2020). "Aaron Finch recalls conversation with himself before batting with Sachin Tendulkar". Cricket Times. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
34. "Tendulkar, Warne captains in Lord's bicentenary match". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
35. "Sachin Tendulkar Savours Brian Lara Partnership in Lord's Bicentenary". NDTV. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
36. Uitti, Jacob (10 July 2023). "6 Songs You Didn't Know Charlie Watts Wrote for the Rolling Stones". American Songwriter. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
37. Halperin, Shirley (12 June 2008). "Coldplay Talk 'Viva La Vida'". Entertainment Weekly. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
38. Harvilla, Rob (17 June 2008). "Coldplay's Insurmountable Fire". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 17 July 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
39. "Queen: Footage of band's first ever recorded performance is sensational". Smooth. 16 August 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
40. "The Housemartins: how we made Happy Hour". The Guardian. 4 December 2018. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
41. "The Making of Henry by Howard Jacobson". The Guardian. 31 May 2004. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
42. Heritage, Stuart (22 September 2015). "Brideshead Revisited or Celebrity Wrestling: the best and worst of ITV". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
43. "St John's Wood Studios". TV Studio History. Retrieved 8 December 2023.

Further reading

• Richard Tames. St. John's Wood and Maida Vale Past, London: Historical Publications, 1998. ISBN 978-0-94866-753-4

External links

Media related to St. John's Wood at Wikimedia Commons

• History of St John's Wood