Harrow Area Guide
Harrow is one of London’s most ethnically diverse areas and for many people, in the Asian community in particular, is seen as an aspirational place to live. Harrow Garden Village close to Rayners Lane Tube station is particularly popular. Semi-detached houses in these tree-lined streets with grass verges sell for between £400,000 and £450,000, while a detached house will cost £550,000 and upwards.
Staying power: Harrow is a strong and stable family area where people like to stay long term, often making improvements and extending their houses in preference to uprooting.
Postcodes: Harrow has three — HA1 covers Harrow on the Hill and is the most desirable; HA2 covers North and South Harrow, and HA3 covers Harrow Weald, Kenton and Wealdstone.
Council: Harrow is a minority Tory administration
Stuck in a traffic jam on the A404 heading north-west out of London, you have time to reflect that the Harrow Road stretch, which starts from Maida Vale, was once an uncrowded country lane passing through open farmland and up to the little village of Harrow on the Hill.
The village was where wealthy 16th-century farmer John Lyon obtained a charter from Queen Elizabeth I to found a Free Grammar School. He turned property developer and invested in land in what is now Maida Vale, using the rents he earned to maintain the road from London up to Harrow.
Today Harrow Road passes through the built-up suburbs of Kensal Green, Harlesden, Stonebridge Park and Wembley before arriving at the playing fields of John Lyon’s school — Harrow School, among the country’s leading public schools, and one of only a handful that has held to the tradition of educating boarding pupils only. The John Lyon’s Charity, meanwhile, has donated over £50 million to educational causes in nine London boroughs since 1992
St Mary’s Church spire is a local landmark and the churchyard is where Byron, a former Harrow School pupil, contemplated his own burial in the poem Lines Written Beneath an Elm in the Churchyard of Harrow. In the end it was his daughter, Allegra, who was buried there in an unmarked grave. Byron ended up in Nottinghamshire, his body having been turned away from Westminster Abbey.
Birth of metro-land
Harrow town centre lies to the north of Harrow on the Hill and 12 miles from central London, and in modern times the Metropolitan Tube line, rather than Harrow Road, has shaped the area.
The poet Sir John Betjeman came up with the name “Metro-Land” for the large swathes of north-west London that were developed after the arrival of the line, and in the Twenties and Thirties areas such as Harrow became commuter suburbs with streets of semi-detached and detached three- and four-bedroom houses, some influenced by the Arts & Crafts movement, others in mock Tudor or Art Deco styles.
Houses and flats for sale in Harrow
While Harrow has plenty of these Metro-Land family homes, it also boasts pockets of Victorian terraces and modern town centre flats, while on the southern slopes of the hill there are large, detached Edwardian houses on spacious plots in private roads.
Best roads: a leafy enclave south of Harrow on the Hill has a number of private roads, in particular Mount Park Road, where the most exclusive houses are found. Julian Hill, off Sudbury Hill, is another desirable address.
New-build homes in Harrow
At the Kodak factory site between Headstone Drive and Harrow View, north of the town centre, Harrow is about to see the largest new development for 50 years. Kodak has formed a joint venture with property company Land Securities. The plans now being consulted on include 985 (200 affordable) new homes, 135,000 square feet of new shops, a health centre and a three-form entry primary school. The scheme is expected to produce 1,500 new jobs and deliver £10 million-worth of infrastructure improvements.
Schools
Harrow is famous for its public school but it only takes boarding pupils who come mainly from outside the immediate area. The John Lyon School (boys, ages 11 to 18) in Middle Road is a private day school, which is part of the foundation that governs Harrow School. The private pre-prep and prep schools are: Roxeth Mead(co-ed, ages three to seven) in Middle Road; Alpha Preparatory (co-ed, ages three to 11) and Quainton Hall (girls, ages two to 11, boys, ages two to 13) both in Hindes Road, and Orley Farm School (co-ed, ages four to 13) in South Hill Avenue. Buckingham College (boys, ages 11 to 18) in Hindes Road is a private secondary school.
State primary
Almost all Harrow’s state primary schools are judged to be “good” or better by government education watchdog Ofsted. Those judged “outstanding” are: Elmgrove in Kenmore Avenue; Marlborough in Marlborough Hill; St Anselm’s RC in Roxborough Park; Priestmead in Hartford Avenue; Belmont in Hibbert Road; St Joseph’s RC in Dobbin Close; Mount Stewart Juniors in Mount Stewart Avenue; Kenmore Park Infants in Moorhouse Road; Glebe in Glebe Avenue; Newton Farm in Ravenswood Crescent; Heathland in Eastcote Lane, and Roxbourne in Torbay Road.
Comprehensive
There are also some “outstanding” state comprehensive schools. These are: Sacred Heart RC Language College (girls, ages 11-18) in High Street, Wealdstone; Whitmore High (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Porlock Avenue; Claremont High (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) on Claremont Avenue; JFS (co-ed, ages 11 to 18), a Jewish school in The Mall, Kenton, and Rooks Heath in Eastcote Lane. St Dominic’s RC Sixth Form College (co-ed, ages 16 to 18) in Mount Park Avenue is also judged to be “outstanding”.
If Harrow sounds like the place for you then give one of our Niche Consultants a call today on: 020 3970 4142 and they will help guide you to your dream property. Alternatively if you are a Landlord or a vendor thinking of selling or renting your property please give us a call to discuss your requirements.