EAW024231 ENGLAND (1949). The A404 bridge, Harrow-on-the-Hill Railway Station and the town, Harrow, from the south-west, 1949

The premises of Buntings, a long established family-owned motor repair business. The business finally closed in April 2021 bringing to an end its long association with Harrow. The site is to be redeveloped adding, no doubt, to the areas recent collection of unsympathetic and overlarge buildings.

Victoria Hall. This was the church hall and community centre for St John the Baptist church. It was relocated in the 1960s to a new building in Sheepcote Road. This in turn has recently been redeveloped as a block of intrusive high rise flats.

The Churchill Hall (originally the Northwick Park Hall), Kenton - the erstwhile home of Wembley North Conservative Association. During the 1960s it also hosted the New Fender Club, a rather unlikely venue for many popular R&B bands of the time, such as The Yardbirds, The Who and The Graham Bond Organisation. Currently boarded up and awaiting its fate.

Kenton Lane Farm - Once owned by J H Brazier's Dairy. The site is currently being redeveloped as housing, but happily, the old farmhouse and a stable block have been preserved.

Railway Terrace - A row of railway cottages situated on the other side of the LNWR/LMS line at Kenton Station. Some of the earliest development in this part of Kenton and dating from about 1912. They were swept away during the development of the Sainsbury store in the old goods yard.

I think that this structure and the similar structures on the adjacent platforms are lift shaft winding gear housings. There was a service lift connecting the Royal Mail sorting office in College Road with the passenger subway connecting the station platforms. There were other lifts serving the various platforms and one, I believe, at the Lowland Road side of the station, where there used to be a station parcels office. It was probably this office that later served as the London Transport ticket clearing office, when such tasks were still required to be completed manually. Presumably the lifts were intended to facilitate the movement of mail and parcels to and from the sorting office and the parcels office for transportation on trains. I imagine that the facility was used, when it was used at all, on the British Railways services that stopped at Harrow. I don't think that London Transport offered such services at this time. I remember the lifts looking derelict and unused in the 1960s and I certainly never saw them operating. Latterly, newspapers were delivered by train (probably on the service from Marylebone).

This building is one of the very last pitched roof detached houses remaining in Sheepcote Road, the rest having been swept away over the years to accommodate multi-occupancy apartment blocks. It was once a YWCA hostel and more recently it was used as a very short-lived independent primary school. It has since been refurbished as a nursery school.

Oakley Road. Houses long gone and Norbury School built on the site.

Kenton Methodist Church

Station Road, Harrow, 09/09/2013

Greenhill School

Greenhill Laundry

This was Harrow High School for boys. Not to be confused with the current Harrow High School, which is the latest incarnation of the nearby Harrow County Grammar School. Harrow High was an independent school specialising in the private education of 11 plus exam failures. An alternative to the local Secondary Modern for those who could afford it. The building has been replaced by a block of flats.

Somerton's store

Bessborough Road Methodist Church. This has been replaced by a block of flats.

LMS branch line to Stanmore Village. Within three years the passenger service would be truncated to Belmont. The whole line would close in 1964.

This row of shops no longer exists, Probably demolished when this part of Lowlands Road was widened and a petrol filling station built. The building indicated has BRYMAY (Bryant & May matches) advertised on the side, so very probably a tobacconists shop. For many years the railway fencing opposite had the graffito 'Fall X63' painted on it. I have absolutely no idea what it was supposed to mean.

A London Transport Morris Column. These displayed corporate information and advertising in a style more redolent of Paris than Harrow. There is a similar structure at the College Road entrance, Now both are long gone, I wonder if any such similar columns still exist on the Underground network.

The O/P stock train languishing in the reversing siding has its doors open. Possibly taken out of service due to a door malfunction or else opened by the guard to air the train between trips on a particularly hot day.

Ham & Bacon Factory. I think in the latter years of its existence, it was a mattress factory, It has now been redeveloped as Harrovian Business Village.

Adams Furniture Store formerly a theatre.

United Dairies Depot and Stables

What is this tall structure, I wonder? It appears to be built on to the rear of the Coliseum Theatre. The building had been converted from a cinema to a theatre in 1940. My thoughts are that this very tall rear extension was to facilitate the raising and lowering of scenery flats on the theatre stage during scenery changes etc. This would not be possible in a building with a lower ceiling.

I don't really know what this building was. It seems to be a London Transport building in the art deco style of the rebuilt Harrow Met Station. I don't think that it had a very long life. I have no memory of it being there in the '60s.

Pink's of Harrow - motorcycle showroom

Heathfield Girls' School

The Rest Hotel, Kenton

St Mary's Church, Kenton.

Frederick Rothwell organ works - Bonnersfield Lane. Church organ builder operating from this site from 1922-1960. The building was later used as for book storage by Harrow Council. Site now redeveloped.

Territorial Army Centre

Harrow County School for boys

Harrow Technical College and School of Art. Both eventually relocated to a new building in Watford Road

Burton's tailors.

Elmgrove Crescent

The Royal Oak Public House.

Bridge School

Harrow Magistrate's Court

Elmgrove Road

Middlesex Motors later to become Wickes head Office.

This house was Dr Bell's Surgery during the 1950's

College Road

St Ann's Road

Council Depot

Coliseum Theatre

16 coach ex-LMS express headed north - sorry, can't read locomotive's number!!

Hamilton Brush Company's factory

Granada cinema

Dominion cinema

Harrow on the Hill (usually "Harrow Met") station rebuily about a dozen years before this snap. You can see smoke stains on overbridge from steam engines using ex-LNER lines nearest camera.

Tube electrical equipment building

Leafy Clarendon Road (RIP)

Couldn't possibly be Hendon Aerodrome???

Kenton Road

One time sewage farm. Had it closed by 1949?

Cullington Close

Roxborough Arms. Home of a notorious basement disco about 20 years after this snap.

Red Met line train with first two coaches in unpainted silver finish (later to become standard on this line)

Byron "Rec"

Kenton "Rec"

Lower Mead, Home of Wealdstone FC up to 1991

This goods shed was still in existence and used by the Broads/Wickes builders' supply depot that later moved into this part of the old Harrow goods yard. It disappeared when the site was developed as residential flats and a new Morrison's store.

I think this is Gayton Rd. I lived here from 1968-72.

Vaughan Road

Butler Avenue