Hampstead#Hampstead liberalism

The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon words ham and stede, which means, and is a cognate of, the Modern English "homestead".

Archeological findings from Hampstead Heath, including Mesolithic flint tools, pits, postholes, and burnt stones, indicate a hunter-gatherer community around 7000 BCE. Objects like cinerary urns and grave goods discovered near Well Walk, dating back to 70–120 CE, suggest the possibility of a Roman settlement or road in the vicinity.{{Cite web |title=Hampstead: Settlement and Growth {{!}} British History Online |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol9/pp8-15 |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}File:Ford Madox Brown - Work - artchive.com.jpg in Hampstead around 1865, in Ford Madox Brown's painting Work]]

File:The Mount Hampstead.jpg

Early records of Hampstead can be found in a grant by King Ethelred the Unready to the monastery of St. Peter's at Westminster (AD 986), and it is referred to in the Domesday Book (1086){{cite web|author=Anna Powell-Smith |url=http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/TQ2685/hampstead/ |title=Hampstead {{pipe}} Domesday Book |publisher=Domesdaymap.co.uk |access-date=29 October 2015}} as being in the Middlesex hundred of Ossulstone. Outlying hamlets developed at West End and North End. In addition Pond Street formed the southern limit of the settlement for many centuries.

The growth of Hampstead is generally traced back to the seventeenth century. Trustees of the Well started advertising the medicinal qualities of the chalybeate waters (mineral water impregnated with iron) in 1700. A pump room and assembly room were established on Well Walk, supplied by water from springs in nearby Well Road. Elegant housing was built in New End road, New End Square and Church Row. Although Hampstead Wells was initially most successful and fashionable, its popularity declined in the nineteenth century due to competition with other fashionable London spas. The spa was demolished in 1882, although a water fountain was left behind.

Hampstead started to expand following the opening of the North London Railway in the 1860s (now the London Overground with passenger services operated by Transport for London), and expanded further after the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway opened in 1907 (now part of London Underground's Northern line) and provided fast travel to central London.

Much luxurious housing was created during the 1870s and 1880s, in the area that is now the political ward of Frognal & Fitzjohns. Much of this housing remains to this day.

In the 20th century, a number of notable buildings were created including:

• Hampstead Underground station (1907), the deepest station on the Underground network
• Isokon building (1932)
• Hillfield Court (1932)
• 2 Willow Road (1938)
• Swiss Cottage Central Library (1964)
• Royal Free Hospital (mid-1970s)

Cultural attractions in the area include the Freud Museum, Keats House, Kenwood House, Fenton House, the Isokon building, Burgh House (which also houses Hampstead Museum), and the Camden Arts Centre. The large Victorian Hampstead Town Hall was recently converted and extended as an arts centre.{{cite web|url=http://research.historicengland.org.uk/redirect.aspx?id=7096%7CLONDON%27S%20TOWN%20HALLS|title=London's Town Halls|page=32|publisher=Historic England|access-date=25 April 2020}}

On 14 August 1975 Hampstead entered the UK Weather Records with the Highest 155-min total rainfall at 169 mm. As of November 2008 this record remains.

The average price of a property in Hampstead was £1.5 million in 2018.{{cite web|title=House prices in Hampstead, London|url=https://www.zoopla.co.uk/house-prices/hampstead/|publisher=Zoopla|access-date=17 November 2018}}

File:Hampstead Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg

Hampstead became part of the County of London in 1889 and in 1899 the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead was formed. The Town Hall on Haverstock Hill, which was also the location of the Register Office, can be seen in newsreel footage of many celebrity civil marriages. In 1965, the metropolitan borough was abolished and its area merged with that of the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn and the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras to form the modern-day London Borough of Camden.

For some, the area represented by Hampstead today consists principally of the (electoral) wards of Hampstead Town and Frognal & Fitzjohns; others espouse a broader definition, encompassing South Hampstead, Belsize Park and West Hampstead.

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| metric first = yes

| single line = yes

| location = Hampstead (1991–2020)

| Jan high C = 7.5

| Feb high C = 8.1

| Mar high C = 10.9

| Apr high C = 14.1

| May high C = 17.3

| Jun high C = 20.4

| Jul high C = 22.7

| Aug high C = 22.3

| Sep high C = 19.1

| Oct high C = 14.8

| Nov high C = 10.6

| Dec high C = 7.8

| year high C = 14.7

| Jan low C = 2.3

| Feb low C = 2.2

| Mar low C = 3.7

| Apr low C = 5.5

| May low C = 8.3

| Jun low C = 11.2

| Jul low C = 13.3

| Aug low C = 13.3

| Sep low C = 11.1

| Oct low C = 8.3

| Nov low C = 5.0

| Dec low C = 2.7

| year low C = 7.3

| rain colour = green

| Jan rain mm = 69.5

| Feb rain mm = 51.4

| Mar rain mm = 42.8

| Apr rain mm = 49.6

| May rain mm = 50.5

| Jun rain mm = 58.5

| Jul rain mm = 50.5

| Aug rain mm = 67.7

| Sep rain mm = 59.1

| Oct rain mm = 78.6

| Nov rain mm = 75.7

| Dec rain mm = 68.2

| year rain mm = 722.1

| unit rain days = 1 mm

| Jan rain days = 12.1

| Feb rain days = 10.7

| Mar rain days = 9.1

| Apr rain days = 9.1

| May rain days = 8.5

| Jun rain days = 8.7

| Jul rain days = 8.4

| Aug rain days = 9.2

| Sep rain days = 9.0

| Oct rain days = 11.0

| Nov rain days = 11.9

| Dec rain days = 11.9

| year rain days = 119.6

| Jan sun = 60.0

| Feb sun = 76.1

| Mar sun = 114.2

| Apr sun = 155.2

| May sun = 199.2

| Jun sun = 193.7

| Jul sun = 199.8

| Aug sun = 188.2

| Sep sun = 145.5

| Oct sun = 106.3

| Nov sun = 67.2

| Dec sun = 54.0

| year sun = 1559.4

| source 1 = Met Office{{cite web

|url = https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gcpv7fnqu

|title = Hampstead (Greater London) UK climate averages - Met Office

|publisher = Met Office

|access-date = July 5, 2024}}

}}

File:Former Hampstead town hall, Haverstock Hill - geograph.org.uk - 415063.jpg on Haverstock Hill.]]{{Unbalanced|section|date=May 2021}}

Hampstead is part of the Hampstead and Highgate constituency, re-established at the 2024 general election.

Since July 2022 the area has been represented on Camden Council by Conservative Party councillor Stephen Stark and Liberal Democrat councillor Linda Chung.

The area has a significant tradition of educated liberal humanism, sometimes referred to (often disparagingly) as "Hampstead Liberalism". In the 1960s, the figure of the Hampstead Liberal was notoriously satirised by Peter Simple of the Daily Telegraph in the character of Lady Dutt-Pauker, an immensely wealthy aristocratic socialist whose Hampstead mansion, Marxmount House, contained an original pair of Bukharin's false teeth on display alongside precious Ming vases, neo-constructivist art, and the complete writings of Stalin.The Stretchford Chronicles, Michael Wharton, (London, 1980), pages 216, 236, 284 Michael Idov of The New Yorker stated that the community "was the citadel of the moneyed liberal intelligentsia, posh but not stuffy."Idov, Michael. "[http://nymag.com/news/features/establishments/68506/ The Demon Blogger of Fleet Street]." New York Magazine. 26 September 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2014. As applied to an individual, the term "Hampstead Liberal" is not synonymous with "champagne socialist" but carries some of the same connotations. The term is also rather misleading.

As of 2025, the component wards of Hampstead (South Hampstead, Frognal, Hampstead Town and Belsize) have mixed representation. Frognal ward elects two Conservative councillors, Belsize ward elects three Liberal Democrat councillors, South Hampstead elects three Labour councillors, while Hampstead Town is represented by one Liberal Democrat and one Conservative councillor.

South Hampstead is a competitive Labour and Conservative marginal, and Belsize is competitive between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, whereas Frognal is a safe Conservative ward. Hampstead Town (including the area of Hampstead Village and South End Green) has seen a number of tightly fought Conservative and Liberal Democrat contests, and the ward has had mixed representation in recent decades.

During the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 75% of voters across the London Borough of Camden voted to remain in the EU.{{Cite web | url=https://news.camden.gov.uk/camdens-eu-referendum-result-declared/ |title = Camden's EU Referendum result declared}} Following the result many commentators used Hampstead as an archetype of the type of area that preferred to remain in the EU. This point was often made in alliterative contrast to poor post-industrial northern towns such as Hartlepool and Hull, that preferred to leave.{{Cite news | url=https://www.ft.com/content/9e98b36e-516f-11e9-b401-8d9ef1626294 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/9e98b36e-516f-11e9-b401-8d9ef1626294 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription | title='Brexit day' in Middlesbrough: 'People are sick of the government'| newspaper=Financial Times| date=29 March 2019| last1=Wallis| first1=William}}{{Cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/05/parliament-vote-brexit-deal-now |title = Parliament voted to get a Brexit deal done now. So let's make it happen {{pipe}} Caroline Flint|newspaper = The Guardian|date = 5 February 2019|last1 = Flint|first1 = Caroline}}

File:Hampstead 073.jpg

File:Isokon Building Hampstead 2005.jpg]]

File:Downshire Hill Hampstead St John's Church.jpg]]

To the north and east of Hampstead, and separating it from Highgate, is London's largest ancient parkland, Hampstead Heath, which includes the well-known and legally-protected view of the London skyline from Parliament Hill. The Heath, a major place for Londoners to walk and "take the air", has three open-air public swimming ponds; one for men, one for women, and one for mixed bathing, which were originally reservoirs for drinking water and the sources of the River Fleet. The bridge pictured is known locally as 'The Red Arches' or 'The Viaduct', built in fruitless anticipation of residential building on the Heath in the 19th century.

Local activities include major open-air concerts on summer Saturday evenings on the slopes below Kenwood House, the FT Weekend Festival,{{Cite web|url=https://aboutus.ft.com/press_release/almost-4000-guests-gather-at-kenwood-house-for-sold-out-ft-weekend-festival|title = FT – About Us| date=17 September 2019 }} book and poetry readings, fun fairs on the lower reaches of the Heath, period harpsichord recitals at Fenton House, Hampstead Scientific Society and Hampstead Photographic Society.

The largest employer in Hampstead is the Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, but many small businesses based in the area have international significance. George Martin's AIR recording studios, in converted church premises in Lyndhurst Road, is a current example, as Jim Henson's Creature Shop was before it relocated to California.

The area has some remarkable architecture, such as the Isokon building in Lawn Road, a Grade I listed experiment in collective housing, once home to Agatha Christie, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson and Walter Gropius. It was recently restored by Notting Hill Housing Trust.

• Christ Church – Hampstead Square, NW3 1AB{{cite web|author=A Church Near You |url=http://www.achurchnearyou.com/christ-church-hampstead |title=Christ Church Hampstead, Hampstead – London {{pipe}} Diocese of London |publisher=Achurchnearyou.com |date=16 January 2015 |access-date=29 October 2015}}
• Heath Street Baptist Church, Heath Street, NW3 1DN{{cite web|url=http://www.heathstreet.org/ |title=Heath Street Baptist Church |publisher=Heathstreet.org |date=8 June 2014 |access-date=29 October 2015}}
• St. Andrew's United Reformed Church, Frognal Lane, NW3 7DY{{Cite web|url=http://www.andrewsfrog.net|title=Andrew's Frog}}
• St John-at-Hampstead – Church Row, NW3 6UU[http://www.achurchnearyou.com/st-john-hampstead/ "St John-at-Hampstead"]. aChurchNearYou.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• St John's Downshire Hill – Downshire Hill, NW3 1NU[http://www.sjdh.org/ "St John's Downshire Hill"]. SJDH.org (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• St Luke's – Kidderpore Avenue, NW3 7SU[http://www.stlukeshampstead.org/ "St Luke's, Hampstead"]. stlukeshampstead.org (Retrieved 15 August 2010)St Luke's was built with financial help from Anne Dudin Brown.
• St Mary's Church (Roman Catholic)– 4 Holly Place, NW3 6QU[http://www.rcdow.org.uk/parishes/default.asp?letter=h "St Mary's Chapel"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928132845/http://www.rcdow.org.uk/parishes/default.asp?letter=h |date=28 September 2011 }}. RCDOW.org.uk (Retrieved 18 June 2009)St Mary's Chapel was founded by Roman Catholic refugees from the French Revolution.
• Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel – Pilgrim's Place, NW3 1NG
• Village Shul, synagogue, located at 27 New End, Hampstead.{{cite web |url=http://www.thevillageshul.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303131539/http://www.thevillageshul.org/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 March 2010 |title=The Village Shul |publisher=The Village Shul |access-date=29 October 2015 }}
• St Stephen's, Rosslyn Hill – A deconsecrated Church of England church on Pond Street, originally built in 1869 by Samuel Sanders Teulon, won an English Heritage award for the restoration of buildings at risk.

• Fenton House – Hampstead Grove, Hampstead, London, NW3 6SP[http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-fentonhouse "Fenton House"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705055955/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-fentonhouse |date=5 July 2009 }}. NationalTrust.org.uk (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• Freud Museum – 20 Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead, London, NW3 5SX[http://www.heritagebritain.com/places/4921.html?type=Museums+and+Art+Galleries "Freud Museum"]. HeritageBritain.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• Burgh House & Hampstead Museum – New End Square, Hampstead, London, NW3 1LT[http://www.aboutbritain.com/BurghHouse.htm "Burgh House & Hampstead Local History Museum"]. AboutBritain.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• Keats House Museum – Keats Grove, Hampstead, London, NW3 2RR[http://www.aboutbritain.com/KeatsHouseMuseum.htm "Keats House Museum"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502035731/http://www.aboutbritain.com/KeatsHouseMuseum.htm |date=2 May 2009 }}. AboutBritain.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• Kenwood House – Hampstead Lane, Hampstead, London, NW3 7JR[http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.12783 "Kenwood House"]. English-Heritage.org.uk (Retrieved 18 June 2009)

• Everyman Cinema, Hampstead – 5 Holly Bush Vale, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TX[http://www.londonnet.co.uk/cinema/everymancinemaclub.html "Everyman Cinema Club"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604222625/http://www.londonnet.co.uk/cinema/everymancinemaclub.html |date=4 June 2009 }}. LondonNet.co.uk (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• Hampstead Theatre – Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London, NW3 3EU[http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/detail/606540 "Hampstead Theatre"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725054516/http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/detail/606540 |date=25 July 2009 }}. VisitLondon.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• Pentameters Theatre – 28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TE[http://www.londonnet.co.uk/listings/eventsattractions/theatresconcerthalls/pentameterstheatreinhampstead/ "Pentameters Theatre"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719142636/http://www.londonnet.co.uk/listings/eventsattractions/theatresconcerthalls/pentameterstheatreinhampstead/ |date=19 July 2011 }}. LondonNet.co.uk (Retrieved 18 June 2009)

Hampstead was once home to many art galleries but few are now left. The Catto Gallery has been in Hampstead since 1986 and has represented artists like Ian Berry, Philip Jackson, Chuck Elliott, Walasse Ting, and Sergei Chepik over the years.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/material-boy-hgdgxtbsdgh|title=Material boy|last=McCarthy|first=Fiona|date=3 November 2013|work=The Sunday Times|access-date=9 July 2018|language=en|issn=0956-1382}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-london-25190929/denim-underground-artist-portrays-london-using-jeans|title=Artist portrays London in denim|work=BBC News|language=en-GB|access-date=9 July 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://hampsteadvillagelondon.com/hampstead/arts-and-galleries/catto-gallery/|title=Catto Gallery|website=hampsteadvillagelondon.com|language=en|access-date=9 July 2018|archive-date=10 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710041154/https://hampsteadvillagelondon.com/hampstead/arts-and-galleries/catto-gallery/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/heritage/artist-recreates-hampstead-and-primrose-hill-using-old-pairs-of-jeans-1-1352779|title=Artist recreates Hampstead and Primrose Hill using old pairs of jeans|last=Pettitt|first=Josh|work=Hampstead Highgate Express|access-date=9 July 2018|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://londonist.com/london/paintings-made-entirely-out-of-denim|title=This London Laundrette Is Made Entirely Out Of Denim|date=25 November 2016|work=Londonist|access-date=9 July 2018|language=en-GB}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.examiner.co.uk/whats-on/gallery/work-ian-berry-catto-gallery-12108085|title=Work by Ian Berry at the Catto Gallery in London|last=Castle|first=Gavin|date=1 November 2016|work=huddersfieldexaminer|access-date=9 July 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://cattogallery.co.uk/artists/|title=Catto Gallery – Artists|website=cattogallery.co.uk|language=en|access-date=9 July 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/painting-by-russian-artist-sergei-chepik-worth-25000-stolen-from-office-in-vauxhall-9371702.html|title=Painting by Russian artist Sergei Chepik worth £25,000 stolen from|work=Evening Standard|access-date=9 July 2018|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/15222460.Royal_sculptor_hosts_new_exhibit/|title=Royal sculptor hosts new exhibit|website=Times Series|date=13 April 2017 |language=en|access-date=9 July 2018}}

• Catto Gallery – 100 Heath Street, Hampstead, London NW3 1DP
• Gilden's Art Gallery, 74, Heath Street, London NW3 1DN
• Zebra One Gallery,– 1 Perrin's Court, Hampstead, London, NW3 1QX

Hampstead is well known for its traditional pubs, such as The Holly Bush, gas-lit until recently;[http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1308.html "The Holly Bush"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825150643/http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1308.html |date=25 August 2009 }}. FancyaPint.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009) the Spaniard's Inn, Spaniard's Road, where highwayman Dick Turpin took refuge; The Old Bull and Bush in North End; and The Old White Bear (formerly Ye Olde White Bear).[http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1314.html "Ye Olde White Bear"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704082359/http://fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1314.html |date=4 July 2008 }}. FancyaPint.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009) Jack Straw's Castle, on the edge of the Heath near Whitestone Pond, has now been converted into residential flats. Others include:

• The Flask – 14 Flask Walk, Hampstead, London, NW3 1HE[https://archive.today/20130122175540/http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1289.php "The Flask"]. FancyaPint.com. (Retrieved 13 April 2010)
• Freemasons Arms – 32 Downshire Hill, Hampstead, London, NW3 1NT[http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1342.html "Freemasons Arms"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708231900/http://fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1342.html |date=8 July 2008 }}. FancyaPint.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• The Duke of Hamilton – 23–25 New End, Hampstead, London, NW3 1JD[http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1310.html "The Duke of Hamilton"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090819083925/http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1310.html |date=19 August 2009 }}. FancyaPint.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• The Horseshoe (formerly The Three Horseshoes) – 28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TE[http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub2293.html "The Horseshoe"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615121347/http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub2293.html |date=15 June 2009 }}. FancyaPint.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• King William IV (aka KW4) – 77 Hampstead High Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 1RE[http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub2292.html "King William IV"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630021237/http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub2292.html |date=30 June 2009 }}. FancyaPint.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• The Magdala – 2a South Hill Park, Hampstead, London, NW3 2SB[http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub526.html "The Magdala"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331225736/http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub526.html |date=31 March 2009 }}. FancyaPint.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009)Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in England, killed her lover David Blakely outside The Magdala in 1955. (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• The Garden Gate – 14 South End Road, Hampstead, London, NW3 2QE[http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1964.html "The Garden Gate"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701210151/http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub1964.html |date=1 July 2009 }}. FancyaPint.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009)
• The Wells Tavern – 30 Well Walk, Hampstead, London NW3 1BX{{Cite web|url=https://thewellshampstead.co.uk/|title=The Wells – Bar and Restaurant|website=thewellshampstead.co.uk|language=en-US|access-date=18 May 2018}}

Hampstead has served as a testing ground for a number of cafes and restaurants that later became successful chains. Those include Giraffe World Kitchen, Gail's and 'Bagel Street'. As a consequence, Hampstead has an eclectic mix of restaurants ranging from French to Thai. After over a decade of controversy and legal action from local residents, McDonald's was finally allowed to open in Hampstead in 1992, after winning its right in court, and agreeing to a previously unprecedented re-design of the shop front, reducing the conspicuousness of its facade and logo,LETTER FROM LONDON; Hampstead Braces for a Big Mac Attack, The Washington Post | 4 November 1992 | Eugene Robinson It closed in November 2013.Wright, Paul (1 November 2013). [http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/mcdonald_s_in_hampstead_high_street_to_close_after_21_years_1_2958652 'McDonald's in Hampstead High Street to close after 21 years'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516230341/http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/mcdonald_s_in_hampstead_high_street_to_close_after_21_years_1_2958652 |date=16 May 2014 }}. Ham & High. Popular local eateries also include street food vendors, such as La Creperie de Hampstead, which is often frequented by domestic and global celebrities.

{{Main|List of schools in Hampstead}}

File:Hampsteadheath1.jpg

{{more citations needed|section|date=January 2018}}

Hampstead's rural feel lends itself for use in film, a notable example being The Killing of Sister George (1968) starring Beryl Reid and Susannah York. The opening sequence has Reid's character June wandering through the streets and alleyways of Hampstead, west of Heath Street, around The Mount Square. The Marquis of Granby pub, in which June drinks at the opening of the film, was actually The Holly Bush,[http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/k/killingsister.html "The Killing of Sister George film locations"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115232248/http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/k/killingsister.html |date=15 January 2009 }}. Movie-Locations.com (Retrieved 18 June 2009) at 22 Holly Mount. Another example is The Collector (1965), starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar, where the kidnap sequence is set in Mount Vernon.{{Cite web|url=http://movie-locations.com/movies/c/Collector.php|title = Film Locations for the Collector (1965), in London and Kent}}

Some scenes from An American Werewolf in London (1981) are shot on Hampstead Heath, Well Walk and Haverstock Hill.

More recently Kenwood House is the set of the "film-within-the-film" scene of Notting Hill (1999).{{Cite news|date=1 November 2019|title=Britain in the movies: 19 UK filming locations you must visit|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/galleries/uk-filming-locations-you-must-visit-britain/kenwood-house/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/galleries/uk-filming-locations-you-must-visit-britain/kenwood-house/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=3 November 2020|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}} Outdoor scenes in The Wedding Date (2005), starring Debra Messing, feature Parliament Hill Fields on the Heath, overlooking west London. Parliament Hill also features in Notes on a Scandal (2006) together with the nearby areas of Gospel Oak and Camden Town. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) features the old Hampstead Town Hall on Haverstock Hill. The film Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006) was filmed entirely on Hampstead Heath, covering various picturesque locations such as the 'Floating Gardens' and Kenwood House.

A musical specifically focusing on the area, Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (1968), tells the story of a young man's cycle journey around Hampstead. After crashing into a billboard poster, he falls in love with the fashion model depicted on it. In February 2016, principal photography for Robert Zemeckis' war film Allied starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, began with the family home located on the corners of Christchurch Hill and Willow Road in Hampstead.

Cruella de Vil Mansion (Sarum Chase) is on the West Heath Road in movies 101 Dalmatians (1996.) and 102 Dalmatians (2001.)

The 2021 census showed that the population of Hampstead Town ward was 77.7% white (46.7% British, 28% Other, 2.4% Irish). The largest non-white group, Asian, claimed 8.9%. The religious data of the area showed that 32.6% was Christian, 37.9% irreligious and 11% Jewish. 2.7% of the population was unemployed and seeking work; this compared to 5.1% for the wider borough.{{cite web | url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps/choropleth/identity/religion/religion-tb/jewish?geoLock=msoa&msoa=E02000167 | title=Religion – Census Maps, ONS }}

File:HampsteadUndergroundSt06.jpg]]

Hampstead station is on one underground line, the Northern Line which has connections to other lines at Camden Town and Kings Cross & St Pancras stations and Embankment among others.

The London Overground (Mildmay line) also runs through Hampstead Heath and Finchley Road & Frognal.

Stations in Hampstead include:

• Belsize Park {{Rint|london|northern}}
• Finchley Road {{Rint|london|jubilee}} {{Rint|london|metropolitan}}
• Finchley Road & Frognal {{Rint|london|overground|mildmay}}
• Hampstead {{Rint|london|northern}}
• Hampstead Heath {{Rint|london|overground|mildmay}}
• Swiss Cottage {{Rint|london|jubilee}}

All stations are in London fare zone 2, except Hampstead, which is in both zones 2 and 3.{{Cite web|url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/walking-tube-map.pdf|title=Walking times between stations on the same line|website=Transport for London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416075039/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/walking-tube-map.pdf|archive-date=16 April 2020|access-date=20 April 2020}} Hampstead station serves the north western part of the wider district, near Hampstead's traditional centre. All the other three stations in the area are located to the south.

In the 1860s, the Metropolitan and St John's Wood Railway was authorised to build a branch line from Swiss Cottage to Hampstead with its terminus to be located at the junction of Flask Walk, Well Walk and Willow Road. Financial difficulties meant that the project was cancelled in 1870.{{cite book|last=Jackson|first=Alan|title=London's Metropolitan Railway|publisher=David & Charles|year=1986|isbn=0-7153-8839-8|pages=41 & 331}}

There is a bus terminus near South End Green in Hampstead (near the Royal Free Hospital), served by London Buses routes 1 and 24. Routes 46, 268, C11, and N5 also serve the Royal Free Hospital.{{Cite web|url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/hampstead-heath-royal-free-hospital-a4-0120.pdf|title=Buses from Hampstead Heath (Royal Free Hospital)|website=Transport for London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420210116/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/hampstead-heath-royal-free-hospital-a4-0120.pdf|archive-date=20 April 2020|access-date=20 April 2020}}

Hampstead tube station and High Street are served by routes 46, 268, 603, and N5. Route 210 runs along the northernmost rim of Hampstead, stopping at Jack Straw's Castle.

Finchley Road is served by routes 13, 113, 187, 268, C11, and N113.{{Cite web|url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/finchley-road-a4-010417.pdf|title=Buses from Finchley Road|website=Transport for London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420210036/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/finchley-road-a4-010417.pdf|archive-date=20 April 2020|access-date=20 April 2020}}

Cycling infrastructure in Hampstead is poor. In early 2016, Transport for London (TfL) consulted with the public on a new "Cycle Superhighway" (CS11) between Swiss Cottage and the West End, which provide an unbroken, predominantly traffic-free cycle route from Hampstead to Central London. The scheme was cancelled following court action from the City of Westminster in 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/cycle-superhighway-11|title=Cycle Superhighway 11|website=Transport for London (TfL)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101035252/https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/cycle-superhighway-11|archive-date=1 January 2020|access-date=20 April 2020}}

There are bus lanes along the A41/Finchley Road that cyclists are allowed to use.

A shared-use path runs from Parliament Hill to Jack Straw's Castle/Highgate through the centre of Hampstead Heath.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/hampstead-heath/Documents/hampstead-heath-map.pdf|title=Hampstead Heath|website=City of London Corporation|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713170606/https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/hampstead-heath/Documents/hampstead-heath-map.pdf|archive-date=13 July 2019|access-date=20 April 2020}}

The A41/Finchley Road passes north–south through Hampstead. The road links the area directly to Marylebone and Oxford Street to the south. The route runs northbound to Golders Green, Brent Cross, the M1 motorway, and Watford.

The A502/Hampstead High Street runs from Camden Town in the south, through Hampstead, to Golders Green and Hendon in the north-west.

{{Adjacent communities|width=auto|NORTHWEST=Childs Hill|NORTH=Golders Green and Hampstead Garden Suburb|NORTHEAST=Highgate|WEST=West Hampstead|CENTER=Hampstead|EAST=Hampstead Heath and Gospel Oak|SOUTHWEST=Swiss Cottage and St John's Wood|SOUTH=South Hampstead and Primrose Hill|SOUTHEAST=Belsize Park and Chalk Farm}}

{{Main|List of people from Hampstead}}

File:Freud Museum London 2.jpg's final residence, now dedicated to his life and work as the Freud Museum.]] Hampstead has long been known as a residence of the intelligentsia, including writers, composers, ballerinas and intellectuals, actors, artists and architects – many of whom created a bohemian community in the late 19th century. After 1917, and again in the 1930s, it became base to a community of avant garde artists and writers and was host to a number of émigrés and exiles from the Russian Revolution and Nazi Europe.

There are at least 60 English Heritage blue plaques in Hampstead commemorating the many diverse personalities that have lived there.{{cite web|title=Search Blue Plaques|url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/blue-plaques/search/#?showTotals=true&terms=Hampstead&mode=BluePlaques|work=Blue plaques search – Hampstead|publisher=English Heritage|access-date=6 September 2014}}

The local newspapers, as of 2014, were the Hampstead and Highgate Express{{cite web|url=http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/ |title=Home – Hampstead Highgate Express |publisher=Hamhigh.co.uk |access-date=29 October 2015}}—known locally as the "Ham and High"—and the free Camden New Journal. The area is also home to the left-wing Labour magazine Tribune and the satirical magazine Hampstead Village Voice.

{{Portal|London}}

• The Bishops Avenue
• List of people from Hampstead

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{{Reflist}}

{{Wikivoyage|London/Hampstead|Hampstead}}

{{Commons category-inline|Hampstead}}

• [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29690 Hampstead and Marylebone] by G. E. Mitton at Project Gutenberg
• [http://www.heathandhampsteadsociety.org.uk/ The Heath and Hampstead Society]
• [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/searchResults.asp?TownName=Hampstead&subjectType=PL&CountyName=Greater+London&submit.x=0&submit.y=0 Archives relating to Hampstead]{{Dead link|date=February 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} at The National Archives (United Kingdom)

• [http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/results.aspx?index=0&mainQuery=Hampstead&searchType=all&form=basic&theme=&county=GREATER%20LONDON&district=&placeName= Images of Hampstead]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} at the English Heritage Archive
• [http://www.countrylifeimages.co.uk/Search.aspx?s=hampstead Images of Hampstead] at the [http://www.countrylifeimages.co.uk/ Country Life Picture Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022114922/http://www.countrylifeimages.co.uk/ |date=22 October 2014 }}

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{{London Districts}}

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Category:Areas of London

Category:Districts of the London Borough of Camden

Category:Places formerly in Middlesex

Category:District centres of London