Harrow | |
---|---|
Station Road, Harrow town centre |
|
Harrow shown within Greater London | |
Population | 80,213 (Greenhill, Headstone South, West Harrow, Headstone North, Roxeth, Marlborough and Harrow on the Hill wards 2011) |
Demonym | Harrovian |
OS grid reference | TQ145885 |
• Charing Cross | 11 mi (18 km) ESE |
London borough | |
Ceremonial county | Greater London |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Harrow |
Postcode district | HA1, HA2, HA3 |
Dialling code | 020 |
Police | Metropolitan |
Fire | London |
Ambulance | London |
EU Parliament | London |
UK Parliament | |
London Assembly | |
Harrow /ˈhæroʊ/ is a large suburban town in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, England. It is centred 10.5 miles (16.9 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Harrow-on-the-Hill includes the conservation area with a high proportion of listed buildings with a residential and institutional array of Georgian architecture and a few 17th century examples. Harrow gives its initial letters to a wider postcode area. The administrative offices of the borough are in the town which currently is made up of the Greenhill, Headstone South and West Harrow electoral wards; these had a population of 33,928 in the 2011 census. Harrow was a municipal borough of Middlesex before its inclusion in Greater London in 1965. Harrow is home to a large Westminster polytechnic campus and its oldest secondary schools are Harrow School and Harrow High School.
Harrow's name comes from Old English hearg = "(heathen) temple", which was probably on the hill of Harrow, where St. Mary's Church stands today. The name has been studied in detail by Keith Briggs.
The first and only contemporary artist-led gallery in Harrow was set up in 2010 by the Usurp Art Collective. The space is called the Usurp Art Gallery & Studios and is based in West Harrow, a bohemian part of Harrow. Usurp Art provides professional support to artists and runs the only public artists studios in the borough. It is a flagship project for Arts Council England.