Primrose Hill is a Grade II listedpublic park located north of Regent's Park in London, England and first opened to the public in 1842. It was named after the natural hill in the centre of the park, the second highest natural point in the London Borough of Camden. The hill summit has a clear view of central London, as well as Hampstead and Belsize Park to the north and is adorned by an engraved quotation from William Blake. Based on the popularity of the park, the surrounding district and electoral ward were named Primrose Hill. Amenities of the park include an outdoor gym known as the Hill Trim Trail, a children's playground, and toilets, all located on the south side near Primrose Hill bridge which connects to London Zoo and Regent's Park.
History
Like the Regent's Park, Primrose Hill was once part of a great chase appropriated by Henry VIII. Later, in 1841, it became Crown property and in 1842 an Act of Parliament secured the land as public open space. The name "Primrose Hill" has been in use since the 15th century – giving the lie to later claims that it was named after Archibald Primrose, whose premiership witnessed the rapid expansion of Londonunderground rail network London. In October 1678, Primrose Hill was the scene of the mysterious murder of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey. In 1679 three Catholic labourers, Robert Green, Henry Berry and Lawrence Hill were found guilty of the murder and hanged at the top of the hill. For a few years after the hanging, Primrose Hill was known as Greenberry Hill. In 1792 the radical Unitarian poet and antiquarian Iolo Morganwg founded the Gorsedd, a community of Welsh bards, at a ceremony on 21 June at Primrose Hill.
District
The area around the park was developed and named Primrose Hill, in reference to the park it surrounds. The Primrose Hill district is surrounded by St John's Wood to the west, Swiss Cottage to the northwest, Belsize Park to the north, Chalk Farm to the northeast, Camden Town to the east and Regent's Park itself lies adjacent to the south of the hill itself. The nearest stations to Primrose Hill are Chalk Farm tube station to the northeast and Swiss Cottage tube station to the northwest. The defunct Primrose Hill railway station sits on the railway lines that separate the Primrose Hill area from Camden Town. It has always been one of the most fashionable districts in the urban belt that lies between the core of London and the outer suburbs and remains expensive and prosperous. Primrose Hill is an archetypal example of a successful London urban village, due to the location and the quality of its socio-historical development, and is home to many prominent residents.
Notable buildings and residents
There are seven English Heritage blue plaques in Primrose Hill commemorating the historic personalities that have lived there. The plaques mark the residences of poet Sir Hugh Clough, historian and broadcaster A. J. P. Taylor and painter William Roberts at 11, 13, and 14 St Mark's Crescent respectively, revolutionary socialist and philosopher Friedrich Engels at 122 Regent's Park Road, photographer Roger Fenton at 2 Albert Terrace, poet and novelist Sylvia Plath at 3 Chalcot Square, and poet William Butler Yeats at 23 Fitzroy Road. Stanley Johnson and Lukas Heller each lived at different times at the 'Rocking Horse House' on Regent's Park Road. Joan Bakewell and actor Derek Jacobi live in the area. Elliot Square is a grouping of modernist 1960s houses by Douglas Streeter, built as part of the Chalcot Estate on land owned by Eton College. During the 1990s Primrose Hill was a popular place to live with some who worked in the film, music and fashion industries and who were referred to as the Primrose Hill set in British newspapers.
