This popular suburban enclave is known as Harrow Weald. Neighbouring Stanmore to its north-east and Hatch End to the east, the average cost of property in this area is more expensive than surrounding areas, due to its popularity with those who wish to have fairly easy access to central London but who wish to steer clear of the urban hustle and bustle. That said, while buses are decent, the nearest tube station is Stanmore - on the Jubilee line - which is about 30 minutes walk from the centre of Harrow Weald, but once you’re on it you can be at Waterloo in about 35 minutes. The neighbourhood is exceptionally green - half it’s area is green open space in the form of Stanmore Park and Bentley Priory, adjoining a number of golf and country clubs, truly demonstrating the hybrid suburban-rural character of the area. As a result there are a number of quaint countryside pubs such as The Case is Altered and The Hare, as well as many outdoor activites and nature reserves to keep locals busy.

The Harrow Weald Common is an incredibly popular local asset, consisting of an expansive area of green space, which has been designated by the Mayor of London as a Site for Metropolitan Importance for Conservation of Nature. Generally, the area’s residential offering is a range of good-sized family homes, predominantly clustered in small cul-de-sacs or leafy suburban streets. Aside from this, the area has good provision in terms of local amenities - the high street off Uxbridge Road has all the essentials.

As was previously mentioned, the Harrow Weald Common is of particular importance in terms of the history of the area. The earliest notable recorded historic feature is the Grim’s Dyke, which is thought to be Saxon Linear Earthwork. Harrow Weald was once most likely to have belonged to the Lord of the Manor, who would have had a number of small farmers leasing land to farm. The area historically, however, was a part of the Forest of Middlesex. Indeed, Weald itself is an old word for ‘forest’. Nestled among the more built-up part of the neighbourhood is the All Saints Churchyard, an important local cemetery with an interesting history. One of the more famous people to be buried in this churchyard is the World War One pilot Leefe Robinson, who became one of the first heroes of the war and set a precedent for the way the British government and politicians would use war heroes in morale-boosting propaganda efforts.

In fact, Robinson was the first British pilot in the First World War to shoot down a German airship over Britain, for which he was awarded a Victoria Cross, as well as much love and adoration from the British public. Nonetheless, he was sadly later captured and held as a Prisoner of War in a German camp and suffered greatly at the hands of his captors. When he returned to Harrow in 1918, he was greatly weakened and after contacting influenza, sadly passed away, aged only 23. He was buried at All Saints, and today remains a local and national hero of the Great War.

Most people rarely notice or are aware of the hundreds of tributary and distributary rivers which cut across our landscapes – particularly in urban or semi-urban areas. The river Pinn, which weaves through this neighbourhood, is one such river. The Pinn, which originates in Harrow Weald and feeds into the Fray, the Colne, and subsequently the Thames river, has a number of interesting features. During World War Two the River Pinn was dammed near Pinner High Street, as a way to provide water to put out fires suffered by the air-raids.

Located in the middle of the neighbourhood area is the Harrow Weald Campus for Harrow College. It is the largest college in the borough, with over 9,000 full and part-time students? Following a merger of two separate colleges in 1999, the college provides a broad range of academic and vocational courses, and has invested a great deal in providing the best facilities and care for its students.

Whilst this neighbourhood generally has a quite safe, cared-for environment, there is concern from local residents that the decrease in policing has resulted in a rise in crime, which could have been prevented with more officers on the streets. One resident living in North Harrow Weald started a petition in 2017, campaigning for the borough to not close South Harrow Police Station. Recent cuts to policing budgets have caused concern across London, but for local Harrow residents fears are high following recent crimes, such as the stabbings of four men outside Harrow-on-the- Hill Rail Station in 2017. It has since been confirmed that the South Harrow Police Station will not close, but Harrow will not be spared the associated further closures, cuts and mergers which may lie on the horizon.

On a more positive note, such instances of the local community coming together to work on raising awareness of some of these issues indicates the strong sense of community that exists around Harrow Weald. The Friends of Harrow Weald Recreation Group is one such example, who seek to make this central park area of a much higher standard for residents: ‘The Friends will work with park users, residents, the local authority, sponsors and any other individuals or groups to achieve this aim. Issues and concerns will be turned into positive action in a democratic way.’

The Harrow Weald area has changed much in the last few centuries, but today is regarded as an important local area for conservation, balancing between its suburban and rural identities. Harrow Weald is home to a significant proportion of the borough’s heritage assets such as its historic farms, houses and buildings. As such, some of the key priorities for the neighbourhood is to enhance and conserve the historic heritage aspects of the area to ensure it maintains its unique character.

Some areas identified in local policy includes potentially expanding the designated conservation areas, enhancing the signage, infrastructure and security around access to heritage points, such as the Harrow Weald Viewpoint, for example, which could increase footfall and tourism in the area. Harrow is high on the agenda for the Mayor of London, thanks to its excellent transport connections to central London and wider connections to northwest London. This is reflected in the Mayor’s Outer London Fund, which has given £472,000 for Round One and £1.8m for Round Two, (which will be matched by £1 million from Harrow Council) for wide-ranging improvements to Harrow Town Centre. The borough on the whole is set for a total rejeuvenation too, with the £690m ‘Building a Better Harrow’ scheme in conjunction with Wates Residential, set to bring 1,500 new affordable homes, a civic centre, numerous new commercial spaces, as well as plenty of new and improved green space over the coming ten years. The focus of these developments will be at Poet’s Corner, Byron Park, and Peel House car park, and will bring new life to the area, even if the projects are not directly within the Weald.