London Borough of Camden

Coordinates: 51°32′N 0°10′W / 51.533°N 0.167°W / 51.533; -0.167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Camden Town.

London Borough of Camden
London borough
Constituent country
England
RegionLondon
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Created1 April 1965
Admin HQ5 Pancras Square, King's Cross, London
Government
 • TypeLondon borough council
 • BodyCamden London Borough Council
 • London AssemblyAnne Clarke (Lab) AM for Barnet and Camden
 • MPs
Area
 • Total
8.4 sq mi (21.8 km2)
 • Rank287th
Police
Metropolitan Police
Websitecamden.gov.uk
1 There are concerns about the accuracy of this data[1]

The London Borough of Camden (/ˈkæmdən/ ⓘ)[2] is a borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies 1.4 mi (2.3 km) north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former metropolitan boroughs of Holborn, St Pancras and Hampstead.

To the south it shares with the

Roundhouse entertainment venue, and Camden Market. As of 2021 it has a population of 210,136. Politically, its local authority is Camden London Borough Council
.

History

Former Camden Town market (2011); it was demolished in early 2015 to make room for the Hawley Wharf redevelopment project.

The area of the modern borough had historically been part of the county of Middlesex. From 1856 the area was governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London.[3] In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London.

From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various

ancient parishes of Hampstead and St Pancras were each governed by their vestry. The various smaller parishes and territories to the south were grouped into the St Giles District and Holborn District, each governed by a district board. In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs, including the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead, the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras (each covering the parish of the same name) and the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn, covering the combined area of the former St Giles District and Holborn District (subject to some boundary adjustments with neighbours on its south-eastern edges).[4][5]

The London borough of Camden was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963. It covered the combined area of the three metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St Pancras, which were all abolished.[6] The initial Herbert Commission report recommended that the new borough consist of St Pancras and Hampstead, but Holborn was later added.

According to Enid Wistrich, who was a member of Hampstead Council at the time, the name "Camden" was the idea of Alderman Room, the Leader of Hampstead Council, and Mr Wilson, the Town Clerk, while travelling in a taxi through Camden Town. The name "Fleet" had also been suggested, after the underground river that flowed through the three boroughs, but that was rejected as the river was little more than a sewer. Other suggestions included "Penhamborn", 'Bornhamcras" and "Hohampion". Government guidelines for the naming of the new boroughs suggested that the chosen name should be short and simple, and ideally one that was generally associated with the centre of the new Borough. The name "Camden" met those criteria.[7]

The name "Camden Town" was derived from Camden Place, the seat of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden who had owned and developed land in the area in the 1790s.[8][9]

The transcribed diaries of William Copeland Astbury, recently made available, describe Camden and the surrounding areas in great detail from 1829 to 1848.[10][11]

There are

162 English Heritage blue plaques[12] in the borough of Camden representing the many diverse personalities that have lived there.[13]

Geography and economy

For a full list of districts and neighbourhoods of Camden, see
List of districts in Camden
.

The area of the old parish and borough of Hampstead in the north-west includes Belsize Park and part of Kilburn. The old parish and borough of St Pancras, which occupies most of the modern borough, includes Camden Town, Kentish Town, Gospel Oak, Somers Town, King's Cross, Chalk Farm, Dartmouth Park, the core area of Fitzrovia and a part of Highgate.

Ancient Parishes of – west to east – Paddington and St Marylebone (in the modern City of Westminster
), and St Pancras (in the modern London Borough of Camden) in 1834

In the south, the old Borough of Holborn was formed from the combined parish of Bloomsbury and St Giles, and most of the parish of Holborn (with the remaining part in the ancient Farringdon Without ward of the City of London).

The economy and land uses of the West End[14][15][16] and other southern parts of the borough reflect their more central location. Camden has the seventh largest economy in the UK[12] with a number of major companies headquartered in the borough; Google is in the process of completing a major headquarter building in King's Cross.[17] Camden Town Brewery is among the newer businesses that have thrived in the borough.

In the far south of the borough, Lincoln's Inn Fields is within 500 metres of the Thames. The northern part of the borough includes the less densely developed areas of Hampstead, Hampstead Heath and Kentish Town. There are a number of Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Camden. Neighbouring boroughs are the City of Westminster and the City of London to the south, Brent to the west of the originally Roman Watling Street (now the A5 Road), Barnet and Haringey to the north and Islington to the east. It covers all or part of the N1, N6, N7, N19, NW1, NW2, NW3, NW5, NW6, NW8, EC1, WC1, WC2, W1 and W9 postcode areas.

For planning policy purposes, the London Plan places Camden in the 'Central London' group of boroughs.[18]

Governance and politics

Main article: Camden London Borough Council

The local authority is Camden Council, which meets at Camden Town Hall (formerly St Pancras Town Hall) in Judd Street in St Pancras, and has its headquarters at 5 Panrcas Square.[19]

A map showing the wards of Camden since 2022

Borough councillors are elected every four years. Since May 2022 the electoral wards in Camden are:

South Hampstead Ward, formerly Swiss Cottage Ward.

Greater London representation

Since 2000, Camden forms part of the Barnet and Camden London Assembly constituency, represented by Anne Clarke of the Labour Party.

UK Parliament

There are two parliamentary constituencies covering Camden:

Holborn and St. Pancras in the south, represented by Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.[20]

Demographics

Population
YearPop.±%
1801 96,795—    
1811 124,741+28.9%
1821 158,077+26.7%
1831 192,228+21.6%
1841 228,950+19.1%
1851 270,197+18.0%
1861 301,408+11.6%
1871 332,619+10.4%
1881 363,830+9.4%
1891 376,500+3.5%
1901 362,581−3.7%
1911 349,184−3.7%
1921 335,408−3.9%
1931 322,212−3.9%
1941 286,956−10.9%
1951 255,558−10.9%
1961 231,143−9.6%
1971 209,097−9.5%
1981 161,100−23.0%
1991 181,489+12.7%
2001 198,027+9.1%
2011 220,338+11.3%
2021 210,136−4.6%
Source: A Vision of Britain through time and the ONS

In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century as the district became built up, reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth slowed, for while many people were drawn in by new employment, others were made homeless by the new central London termini and construction of lines through the district. The population peaked at 376,500 in the 1890s, after which official efforts began to clear the overcrowded slums around St Pancras and Holborn.

After

Kings Cross. A 2017 study found that the eviction rate of 6 per 1,000 renting households in Camden is the lowest rate in London.[21]

Population pyramid of the Borough of Camden in 2021

The

2001 census gave Camden a population of 198,000, an undercount that was later revised to 202,600.[22] The latest ONS projection puts the 2019 population at 270,000.[23]

On 20 May 1999, the Camden New Journal newspaper documented 'Two Camdens' syndrome as a high-profile phenomenon differentiating the characteristics of education services in its constituencies. In 2006, Dame Julia Neuberger's book reported similar variation as a characteristic of Camden's children's health services. Her insider's view was corroboration – in addition to the 2001 "Inequalities" report by Director of Public Health Maggie Barker of "stark contrasts in" health and education opportunities – of earlier similar Audit Commission findings and a verification/update of the 1999 CNJ report.[24]

Ethnicity

The following table shows the ethnic group of respondents in the 2001 and 2011 census in Camden.

Ethnic group Year
2001 census[25] 2011 census[26] 2021 census[27]
Number % Number % Number %
White: Total 144,896 73.17% 146,055 66.29% 125,064 59.6%
White: British 104,390 52.72% 96,937 43.99% 74,348 35.4%
White: Irish 9,149 4.62% 7,053 3.20% 5,325 2.5%
White:
Gypsy or Irish Traveller
 – – 167 0.08% 128 0.1%
White: Roma – – – – 978 0.5%
White: Other 31,357 15.84% 41,898 19.02% 44,285 21.1%
Asian or Asian British
: Total		 24,021 12.13% 35,446 16.09% 38,042 18.1%
Asian or Asian British: Indian 4,574 2.31% 6,083 2.76% 6,952 3.3%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani 1,250 0.63% 1,489 0.68% 1,610 0.8%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi 12,569 6.35% 12,503 5.67% 14,356 6.8%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese 3,470 1.75% 6,493 2.95% 6,728 3.2%
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian 2,158 1.09% 8,878 4.03% 8,396 4.0%
Black or Black British: Total 16,374 8.27% 18,060 8.20% 18,892 9.1%
Black or Black British: African 11,795 5.96% 10,802 4.90% 14,191 6.8%
Black or Black British: Caribbean 3,635 1.84% 3,496 1.59% 2,703 1.3%
Black or Black British: Other Black 944 0.48% 3,762 1.71% 1,998 1.0%
Mixed or British Mixed: Total 7,429 3.75% 12,322 5.59% 13,938 6.6%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean 1,654 0.84% 2,494 1.13% 2,558 1.2%
Mixed: White and Black African 1,224 0.62% 1,800 0.82% 2,059 1.0%
Mixed: White and Asian 1,983 1.00% 3,880 1.76% 4,243 2.0%
Mixed: Other Mixed 2,568 1.30% 4,148 1.88% 5,078 2.4%
Other: Total 5,300 2.68% 8,455 3.84% 14,200 6.8%
Other: Arab – – 3,432 1.56% 4,417 2.1%
Other: Any other ethnic group – – 5,023 2.28% 9,783 4.7%
Ethnic minority: Total 53,124 26.83% 74,283 33.71% 85,072 40.4%
Total 198,020 100% 220,338 100% 210,136 100%
Ethnic group Year
1966 estimations[28] 1971 estimations[29] 1981 estimations[30] 1991 census[31]
% % Number % Number %
White: Total 94.5% 92.2% 161,478 88.2% 149,490 82.3%
White: British – – – – – –
White: Irish 7.7% – – – – –
White:
Gypsy or Irish Traveller
 – – – – – –
White: Roma – – – – – –
White: Other – – – – – –
Asian or Asian British
: Total 		2.7% – 10,612 5.8% 17,180 9.5%
Asian or Asian British: Indian – – 2,442 2,974
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani – – 608 796
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi – – 2,765 1.5% 6,718
Asian or Asian British: Chinese – – 2,271 2,652
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian – – 2,526 4,040
Black or Black British: Total 2.8% – 7,385 4% 9,809 5.4%
Black or Black British: African 1.3% – 3,196 1.7% 4,664
Black or Black British: Caribbean 1.5% – 2,762 1.5% 3,279
Black or Black British: Other Black – – 1,427 1,866
Mixed or British Mixed: Total – – – – – –
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean – – – – – –
Mixed: White and Black African – – – – – –
Mixed: White and Asian – – – – – –
Mixed: Other Mixed – – – – – –
Other: Total – – 3,768 5,220
Other: Arab – – – – – –
Other: Any other ethnic group – – – – – –
Ethnic minority: Total 5.5% 7.8% 21,765 11.8% 32,209 17.7%
Total 100% 100% 183,243 100% 181,699 100%

Religion

Religious makeup of Camden by single year age groups in 2021

The following shows the religious identity of residents residing in Camden according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses.

Religion 2001[32] 2011[33] 2021[34]
Number % Number % Number %
Holds religious beliefs 134,545 67.9 118,949 54.0 118,581 56.4
Christian 93,259 47.1 74,821 34.0 65,980 31.4
Muslim
 22,906 11.6 26,643 12.1 33,830 16.1
Jewish 11,153 5.6 9,823 4.5 10,079 4.8
Hindu 3,031 1.5 3,141 1.4 3,991 1.9
Sikh 443 0.2 465 0.2 487 0.2
Buddhist 2,595 1.3 2,789 1.3 2,410 1.1
Other religion 1,161 0.6 1,267 0.6 1,842 0.9
No religion 43,609 22.0 56,113 25.5 72,776 34.6
Religion not stated 19,866 10.0 45,276 20.5 18,743 8.9
Total population 198,020 100.0 220,338 100.0 210,100 100.0
Note: The number of residents in the "Religion not stated" category in 2011 was overestimated due to an error processing the 2011 census data[35]

Landmarks

Parks and open spaces

Main article: Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Camden

London is well known for its greenery and the

Regents Park with Westminster and the views from Primrose Hill
are famous.

Attractions

Education

The Borough of Camden is home to a large number of primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Over recent years, a number of significant institutions have moved into the borough or are planning to do so. The included Central Saint Martins, the Francis Crick Institute, as well as the planned move by Moorfields Eye Hospital, recently unveiled as Project Oriel.[36]

Primary schools

See also:
List of schools in Camden

The London Borough of Camden is the local education authority for the borough, organised through the Children, Schools and Families directorate.

Major public and private bodies

Some of London's best universities and teaching institutions are located in the Borough of Camden. They include the main campus of University College London, part of the campus of the London School of Economics near Lincoln's Inn Fields, and Central Saint Martins.

Public services

Police

Camden is policed by the

Metropolitan Police Service. There are two police stations across the borough, situated at Holborn and Kentish Town. There are various other contact points around the borough including West Hampstead, Greenland Road, Highgate Road, Station House (Swiss Cottage), West End Lane, Hampstead Town Hall
and Kingsway College. All locations have varying opening hours with Kentish Town Police Station open to the public on a 24-hour basis.

Hampstead Heath, situated within the London Borough of Camden and managed by the City of London Corporation, has its own Constabulary who deal with everyday incidents on the Heath, however, all serious criminal offences are passed to the Metropolitan Police to investigate.

With a large London Underground network and major railway stations such as King's Cross, St Pancras and Euston, Camden also has a much larger presence of British Transport Police (BTP) than many other London boroughs. BTP are responsible for policing Great Britain's railway network.

London Fire Brigade

The area has three fire stations: Euston, Kentish Town and West Hampstead and they are operated by London Fire Brigade in the borough of Camden. None of these fire stations are home to any specialist units; only pumping appliances and a rescue tender.[37][38]

Public libraries

Camden is the home of the British Library. In addition, Camden has numerous libraries which include:

As well as a number of community libraries including Keats community library.

Transport

North London Line
St Pancras International – home to Eurostar trains
King's Cross St Pancras tube station served by the most tube lines on the network

There are no motorways in the borough, and few stretches of dual carriageway road, but the borough has great strategic transport significance to London, due to presence of three of the capital's most important rail termini, which are lined up along the Euston Road.

The position of the railway termini on Euston Road, rather than in a more central position further south, is a result of the influential recommendations of the 1846 Royal Commission on Metropolitan Railway Termini that sought to protect the West End districts a short distance south of the road.[39]

Rail

National Rail

Three of the fourteen central London's railway terminals are located in the borough.

the Netherlands
.

Since 14 November 2007 when St Pancras International became the new terminus of Eurostar, a major regeneration of the area has occurred with the King's Cross Central development happening behind the station.

Watford DC Line services from Euston serving South Hampstead, trains continue to Watford in Hertfordshire
.

Great Northern network, which currently terminate at King's Cross will be diverted onto the Thameslink network, all work is due to be complete by 2016.[40]

Underground

The London Borough of Camden is served by 18 London Underground stations and 8 of the 11 lines.

The three major rail termini are served by two underground stations, Euston and the combined King's Cross St Pancras station. Between them, the termini are served by the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines. The Central and Jubilee lines serve other parts of the borough, as does the Elizabeth line.

As well as the two major termini stations, the borough's other stations are: Euston Square, Warren Street, Goodge Street, Tottenham Court Road, Holborn, Russell Square, Chancery Lane, Mornington Crescent, Camden Town, Chalk Farm, Belsize Park, Hampstead, West Hampstead, Finchley Road, Swiss Cottage and Kentish Town.

Future

The proposed High Speed 2 railway line to northern England is intended to terminate at Euston Station.[41] The proposed Crossrail 2 line, (originally referred to as the Chelsea–Hackney line) would serve Euston and Tottenham Court Road underground stations. The increase in passengers at Euston as a result of the proposed High Speed 2 services is a major driver of the proposals.[42]

The formerly proposed Cross River Tram was going to start in the borough of Camden but was scrapped by the former Mayor of London Boris Johnson in 2008.[43]

Buses

All bus services are operated by Transport for London. Buses serve every suburb in the borough.

Statistics

The 2011 census found that the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: underground, metro, light rail, tram, 21.5% of all residents aged 16–74; on foot, 9.2%; bus, minibus or coach, 9.2%; driving a car or van, 6.3%; work mainly at or from home, 5.2%; train, 4.1%; bicycle, 4.1%.[44]

The census also found that 61% of households had no car, 32% had one car and 7% of households had 2 or more cars. There were an estimated 46,000 cars belonging to Camden residents."Camden Borough Profile" (PDF).

Speed limit

From 16 December 2013, Camden Council introduced a borough-wide speed limit of 20 miles per hour (32 km/h),[45][46] as of 2022, this was expanded to Transport for London red routes.[47] This is to make roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

See also

References

  1. ^ "2021 Census". London Borough of Camden. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Camden – Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com". oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com.
  3. ^ Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. 120)
  4. ISBN 0-901050-67-9
    .
  5. ^ London Government Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. 14)
  6. ^ Vision of Britain – Camden LB Archived 27 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ISBN 0901389137
    .
  8. ^ Mills, A., Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names, (2001)
  9. ^ Walford, E. (1878). "Camden Town and Kentish Town". Old and New London. Vol. 5. pp. 309–324.
  10. Westminster College, Cambridge
  11. ^ "The Journal of William Copeland Astbury". Astbury Diary. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  12. ^ a b https://www.london.gov.uk/in-my-area/camden Camden
  13. ^ "Search Blue Plaques". Blue plaques search – Camden. English Heritage. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  14. ^ Atkins, Peter J. "How the West End was won: the struggle to remove street barriers in Victorian London." Journal of Historical Geography 19.3 (1993): 265.
  15. ^ How the West End was won: the struggle to remove street barriers in Victorian London. Atkins, P J. Journal of Historical Geography; London Vol. 19, Iss. 3, (Jul 1, 1993): 265.
  16. ^ "Improvements in a part of the borough they refer to as 'West End'" (PDF). London Borough of Camden.
  17. ^ Joanna Partridge (28 July 2020). "Google commits to vast London office despite rise of remote working". The Guardian.
  18. ^ "The London Plan 2016" (PDF). The London Assembly.
  19. ^ "5 Pancras Square, Camden Council's new community building, is opened". Argent. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  20. ^ Article reporting Keir Starmer's victory in the Labour party leadership contest. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-52164589
  21. ^ "London's Poverty Profile". Trust for London. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  22. ^ Camden Council – Camden Key Facts 2001–2016[permanent dead link‍]
  23. ^ "Open Data Portal". London Borough of Camden.
  24. ^ see the DFES Children Act report (2000); The Health Divide by Voluntary Action Camden; Health Inequalities in Camden Maggie Barker, a public Health Report; "Seen But Not Heard" an Audit Commission report based on research carried out mainly in Camden; and The Moral State We're In by Dame Julia Neuberger, former chair of Camden Community Health Services NHS Trust, et al.
  25. ^ "KS006 - Ethnic group". NOMIS. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  26. ^ "Ethnic Group by measures". NOMIS. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  27. ^ "Ethnic group - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  28. ^ "Ethnic minorities in Britain". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
  29. ^ "Migration and London's growth" (PDF). LSE.
  30. ISBN 978-0-11-691655-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link
    )
  31. ISBN 978-0-11-691655-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link
    )
  32. ^ "KS007 - Religion - Nomis - 2001". www.nomisweb.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  33. ^ "KS209EW (Religion) - Nomis - 2011". www.nomisweb.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  34. ^ "Religion - 2021 census". Office of National Statistics. 29 November 2022. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Census products: Issues and corrections - Office for National Statistics".
  36. ^ "Latest updates". Oriel.
  37. ^ "Camden Borough Profile" (PDF). London Fire Brigade. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2008. London Fire Brigade – Camden Profile
  38. ^ "London Fire Brigade – Camden Profile" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2008.
  39. ^ "1846 Royal Commission".
  40. ^ Thameslink Programme: About the project Archived 5 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 27 July 2010
  41. ^ "Overview of changes at Euston station". HS2.
  42. ^ "HS2 warns it will not 'work properly' without Crossrail 2". Financial Times. 25 September 2017.
  43. ^ "TfL scraps projects and cuts jobs". 6 November 2008 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  44. ^ "2011 Census: QS701EW Method of travel to work, local authorities in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 November 2013. Percentages are of all residents aged 16–74 including those not in employment. Respondents could only pick one mode, specified as the journey’s longest part by distance.
  45. ^ "20mph speed limit in Camden – Camden Council". Camden Council. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  46. ^ "Speed limits – Camden Council". Camden Council. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  47. ^ "New 20mph speed limit for five of London's boroughs". BBC News. 31 March 2023.
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