Kilburn High Road

Area centred on Kilburn High Road in the City of Westminster borough, in northwest London, England. It runs from Shoot-Up Hill in the northwest to Maida Vale in the southeast, and divides or borders on several London districts, including Kilburn, West Hampstead, Cricklewood, and Maida Vale. Although traditionally a predominantly Irish area, it has come to represent a culturally diverse neighbourhood in which there is a rich mix of Irish, African-Caribbean, Jewish, and Asian residents.

The actual high road has long been a busy one; known as Watling Street, one of the key Roman roads leading out from ancient Roman London, it was used in medieval times as the clerical stopover for pilgrims on their way to St Albans, and many of the pubs along this stretch of road had their origins as medieval inns. An example is The Cock Tavern, established in 1486 and rebuilt in Victorian times. As a result of the great potato famine, large numbers of Irish people immigrated to this area in the 1840s. This, combined with the coming of the railways, began the social changes which have made Kilburn London's most notable Irish quarter. The Tricycle Theatre complex (1980), which began as a community theatre, has become a successful arts centre that reflects the cultural diversity of its neighbourhood.