PANEL 1
The development of Cricklewood from the 1860s
This Panel captures the development of Cricklewood from the arrival of the railways. The growth of modern Cricklewood began with the Bedford to St Pancras extension in 1860s. The ‘Railway Village’ terraced cottages for the Midland railway employees were built between the railway and Edgware Road. There are five terraces in all; Gratton Terrace, facing Cricklewood Broadway, and Midland, Johnston, Needham and Campion Terraces behind. There was an institute for the education of workers and a railway hostel built after 1894. These Railway Terraces are now a Conservation area. See publication: Cricklewood Railway Terraces – A Village History Paperback – 1 Jan. 2001. By Cricklewood Railway Terraces Community Association. For copies email ttcricklewood@gmail.com
The railway line through Cricklewood arrived in 1868 together with the bridge over Cricklewood Lane, two years before the current station opened in 1870. The original railway bridge decks were replaced in 1904 with those currently in situ. The station was opened as Childs Hill but later named Cricklewood station which became the terminus for the Midland Railway suburban services by 1884.
Cricklewood Railway Bridge was built at the same time as the station at a cost of £9 million.
This photo of the bridge in 1957 was taken from a trolley bus and shows the advertisement for Smiths Clocks. You can view this video of a ride up Cricklewood Lane
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa-l4MviaO8
A photo from 1984 shows the bridge in plain dark colour with no adverts. In 2020 the bridge was repainted red with the logo of Cricklewood painted across the arch. The logo on the 2 supporting walls underneath was installed in 2012
Our artists impression of a Midland Railway’s steam train at Cricklewood station. For more information about their steam trains https://www.midlandrailway.org.uk/gallery/locomotives/
For further information on the development of Cricklewood:
- British History Onlinehttp://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol5/pp11-16
- https://www.brent.gov.uk/services-for-residents/culture-leisure-and-parks/brent-museum-and-archives/find-out-about-your-local-area/history-of-cricklewood-and-dollis-hill/
Clitterhouse Farm was owned by St Bartholomew’s Hospital from 1439 until its sale in 1921 to the War Department. The land around the farm was a testing ground for early tanks, and the Handley Page factory was there during WW1. Cricklewood Airport was on the farm from 1919 to 1926 providing commercial flights to Paris, Brussels, Berlin, and Bournemouth. It was then sold to provide for the development of the Golders Green Estate.
https://www.clitterhouse.com/history/
The suffragette, Gladice Georgina Keevil, lived at Clitterhouse Farm between 1884 and 1913; her father rented the ‘model farm’ with its mid-Victorian farmhouse and yard from St Bartholomew’s Hospital 1874 to 1926. The picture above from the Clitterhouse Farm website shows the farm – identified as Clutterhouse – and the family involvement in Dairy and Meat production.
Gladice joined the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), the militant wing of the British woman suffrage movement in 1907 and became a popular speaker at events. The Daily News described her as ‘a particularly striking figure who ‘scolded’ and ‘smiled’ beneath a black straw hat with a waving white ostrich feather.
The March of the Women https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCtGkCg7trY
Meet the Suffragettes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rvty0tsEts
In February 1908 Gladice was one of those arrested with Emmeline Pankhurst when taking part in a demonstration outside the House of Commons and sentenced to six weeks imprisonment in Holloway. Details of the treatment of Suffragettes in prison are recorded at the National Archives https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_q=Gladice+Keevil and the Roll of Honour of Suffragette prisoners 1905 to 1914 https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/ee5a777f-1d7c-416b-a249-c7cb64fcc0a8
The British Newspapers Archive provides significant information about the activities of the Suffragettes, and for links to Gladice Keevil see
On her release from Holloway Prison she was appointed National Organiser in the Midlands and established an office in Birmingham. She gave a speech in July 2008 as reported by The Leeds Mercury: “Miss Gladice Keevil, a young lady with a winning smile and a most becoming hat, exerted a distinct influence upon her hearers. She admitted that some of the doings of the Suffragettes had not been quite lady-like, but she pleaded that they had done nothing unwomanly.”
For more information about Gladice Keevil see the following links:
https://spartacus-educational.com/WkeevilG.htm
https://suffragettestories.omeka.net/bio-gladice-keevil
For glass plate pictures of Gladice Keevil https://www.bathintime.co.uk/suffragette-gladice-keevil-1910-17633.html
And for more information on suffragettes: