Discover Cricklewood through its many layers of history: station art explores the history of the area and the railway, while the Crown and St Agnes represent different periods of architecture. The area’s past also includes commercial aviation and the history of Smith’s Crisps. If you’re looking for a holiday rental for a stay in Cricklewood, these themes can help you decide whether a cultural and historical perspective on the area suits your travel interests.
Railway history and Amy Johnson
At Cricklewood station, panels about the area’s history are displayed on glass screens in the passenger waiting area on Platform 1. There is an Amy Johnson mural on the platform wall. A Blue Plaque at Vernon Court also commemorates the aviator: Amy Johnson once lived there. The three forms offer different perspectives—the panels focus on Cricklewood, while the mural and plaque focus on an individual life story.
Art on railway and aviation history
A work of art on the station’s history by Freddie Needle is a 9 × 6 metre montage of paintings, prints and photographs. It depicts Cricklewood’s history from the arrival of the railway in the 1860s and its subsequent impact on the area. On the way to the platforms, there is also an image of Handley-Page biplanes by Alistair Lambert, an artist based in Cricklewood. The works differ in scope: the montage covers the area’s development over a longer period, while the biplane image focuses on a single aviation theme.
Architectural history on Broadway and at St Agnes
On Cricklewood Broadway stands the Crown, a Victorian building clad in terracotta and listed Grade II. Shoebridge & Rising rebuilt it in 1899. St Agnes offers a different architectural perspective: the present building was constructed in 1930 to designs by T. H. B. Scott. Its restrained Romanesque design is typical of Scott’s church designs; it also has an impressive, austere brick interior. The two buildings’ histories can thus be distinguished by their different design features and dates of construction.
Travel and food history
The Crown’s history goes back to the 1750s. At the time, the inn offered accommodation to travellers journeying to and from London by stagecoach along Watling Street. Watling Street was a Roman road to St Albans that continued through North Wales to the Irish Sea. This example brings together the history of a road and the Crown’s later use as accommodation for travellers.
Smith’s Crisps began in 1912 in garages behind the Crown. This connection adds local food-making history to the area’s architectural and transport history. Aviation is another part of Cricklewood’s history of travel: Cricklewood Airport operated commercial flights to Paris, Brussels, Berlin and Bournemouth from 1919 to 1926. Together, stagecoaches, the railway and early commercial flights illustrate different chapters in the area’s transport history.
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