A social polarity was developed between the uphill areas of Hendon and the lowlands around the railway station.

[3] Hendon is located by numerous arterial roads, namely the A41, A406 (North Circular), the A1 and the M1 motorway.

Evidence of Roman settlement was discovered by members of the Hendon and District Archaeological Society and others; an urn burial of a headless child was found in Sunny Hill Park.

The 50 ft tower (c1450) was much restored in the 18th century when the weathercock in the form of a "Lamb and Flag", the badge of St John, was added.

[citation needed] Eastern extensions carried out between 1913–15 to designs by architect Temple Moore have greatly expanded the church.

Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore in 1819, died at his home in nearby Mill Hill and is buried in the church.

Bram Stoker may well have had St Mary's graveyard in mind when he created the fictional "Kingstead", the uneasy resting place of Lucy Westenra, in his book Dracula.

The Claddagh Ring pub, originally known as The Midland Arms, in Church Road, Hendon, is somewhat more than nine miles from Athenry (see photo).

Here, the 'leet courts', based on feudal tradition, were held as late as 1916, to ensure the rights of the Lord of the Manor to control the increasingly emancipated peasantry, to punish transgressors, and to fix 'Quit-Rent' for those who had built on manorial land and wastes.

Originally an un-chartered hiring fair for local hay farmers, it was also renowned for dancing and country sports, and was immortalised in the lines of a song of the 1810s: There was cockfighting during the 1820s, and horse racing in the 1860s; by this time, haymakers were usually contracted directly from Ireland.

From 1735 until 1934 a poorhouse with six cottages used to house older parishioners (and sometimes wrongly called 'alms-houses') stood where Quadrant Close (occupied by 1936) is now located.

The Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ established the Convent of St Joseph, in 1882, and had added a school by 1900.

[5] Hendon's first proper fire station (1914) was built to designs by A. Welch, and superseded another close by in Church End.

Hendon War Memorial was unveiled on St George's Day, 23 April 1922, and was moved to its present location in 1962.

In the 18th century two public houses named "Welsh Harp" were built, giving the popular nickname of the nearby Brent Reservoir.

West Hendon Broadway was served by the Metropolitan Electric Tramways from 1904, which ran from Cricklewood to Edgware on the A5 and later extended northwards to Canons Park and southwards to Acton.

[6] To the north, the Hyde was the site of Hendon's courthouse opening in 1913 and an open-air swimming pool build by 1922.

[7] During the 18th century, some of the immediate estate surrounding Hendon Place was auctioned off for large houses, with much of the land being used for building other mansions.

A small obelisk in the hotel garden dedicated to William Shakespeare and David Garrick originally stood in Manor Hall Road until 1957.

On Parson Street, St Swithans was for many years a convent and training house of the Sisters of Nazareth.

[10] This busy area around a major road junction contains parades of shops and Hendon Central Underground station.

Brent Street was part of a northern route out of London, and at the Quadrant a seven-mile stone – the last piece of physical evidence for the road – is set into a wall.

Brent Street had a parish pump, which was in disrepair in 1818 owing to the numerous thirsty travellers using the road, and from 1796 there was a cage for criminals (removed in 1883), which stood at the junction of Brent Street and Bell Lane and is now commemorated by a blue plaque.

The cricketer and footballer Denis Compton was brought up here and lived in 47 Alexandra Road,[13] attending Bell Lane Primary School.New Brent Street was the address of the local police office in 1855 (a later station, next to the Post Office at the corner of Brampton Grove and dating from 1884, was demolished in 2002).

Salisbury Plain is a piece of wasteland in front of The Load of Hay (a pub demolished in 2004), where animals destined for Smithfield were penned overnight.

Famous alumni include Peter Mandelson, Rabbi Lionel Blue, and author Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.

Hendon peaks at an elevation of about 85 metres (279 ft) around Church End, with surrounding areas going downhill, often steeply.

On 30 November 2009 the Environment Agency warned residents of flooding along the River Brent from Hendon to Brentford, after a day of notably heavy rain.

Also, numerous bus routes link Brent Cross Shopping Centre to the West End of London and the new Wembley Stadium.

Buses run as far south as Central London, as far east as Edmonton, as far west as Pinner and as far north as Watford Junction and Chipping Barnet.