South Harrow is the southern part of the town ofHarrow, located south-west ofHarrow-on-the-Hill in theLondon Borough of Harrow. Its development originally spread south and west from the hamlet ofRoxeth in theurbanisation process and easier access fromCentral London byrail. Six roads now converge at Roxeth hamlet centre at the bottom of Roxeth Hill. Its areas include, in the west, the area of Shaftesbury Circus/Avenue and in the south a shopping area,South Harrow tube station and thehigh street, Northolt Road.
South Harrow succeededRoxeth and outlying southern fields of Harrow in which thathamlet stood. This was a rural area until the late 19th century with remaining agricultural fields converted to housing by the mid-20th century. South Harrow was in the parish of Harrow which has its well-conserved historicclustered village centre at Harrow on the Hill.
A three-storeySainsbury's supermarket building was built in the 1960s; it subsequently closed, and after a refit and redesign of its layout (now including an entrance direct to its car park) is now an Aldi.[1]
South Harrow has tworecreational grounds:
Alexandra Park was named afterQueen Alexandra, who frequently visited the area. There is a children's play area, natural rough area, and fitness zone. Nearby isNortholt Park (Chiltern Main Line).
Roxeth Recreation Ground is a large recreational ground containing Cricket and Football pitches, Ball courts, natural roughland and a children's play area. Abowling green, operated by Roxeth Bowls Club, risked to close in 2007, following rent increases from Harrow Council.[2] This recreation ground was donated to the people of South Harrow in the early 20th century and is known as Roxeth Park. During theSecond World War it was made into a market garden; it was then returned to recreational use. It also hosted the Roxeth Show each summer up until 2013, and has been given several Green Flag awards.
Adherents of manyreligious denominations have places of worship in South Harrow, including:Anglican,Catholic,Free Church,Methodist,Salvation Army andWelsh Congregational.Tamils andKoreans meet in churches on Sunday afternoons.
Shops on Northolt Road (the main shopping street in South Harrow) sellSri Lankan andPolish groceries. There are fiveHalal butchers, ninepublic houses and fourchicken shops.
Built in 1938, RoxbourneJunior School and RoxbourneInfant School share a site in Torbay Road. The schools were known as RoxbourneMiddle School and RoxbourneFirst School between 1974 and 2010, when the London Borough of Harrow adopted acomprehensive system of education that transferred children to secondary schools at age 12 (after year 7). In 2010 the borough changed the age ranges catered for, and took the opportunity to replace the additional wing that had been added in 1974 to accommodate year 7. The new classrooms are used by Reception and by year 6, at the same time a Nursery class was added to the Infant school. The Infant school now covers ages 4 to 7 as Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and year 2. The Junior school covers ages 8 to 11, as years 3, 4, 5 and 6. The Roxbourne schools have three classes in each year, each class numbering up to thirty pupils.
Welldon ParkJunior School and Welldon ParkInfant School are built on separate sites in Wyvenhoe Road. The original school opened in 1910 and was known as Welldon Park Primary School. At the outbreak of war the deputy headmaster was Mr Goodhead. A pupil at that time was Peter Walker, later Lord Walker, and he lived in Eastcote Lane. The school was overcrowded by 1942 as more people moved from central London and as other schools were destroyed by the enemy. Classes had up to 40 children. In the main hall two classes sat back to back simultaneously. The same hall was used for school meals as well as the central ground floor corridor. The school served pupils from age 4 to 11 years and had a reputation for academic rigour under the headship of Mrs. Cooper in the 1950s and '60s. After being separated into Welldon Park First School and Weldon Park Middle School, and then Infant and Primary, both schools amalgamated in circa 2015. In 2019, at the start of the school year, the school became a part of the Pegasus Academy Trust, and is now named Welldon Park Academy.
Whitmore High School was formed in 1974 from Lascelles Secondary Boys' and Girls' Schools, and is now a sixth form specialist science school.
Whitmore was demolished and was completely rebuilt by September 2010, following a £30 million grant.
South Harrow is mostly covered by the Roxbourne and Roxeth wards. According to 2011 Census data, White British was the largest ethnic group in both wards, 24.8% and 23.1% respectively. Other Asian was second biggest, 22% for both, followed by Indian, 19% and 20% respectively.[3][4] The most spoken foreign language in both wards wasTamil.[5]
| Route | Start | End | Operator |
| 114 | Ruislip | Mill Hill Broadway | Metroline |
| 140 | Hayes and Harlington Station | Harrow Weald | Metroline |
| SL9 (previously X140) | Heathrow Airport | Harrow | London Sovereign |
| N140 | Heathrow Airport | Harrow | Metroline |
| 258 | South Harrow | Watford Junction | London United |
| 395 | Harrow | Greenford | London Sovereign |
| 398 | Ruislip | Wood End | London Sovereign |
| 487 | South Harrow | Willesden Junction | Metroline |
| H9/H10Circular | Northwick Park HospitalH9: clockwise | Northwick Park HospitalH10: anticlockwise | London Sovereign |
| H12 | South Harrow | Stanmore | London Sovereign |
| 640 | South Harrow | Harrow Weald | Sullivan Buses |
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On 7 May 2008 at 9.18pm, two houses were destroyed completely and the third badly damaged by agas explosion in South Harrow. Three people were treated by paramedics after being rescued by firefighters in the rubble. Two survived, but a man was pronounced dead at the scene. Residents of Stanley Road wereevacuated.[6]Scotland Yard announced that the explosion could have been amurder, but it was later found to be an accident.[citation needed]
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