St John's Wood
St John's Wood High Street
St John's Wood Location withinGreater London
OS grid reference	TQ265835
London borough	Westminster Camden
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	NW8
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Cities of London and Westminster Holborn and St Pancras
London Assembly	West Central Barnet and Camden
List of places UK England London 51°32′10″N0°10′30″W / 51.5361°N 0.1751°W /51.5361; -0.1751

St John's Wood is a district in theLondon Borough of Camden and theCity of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest ofCharing Cross. Historically the northern part of theancient parish andMetropolitan Borough ofMarylebone, it extends fromRegent's Park andPrimrose Hill in the east toEdgware Road in the west, with theSwiss Cottage area ofHampstead to the north andLisson Grove to the south.^[1][2]

The area includesLord's Cricket Ground, home ofMarylebone Cricket Club andMiddlesex CCC and a regular internationaltest cricket venue. It also includesAbbey Road Studios, well known through its association withthe Beatles.

The area was once part of theForest of Middlesex, an area with extensive woodland, though it was not the predominant land use.

The area's name originates, in theManor of Lileston, one of the two manors (the other theManor of Tyburn) served by the Parish ofMarylebone.

The Manor was taken from theKnights Templar on their suppression in 1312 and passed to theKnights of St John, whose English headquarters was atClerkenwell Priory.^[3]

The name of the knights was applied to a former wood within the area of the manor, which in turn gave its name to St John's Farm, the farmhouse of which was the site ofSt John's Wood Barracks on Ordnance Hill from 1804 to 2012.^[4]

The Priory allocated theestate to agricultural tenants as a source of produce and income.^[5] The estate remained Crown property until 21 March 1675 (1676New Style) whenCharles II granted the St John's Wood estate to Charles Henry Wotton.^[6] On 22 March 1732 (1733 New Style), city merchant Henry Samuel Eyre (1676–1754) acquired the majority of the estate, around 500 acres (200 hectares), fromPhilip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield. The St John's Wood estate came to be known as the Eyre estate in the 19th century after it was developed by the Eyre brothers. The estate still exists but is much reduced geographically.

A masterplan for the development of St John's Wood was prepared in 1794, but development did not start until 1804 when Henry Samuel Eyre II (1770–1851) and Walpole Eyre (1773–1856) held their first auction.^[7] One of the first developers wasJames Burton.^[8]

St John's Wood was among the first London suburbs with lower-densityvilla housing and frequent avenues but fewer communalgarden squares. Most of the villas have since been subdivided and replaced by small apartment blocks or terraces.^[9] This pattern of development has made it one of the most expensive areas of London.^{[citation needed]}

Lord's Cricket Ground, home ofMiddlesex County Cricket Club andMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC), is an internationaltest cricket ground known as theHome of Cricket^[10] on account of its role as the original headquarters of cricket.

Abbey Road Studios is located onAbbey Road, wherethe Beatles recorded, notably theAbbey Road album, the cover of which features the band crossing the road.

RAK Studios, founded by producerMickie Most, is located near Regent's Park. A number of notable songs were recorded there, including theThompson Twins' "Hold Me Now",Johnny Hates Jazz's "Shattered Dreams",Kim Wilde's "Kids in America" andBig Country's "In a Big Country". The studios have aNubian Jak Community Trust plaque forErrol Brown, who recorded there as lead singer forHot Chocolate.^[11]

St. John's Wood Church Grounds contains the only nature reserve in theCity of Westminster. Much of the neighbourhood is covered by aconservation area, a small part of which extends into neighbouringCamden.^[12]

Wellington Hospital is the largest independent hospital in the United Kingdom. The charitableHospital of St John and St Elizabeth and its on-site St John’s Hospice[AC1] , is also located nearby on Grove End Road.

Avenue Road was the street with the UK's most expensive home sales in 2020.^[13] In early 2021, prices for a property on the street averaged over £30.5 million.^[13]

St John's Wood Barracks was the headquarters forThe King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery until 2012, when the regiment moved toWoolwich.^[14] In 2023,Ananda Krishnan'sUsaha Tegas conglomerate began developing theSquire and Partners-designed site as a development called St John's Wood Square.^[15]

Allitsen Road drill hall was formerly the headquarters of the3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters).

TheSt John's Wood Art School andAnglo-French Art Centre were in St John's Wood.

The formerMarlborough Road tube station is at the northern end of St John's Wood and is now a power substation forTransport for London.

The Star (now agastropub) was a pub for approximately two centuries.

• The American School in London
• Arnold House School
• Abercorn School
• Saint Christina's Primary School
• St John's Wood Pre-Preparatory School

• Harris Academy St John's Wood
• St. Johns Wood Primary School

• Robinsfield Infant School

• St John's Wood Church (Church of England)
• St Mark's Church, Hamilton Terrace (Church of England)
• Abbey Road Baptist Church (Baptists Together)
• The Church of Our Lady (Roman Catholic)

• St John's Wood United Synagogue (United Synagogue)
• The Liberal Jewish Synagogue (Liberal Judaism)
• TheNew London Synagogue (Conservative Judaism/Masorti)
• Saatchi Shul (Orthodox)

• Zen Centre

• London Central Mosque

The main London Underground station isSt John's Wood, which is on theJubilee line.Maida Vale,Warwick Avenue andKilburn Park are nearby on theBakerloo line. The nearestLondon Overground station isSouth Hampstead. The13, 46,113 and N113, 139, 187, 189 and 274bus routes transit St John's Wood.^[16]

• Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema,OM (1836–1912), painter, at 44 Grove End Road^[17]
• Gilbert Bayes (1872–1953), sculptor, at 4 Greville Place^[17]
• Sir Joseph Bazalgette,CB (1819–1891), civil engineer, at 17 Hamilton Terrace^[17]
• Sir Thomas Beecham,CH (1879–1961), conductor and impresario, at 31 Grove End Road^[17]
• Sir William Reid Dick,KCVO (1879–1961), sculptor, at 95a Clifton Hill^[17]
• Sir George Frampton (1860–1928), sculptor, at 32 Queen's Grove^[17]
• William Powell Frith (1819–1909), painter, at 114 Clifton Hill^[17]
• Dame Barbara Hepworth,DBE (1903–1975) andJohn Skeaping (1901–1980), sculptors, at 24 St Ann's Terrace^[17]
• Thomas Hood (1799–1845), poet, at 28 Finchley Road^[17]
• Thomas Huxley (1825–1895), biologist, at 38Marlborough Place^[17]
• Melanie Klein (1882–1960), psychoanalyst, at 42 Clifton Hill^[17]
• Dame Laura Knight (1877–1970) andHarold Knight (1874–1961), painters, at 16 Langford Place^[17]
• Oskar Kokoschka (1886–1980), painter, at Eyre Court, 3-21 Finchley Road^[17]
• Sir Charles Santley (1834–1922), opera singer, at 13 Blenheim Road^[17]
• Sir Bernard Spilsbury,Kt (1877–1947), pathologist, at 31 Marlborough Hill^[17]
• William Strang (1859–1921), painter and etcher, at 20 Hamilton Terrace^[17]
• Marie Tussaud (1761–1850), artist, at 24 Wellington Road^[17]
• C. F. A. Voysey (1857–1941), architect and designer, at 6 Carlton Hill^[17]
• John William Waterhouse (1849–1917), painter, at 10 Hall Road^[17]

• Henry Barnett (banker and politician) was the original owner of a mansion at 100 Hamilton Terrace thatRobbie Williams temporarily rented before the debut of his 2019 Christmas album song, "Idlewild", which mentions St John's Wood.^[18][19]
• Charles Bradlaugh (National Secular Society founder) lived at 20 Circus Road, now the site of the St John's Wood Library.
• Christabel Cockerell (painter) lived and worked in St John's Wood.
• Frank Cadogan Cowper (artist) lived at 38 Barrow Hill Road, St John's Wood from 1905—1909.
• Leonard N. Fowles (organist/composer) was organist and choirmaster for the former St John's Wood English Presbyterian Church.
• Meredith Frampton  (painter/etcher) was born in St John's Wood and attended theSt John's Wood Art School.
• Noel Gallagher (musician and songwriter) andTony Hicks (musician) lived at the same address; Hicks recorded atAbbey Road Studios.
• Stephen Hough (concert pianist) lives and has a practice studio in St John's Wood.
• Albert Houthuesen (artist) andCatherine Dean (artist) lived in a flat at 20 Abbey Gardens in the 1930s.^[20]
• Christmas Humphreys (barrister, judge and author) lived and died at58 Marlborough Place.
• Eric Idle (actor and comedian) lived in St John's Wood;Harrison Ford andCarrie Fisher stayed at his home while filmingThe Empire Strikes Back.^[21][22][23]
• Norman Kerr a Scottish physician and social reformer, who founder of theSociety for the Study and Cure of Inebriety. Lived at Grove Road, (now Lisson Grove) andHamilton Terrace.
• Sir John Major (formerprime minister) lived in St John's Wood, was on theMarylebone Cricket Club committee and attended matches atLord's frequently.^[24][25][26]
• Stella Margetson (novelist and author) publishedSt John's Wood – an Abode of Love and the Arts and was the archivist for the St John's Wood Society.
• Sir Paul McCartney (musician) has lived in St John's Wood since 1965.^[27]
• Arthur Prince (ventriloquist) died at his home in St John's Wood.^[28]
• Keith Richards (rock musician and songwriter ofThe Rolling Stones) lived on Carlton Hill in the 1960s, where he wrote "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".^[29][30]
• Mark Ronson (DJ, songwriter, record producer and record executive),Samantha Ronson (DJ, singer and songwriter), andCharlotte Ronson (fashion designer) lived in St John's Wood as children, where their parents' home was a celebrity hangout.^[31]
• Sachin Tendulkar (cricketer) has a home in St John's Wood and captained theMarylebone Cricket Club's squad in its victory in the 2014Lord'sBicentenary Celebration match.^{[32][33][34][35]}

• The Rolling Stones' 1965 song, "Play with Fire", includes the lyrics:^[36]

Your mother she's an heiress, owns a block in Saint John's Wood

And your father'd be there with her

If he only could

• Robbie Williams' 2019 Christmas album song, "Idlewild", includes the lyrics:

Then I moved into her big old house

I never been to Saint John's Wood

There were movie stars and media types

We were all up to no good

• Violet Hill, a street and area off Abbey Road, is theeponym forColdplay's 2008 song "Violet Hill".^[37][38]
• Queen's videos for "Keep Yourself Alive" and "Liar" were filmed at St John's Wood Studios, a former film studio on St John's Wood Terrace, in 1973.^[39]
• Duran Duran's video for their first single, "Planet Earth", was shot at St John's Wood byRussell Mulcahy in 1980.
• The Housemartins' 1986 video for their pop song hit "Happy Hour" was recorded atThe Star pub on St John's Wood Terrace.^[40]
• Arctic Monkeys' 2007 video for "Teddy Picker" was recorded in St John's Wood, including atRAK Studios andThe Star.

• InWilkie Collins's 1859sensation novelThe Woman in White, Count and Countess Fosco live at No. 5 Forest Road, a fictional address in St. John's Wood.
• InArthur Conan Doyle's 1891Sherlock Holmes story "A Scandal in Bohemia",Irene Adler lives in Briony Lodge, on Serpentine Avenue, a fictional address in St John's Wood.
• In the first instalment ofJohn Galsworthy'sThe Forsyte Saga,The Man of Property (1906), Young Jolyon lives with his second wife and family on Wistaria Avenue, a fictional address in St John's Wood.
• InP. G. Wodehouse'sJeeves and Wooster short stories and novels, written from the early 1920s onward,Bingo andRosie live in St John's Wood.
• The protagonist ofJ. G. Ballard's 2003 novelMillennium People is a psychologist who lives in St John's Wood, which he abandons to join a middle-class rebellion.
• St John's Wood is the setting forHoward Jacobson's 2004 bookThe Making of Henry and is the planned location for the Museum of Anglo-Jewish Culture in his 2010Man Booker Prize winning novelThe Finkler Question.^[41]

• The short-lived 1990s sitcomBabes in the Wood was set in St John's Wood.^[42]
• Bedazzled,30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia andThe Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer were filmed at the former St John's Wood Studios.^[43]
• Owing to the conveniently close location toElstree Studios, (just over 10 miles), St John's Wood was used extensively for location shooting for many of theITC adventure shows of the 1960s and 1970s, includingThe Saint,Return of the Saint,Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased),The Persuaders!.
• The formerMarlborough Road tube station appears inMetro-Land, a 1973 documentary presented byJohn Betjeman.
• Henstridge Place and Woronzow Road featured in the "Give Us This Day Arthur Daley's Bread" episode of the popular UK television seriesMinder.
• Peter O'Toole (actor) died at the Wellington Hospital 2013 in St. John's Wood aged 81, and is considered one of the greatest actors of any generation, he attendedThe Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

• Richard Tames.St. John's Wood and Maida Vale Past, London: Historical Publications, 1998.ISBN 978-0-94866-753-4

Media related toSt. John's Wood at Wikimedia Commons

• History of St John's Wood

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• James Burton (property developer) buildings
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