Swiss Cottage

Toponymy

It is claimed that the district is named after an inn called The Swiss Tavern that was built in 1804 in the style of a Swiss chalet on the site of a former tollgate keeper's cottage, and later renamed Swiss Cottage.

This is does not appear to be strictly true, however. There was certainly an old building which was a dairy and a farmhouse when the area was rural in the 19th century, and this was designed like a Swiss cottage, rather than a chalet. The pub was in fact re-designed to resemble a Swiss chalet only after this old dairy/farmhouse (later a restaurant, The Cottage Grill) was demolished in the mid-1960s. Before that time the pub did not look anything like a Swiss chalet or cottage. It is therefore likely that the style of the dairy building gave the area its name, and that the name of the area inspired the name and design of the pub long afterwards.

Urban development

The district formed part of the ancient parish of Hampstead. It developed following the Finchley Road Act 1826, which authorised construction of Finchley New Road and Avenue Road, with The Swiss Tavern built at the junction of the new roads. The neighbourhood around Finchley Road and Avenue Road was redeveloped in 1937 and 1938 with the opening of an Odeon cinema and the Regency Lodge flats. After World War II, local authority housing was constructed by the London County Council in the area. On 20 March 2014 a planning application was submitted for a 24-storey tower to be built next to Swiss Cottage tube station. The application was rejected by Camden Council on 11 September 2014 following mass local protests.

Government

Swiss Cottage is in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency; formed at the 2010 general election. It was formerly in the Hampstead and Highgate constituency, for which the MP was Glenda Jackson. It forms part of the Barnet and Camden London Assembly constituency. There is a Swiss Cottage electoral ward, electing councillors to Camden London Borough Council.

Geography

Swiss Cottage is located 3.25 miles (5.23 km) north-northwest of Charing Cross. Adjoining neighbourhoods include Hampstead Village to the northeast, Chalk Farm and Camden Town to the southeast, Belsize Park to the east, St John's Wood to the south and West Hampstead to the west. Regent's Park is within walking distance of Swiss Cottage (about 1.4 km).

It is bounded by five conservation areas; Belsize, Elsworthy, Fitzjohns-Netherhall, South Hampstead, St. John's Wood (Camden) and St. John's Wood (Westminster).

Demography

According to the 2011 census, 67% of the Swiss Cottage ward population was white (40% British, 25% Other, 2% Irish). 7% was Other Asian and 5% Indian. 33% were Christians, 24% irreligious, 11% Jewish and 10% Muslim.

Economy

Swiss Cottage/Finchley Road is identified as a district centre in the London Plan and there are assorted shops the length of the Finchley Road. Local major hotels include Marriott Regents Park, Danubius Regents Park and Hampstead Britannia Hotel. There are many smaller hotels in the area. Notable restaurants that include European, South-East Asian and Japanese cuisine.

Transport

The area is served by Swiss Cottage and Finchley Road tube stations on the Jubilee line of the London Underground and is a local hub for London Buses. The former Swiss Cottage station was opened by the Metropolitan Railway in 1868; the current station dates from 1939. South Hampstead railway station and Finchley Road & Frognal railway station on London Overground are also nearby.

Local bus routes are:

Night buses:

Culture

Swiss Cottage is a cultural centre within Camden and north west London. Local amenities include an Odeon IMAX Cinema, Sir Basil Spence's Grade II-listed Swiss Cottage Central Library and the Hampstead Theatre. Swiss Cottage is the location of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama that occasionally performs at the Embassy Theatre. Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre reopened in early 2006 after redevelopment; it now has two swimming pools, a gym and a climbing wall. Many of the area's cityscapes and London street scenes, particularly of Swiss Cottage, Adamson Road, Eton Avenue and Belsize Park were represented by the Camden Town Group painter Robert Bevan and his wife, the Polish painter Stanisława de Karłowska. They lived at 14 Adamson Road and are commemorated with an English Heritage Blue Plaque.