Local History 

Cricklewood was a small rural hamlet, which was dominated by a Roman road called Watling Street, which later became known as the Edgware Road (A5) until the impetus for its urbanisation came with the surface and underground railways in nearby Willesden Green in the 1870s.  Aeroplanes, tanks, Bentley cars, crisps, biscuits, furniture, mattresses, razers and stylophones - Cricklewood made them all. It was also home to Stoll Film Studios from 1920-1938.

Most famously The Handley Page Aircraft Company and Hawker-Siddeley occupied various sites in the area as Cricklewood Aerodrome was adjacent to one of their factories. Handley Page made World War I planes and then the Aerodrome became a commercial airport in 1920 and ran a service flying to Paris.. The aerodrome closed in 1929 as it was being surrounded by suburban development and the Golders Green Estate was built on the site, however the construction of aircraft at various factories continued in Cricklewood continued until 1964.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handley_Page

Gladstone Park is in close proximity, comprises some 86 acres, although originally it was rural woods and farmland, which produced hay for the horses of London and milk from its dairy farm. It was named in honour of the former Prime Minister William Gladstone, who used Dollis Hill House as his country retreat between 1882 and 1896. Gladstone found he could relax at the house and enjoy the fresh air and green trees, away from the stress and noise of central London. He had his own library in the house, often rested in a hammock under the trees and liked to have a dip in the pond, which still exists.

Mark Twain, an American Writer then occupied the house. Twain wrote that “Dollis Hill comes nearer to being a paradise, than any other home I ever occupied”.  He enjoyed living on hills with generous views and the speed at which he could travel into London by train, whilst still feeling he was living in the countryside. He stated that he had “never seen any place that was so satisfactorily situated, with its noble trees and stretch of country, and everything that went to make life delightful, and within a biscuit’s throw of the metropolis of the world. There is no suggestion of city here. It is country, pure and simple, and as still and reposeful as is the bottom of the sea.”

On clear days and 65 metres above sea level, the hill offers views of London and the surrounding area, including Wembley Stadium, Parliament, the City, the London Eye and the Shard. Finally, you may note Cricklewood Pumping Station on the approach to Gladstone Park, which is Listed and was built in 1905 to supply water to the suburbs of northwest London. It is a glorious structure, reminiscent of the Victorian industrial architecture, despite being early Edwardian.