Sites To the north and east of Hampstead, and separating it from
Highgate, is London's largest ancient parkland,
Hampstead Heath, which includes the well-known and legally protected view of the London skyline from Parliament Hill. The Heath, a major place for Londoners to walk and "take the air", has three open-air public
swimming ponds; one for men, one for women, and one for
mixed bathing, which were originally
reservoirs for drinking water and the sources of the
River Fleet. The bridge pictured is known locally as 'The Red Arches' or 'The Viaduct', built in fruitless anticipation of residential building on the Heath in the 19th century. Local activities include major open-air concerts on summer Saturday evenings on the slopes below
Kenwood House, the FT Weekend Festival, book and poetry readings, fun fairs on the lower reaches of the Heath, period harpsichord recitals at Fenton House, Hampstead Scientific Society and Hampstead Photographic Society. The largest employer in Hampstead is the
Royal Free Hospital,
Pond Street, but many small businesses based in the area have international significance.
George Martin's
AIR recording studios, in converted church premises in
Lyndhurst Road, is a current example, as
Jim Henson's Creature Shop was before it relocated to California. The area has some remarkable architecture, such as the
Isokon building in Lawn Road, a
Grade I listed experiment in collective housing, once home to
Agatha Christie,
Henry Moore,
Ben Nicholson and
Walter Gropius. It was recently restored by
Notting Hill Housing Trust.
Churches and synagogues •
Christ Church –
Hampstead Square, NW3 1AB • Heath Street Baptist Church, Heath Street, NW3 1DN • St. Andrew's United Reformed Church, Frognal Lane, NW3 7DY •
St John-at-Hampstead – Church Row, NW3 6UU •
St John's Downshire Hill – Downshire Hill, NW3 1NU • St Luke's – Kidderpore Avenue, NW3 7SU •
St Mary's Church (Roman Catholic)– 4 Holly Place, NW3 6QU •
Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel – Pilgrim's Place, NW3 1NG • Village Shul, synagogue, located at 27 New End, Hampstead. • St Stephen's, Rosslyn Hill – A deconsecrated Church of England church on Pond Street, originally built in 1869 by
Samuel Sanders Teulon, won an
English Heritage award for the restoration of buildings at risk.
Museums •
Fenton House –
Hampstead Grove, Hampstead, London, NW3 6SP •
Freud Museum – 20
Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead, London, NW3 5SX •
Burgh House & Hampstead Museum – New End Square, Hampstead, London, NW3 1LT •
Keats House Museum – Keats Grove, Hampstead, London, NW3 2RR •
Kenwood House – Hampstead Lane, Hampstead, London, NW3 7JR
Theatres and cinemas •
Everyman Cinema, Hampstead – 5 Holly Bush Vale, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TX •
Hampstead Theatre – Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London, NW3 3EU •
Pentameters Theatre – 28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TE
Art Galleries Hampstead was once home to many art galleries but few are now left. The Catto Gallery has been in Hampstead since 1986 and has represented artists like
Ian Berry,
Philip Jackson, Chuck Elliott,
Walasse Ting, and Sergei Chepik over the years. • Catto Gallery – 100 Heath Street, Hampstead, London NW3 1DP • Gilden's Art Gallery, 74, Heath Street, London NW3 1DN • Zebra One Gallery,– 1 Perrin's Court, Hampstead, London, NW3 1QX
Public houses Hampstead is well known for its traditional
pubs, such as
The Holly Bush, gas-lit until recently; the
Spaniard's Inn, Spaniard's Road, where highwayman
Dick Turpin took refuge;
The Old Bull and Bush in North End; and The
Old White Bear (formerly Ye Olde White Bear).
Jack Straw's Castle, on the edge of the Heath near
Whitestone Pond, has now been converted into residential flats. Others include: •
The Flask – 14 Flask Walk, Hampstead, London, NW3 1HE • Freemasons Arms – 32 Downshire Hill, Hampstead, London, NW3 1NT •
The Duke of Hamilton – 23–25
New End, Hampstead, London, NW3 1JD • The Horseshoe (formerly The Three Horseshoes) – 28 Heath Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 6TE • King William IV (aka KW4) – 77
Hampstead High Street, Hampstead, London, NW3 1RE •
The Magdala – 2a South Hill Park, Hampstead, London, NW3 2SB • The Garden Gate – 14
South End Road, Hampstead, London, NW3 2QE •
The Wells Tavern – 30
Well Walk, Hampstead, London NW3 1BX
Restaurants Hampstead has served as a testing ground for a number of cafes and restaurants that later became successful chains. Those include
Giraffe World Kitchen,
Gail's and 'Bagel Street'. As a consequence, Hampstead has an eclectic mix of restaurants ranging from French to Thai. After over a decade of controversy and legal action from local residents,
McDonald's was finally allowed to open in Hampstead in 1992, after winning its right in court, and agreeing to a previously unprecedented re-design of the shop front, reducing the conspicuousness of its facade and logo, It closed in November 2013. Popular local eateries also include street food vendors, such as La Creperie de Hampstead, which is often frequented by domestic and global celebrities.
Schools Film locations Hampstead's rural feel lends itself for use in film, a notable example being
The Killing of Sister George (1968) starring
Beryl Reid and
Susannah York. The opening sequence has Reid's character June wandering through the streets and alleyways of Hampstead, west of Heath Street, around The Mount Square. The Marquis of Granby pub, in which June drinks at the opening of the film, was actually The Holly Bush, at 22 Holly Mount. Another example is
The Collector (1965), starring
Terence Stamp and
Samantha Eggar, where the kidnap sequence is set in Mount Vernon. Some scenes from
An American Werewolf in London (1981) are shot on
Hampstead Heath, Well Walk and Haverstock Hill. More recently
Kenwood House is the set of the "film-within-the-film" scene of
Notting Hill (1999). Outdoor scenes in
The Wedding Date (2005), starring
Debra Messing, feature
Parliament Hill Fields on the Heath, overlooking west London. Parliament Hill also features in
Notes on a Scandal (2006) together with the nearby areas of
Gospel Oak and
Camden Town.
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) features the old Hampstead Town Hall on Haverstock Hill. The film
Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006) was filmed entirely on Hampstead Heath, covering various picturesque locations such as the 'Floating Gardens' and
Kenwood House. A musical specifically focusing on the area,
Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (1968), tells the story of a young man's cycle journey around Hampstead. After crashing into a billboard poster, he falls in love with the fashion model depicted on it. In February 2016, principal photography for Robert Zemeckis' war film
Allied starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, began with the family home located on the corners of Christchurch Hill and Willow Road in Hampstead. Cruella de Vil Mansion (Sarum Chase) is on the West Heath Road in movies
101 Dalmatians (1996) and
102 Dalmatians (2001).
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025) has Bridget and her two children living in Hampstead in the home she had shared with her late husband, Mark Darcy. Multiple locations in Hampstead were used in the filming. ==Demography==