New End, Camden
The north-eastern corner of central Hampstead, east of Heath Street
Burgh House in New End Square
With the development of Hampstead as a spa at the beginning of the 18th century, an ancillary quarter sprang up here with gambling dens and souvenir shops surrounded by new homes and lodging houses.
The grandest surviving property was built in 1703 for the Sewells, a Quaker family, and later named Burgh House after its tenth owner, the wealthy clergyman Allatson Burgh. For a while New End was the poor corner of Hampstead, with its relatively humble cottages providing accommodation for artisans. The parish workhouse was founded here in 1800 and rebuilt in 1845, serving also as an infirmary and offices for the vestry, and later becoming New End Hospital.
As Hampstead’s star rose, New End was enfolded in the embrace of its parent during the late 19th century. New End Primary School opened in 1906. Parts of New End were rebuilt in the 1930s, including the Old White Bear and the Duke of Hamilton public houses. The council added a few flats after the Second World War and most of the shops were gradually replaced by houses. After the closure of New End Hospital, the site was sold in 1986 to fund the redevelopment of the nearby Queen Mary’s Maternity Home as a unit for the care of the elderly. Berkeley Homes converted the hospital buildings for residential use in 1996 and a year later New End School added a nursery in the grounds.
Since 1974 New End Theatre has occupied the former mortuary of New End Hospital, where Karl Marx was laid out before his burial in Highgate Cemetery. Saved from conversion to offices in 1979, Burgh House is now home to the Hampstead Museum, which has a local history collection and watercolours from the Helen Allingham collection.
