According to the Dictionary of London Place Names (2001), 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 Inn and in the early 20th century Swiss Cottage.[1]
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.[2] 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.[2] Council housing includes the five-tower Chalcots Estate built in the 1960s.[3]
On 20 March 2014 a planning application was submitted for a 24-storey tower to be built next to Swiss Cottage tube station.[4][5] The application was rejected by Camden Council on 11 September 2014 following mass local protests.[6] A revised scheme received planning permission in 2016 but the developer, Essential Living, argued affordable housing requirements made the scheme uneconomic. After delaying construction for several years, it decided to start the originally approved building with construction expected to begin in 2023 and complete by 2025.[7]
It is bounded by five conservation areas; Belsize,[8] Elsworthy,[9] Fitzjohns-Netherhall,[10] South Hampstead,[11] St. John's Wood (Camden)[12] and St. John's Wood (Westminster).[13]
Swiss Cottage includes part of the NW3, NW6 and NW8 postal areas.
Demography
According to the 2011 census, Swiss Cottage had a population of 12,900. 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.[14]
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.[15] Local major hotels include Marriott Regents Park, Danubius Regents Park, and Hampstead Britannia Hotel. There are many smaller hotels in the area. Notable restaurants provide European, South-east Asian, and Japanese cuisine.
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 HeritageBlue Plaque.