B519

The B519 is a semi-rural B-road in north London. Of all the B-roads given a "Central London number" (i.e. Bx49 or lower) it is the highest numbered in the original 1922 Road Lists (as zones 6-9 do not reach central London).

Route

The B519 starts at a mini-roundabout on Hampstead Heath by Jack Straw's Castle (originally a pub, now flats), named after a leader of the Peasants' Revolt. The road heads northeast across the Heath and skirts the grounds of Kenwood House.

North Road, Highgate

The B519 then enters urban London, on the edge of Highgate. It follows Hampstead Lane to a roundabout where the road splits. A spur heads off to the left along North Road (which is dual-carriageway to begin with) before descending North Hill to end at a gyratory on the A1, from where there is also access to the A1000.

The mainline of the B519 turns right at the roundabout back in the centre of Highgate before turning left immediately afterwards at a mini-roundabout and then straight across the next one, where the B550 turns off to the left. The B519 then descends Highgate Hill and passes Waterlow Park. For some of this distance there is a service road on the left and the last building on this stretch is the High Commission of Ghana.

Shortly afterwards the B519 reaches a set of traffic lights by St Joseph's church where the B540 heads off to the left, to cross the Archway over the A1. The road to the right (not accessible to eastbound B519 traffic), Dartmouth Park Hill, was at one time the B513 but is now unclassified.

The B519 continues down Highgate Hill, passing the Whittington Hospital, before reaching the Archway gyratory, where it meets the A1 and A400. The B519 ends here.

History

The original B519 is the Hampstead - Archway route. The North Road spur was added around 1965. Historically, the spur and the eastern section were part of the Great North Road before Archway Road opened in 1813, bypassing the steep North Hill.