BRENT

outer borough of northwestern London, part of the historic county of Middlesex. Edgware Road, on the line of the Roman Watling Street, forms its eastern margin. The borough includes such areas as (roughly from north to south) Queensbury, Kenton, Preston, Kingsbury, Neasden, Sudbury (in part), Wembley, Cricklewood, Willesden Green, Stonebridge, Willesden, Alperton, Brondesbury, Kilburn, Harlesden (in part), and Kensal Green. Brent was formed in 1965 by the amalgamation of Wembley and Willesden (both in the former Middlesex county). It is named for the small River Brent, a tributary of the River Thames that formed the boundary between the former boroughs of Wembley and Willesden. Within the borough are Victorian and later residential suburbs, industrial areas, office centres, and immense tracts of railway land. The name Willesden (Hill with a Spring) was recorded as Willesdone in 939 CE and as Wellesdone in Domesday Book (1086). Wemba Lea means Wemba's Clearing or Wemba's Wood and is probably the origin of Wembley. It is mentioned in a charter (825) of King Beornwulf conferring lands on Wulfred, archbishop of Canterbury. By 940, 10 manors between Neasden and Willesden were granted to the canons of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, and, by the 15th century, St. Mary parish church was a place of pilgrimage for those seeking cures at the Shrine of Our Lady of Willesden. Other historic buildings are Oxgate Farm House (16th17th century), the Grange (c. 1700) in Neasden, which houses a museum of local history, and Dollis Hill House (1823) in Gladstone Park. Wembley developed rapidly between World Wars I and II, mainly as a residential area but with some controlled industrial development. The Park Royal industrial estate, Willesden, is one of London's major industrial areas, having developed from a World War I munitions factory. Wembley Stadium opened in 1923 and was used for the British Empire Exhibition (192425) and the 1948 Summer Olympic Games, as well as for international football (soccer) matches and music concerts. In 1996 Wembley was selected as the site of the new National Stadium. Open spaces in the borough include Roundwood, Gladstone, and Fryent Country parks. The Welsh Harp Reservoir is used for sailing and is frequented by many species of migratory wildfowl. The reservoir was constructed in the 1830s to supply water to the Grand Junction Canal. Brent's Neasden district is the site of a major Hindu temple, which opened in 1995. There is a large Irish community in southern Brent, around Kilburn. Ethnic minorities (mainly South Asians and Caribbeans) are an integral part of Brent's communities and account for about half of the total population. Area 17 square miles (44 square km). Pop. (1998 est.) 253,200.