it joins the former Great North Road (now the A1000). Tolls were collected at a tollgate at Childs Hill. After the road was built, many grand houses were built along its length, especially near Fortune Green, Childs Hill and Golders Green. Finchley Road remains a heavily used route in and out of London. The most commercial part of the road is between Swiss Cottage Underground station and the O2 Centre. Stagecoaches, first omnibuses and shelved tramway proposal In 1856 as many as ten stagecoaches a day ran along Finchley Road, serving Swiss Cottage, where the Atlas Line, a business of these, had started about six years before. Omnibuses reached the area north of Swiss Cottage by way of Finchley Road as far as Finchley Road station before 1880. Later omnibuses were extended along Finchley Road to meet others from Edgware Road along West End Lane, continuing north to Childs Hill and Hendon. Motorbuses had replaced horse omnibuses by 1911. Plans for an extensive network of tramways, along Adelaide and Finchley Roads, were dropped after opposition from the council, ground landlords, and residents. On 2 October 1993 five people were injured and damage caused when three bombs planted by the Provisional IRA exploded. Local railway stations Today Hampstead is served by Finchley Road Underground station and Finchley Road & Frognal railway station, 435 metres apart on the North London Line (London Overground). The road has as such become the colloquial name for the part of Hampstead between West Hampstead and Hampstead-on-the-Hill which is centred on Hampstead Underground station. Historically St John's Wood was served by Finchley Road railway station on the Midland Main Line (1868–1927). Memorials In 1906 a stone plaque was affixed at 139, Finchley Road by Charles Wells, to comemorate the site of residence of 19th century German operatic signer Thérèse Tietjens. References Streets in the London Borough of Barnet Streets in the London Borough of Camden Streets in the City of Westminster Swiss Cottage District centres of London