Cricklewood is a district of North London, England whose northeastern part is in the London Borough of Barnet, western part is the London Borough of Brent and southeastern part is in London Borough of Camden. Cricklewood was home to Smith's Industries. This started in 1915 as S. Smith & Sons on Edgware Road to manufacture fuses, instruments, and accessories. By 1939 it made electrical motors and aircraft accessories and electric clocks. As the company grew it acquired other companies and sites overseas but Cricklewood remained the most important site, with 8,000 employees between 1937 and 1978.[1] Coincidentally, Cricklewood also became the home for the first Smith's Crisps potato crisp factory replacing the omnibus depot at Crown Yard. Having moved into new premises in Cricklewood Lane the yard was taken over by Clang Electrical Goods Ltd. From 1929 to 1933 the area was finally built over. Cowhouse Farm, latterly Dickers Farm and finally Avenue Farm, was closed in 1932. From 1908 to 1935, Westcroft Farm was owned by the Home of Rest for Horses; at its peak it could house 250 horses. The Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead opened the Westcroft Estate in 1935. From the 1960s industry in the local area went into decline, and all the above-mentioned businesses have left. Mention should be made of two buildings on Cricklewood Lane. The first was Production Village (Virgin Active gym now stands on the site; apparently this was part of the old HP factory). Production Village was part of the British film-making scene and owned by Sammys. Towards its end it was a pub with rehearsal rooms attached. It was demolished around 2000 to make way for the gym. Secondly and a little further up the hill is a rather odd modern building on the south side of the road (about number 138): this was the factory for the revolutionary Stylophone handheld organ of the late 1960s / early 1970s - as demonstrated by Rolf Harris. Cricklewood is often mentioned by and is considered to be the home of The Goodies. In June 2001, a black panther was captured in Cricklewood after a 10 year campaign by residents. The animal was originally nicknamed the "Beast of Barnet" by the local press following numerous sightings around south Hertfordshire and the fringes of north London. A senior veterinary officer for the London Zoological Society, arrived with the task of sedating the beast using a tranquilliser gun. It is believed that someone was keeping the animal illegally and it had escaped. The beast is now situated in London Zoo, and has been named Lara. More on Cricklewood 

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