Geologists might be confused by the title, because the whole area is built on London clay, not chalky soil.
But it seems the name might hark back to the middle English word Chaldecote meaning an isolated or cold dwelling.
That was what it was called in 1253, then Henry VIII bought part of the manor of Rugmere which extended from Regent’s Park to what we now know as Chalk Farm, and by the 16th century it was home to Upper and Lower Chalcot Farms.
When the estate was sold to Charles FitzRoy 1st Baron Southampton in 1786 it was described as ‘commonly known as Chalk Farm’.
Another theory has it that Lower Chalcot Farm was also known as The White House because it was whitewashed.
The name was sufficiently embedded to give rise to The Chalk Farm Tavern which in the early 1800s became a popular entertainment venue with tea gardens and a restaurant.
The inn was a stop for Londoners returning from a day out at Hampstead Wells on weekends and holidays and in 1837 a crowd of thousands reportedly attended a wrestling match there.
The area was also notorious for duelling during the Regency era when it was in open fields. In 1806 the poet Thomas Moore and Francis Jeffrey met at Chalk Farm, but the authorities arrived to arrest both men before shots were fired.
But in 1821 John Scott, the editor of The London Magazine, was fatally wounded by the barrister and literary critic Jonathan Christie.
Scott was carried back to the tavern, where he died nine days later and Christie was tried at the Old Bailey for murder but acquitted.
Henry VIII had gifted part of the estate to Eton College which explains the nearby streets of early Victorian villas such as Eton Villas and Provost Road.
They were built when the area was developed in the 1850s due to the Birmingham railway having its London terminus at Chalk Farm.
The arrival of the railway gave rise to the world famous venue The Roundhouse, which started off in 1847 as a railway engine repair shed.
It was later used as a bonded gin warehouse, then in the 1960s the semi derelict building was used for cultural events including an all night rave with Pink Floyd, and gigs by The Who, Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Fleetwood Mac.
Videos for the likes of Stereophonics’ Handbags and Gladrags and Manic Street Preachers’ Design for Life were shot there and in the early noughties a major revamp turned it into a world class performance venue which continues to host top contemporary music stars.
The local secondary school is Haverstock where footballers John Barnes and Joe Cole, film director Ben Wheatley, singer Tulisa and politicians Ed and David Miliband were pupils.
The brothers grew up in Primrose Hill and their left wing parents sent them to the local comp where the former Labour leader – now energy secretary – said he had to keep his head down to avoid being targeted.
The Tube station with its original pomegranate-coloured tiles opened in 1907 and is now Grade II listed.
In 1980, it was used as a backdrop for the album cover of north London band Madness 1980 album Absolutely.
