Area Guide: Cheshunt

Cheshunt and the adjoining town of Waltham Cross are situated in the Lee Valley Park, west of the River Lea in the Borough of Broxbourne, which boasts the lowest council tax in Hertfordshire. Cheshunt town centre is 500 yards from A10, 1 mile from J25 M25

Domesday book sites ‘Cestrehunt’ as a Roman junction en route from London to York, joining Ermine Street and the road between Verulamium, St. Albans east through Cuffley Ridgeway joining Churchgate Road towards Chelmsford.
North of Cheshunt and south of Broxbourne is Turnford and Wormley. Wormley is an unusual village as it still retains the long rectangular shape of a Saxon village. It is traversed by two major roads, a railway and a canal. At the extreme western end of the village is a grassy track through woodland which is all that is left of the Roman route; Ermine Street.

West Cheshunt, across the A10 has conservation areas protecting its historic parts including local buildings as well as Dewhurst Charity School. The area in Tudor times was a playground to Queen Elizabeth I, and has homed descendants and ancestors of Oliver Cromwell, who himself bought Cheshunt Park.

The area includes older villages such as; Bury Green, Churchgate, Hammondstreet, and Flamsteadend. Up to roughly 1930 Flamstead End was a separate village home to Nurseries and greenhouses. After World War 2 the area


became home to a vast number of Italian immigrants, who have since dispersed but increased the areas population immensely. It is in an idealic location surrounded by quiet rolling countryside with walks through the woods or Cheshunt Park.

Goffs Oak is situated north west of Cheshunt Parish Coucil and 19 miles by road from the City of London, named after the family of Gough’s who even to this day live at Goffs House and Sir Theodore Godfrey a baron to William the Conqueror who planted a large oak tree here in 1066. The village is centered around the war memorial and is an area of unspoilt scenery of woodlands, commons and secluded lanes where in some places reaches over three hundred feet above sea level.

In the 1930’s Cheshunt had a higher percentage of its area under glass, due to horticultural nurseries in the world. There was a long continuance of Broxbourne being a place of agriculture; the entire Lee Valley region had a high concentration of nurseries. The ‘Victorian Period Homes’ were designed to house the workers in the late 1800’s. However due to competition from warmer countries and technological moderations to farming, the nurseries have all been replaced by residential accommodation.

The popular residential area of Thomas Rochford Way is situated on a nineteenth century agricultural nursery, passing through generations in the Rochford family. Mr Joseph Rochford erected his first greenhouse in 1872 and developed into the largest firm of its kind in the whole country

Area Guide: Waltham Abbey

Waltham Abbey

It is evident that the town was a Saxon settlement, the word “Waltham” is an old English word for a “Settlement in a Forest” however the first records date back to King Cnut who died here in 1035.

Waltham Abbey itself is an outstanding example of Norman architecture in Britain, endowed by King Harold who is believed to be buried here after his defeat to William the Conqueror in 1066. Today two stones mark the spot where he is believed to be. The Abbey was the last of the abbey’s to be destroyed by Henry VIII in march 1540.

The Royal Gunpowder Mills established in the 16th Century on Beaulieau Drive boast 175 acres of natural parkland and over twenty one important historic buildings. The gunpowder would be transported by the canals, such as Lee Canal still there today. The industry stopped only after World War 2.

The market in the towns market square every Tuesday and Saturday continues a tradition of 700 years. The nearest over-ground train station is in Waltham Cross and the nearest underground is in Loughton on the central line.

To the East of Waltham Abbey is Epping Forest, which once formed part of the great Forest of Essex. Epping Forest stretches for about 12 miles, running from the town of Epping to Wanstead in East London.

Waltham Abbey is a market town situated in the south west region of Essex on the border of Hertfordshire. It is approximately 24km north of London on the Greenwich Meridian Line, which runs beside The Abbey.

WALTHAM ABBEY RESIDENT’S GUIDE
ESSEX EN9

Waltham Abbey is located in the River Lea Basin, next to Epping Forest. An historic town with Waltham Abbey itself and The Royal Gunpowder Mills, beautifully situated in countryside named Lea Valley Regional Park.

Local Primary Schools; Waltham Holy Cross Infant School/ Junior School, St Lawrence Church of England Primary School, The Leverton Infant and Nursery School/ Junior School.

Local Secondary Schools; King Harold Comprehensive, Thomas Tallis School.

ABBEYFIELDS popular location built approximately 10 years ago on the outskirts of Waltham Abbey close to the Marriott Hotel within easy access of Junction 26 of the M25 motorway. The nearest train station is Waltham Cross, and the nearest Underground line is Loughton on the Central line.

Roads Include: Farthingale Lane, Kestral Road, Eagle Close, Margerita Place, Wren Drive, Harrier way Peregrin Road, Merlin Close, Osprey Road,

TOWNMEAD the heart of Waltham Abbey, a lot of these properties come with views over the Abbey itself and its beautiful grounds, within easy access of all local amenities, shops, market, the library, museum, Harold Bridge, police, fire and ambulance depots, the Town Hall, and The Royal Gunpowder Mills.

Roads Include: Romelands, The Green, Rue de St. Lawrence, Cleall Avenue, Milton Court, Fountain Place, Paradise Road, Grange Court, Abbey Court, Mead Court, Townmead Road, Orchard Gardens, Audley gardens, Church Street, Darby Drive, Leverton Way, Quaker Lane, Milton Street, Wollard Street, Victoria Road, Greenfield Street, Harveyfields, King Goerge Road, Greenyard, Silver Street, Market Square, King Harold Court, South Parade, Arlingham Mews, Hanover Court, Foxes Parade, St Clements Court.

ROUNDHILLS This development is situated within easy access of local amenities including Waltham Abbey Swimming Pool. It runs along side the small stream Cobbins Brook , surrounded by open park land.

Roads Include: Roundhills, Caldbeck, Gilsland, Holecroft, Pinnacles, Springfields, Longcrofts, Birchwood, Aldersgrove, Robinsway, Heronswood, Nightingales, Downlands, Mayfield, Greenleas, Oakwood, Fairways.

Area Guide: Waltham Cross

Waltham Cross

The town was built by Edward 1 in 1292 in memory of his beloved Eleanor of Castile building a cross marking where her funeral carriage rested at twelve separate points, one being here, now a Grade 1 listed monument and one of only three remaining.

The commercial town centre is pedestrainised, including the covered shopping area in The Pavillion allowing local markets every Wednesday and Friday.

A little way to the left of Waltham stands Temple Bar, built by Sir Christopher Wren, stone for stone intact as it was in the days when traitors’ heads were raised above it in Fleet Street, although the original wooden gates have gone. It is now used as an entrance to Theobald’s Park, an estate traded for Hatfield House by King James I to the Family of Cecil’s.

Theobalds was a palace to King James I and is currently property of the councils mainly used as a nature education and conservation area.

Waltham Cross is less than half a mile from Enfield and adjoins to Cheshunt, it is the most southerly town in Broxbourne. Theolbald’s Park Train Station separates Cheshunt and Waltham Cross and both have trains that take you down to Liverpool Street in approximately twenty minutes. Both Junction 25 and 26 are accessible from here.

Local Primary Schools: Holdbrook Primary, Four Swannes Primary, St Josephs RC, Hurst Drive.

Area Guide: Hoddesdon

Hoddesdon

Recorded in the Doomsday book as Hodesdone and the name has remained. It is a market town, and a market is still held here every Wednesday. The local trade boomed with the coaching trade from London to Cambridge in the nineteenth century, and some of the original inns still remain, such as The Golden Lion, The White Swan, and The Salisbury Arms. The centre of the market is the Clock Tower which remains on the site of a 14th Century Chapel of St. Katherine.

The Rye House Gateway built in 1443 is the countries oldest brick building. Hoddesdon became its own Parish in 1844. Outside the local Co-Op to this day, the strangely split paving stone marks the fromer parish boundary

Area Guide: Broxbourne

Broxbourne

The town name arrives from the Saxon word ‘Broc’ which means badger and ‘Bourne’ which means stream. Still today a purpose built badger tunnel runs under the A10 which aims at reducing badger deaths on the roads. The town is recorded in the Doomsday book as Brochesborne.

Broxbourne is home to a 15th Century Church St. Augustines and the large estate Monson Almshouses built in 1728 is now a special school. The woodlands to the north of the town are idealic for walking and exteremely well preserved.

Broxbourme will be involved in London 2012, Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The showground (the overflow carpark) will become the White Water Canoe Center, all owned by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) using the water of the River Lee. The area will benefit economically from the white water rafting and canoeing center.

Paradise Wildlife Park is a popular visitor attraction in Hertfordshire, sitting on the site of the old Broxbourne Zoo with gibbons, lemurs, birds, a reptile house and many more. Next to the wildlife park is the Paintballing Site, putting an extreme fun use to the woodland.

Cheshunt Area Guide: West Cheshunt

West Cheshunt a Resident's Guide

ROSEDALE, built by what was the Harringay Council after the Second World War to house the increase of immigrants to the area. The area in West Cheshunt benefits from local amenities such as shops, chemists and sports grounds, as well as being close to open countryside. Cheshunt mainline station is accessible via various bus routes which provide fast service to London Liverpool Street, and Cuffley mainline station providing fast service to London’s King Cross. The property is within close walking distance of Goff’s Secondary School. Junction 25 on the M25 motorway is easily accessible from this area.

Roads Include: Rosedale Way, Bushbarns, Cussons Close, Westmeade Close, Hornbeam Way, Shanklin Close, Conifer Close, Hunters Reach, Foxes Drive, Elderbek Close, Glamis Close, Harkness, Andrews lane, Oakview Close, Wheatcroft, Valence Drive, Frampton Close, Cranleigh Gardens, Hollybush Way, Granby Park Oad, St Annes Close, Leaforis Road, Wellars Grove, Jacksons Drive.

Local Primary Schools: Dewhurst, Andrews Lane, Fairfields

FLAMSTEAD END area lies to the west of central Cheshunt, consisting of both period, such as the Edwardian villas of Cheshunt Folly and modernly built homes, such as those of Brookfield Lane West. The area has ample amenities including shops, pubs, restaurants, petrol stations, community recreation grounds health centers and Post Offices. The area consists of The Cheshunt Reservoir, Cheshunt Park, Cheshunt Golf Club with Club House and The New River Lee runs through the area. Local footpaths and regular bus links provide access to Broxbourne and Cheshunt mainline stations, with fast services to London Liverpool Street, and Cuffley mainline station, with fast services to London’s King Cross.

BROOKFIELD LANE WEST– HOTSPUR WOODS Access to this area is either from Brookfield Lane West or the A10/ Great Cambridge Road. The area benefits from its ample on street parking and its close location to Brookfield Farm Retail Park and Centre, which holds the largest Marks and Spencer’s in Hertfordshire, a Tesco Superstore and various other retail outlets. The area sits on the site of the old Tottenham Hotspur Football Training Ground.

Roads Include: Wellsummer Way, Campine Close, Saunders Close, Favorelle Green, Hamburgh Court, The Spurs, Lower Meadow, Beeston Drive, Southbrook Drive, Brookfield Lane West, Mylne Close.

Local Primary Schools: Andrews Lane, Fairfield, Flamstead End, St Pauls RC, Bonney Grove.

HAMMONDSTREET is located on the outskirts of West Cheshunt, close to Brookfield Farm Shopping Centre, Newgate Street and local amenities, Hammondstreet offers both period and recently built homes. Hammondstreet is within a short distance to open country side, Cheshunt Park, Cromwell Woods, Roundcroft Wood, Turnford Brook, various farms, nature walks and Thunderbridge Nature Reserve.

ADAMSFIELD/ SPICERFIELD/ BENCROFT A popular development situated towards the HammondStreet area of West Cheshunt, close to open country side.

Roads Include: Holbeck Lane, Hilltop Close, Headingley Close,, Adamsfield, Lowercroft, Uppershott, Jarvis Close, Roundcroft, Tennand Close, Cardnal Close, Springwood, Bencroft, Fleming Close, Perriors Close, Spicerfield, Tanfield Close, Ward Close, Diskins Close, Muskalls Close, Broom Close, Wacketts, Runsley, Mundells, Blackdale, Milton Court.

Local Primary Schools: Flamstead End, St pauls R.c, Fairfields, Bonneygrove


THOMAS ROCHFORD, popular residential area of Thomas Rochford is situated north of Cheshunt Town Centre, just on the border of the EN8 postcode, with EN10, Broxbourne situated North being the next road along. It is built on a nineteenth century agricultural nursery just a short distance of Brookfield Farm Shopping Centre, Hertford Regional College and Turnford Marsh. The area has a variety of one, two, three, four and five bedroom houses. The development’s construction began roughly 20 years ago, with certain roads built at a later date.

Roads Include: Thomas Rochford Way, Willowdene, Cassandra Gate, Denny Gate, Benedictine Gate, Mortimer Gate, Priory Gate, Helens gate, Isabel Gate, Haddestoke Gate, Cannons Gate, Waltham Gate.

Local Primary Schools: St. Clements, Mayfields, Brookland, Longland.

Cheshunt Area Guide: Central

Central Chehunt Residence Guide

THE GRANGE ESTATE is a popular residential area, situated in Central Cheshunt between The Great Cambridge Road and Turners Hill. The area benefits from its short distance to amenities including, Cheshunt Town Centre, Football Club, Library, Fire Services, Ambulances, Police Station, Grundy Park Leisure Centre, and is within short walking distance to Cheshunt main line station, and Theobald Grove providing fast services to London (Liverpool Street).

The area was built in the late 1950’s early 1960s and was used as a through road to avoid the Old Pond traffic, however to ensure that the roads are used only for access from residents, guests, deliveries and emergency vehicles, gates were installed and are only opened for emergency vehicles.

Roads Include: Elgin Road, Tyfield Close, Littlebrook Gardens, Albury Grove Road, Brinley Close, Guinevere Gardens, Hartland Road, Harrison Walk, Hillside Crescent, Hillside Avenue, Gaywood Avenue, Manston Close, Albury Walk, Woodcote Close.

RUSSELLS RIDE, This area is conveniently situated in central Cheshunt, access is via Turner Hill or Windmill Lane. The benefits of this include ample on street parking, Russell’s Ride Allotment Space, various communal grass areas a short distance to Cheshunt mainline train station and local amenities.

Roads Include: Russells Ride, Downfield Road, Home Close, Darcy Close, Burbage Close, Southmead Crescent, Marsh Croft Drive, Shalcross Drive, Steward Close, Griton Close, Acton Close, The Briars, Shortmead Drive, Green Close, Betula Terrace, Garland Close.


THE WINDMILL ESTATE is mainly popular for its large room sizes and central location, with easy access via Windmill Lane or Turners Hill to amenities including Cheshunt mainline station with fast lines to London Liverpool Street., Grundy Park Leisure Centre, Youth Sailing Training and Canoeing Centre, Cheshunt High Street and Turners Hill, recycling point, police, fire and ambulance stations. Building began in the 1960’s, and through traffic is limited by speed bumps down Roundmoor Drive.

Roads Include: Roundmoor Drive, Oakdene, Greenall Close, Clifton Close. Palmers Way, Landmead, Long Moor, Winton Drive, Bellamy Road, Bullwell Crescent, Forest Road, Penton Drive, Gibbs Close.

MOXOM AVENUE & SURROUNDING AREAS provide ample on street parking, and various access points to the large Moxom Avenue Open Space. It was built in the 1990’s and was previously the site for the old Cheshunt Boys Secondary School, now a mixed school on College Road.

Roads Include: Moxom Avenue, Fosters Close, Norwood Road, Roberts Close.


Local Primary Schools: Burleigh, Downfield, Millbrook, Dewhurst.

History of North Finchley

• North End was first recorded in 1462 as a hamlet village, part of Finchley Wood (Swan Lane Open Space west of Whetstone High Road is an old section left of Finchley common). It was known as North End until the 1880’s, but was more historically known as Finchley Common. The area now refers to North Finchley and Totteridge and Whetstone.

• Tally Ho gets its name from a coaching company with the same name. When the Great North Road & the New Road joined, Tally Ho acted as a staging post. It was at this time that the Torrington Pub established itself. The Tally Ho pub was built in 1927, replacing the 1860’s Park Hotel.

• The Woodhouse area is named after the three original houses in the area. By the C18th a single house bearing the same name was built on the site, now Woodhouse College.

• During the 1948 Olympics, an art deco outdoor swimming pool on the land where the lido sits today was used for Water Polo. The Olympic sized swimming pool was replaced with one a third the size.

• The Arts Depot opened in 2004 on the site of the demolished Gaumont Cinema, being used as an open air market. The Gaumont Theatre (see picture below) opened in 1937 and was well suited to the up-market community of Finchley. It closed in 1980 ad was demolished in 1987 (the current position of The Bath Store would have been the cinema as entrance). The mighty Compton Organ that once played at the cinema now sits in The Plough pub, near Ware Herts.

• Finchley Football Club was founded in 1874 on the Glebelands. Ken Aston (a late president of the club) is the man who started the red/yellow card system still used in football internationally today. Wingate (named after the founder of the Israeli army General Orde C. Wingate) merged with Finchley, as a result of financial strains to become the New Wingate & Finchley F.C known today.

• Woodside Park Station was opened in 1872 as Torrington Park Station renamed in 1882. This is the area where the parish of Christ Church was established and in 1870 reported the area had a mere 350 dwellings.

• Torrington Park was the name of the land that was sold for residential development Woodhouse Park Estate which included the construction of a hall. Woodside Hall itself converted into Woodside Park Synagogue in 1885.

• Woodside Park Garden Suburb was really developed in the 1920’s when Fred Ingram created a new housing estate, with only 8 houses per acre, with own local shops and station into London. It was first surrounded by open fields and the old manor houses like Moss Hall, then called Little Angels.

• The Finchley Society was set up in 1971 to save cottages on Lodge Lane. Sir John Betjeman was the first president followed by the very locally active Spike Milligan.

• Lodge Lane, N12, was home to Private John Parr, who was the first British soldier killed in WW1 and David Jason. David Jason lived in a house in the car park where Finchley Market is held today.

• Charles Dickens wrote Martin Chuzzlewit whilst at Cobley’s farm or Fallow Farm in North Finchley, which sat in the heart of all the hamlets of Finchley.

• Trade in Whetstone established along the Great North Road, the Bull and Butcher was licensed in 1765. Called Whetstone after the Whet stone soldiers reportedly used to sharpen their knives on their way to the Battle of Barnet.

North Finchley, History Of.

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History of Finchley Central

Finchley Central, History Of.

• Was originally, and sometimes still referred to as Church End, the oldest recorded medieval village in the Finchley woodlands. It was a small village on a hilltop site. As an area it had more residents than the other Finchley’’s, and was referred to as part of Hendon until 1930’s.

• The area (now focused around Ballards Lane) became known as Finchley Central when station changed its name in 1940.

• The Chequers Pub (NW4), rebuilt in the 1890’s, is an example of the original buildings of the small village, just a few cottages along 3 roads.

• The area was known for its Hay trade; in 1703 Joseph maxon described the area saying “they manage their compost heaps the best in the kingdom.”

• St Mary’s Church on Hendon Lane is Finchley’s oldest church and was built in the C12th, Saxon in origin, Norman in foundations and numerous extensions. In the graveyard are the graves of Thomas Payne (bookseller), Sir Stamford Raffles (founder of London Zoo) and political reformer John Cartwright.

• Church End Library, next to St Mary’s, is on the site of a pub, the Old Queens Head. The original building burnt down, and rebuilt but the rector refused to renew the license and the pub moved. The building was then used by Christ College up until 1902 when it was used by the council. During WWII the building was extensively bombed and had to be rebuilt into the current building. In between the church and the old pub between 1787 and 1880 there used to be a cage rose, which was used as punishment for criminals. The Queens Head pub was moved to its current location in mid C19th.

• Church Farm Museum (also now in Hendon, but part of Church End traditionally) is a Grade II listed building from mid C17th, and is what remains of the original Church Farm. By the end of C19th the hay ceased to be profitable, non-crop related transport replacing horses. The trade was so influential to the development in the Church End.

• Unique to London, Finchley has a city farm, College Farm. College Farm was opened by Express Diaries in 1883. It was a celebrated Victorian tourist destination and showplace of the Dairy Industry. It was primarily a visitor’s centre by 1909.

• Cromwell House on Cromwell Avenue is the only remaining manor houses that used to sit in the area.

• The tube station was originally Finchley & Hendon, on the line that ran from Finsbury Park to Edgeware (part of the Northern Heights Plan). It opened in 1867 in what was then rural Middlesex, still merely a village at the time. It is the home station to Harry Beck who designed the modern day Tube Map (a plaque is situated on southern platform). Harry Beck lived at 60 Courthouse Gardens.

• The Dignity Pub sits on a site where centuries of pubs have sat. The King of Prussia was licensed there in the C18th. Barclays Bank sits on the site of a field first converted to St Maragets’s Church, demolished for the building of the bank.

• Victoria Park was Finchley’s first park and opened in 1902 to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and has hosted Finchley Carnival since 1905.

• The area urbanized when Finchley Common became enclosed in 1816. The area had no more than 250 households until the C19th.

• In 1826 a new road was constructed between Finchley and London’s Marylebone via Temple Fortune replacing the old small gravel path, Ducksetters Lane. This is now called Regents Park road and at the junction of Ballards Lane there was a tollgate (moved after much protest to East End Road).

• Ballards Lane, or ‘Barrows Lane’, was named in 1421 (probably by the Ballards Family) and was known as the Upper Road (Nether Street being the Under Road), both described in 1365 as ‘old’ streets. It did not always connect to North Finchley Highroad, it ended where Victoria Park is located today, connected to Tally Ho corner in 1756. It originally was a small pathway that connected Church End to Finchley Common.

• The shops and high street of Ballards Lane today break up showing the history of field boundaries and time they were sold (and developed).

• Nether Street was an access road to properties on the land such as Moss Hall and Brent Lodge. Brentlodge was built in the early C19th, and demolished in 1962 despite the efforts of Spike Milligan and the Finchley Society. It is often said that Finchley has been careless of its past with bulldozers. Brent Lodge along with others was living history of the area. Since the 1960’s there have been dramatic changes to the area

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History of East Finchley

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History of East Finchley

East Finchley History

• East Finchley was originally East End, and the dwelling was not built near the center now, the settlement being further up East End Road with connections to Hackney & Harringey as well as central London. It was very small in size and known for its pig markets or hog farms. The tube station opened and the development followed around the High Road especially after the old marketplace was extensively bombed in November 1940 during WWII.

• The first train station East End station was first opened in 1868 as part of the Great Northern Railway. The town of East End was renamed with the station that stood there before in 1886. The name East End in London has become associated with the poor and so was not popular. The railway is not linked to East Finchley’s expansion more the electric tramline.

• East Finchley Tube station was rebuilt and opened in 1939 in the contemporary London Transport style along the Northern Line. Together with the tramline that opened along the road in 1914 it moved the concentration of shops and businesses in the area to the High Road (Photo 2/ Photo 3). Originally Park House Manor stood opposite the station, an elegant building with cast grounds destroyed in 1960’s to make way for modern buildings.

• Many of the local pubs stem from the 1700’s; The White Lion 1716, The Bald Faced Stag 1738 (which in 1812 was still surrounded by fields and originally called Jolly Blacksmiths, changing its name to attract the hunting trade), and the Five Bells pub mentioned as far back as 1484 (the current building has been there since 1868 after a fire and moved from its original position on Stanley Road to the current one in 1804).

• Five Bells was known for bare-knuckle boxing. In the 1840’s heavy weight champion Gem Mace trained there. In the 1840’s the East End area had quite a reputation for drunkenness and steeple chases (much to the disgust of the few middleclass in the area). Opposite the Five Bells lived the son of Oliver Cromwell, Richard in what is now Cromwell Close.

• Stanley Road Playing Fields remains in a small piece of overgrown grassland behind a primary school away from the main road. It was originally three fields left to the people of Finchley in 1506, and became part of the land owned b the Finchley Charities and was used as Five Bells FC Training ground until they moved to Highgate Woods.

• Opposite the Bald Faced Stag where Budgens sits today was an Old Congregationalist Church, built in 1870’s (on site of an old stonemasons and field) with a 130ft spire and clock with dominated the local skyline. It was demolished in 1960’s and made way for retail. In 1965 a new church was built next to the old site and sold on to an Islamic Muslim community and it reopened in 1996 as the North London Jamatkhana.

• The Great North Road cut through the Bishops land, when the Bishop opened a northerly route in approx 1350. Finchley passing the 6.7 & 8 milestones on the road in and out of London. The toll gate at the top of the hill became known as Highgate, and the road was an alternative hard surfaced route in comparison with the muddy Colney Hatch one and improved the areas ability to trade.

• Highway men were synonymous with Finchley Common along the Great North Road. The uninhabited areas were known for their danger after dark. Between 1670’s and 1790’s the junction where Bedford Road meets the High Road were Gibbets. This was where corpses of caught, charged and hung highway men were put on gibbets to deter other Highway men. The famous Highwaymen associated are of course including Jack Shephard and Dick Turpin. Legend has it that Dick Turpin would operate on Finchley common, hiding behind the oak trees, and then stay low in the Spaniards Inn on the borders of Hampstead.

• A Toll gate was situated at the White Lion Pub along the Great North Road, which was not ended until 1901. It was originally called the Dirt House, opposite Dirt Woods (now known as Cherry Tree Woods) as all the returning carts carried soot and manure.

• Cherry Tree Wood Park is a remnant of Finchley Wood, and the old hunting ground for the Bishop of London. It was first known as Dirt Wood due to it being the clearance place for manure form London which provided the area with excellent Hay (the modern day equivalent is petrol).

• The Phoenix cinema opened in 1912, (at the time there was a film studios on the road) and is the oldest purpose built cinema in England. It was originally known as The East Finchley Picturedrome, changed to Rex and finally The Phoenix in 1975. The cinema has been used in many films such as Interview with the Vampire, Black Books and The End of Affair.

• The St Pancras & Islington Cemetery on the High Road was established in 1854, the oldest mixed cemetery in London. St Pancras Burial Board purchased 88 acres of Horseshoe Farm on Finchley Common. Coldfall Wood behind is open space from the old wood, now N10 in Muswell Hill. The Victorian painter Ford Madox Brown is buried there, as is Mond Ludwig (Mond Mausoleum) the famous German industrial chemist, the first mayor of Islington William Crump and more recently was the place Baby P ashes were scattered. It also has a mass war grave from both World Wars, including unidentified bodies.

• The art deco Library, near the cemetery, has been granted listed status, and behind it sits the award winning allotments (The Allotment Act 1882 stipulated that ‘fuel’ land areas become dedicated to allotments.

• East End Road was originally known as Piryton Lane (1423), possible Bishops Causeway and manor Waie, was the main access route to Church End and the Great North Road. The Carpet Warehouse on the road was once a car manufacturer in 1909. Middlesex Cricket Club and LA Fitness sit on the site of what was once Manor Farm (painted in Found by Dante Gabriel Rossetti). Fairacres opposite Church Lane is the only remains of a once grand manor estate called Knightons.

• Avenue House, built 1859, on East End Road, with its avenue of (some unusual) trees in its grounds was left to the people of Finchley by Henry Stephens (son of the blue-black ink inventor) in 1918, opening to the public in 1928.

• The Steinberg Centre is the largest Jewish Culture centre in Europe, half way along East End Road and is on the site of the old Bibbesworth Estate, manor of the Finchley Family. This manor was Finchley’s principal manor and had its own moat (dried but still visible). It is on land once known as Temple Croft Fields, granted to the Knights Templar in the C13th, only to be seized under King Henry VIII’s reformation. The Steinberg Centre has a museum displaying the migration of the Jewish community into London’s East End of London.

• The Cemetery on East End Road (opened 1855) was once new market Pig Farm (which by the C18th was famous for its hay set by John Odell and was opened in 1680) was purchased by St Marylebone Parish and used as a cemetery. It was voted cemetery of the year in 2007 and got a Green Flag award in 2009/10. Buried here are the conductor Leopold Stokowski, who shook Mickey’s Hand in Disney film Fantasia, the Barham family, who founded the Express Country Milk Supply, and Lord Northcloffe and his family (founder of the Daily Mail).Unmarked graves are buried here, including members of Ken snakechips Johnsons Band (killed in a bomb during WWII Blitz that hit Café de Paris in 1941).

• The C18th Hogmarket that helped develop the area is remembered in street names, especially in the areas of Market Place. Even as late as 1955 someone kept 25 pigs at Prospect Place.

• The Convent of Good Shephard Housed a reformation house for females (either prisoners or struggling) and burnt down only in the 1970’s. It was replaced by Bishop Douglas School and the Thomas Moor Estate. (The Elmhurst estate, also on East End Road) sits on the site of the old House of Elms).

• Squires Lane was the traditional connection between Church End (Finchley Central) and East End. The eastern portion of the road was first known as Short Lane. It was an area known for Claigmar Vineyards which started in 1874 and is currently occupied by Pentland Group.

• Long Lane, named in 1719 was known in medieval times as Ferrairs Lane ran from the Bibbesworth manor to East End. The cottages along Long Lane, Trinity Lane and Manor Park Road were built at the same time, so were the first developments from the railway. The Victorian cottages on Log Lane, and House on King Street were probably named after the charter that abolished through fare toll gates.

• Church Lane was forced as a name on locals in the 1860’s, and was originally known as Bull Lane & provided access to Finchley common. Most of the ‘pig’ trade was conducted outside George’s Inn here. George Michael was born above a café along this road.

• Fortis Green Road was an old road connecting the manor in Finchley, to the main road out of London, Colney Hatch. On Fortis Green Road there were larger estates, evident today in the street names.

• The Fortis Green area had some grand estates of East End, built mainly at the start of the C19th, now only evident by street name. Fairlawn’s was a large manor opposite the Bald Faced Stag towards Muswell Hill, nest to another estate Cranleigh, which was next to Park Hall, which was next to Summer Lee. Somelees House was a manor house. It was used as a Convalescent Home for Soldiers during WWI.

• The Clissfold Arms, on Fortis Green Road is famous for being the first place the 1960’s band The Kinks performed, having being raised at 6 Denmark Terrace.

• In 1903 Annie Waiters & Amelia Sach were the ‘Finchley Baby Farmers’, and the first women to be hanged at London’s New Holloway Prison. They set up a legal nursing home in Claymore House, Hertford Road East Finchley for expectant mothers with unwanted babies. Abortion was still illegal and orphanages, foster homes rare. The mother would pay the nurses a fee to find the baby a new home, and in other cases this was the case. However Baby Farmers saw more profit in killing the babies off, the mother had paid the adoption fee (often in this case in the Archway Tavern) so they no longer carried the worry and the ladies would dispose of the body.

• Jerry Springer, US chat show host was born in East Finchley underground, during WWII when his family was escaping the holocaust.

• Michelle Collins, the two extraordinary leagues of gentlemen all live in Finchley, as did Rod Stewart (working in the picture framers), Mick Jaeger (above the wine shop on the High Road) and Tom Jones in the 1960’s. Peter Sellers also lived at 122b High Road with his mother.

LINK TO


History of North Finchley

History of Finchley Central








LOCAL LINKS
House Clearance Finchley, London

History of Finchley

History of Finchley Including the Following Articles:
• East Finchley (History Of)
• North Finchley (History Of)
• Finchley Central (History Of)

There are no natural boundaries to Finchley and no record in the Doomsday Book (UK’s first consensus) back in 1086 as it was part of the Bishop of London’s land (part of his estate at Fulham) since AD700, part of an ancient parish covering around 2899 acres. Finchley has been a district of Greater London Borough of Barnet since 1965; previously it was part of the County of Middlesex, an Urban District Council of Finchley since 1895.

What we know as the three centers of Finchley, East, North and Central were once 3 small seperate settlements on available fertile land, the majority of the ground being made up of hard clay, with paths connecting the three.

The settlements were called Church End (now known as Finchley Central), East End (East Finchley) and North End (North Finchley & Whetstone). The area was woodlands, and fights between the Bishop and the men of Finchley were common - the wood was used as resources for the people and this was often objected by the Bishop. Conflict between the three settlements has also been noted in history.

By the C16th most of the woodland had cleared (the only bit remaining today is in Coppetts Wood) and Finchley Common was established. The area is referred to as a common by Thomas Culpepper in 1652, but Finchley Wood in 1596 by John Gerard. The earliest use of the term common for the area refers to London’s Plague refugees in 1603.

It was a village outside of London. In 1625 a Londoner moved to Finchley to escape the Plague, creating fear amongst the locals. Villagers’ would threaten to set fire to a man travelling from London (who mostly died of the plague on their travels) to stop them from resting in the area. Its geographical positioning into the city especially after the introduction fo The Great North Road, and open unihabited space gave it a reputation for Highway Men.

In 1811 Parliament passed an Act of Enclosure (meaning the land Finchley Common was to be sectioned off and fenced, given to the Parish of Finchley) becoming the responsibility of the landowner leaving ‘fuel areas’ such as Coppett Wood and Cherry Tree Woods. Before this from the mid C17th the area was often used as a military encampment.

Most of the building took place in the C17th, and by 1920 Church End, North End and East End were joined by buildings. The buildings in the area suggest the Victorian and Edwardian period, and was integrated into London along with a lot of other areas and focused around the available transport links.

The name Finchley itself is an Anglo-Saxon one, the ‘ley’ on the end suggests an ‘opening of woodland’, and ‘finch’ being clearing wood. It was not an area developed by the Romans, much more Anglo Saxon as there is little evidence of the straight roads. Romans did however, visit the area as there has been evidence of pottery and coins, the area was hilly though and so the straight roads were built either side of the area, Ermine Street in the East and Watling Street to the West.

It lies (although not all so visible anymore) in between the River Brent and Brent Brook, which has tributaries such as Strawberry Vale Brook, Dollis Brook (Dollis coming from the Anglo Saxon word Dwllice meaning erratic) and Mutton Brook (called so due to the high quantity of sheep washing). It has a distinctive triangle shape, like that of the leg of a mutton lamb with East Finchley South narrow at the bottom, widening, going north to North Finchley and North West to Finchley Central. The North Circular Road was constructed in the 1920’s following the line of Brent and Strawberry Vale Brooks.

MAPS OF LOCAL AREA & FINCHLEY COMMON:

1786

1800

1814

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LondonSecretLife: Q-Whitehall

London's Secret Life: Q-Whitehall

It is not surprising to hear of London’s Secret Underground city, with over 2,000 years of history having been burnt down many times (first recorded in AD61 when Queen Boadicea burnt the Roman Sympathetic Settlement down), rebuilt, redeveloped, restructured for defenses and then bombed again in WWII.

It is known that there is a secret entrance to 10 Downing Street, from a cabinet office at 70 Whitehall. This runs along the indoor Cockpit passage built by King Henry VIII to get to his indoor tennis courts in his grand, but split, Palace of Whitehall, without being disturbed by the public. This secret tunnel, like many others in the area are still being used today within Whitehall, maintaining that necessary power of secrecy and knowledge the government seeks over the media.

Victorian London’s engineers purpose built tunnels for the utilities we still need to maintain today, like water, gas and electricity to cause minimum disruption to life above. Unused tram, tube and railway lines leave tunnels between stations, the Post Office Tunnels were created independent of the underground (with smaller tunnels and trains) but the Royal Mail declared it closed in 2003 and rumours of these unused tunnels spark conspiracy quite naturally.

There are many myths circulating about London’s Underground Citadel, secret tunnels and passageways. some of which I am unsure, (such as the Buckingham Palace secret Tube Line) and others I know for fact to be true. Q-Whitehall has some truths and what may have been designed for escape purposes is now used for easy access to government buildings every day by members of Westminster as well as civil servants and their staff. What remains is locked in the National Archives under the Official Secrecy Act.

sourced from multi map.

Q-Whitehall

An unofficial term, probably originating due to the idea of Q in the James Bond novels, meetings and negotiating in secret, is the name of a hybrid deep level communications network and facilities. During WWII communications in London were weak and air raids with the risk of invasion were real, and so Military Westminster under Churchill went underground.

A network of tunnels in between Trafalgar Square, (access via the Tube Station), down Whitehall to King Charles Street were extended to provide protected access to the Cabinet War Rooms, the Treasury, Marsham Street Rotundas and other ‘bomb target’ government buildings, possibly Buckingham Palace. It would also follow suit to have extended to provide access to the atomic proof bunker, PINDAR, built underneath Whitehall as a crisis management and communications centre.

This underground city was confirmed when The Cabinet War Rooms were opened to the public, having been kept secret, in 1984 (although we still only really see a small proportion), and the documents about buildings such as 39 Furnival Street were released.

The area was further developed in the 1950’s with fear of the Cold War, however, the file for the substantial upgrade work is locked away in the National Archives as Top Secret until April 2026. There is even talk of further extension within the last couple of years, and due to the ‘defensive’ purposes will remain secret for 75 years.

Only recently were answers behind the mysterious building of 39 Furnival Street released to the public, a redbrick built building, large black unmarked doors with an industrial air shaft outside in a row of offices and legal companies in High Holburn. For decades the house had been kept hidden under the Official Secrets Act, having put its original purpose as an air raid shelter aside when using it as a back up Government Base during WWII became the plan.

A shaft well over 100ft long is behind its front doors and it is the entrance to The Kingsway Tunnels, the Kingsway Exchange but what intrigues the conspiracist is that after the war it was taken over by ‘Inter Services Research Bureau’ a front for an MI6 research and development work (security down the road has always been tight).

Trams in London were abandoned for buses in 1952, the street tracks were removed, the subways remained. It has two main tunnels with 4 off shooting ones with names like South Street, Second Avenue, and Tea Bar Alley. Parts of this tram tunnels were used to ease congestion between The Strand and Waterloo Bridge and renamed The Strand Bypass, the bar/restaurant Buddha Bar currently occupies a section of the southern tunnel.Furnival Road, and the grand Prudential Building nearby were linked entrances to the secret tunnels of London, inaccessible to everyday public. Click Here for Map of Tunnels.

Another back up government base was on the lower level of the North Rotunda on Marsham Street, Westminster as it was a bomb centre citadel with 12 concrete roofs to withstand the impact of explosions. Access from one of the three rotundas into the WWII deep level shelter for 8,000 people was instead kept secret from the public, connected to Q-Whitehall and used by the government. The tunnels offer deep level protection to vital communication equipment.

The three rotundas are still hidden at the buildings base, the Department of Environment and likely to be connected to the other government buildings in the underworld labyrinth of tunnels in the area. The Ordnance Survey map actually has a row of houses along that street coloured in, only aiding the conspiracist in wondering what lies beneath them as they walk the streets of central London.

These tunnels are a genuine part of Westminster Government, connecting the buildings with its own society (over 400 rooms and I am told from a good source) access to the local drinking spot. It is also quite likely that there is an entrance at Whitehall tube station (or another local one) providing members indoor access. The once ‘escape routes’ once necessary in war have become embedded within Westminster government and are used daily for ease of access. The décor and layout can only be well suited to the MP’s taste, the expenses scandal last year said it all.

I do not have any claims over the old Royal Mail underground railway being used for Royal getaways, and by the sound of things at Q-Whitehall there is a city below ground that seems far more secure than any public station or airport.

Short Quotes For Twitter Part Two

Comedy Quotes

“Guns don't kill people, people kill people, and monkeys do too (if they have a gun).” Eddie Izzard quote

"Nobody ever dares make cup-a-soup in a bowl." PETER KAY

Life Quotes

"There's always somebody about to ruin your day, if not your life" CHARLES BUKOWSKI

"Life you know, is rather like opening a tin of sardines. We are all of us looking for the key." ALAN BENNETT

"We all are born mad. Some remain so." SAMUEL BECKETT

'Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.' ALBERT EINSTEIN

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life - W. Churchill

"Man is the only creature who refuses to be who he is" ALBERT CAMUS

"Tehnique is communication: the two words are synonymous in conductors." LEONARD BORNSTEIN

"Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition" JACQUES BARZUN

"There is no me, I do not exist. There used to be a me but I had it surgically removed" PETER SELLERS

"A man doesn't automatically get my respect. He has to get down in the dirt and beg for it." -- Jack Handey

"Freedom is the by-product of economic surplus" ANEURIN BEVAN

"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt." William Shakespeare

“By doing good we become good.” Rousseau

“The future depends on what we do in the present.” Mahatma Gandhi

"Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes." ‘Confucius’

"The superior man seeks what is right; the inferior one, what is profitable." — Confucius

Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.- Albert Einstein

"My basic view of things is- not to have a view of things." INGMAR BERGMAN

"Don't write a press release when a good leak will do." TIM BELL

"Be gentle with the earth" ~ Dalai Lama

London Quotes

"By seeing London, I have seen as much of life as the world can show” Samuel Johnson

“Courage is found in unlikely places.” J.R.R. Tolkien quote

Short Quotes For Twitter Part One

Short Selection of Quotes Part One

Below are are a selection of quotes which make for ideal tweets on Twitter, or for any other purpose.

"A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man" Arthur Miller

"Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy." Frank Sinatra

"Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans."-John Lennon

Comedian Quotes

"So I rang up a local building firm, I said 'I want a skip outside my house' He said 'I'm not stopping you'" Tim Vine Quote

"All castles had one major weakness. The enemy used to get in through the gift shop." PETER KAY

"There’s no panic like the panic you momentarily feel when your hand or head is stuck in something." PETER KAY

"An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs" M. Hedberg

"Rice is great if you're really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something."Mitch Hedberg

"Sometimes when I look at my children, I say to myself "Lillian you sould have remained a virgin"" L. Carter

"To me old age is always fifteen years older than I am" Bernard Baruch Quote

"When I was kidnapped, my parents snapped into action. They rented out my room." WOODY ALLEN

"Maybe, just once, someone will call me 'Sir' without adding, 'You/re making a scene'." HOMER SIMPSON

"What's the point of going out? We're just going to wind up back here anyway." HOMER SIMPSON

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." Douglas Adams

Inspirational Quotes

"It's a job that's never started that takes the longest to finish." J.R.R. Tolkien

”There is nothing impossible to him who will try.” Alexander the Great

"An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory." Friedrich Engels

"The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions" Claude Levi-Strauss

"In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order" Carl Jung Quote

"Success does not consist in never making mistakes, but in never making them a second time." George Bernard Shaw

"Familiarity breeds contempt and children." Winston Churchill

”All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.” Napoleon Hill

"I have learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different." James Rhinehart

"Individual liberty depends upon keeping government under control.” Ronald Reagan

"When you have a dream you've got to grab it and never let go." Carol Burnett

"Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were." Cherie Carter-Scott

"What is interesting about self-analysis is that it leads nowhere - an art form in itself" ANITA BROOKNER

"Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” Marcus Aurelius

"The tragedy of life is not that man loses, but that he almost wins" HEYWOOD BROUN

"Life is amazing and the teacher had better prepare himself to be a medium for that amazement" EDWARD BLISHEN

Click HERE for more in Part 2

London's Northern Line History and Unused Stations

London Undergrounds have a history of their own and offer a hidden, secret, mystical London. London has many abandoned lines, stations (ghost stations) and platforms that were not incorporated within actual development for various reasons, mainly being postponed because of war and lack of demand. This article explores The Northern Line (the black line on a tube map).

On the Northern Line journey you can actually see some abandoned platforms, with their original posters and blood red glazed tiling. The northern line was named in 1937 and it is ironic that it serves 16 of the 29 Underground Tube Stations in South London. It may also be worth noting that Finchley Central was home station to tube map designer Harry Beck and the southbound platform features a plaque.

King William Street station was the terminal station for the Northern Line (then called City & South London Railway) the world’s first electric underground railway. The station is still present under the vaults of the recently built Regent House, and the old tunnels leading to it can be seen from Northern Line trains from Borough Station today.

The station is located close to Bank Station next to the entrance to Monument Station. Upon opening its distance from Stockwell Station and the lines power, as well as its relatively steep incline meant that trains often failed unaided on fist attempts to reach the popular station. Therefore a new tunnel was built, forming the modern Bank Branch of the Northern Line (unused tunnels running directly above some of the platforms). The station itself closed in 1900 used as an air raid shelter in WW2, the tunnels bricked up for fear of flooding.

Angel station was rebuilt in 1991, as the tunnels were too narrow. New tunnels and platforms (110m long) were necessary, thus the old ones abandoned. The station has the longest escalator being 60m long. The lift shaft down to unused platforms is behind a close door on the cross platform interchange. Between Angel and Old Street, City Road station was built, just north of Old Street, but closed in 1922 when the line expanded and its isolated island platform demolished to make way for the new lines. The over ground of this station is now converted on Moreland Street.

Both Charring Cross and Euston Stations, along with the more famous Kings Cross are still used, however, there are many platforms, sections and tunnels that aren’t. It is often on the commute that you will notice passageways not accessible through to grills, locks etc. These are in fact evidence of the past and disused sections of the Underground.

Euston Station was originally two stations, for each of the railway companies the northern line emerged from. When the Northern Line was originally constructed platforms underground were accessed by stairwells and shafts, abandoned when escalators became common. It has many unused platforms and tunnels from the old routes to Kings Cross, some a result of closures in 1914 and some in 1967, such as an old entrance 100 yards from the current place. When the Victoria Line was opened, the Northern Line platforms were moved. On the northbound Northern Line platforms, those large wall holes are not ventilation they are in fact the original entrances and exit to the platforms, where the tiny locked doorway, along with those at the ends of the platform provide access to abandoned tunnels of the past.

The Northern Line congestion in the 1930’s began the development of a parallel line to Charring Cross to be used as an express route. WW2 disrupted plans and the tunnels were used by the public (though at first discouraged) as air raid shelters and post war found alternative uses (often military storage) which meant the line was never completed.

On the line between Kentish Town and Camden Town is the unused (with the exception of workmen) station of South Kentish Town or Castle Road. The over ground entrance is on the corner between Castle Road and Kentish Town Road (a Cash Converters). Although the station opened along with the others in 1907, its close proximity to both Kentish Town and Camden meant it wasn’t heavily used, so in a Lots Road power station strike in 1924 it closed and never re-opened.

During the blitz in WW2 it was converted into two-storey an air-raid shelter, the platform being removed and the lift shaft blocked. The line is back in use, but the station not. The tube speeds through the unused platform, but it can still be seen from both directions on the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line. The layout is apparently like that of Kentish Town and features in john Benjamin prose South Kentish Town.

Camden Town station is crucial for the northern lines layout to work, sitting on the X of its tracks branching off both North and South. The Northern line has two branches to the North (Edgware and High Barnet) and two central branches (via Bank or Charring Cross), it was after all the merger of two competing railway company’s at the turn of the 2oth century. The station has many unused platforms of its own, further underground, used as air raid shelters during WW2.

A platform at Goodge Street station has a sign warning of a Deep Shaft, evidence of the deep underground tunnels built for Air Raid shelters during the war. There were further entrance buildings introduced for this purpose opposite the current station on Chenies Street, and one near Heals on Tottenham Court Road. WW2 recently and purpose built tunnels (London Deep Level Shelters) for this purpose as well as using the abandoned underground at stations like South Kentish Town.

Here is the short documentary by Jay Foreman about the unfinished line between Mill Hill East and Edgware tube stations. Mill Hill East Station was part of a plan, a line to run from Finsbury Park through Highgate up to Edgware one part of three of the Northern Heights Plan. Highgate station itself uses its deeper platforms, with the higher level platforms and lines built for the planned extension unused and overgrown.



The Jubilee Line took whatever platforms available Finsbury Park Station had left and the plan was abandoned. The plans for this line left unused railway paths that are now popular walks (Parkland Walk), narrow and green through North London. Some of the line was bought by British Rail and is part of the over ground network into and out of London. The expansion included the following stations:

* Finsbury Park
* Stroud Green
* Crouch End (Scenes involving Crouch End Tube Station was deleted from 2004 film Shaun of The Dead)
* Highgate
* Cranleigh Gardens (at the junction between Muswell Hill Road and Cranleigh Gardens, now residential and a school)
* Muswell Hill
* Alexandra Palace

WW2 further disrupted these plans, and even after the war plans were put forward to extend the Northern line further than Edgware going as far as Bushey Heath as one of the three parts of the initial Northern Heights plan in 1901, no extensions were made past Mill Hill East.

On the Edgware Branch between Hampstead and Golder’s Green is the ghost station of North End (also known as Bull and Bush, which the local pub adopted). It was abandoned before the end of construction in 1906 as residents feared it would be under used and the surface station would have imposed into the surrounding conserved area (located on the corner of North End and Wildwood Terrace). However the platform and tunnels were built and it is used as an emergency exit on the Line, unfinished platforms are still evident in the stairwells into tunnels as well as being used by London Transport to experiment, the whole station still being visible to the eager eye of the passenger. Hampstead Tube Station is London’s deepest station, 58.5m below ground level. Bull and Bush had it have been completed would have been deeper, approximately 67.3m below surface level.

Bull and Bush station concludes the Northern Lines interesting history and legends of ghosts, doomed passenger trains, claims fake houses with blacked out windows and of a basement in an office in the city provides access into this labyrinth of abandoned stations, platforms and tunnels.

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Kings Cross St Pancras History.

Guide to London: Kings Cross St Pancras Station

The two once competing stations of Kings Cross and St Pancras have combined, yet still separate in functions, and remain central to London’s access to the east coast, midlands, Scotland, London’s Underground lines, and more recently Paris or Lille via Eurostar. Links to the London 2012 Olympic site will also run from Kings Cross, which is logical to every Londoner.

The Kings Cross station was the first of the two to open in 1852 (the station building where platforms 1-8 are) and was designed by architect Lewis Cubbitt, on the site of a small fever and smallpox hospital, to provide access to the UK’s east coast and midlands during the big industrial revolution.

Located close to Euston Station, and The British Library, it sits next to St Pancras station, which replaced Waterloo in International trains to Paris in 2007. Kings Cross has been influential in the expansion of London city, not only on the MonopolyBoard. Its recent transformation had taken years and a lot of hard work, and included connecting both stations for ease of access for the commuter. Kings Cross tube station is served by more tube lines than any other station in London.

St Pancras Station, designed by William Barlow was a Midland Station built in the 1860’s specifically competing to outdo Kings Cross, hence the buildings extravagance. The Barlow Train Shed arch is still impressive to the visitor today and at one time it was the largest enclosed building in the world. Midlands Railway ran to both Euston and Kings Cross but wanted headquarters of their own, so commissioned St Pancras Station. The name comes from the area (although seems slightly redundant today), St Pancras’ medieval Parish dating back to the 4th century, the remains of St Pancras Church with the original alter still there.

St Pancras’s Grade I listed building is made up of red brick became the Midland Great Hotel and was completed in 1877, designed by Sir Gilbert Scott but closed in 1935 to make way for the railway offices and became known as Pancras Chambers (abandoned when BR privatized our railways). It will again become a luxury hotel. The line from St Pancras was built over Regents Canal (hence why passengers climb up stairs to the platform) whereas Kings Cross line was built underneath it.

The close location to Kings Cross station connected the stations physically for the purpose of the London commuter, although the addition and reopening of the Kings Cross Thameslink line on Pentonville Road meant that the trains coming into St Pancras were fewer. Eurostar was a welcome addition and the size of the space as well as central location made it ideal, the redevelopment meant the Thameslink became incorporated. The restoration of the roof was ornate in replicating the original design only with glass which was not only due to British heritage but also Eurotunnel guidelines.

The Kings Cross area in the borough of Camden had gained a reputation as a seedy area of London. The St Giles area of Kings Cross was the setting in Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, as it was one of the poorest areas at the time. However, recent developments beginning in the 1990’s and further plans suggest how much of a reformation it has had.

The redevelopment of the area included, visual arts, London’s Canal Museum (opened by HRH in 1992) and the two mainline stations Kings Cross and restoring and modernizing St Pancras.
The refurbishment of St Pancras commemorates Sir John Betjeman with a statue and a pub. This is because of his connection to the place, in the 1960’s, following the demolition of Euston Station in 1966 plans were also put forward to combine the two stations as just Kings Cross destroying St Pancras. These were strongly refuted by the public with Betjeman running a large campaign. In 1967, under pressure the building was granted Listed Building status Grade I. The Eurostar train, platforms, restaurant, shops and the longest champagne bar in Europe, sit under the impressive single spanning steel rods of Barlow’s Victorian roof where glass sheets replace the old ruined roof allowing the light to poor in, quite an entrance to London for our international commuters.




Today the station is best known for the fictional Platform 9¾’s from J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter. During the film series, the station scenes take place within the main station, with platforms 4 & 5 renumbered 9 & 10. Any exterior shots use St Pancras station due to its Victorian Gothic architecture being more suitable than Kings Cross.

However, the history is far deeper and more interesting than that of the likes of fictional Roland Rat living below in the station sewers. It is rumored that Queen of East Anglia Boadicea is buried under one of the platforms on the site of her final battle; myths of her ghost haunt the station, although there is no actual evidence that suggests this. The battle left her army defeated to Roman general Caius Suetonius Paulinus’s army, when she is believed to have killed herself in AD61.

Kings Cross in its rural history was an area known as Battlefields, the valley where the Battle is believed to have taken place. It wasn’t until the 1750’s that link roads were set up into London City that the area became densely populated, renamed when a huge statue commemorating King George IV who reigned between 1820 and 1830 was erected in 1836 (demolished in 1845) on the cross roads of what is now Euston Road, York Way, Grays Inn Road and Pentonville Road.

Winter Olympics 2010 Day 2

Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010 have been thrilling so far especially from the comfort and warmth here in London. There is no doubt to there being a cloud over the event, but I think the Canadians open nature has handled it well.

The BBC Live showing of the Luge heats was incredible, and the extreme rush I got from just watching the event in pixels cannot be close to what those athletes endure. The sad death of Nodar Kumaritashvili before the opening ceremony made the first run of the heats intense although it is likely Felix Loch will take gold.

The ladies mogul event proved that they compete on any given Sunday. I felt for the Canadians, Jennifer Heil looked bewildered amongst the Americans, how disappointing for the host nation. The ladies hockey event showed the nations dominance in that field, as Slovakia could only try and hold them off. Those athletes are strong women, real role models of ambition, drive and success.

This has been the first year I have noticed the biathlon, and proves my original theory that super heroes will evolve from these athletes. Speed Skating was amazing, they made it look so exciting and easy I’m even tempted to give it ago. Wang Meng of China races at a speed that could compete with the top male athletes in the sport, and as they travel around the 111m rink at speeds of 35mph I cannot help think of superhero Frozone from Pixar’s Incredible’s.
The Winter Olympics’ make for much more extreme athletes, in magical snow filled surroundings. I’m looking forward to the next round of the Loge on at 8:30pm on BBC2.

Chinese New Year in London

London Celebrates Chinese New Year 2010

Happy Chinese New Year, Gong Hey Fat Choi. The Chinese calendar (luni solar) has 12 animals of the zodiac to represent the New Year ahead. This year (2010) it’s the 3rd sign making it a Year of the Tiger. London along with the rest of the world celebrates with China in this HUGE festival.

Chinese New Year in London is an opportunity for us to celebrate a culture so embedded in our city. Although it is actually today the public festivals and parade will not be until next week the 21st February 2010 (traditional to London as it is the first Sunday after the event).

The run-up saw the big red lanterns streamed along to Soho and Leicester Square, in preparation for one of London’s biggest festivals. Similar to all New Years it is seen as a good time to refresh and prepare oneself with a spring cleaned home, fresh haircut, paying off any debts to enjoy a festive meal

Chinese New Year will be celebrated by London in many ways. For example there are fireworks in Leicester Square and China Town, performances in Trafalgar Square in London where entry is free. The National Maritime Museum is holding a family based event, The National Geographic Store on Regents Street has a photo gallery set up to celebrate the year of the Tiger (last year being the year of the ox).

The festivals symbolism is immense. The dragon dances through London, bringing to all businesses and people it meets. The parade and Chinese artists will set off along The Strand at 11am (21/02/10) along The West End of London, adding color to our sometimes grey skies. The events are organized with London Chinatown Chinese Association (LCCA) starting at 12 finishing at 6pm.