![Fortis Green Ward map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Fortis_Green_Ward_map.jpg)
Fortis Green is a ward in the extreme northwestern corner of the
Borough of Haringey, north
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. It is also the name of the road that runs between Muswell Hill and East Finchley which forms part of the A504.
The ward lies between
Colney Hatch
Colney Hatch () is the historical name for a small district within the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Colney Hatch refers to a loosely defined area centred on the northern end of Colney Hatch Lane (B550), which connects Friern ...
to the north,
Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross.
Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Finchl ...
to the east,
Highgate
Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross.
Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...
to the south and
East Finchley
East Finchley is an area in North London, immediately north of Hampstead Heath. Like neighbouring Muswell Hill it straddles the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It ha ...
to the west. It is a mostly residential area, although it also contained two large hospitals: Coppets Wood Hospital to the north, which was the Infectious and Tropical Diseases Unit of the
Royal Free Hospital
The Royal Free Hospital (also known simply as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barn ...
NHS Trust, and St Lukes Woodside Hospital to the south. Both of these hospitals are now closed.
![Fortis Green in 1973](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Fortis_Green_in_1973.jpg)
Fortis Green ward has a population of about 12,000 and is generally a
middle-class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...
area, with a higher proportion of skilled and highly qualified employees than the borough average (40.7% as compared with 26.3% are in social grade AB). More than half of the 16- to 74-year-olds in Fortis Green are qualified to degree level or higher, and employment levels are very high. About 85% of the population is
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, higher than the borough average of about 65%. 47.2% of the housing stock is in houses; 52.8% in
flats
Flat or flats may refer to:
Architecture
* Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries
Arts and entertainment
* Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch
* Flat (soldier), ...
.
Fortis Green Road and Muswell Hill Broadway are the main shopping thoroughfares and the parish church is dedicated to St James. The nearest
tube
Tube or tubes may refer to:
* ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film
* ''The Tube'' (TV series), a music related TV series by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom
* "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show
* Tube (band), a ...
stations are at
East Finchley
East Finchley is an area in North London, immediately north of Hampstead Heath. Like neighbouring Muswell Hill it straddles the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It ha ...
and
Highgate
Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross.
Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...
.
History
Although Fortis Green is now seen as being an integral part of Greater London this is quite a recent development. Before the 19th century the area was completely rural with an expanse of common land to the north and farmland to the south. In 1816 only
Coldfall Wood
Coldfall Wood is an ancient woodland in Muswell Hill, North London. It covers an area of approximately and is surrounded by St Pancras and Islington Cemetery, the East Finchley public allotments, and the residential streets Creighton Avenue and B ...
and wasteland lay north of Fortis Green and west of Coppetts Road. Several houses stood near the junction of Fortis Green with Muswell Hill Road where these scattered dwellings included the parish poorhouses and Upton Farm.
![Fortis Green 1815](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Fortis_Green_1815.jpg)
Development of Fortis Green from a countryside track began with the enclosure of the commons it crossed. The area of
Hornsey
Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner Lo ...
Common fronting the track was divided into narrow plots in 1815. Building started soon after with the semi-detached villas Albion Lodge and Albion Cottage being one of the first properties to be built around this time. These are one of the earliest surviving properties in the area, outside
Highgate
Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross.
Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...
.
[http://www.tonylondon.fsnet.co.uk/locelegantpast.htm www.tonylondon.fsnet.co.uk]
Development of the East Finchley end began in 1820 when the
Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
sold off a large south-facing field on the south side of Fortis Green on the corner of the East Finchley High Road. Four grand houses were built on the plot and proceeding from west to east these properties were Fairlawn, Cranleigh, Park Hall and Summerlee. A further large house, Park View was also built to the east of Summerlee.
In 1835 the architect
Anthony Salvin
Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations. He restored castles and country ho ...
purchased a field and built two
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
villas, Springcroft and Colethall (later Uplands) to the east of Summerlee.
In the 1850s St James Church school was constructed on the north side of Fortis Green near to the junction with Tetherdown.
Fortis Green was affected by the construction of the
Great Northern Railway stations at
East Finchley
East Finchley is an area in North London, immediately north of Hampstead Heath. Like neighbouring Muswell Hill it straddles the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It ha ...
, which opened in 1867, and
Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross.
Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Finchl ...
in 1872 and also by the opening of
Alexandra Park in 1872. Twenty houses were built in the decade to 1861, most of them on the Haswell Park estate to the south of the road which was acquired in 1852 by the National Freehold Land Society. Meant for superior villas, it was divided into 180 plots facing Eastern, Western, and Southern roads and the paths later called Haswell Passage, Francis Road, and Shakespeare Gardens. Some roads existed by 1855 and in 1856 it was claimed that all lots were fenced and connected to main services.
In spite of
auction
An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...
s in 1852 and 1856 some lots were still unsold in 1858; there were only 28 houses in 1871. Vacant plots remained in 1896, and the southern part of the estate was never built on. In 1871 there were only twelve houses, six built during 1867–68, standing north of Fortis Green and in 1896 there were just two large houses between Eastern Road and Muswell Hill Road.
During the 1890s, with the expansion of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, building spread to Fortis Green. By 1900 builders had laid out the curved Creighton Avenue from Page's Lane to Coldfall Wood.
By 1900 the builder W. J. Collins had laid out the area south of Fortis Green and west of Muswell Hill Road, previously the site of the large houses Midhurst, Fortismere, and the Firs, which were replaced before 1905 by five streets of terraced houses running southward from Fortis Green to Grand Avenue.
In 1902 the Police Station was opened. The Clissold Arms is on the site of the Fortis Green Brewery which operated from 1843 to 1902. Until 1888 the Green family operated the brewery, then for some years it was run by a Mr. Norman until being taken over by
Ind Coope
Allied Breweries was the result of a 1961 merger between Ind Coope (of Burton), Ansells (of Birmingham), and Tetley Walker (of Leeds).
In 1978, Allied Breweries merged with the food and catering group J. Lyons and Co to form Allied Lyons. The bre ...
.
South of Fortis Green Road, on opposite sides of Firs Avenue, the flats Firs Mansions and Birchwood Mansions were erected about 1907 and 1910 respectively. South of Fortis Green itself, Midhurst Mansions dates from 1902 while Leaside Mansions and
The Gables date from about 1907.
By 1908 Burlington Road and the western frontage of Tetherdown had been built. Further west, in the same year, building was in progress in Lynmouth Road, Southern Road and Springcroft Avenue.
After 1920 the only remaining development that could be done was at the expense of the remaining open spaces, along Creighton Avenue, to the west of Coppetts Road, and the roads connecting it to Fortis Green. Ringwood Avenue, Beech Drive, Church Vale and Twyford Avenue were built during the 1930s on the southern part of Coldfall Wood.
Woodside Avenue and the connecting roads, and Fordington and Lanchester roads were also built during this period.
[A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6. Page 117]
Notable current and former residents
Oliver Erichson Janson Oliver Erichson Janson (1850 – 25 November 1925) was an English entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera.
He was the son of Edward Wesley Janson and took over the family natural history and publishing business.
Janson's early years were s ...
, and
William Bernhardt Tegetmeier
William Bernhardt Tegetmeier FZS (4 November 1816 – 19 November 1912) was an English naturalist, a founding member of the Savage Club, a popular writer and journalist of domestic science. A correspondent and friend of Charles Darwin, Tegetme ...
.
Ray and
Dave Davies
David Russell Gordon Davies (born 3 February 1947) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, which also featured his elder brother Ray Davies. He was ind ...
of
the Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...
are from Fortis Green. Dave released a solo album titled ''Fortis Green'' in 1999.
The group
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...
started off at the family home of
Simon Nicol
Simon John Breckenridge Nicol (born 13 October 1950) is an English guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founding member of British folk rock group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in the ...
. The house, ''Fairport'', is on the south side of Fortis Green near the junction with Tetherdown and Fortis Green Road.
The fictional character
Norman Stanley Fletcher
Norman Stanley Fletcher, commonly nicknamed "Fletch", is the main fictional character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge'', and the spin-off, '' Going Straight''. He was played by Ronnie Barker.
In the pilot episode, Fletcher claims to Mr Barrowclou ...
of the BBC sitcom
Porridge
Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...
was revealed to be resident of the Fortis Green area in the episode ''Men Without Women''. He was being escorted home from Fortis Green Police station in the direction of Fortis Green Avenue by police officer Sergeant Norris.
References
External links
2001 census data published by Haringey councilSt James churchformerly included a photograph of Fortis Green Road; now has a map
{{Authority control
Areas of London
Districts of the London Borough of Haringey
Muswell Hill