Hornsey was an ancient

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in the county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. It was both a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

, used for administrative purposes, and an

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish priest ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Civil parish

Hornsey Parish was probably formed in about the thirteenth century at the time a church was built in the village 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 ...

. The Parish fell within the

Ossulstone Ossulstone is an obsolete subdivision (hundred) covering 26.4% of – and the most metropolitan part – of the historic county of Middlesex, England.British History Online Hundreds of Middlesex/ref> It surrounded but did not include the ...

Hundred of Middlesex, and in later times it was part of the

Finsbury division The Finsbury Division was one of four divisions of the Hundred of Ossulstone, in the historic county of Middlesex, England. The area of the Finsbury Division is now the core of modern north London. The other divisions were named Holborn, Kensingto ...

of the Hundred. The Hornsey Parish boundary ran from

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

, in the south, through

Stroud Green Stroud Green is a suburb and electoral ward in north London, England, in the London Borough of Haringey. On its south-western side, Stroud Green Road forms part of the boundary with the London Borough of Islington.See for example the catchment a ...

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 ...

in the west, and from near Colney Hatch in the north, past

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 ...

, and a detached portion of Clerkenwell Parish, eastwards to the

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

Parish border and then along

Green Lanes Green Lanes may refer to: *A green lane (road), a type of road, usually an unpaved rural route. *Green Lanes (London), a major road running through north London * Harringay, a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Haringey The London Borough o ...

back to Stoke Newington. In the north a field called Hornsey Detached No.1 stretched up to Colney Hatch and at the southern end there were another two fields, Hornsey Detached Nos. 2 and 3 by

Newington Green Newington Green is an open space in North London that straddles the border between Islington and Hackney. It gives its name to the surrounding area, roughly bounded by Ball's Pond Road to the south, Petherton Road to the west, Green Lanes and ...

. The parish also owned another field in Canonbury, Islington, which was surrendered to the Parish by Sir Thomas Draper, Bt., in 1668. The

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

of the parish was entrusted with various civil administrative functions from the 17th century. Unusually the parish was divided between the Highgate (upper) side and the Hornsey (lower) side, and separate vestry officers appointed for each side.Vestry Minutes in London Metropolitan Archives. After 1837 the civil administration changed. The Hornsey vestry established a Public Health and Drainage committee in 1851; this committee only had a short life as it was replaced, in 1854, with a Highways Board, and a full

Local Board Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

was established in 1867. The Local Board gave way to the Urban District Council in 1894/5 which governed the Parish until 1903, when it became obtained Borough status. By this time

South Hornsey South Hornsey was a local government district in Middlesex, England from 1865 to 1900. The district was formed in 1865 when the Local Government Act 1858 was adopted in the southern part of the parish of Hornsey. South Hornsey Local Board was ...

had separated and become an autonomous local authority from Hornsey, which had become part of the Poor Law Union of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

. In 1865, the southern part of the parish, consisting of the Brownswood Park area and the detached pieces surrounded by the parishes of Hackney and

adopted the

Local Government Act 1858 Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

, and formed the South Hornsey Local Board. The

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

reconstituted the two local board districts as

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

s, and divided the parish into the two

es of

and South Hornsey. In 1899 the South Hornsey urban district and civil parish were absorbed by the

Metropolitan Borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...

s of

and

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

in the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

. At the same time the detached part of the parish of

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

was added to Hornsey. The urban district and civil parish of

remained in

, being incorporated as the

Municipal Borough of Hornsey The Municipal Borough of Hornsey was a local government district in east Middlesex from 1867 to 1965. History In 1867, a Local Board was formed for part of the civil parish of Hornsey. The rest of the parish was already under South Hornsey Loca ...

in 1903. The civil parish was abolished when the borough became part of 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 London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of t ...

in 1965.

Ecclesiastical parish

The ancient parish, dedicated to

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, was in the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames. For centuries the diocese covered a vast tract and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north ...

. From 1862, as the population of Hornsey increased, a number of new parishes were formed: * Hornsey, Christ Church, Crouch End in 1862 * Hornsey, Holy Innocents in 1877 * Hornsey, St Peter in 1898 * Hornsey, St Luke in 1903 * Hornsey St George in 1910 The parishes of Hornsey Rise and Hornsey Road were formed in 1865 and 1866 respectively. The two parishes were formed out of part of the area of the ancient parish of

. In addition, as the population of neighbouring areas increased, parts of Hornsey parish were included in new parishes: *

in 1834 *

, St James in 1843 *

, St Matthias in 1849 *

, All Saints in 1874 * Brownswood Park in 1875 was formed from the southern part of the parish *

in 1881 *

Harringay Harringay (pronounced ) is a district of north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the New River, where it crosses Green Lanes by Finsbury Park, and Duckett's ...

in 1892

References

External links

* Hornsey and Highgat

* Local Government in Hornse

* View of Hornsey Churc

* Hornsey Churche

Hornsey Historical Society

Sources

* ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England'', Vol.1, Frederic Youngs, London, 1979 {{coord, 51.587131, N, 0.121950, W, display=title History of the London Borough of Haringey Religion in the London Borough of Haringey History of local government in London (pre-1855) Former civil parishes in London Hornsey