Mill Hill is a suburb in the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in north London, England. Forming part of Outer London, the borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It is the ...

, England. It is situated around northwest of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

, close to the

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

border. It was in the historic county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

until 1965, when it became part of

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

. Its population was 18,451 in 2011. It consists of the original Mill Hill Village; the later-developed Mill Hill Broadway (now the area's main hub); and Mill Hill East, alongside large swathes of countryside. A further area at the western edge of the suburb,

The Hale The Hale is an area and ward within the London Borough of Barnet. It is situated where the eastern part of Edgware meets the western part of Mill Hill and centres on the small retail centre at the junction of Deans Lane, Hale Lane and Selvage La ...

, is on the borders of Mill Hill and

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northwest London. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex east of the ancient Watling Street in what is now the London Borough of Barnet but it is now informally considered to cover a wider area, inc ...

, and is partly in each.

History

The area's name was first recorded as Myllehill in 1547 and appears to mean "hill with a windmill". However, the workings of the original Mill are in the building adjacent to

The Mill Field The Mill Field is a Site of Nature Conservation Interest, Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II, in Mill Hill in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a public open space which slopes steeply down from the road called The Ri ...

. Mill Hill Village is the oldest known inhabited part of the district, a ribbon development along a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

route called 'The Ridgeway'. It is thought that the name 'Mill Hill' may be derived from a mill on The Ridgeway, built on an area of open ground (now a park) known as

. The village is bounded on the north and the south by

Green Belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

land, and its High Street, at 100 yards, is the shortest in London. The area's proximity to the city made it popular as a country retreat from the 17th century onwards, and large houses and quaint cottages survive.

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...

(MP, and abolitionist of the slave trade) and Sir

Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British Colonial Office, colonial official who served as the List of governors of the Dutch East Indies, governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieut ...

(founder of colonial

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

) both briefly resided here, the former being the patron of Mill Hill's first church, Saint Paul's. As late as 1960, five shops existed in the Village (Griffin's sub-Post Office, The Blenheim Steps, Cook & Son (sweets and groceries), Hawes Brothers (grocers) and Vincett's (butchers)) but although the buildings survive, they have all since been converted into private houses, as the retail focus in the area shifted to Mill Hill Broadway.

Military

Inglis Barracks Inglis Barracks was a military installation in Mill Hill, London, NW7. It was also referred to as Mill Hill Barracks. The site has been redeveloped and now contains a variety of modern housing. History Early history Mill Hill Barracks, a set o ...

at Mill Hill East was home to the

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

between 1905 and 1966. The 1941 reopening of the railway station, under wartime conditions, was to allow easy access to the barracks. Situated along Partingdale Lane is Seafield House. Now converted into a private home, it was originally designed and operated as a secret nuclear bunker to house and protect the 'London North Group' emergency regional government between about 1951 and 1985.

Governance

Mill Hill was part of the ancient

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

within the historic county boundaries of

. Mill Hill as part of

Municipal Borough of Hendon Hendon was an ancient parish of around in Middlesex, on the border with Hertfordshire. As well as Hendon itself, the parish included Childs Hill, Golders Green and Mill Hill. In 1879 the parish was made a Local board of health#Local Government A ...

was merged into the

in 1965. Mill Hill is one of 21 electoral wards in the borough. This ward has 3 out of the 63 seats on the Barnet Council. Mill Hill was in the

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

which was created in

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

. This lasted until

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

when the constituency was split in two, Mill Hill in Hendon North. In 1997, the Hendon constituency was recreated. From then, until he lost his seat to the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate,

Matthew Offord Matthew James Offord (born 3 September 1969) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hendon (UK Parliament constituency), Hendon ...

, at the 2010 general election, Hendon was represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

Andrew Dismore Andrew Hartley Dismore (born 2 September 1954) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour politician who was the Member of the London Assembly for Barnet and Camden (London Assembly constituency), Barnet and Camden from 2012 London Assembly electio ...

of the Labour Party.

Geography

Mill Hill's postal address is London NW7 (which also covers Highwood Hill and part of

Arkley Arkley is a village in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Barnet. It is located north-northwest of Charing Cross. It consists of a long village strung out between Barnet and Stirling Corner, and composed of the ancient ...

Mill Hill Village

Triangular Junction by The Old Forge - geograph

The village is a ribbon development along The Ridgeway. It has

green belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

in either side. "Partingdale" and "Burtonhole" form a valley north of The Ridgeway. North is Folly Farm and

Folly Brook Folly Brook is a long Stream, brook in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a tributary of Dollis Brook, which is a tributary of the River Brent, which is a tributary of the River Thames. Folly Brook is lined for most of its length by narrow str ...

, a tributary of the

Dollis Brook Dollis Brook is a waterway which runs through Barnet in north London. It is a tributary of the River Brent, which is itself a tributary of the River Thames. The Dollis Valley Greenwalk follows almost all of Dollis Brook, apart from a short se ...

, running west to east. Between The Ridgeway and Folly Brook are Burtonhole Farm, a garden centre called Finchley Nurseries, and several sports grounds. The

National Institute for Medical Research The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), was a medical research institute based in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of north London, England. It was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC); In 2016, the NIMR became part of the new F ...

, a landmark building, was demolished in 2018 and the site is being developed for new houses and apartments. On 1 April 2015, the NIMR became part of the new

Francis Crick Institute The Francis Crick Institute (formerly the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation) is a biomedical research centre in London, which was established in 2010 and opened in 2016. The institute is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, Im ...

and ceased to exist as a separate MRC institute. The site was fully vacated and closed for redevelopment in 2017. Arrandene Open Space and Featherstone Hill is a large open space which is bordered by Wise Lane, Wills Grove, Milespit Hill and The Ridgeway. While there are many open spaces in the area, Arrandene is unique because of its many open fields, meadows and woodland. The open fields were originally hay meadows which provided feed for the horses pulling carriages north to Barnet and beyond. On Milespit Hill is the non-denominational Mill Hill Cemetery, formerly known as "

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

New Cemetery". The 1960s pop singer

Billy Fury Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known by his stage name Billy Fury, was an English musician. An early star of rock and roll, he spent 332 weeks on the UK singles chart. His hit singles include " Wondrous Place", " H ...

(Ronald Wycherley, 1940–83) is buried there. The cemetery also has two

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

sections of

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

graves. One has the graves of 53 United Kingdom personnel, and has a

Cross of Sacrifice The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). It is present in Commonwealth War grave ...

. The other has the graves of 254

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

personnel, 212 of whom were merchant navy. Many were originally buried elsewhere in the UK, but were reburied here as a Dutch "Field of Honour". Southwest of Mill Hill Village is a small suburb called "Poets' Corner", and to the north an old estate, now a nature reserve, Moat Mount Open Space. Mill hill broadway 2009

Mill Hill Broadway

The modern-day centre of Mill Hill is at Mill Hill Broadway, previously known as Lawrence Street. This is a suburban district which developed from the 1890s onwards, and especially in the early part of the 20th century, after the arrival of the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

station in 1868. The Broadway itself is now an important local retail area with numerous shops and cafes and transport links.

Mill Hill East

Bittacy hill looking towards holders hill cir

Parts of the east side of Mill Hill have been redeveloped, with the former gas works replaced by a

Waitrose Waitrose Limited, trading as Waitrose & Partners, is a British supermarket chain, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. In 1937, it was acquired by the John Lewis Partnership, the UK's largest employee-owned b ...

supermarket and housing developments. The small local retail area at Mill Hill East is at "Kelly's Corner" (officially Holders Hill Circus) east of the station. South of Mill Hill East are Copthall and Holders Hill. The United Kingdom / Carl Zeiss / Bausch & Lomb Optical Works was established at the top of Bittacy Hill in 1912 and demolished about 1990, to be replaced by a large building owned by the

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

, to complement their nearby Watchtower House built on the site of the former Bittacy House.

Neighbouring areas

Demography

Mill Hill

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of Barnet has a population of 18,451 as of the

2011 UK Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

. The census also showed that ethnically, 64% of the population is White (49%

White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the White population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population was 49 ...

, 13% Other White, 2% Irish). The largest minorities were the 7% identifying themselves as Indian, 6% as Other Asian, and 6% as Black African. On religion, 39% identified as Christian, 19% Jewish, 14% no religion, 12% Muslim, 5% Hindu, 2% other religion and 8% religion not stated. The most spoken foreign language was

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. The majority of the 6,875 households are tenure owned. The vast majority (4,602) of the properties are in the "whole house or bungalow" category, of which most are semi-detached. 4.1% of economically active people were unemployed. The median age was 35.

Transport

Tube and rail

Stations in the area are: * (

Thameslink Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from , , , , , and via central London to , , , Rainham, , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than ...

) * Mill Hill East (

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...

) There was also another smaller station, , opened by the

Edgware, Highgate and London Railway The Edgware, Highgate and London Railway was a railway in North London, England. The railway was a precursor of parts of London Underground's Northern line and was, in the 1930s, the core of an ambitious expansion plan for that line which was t ...

in 1867. Passenger services ended in 1939, and freight traffic in 1964. The branch was opened in 1867 as part of the

, which also built

Dollis Brook Viaduct The Dollis Brook Viaduct, also known as the Dollis Road Viaduct, Dollis Viaduct or Mill Hill Viaduct, is a railway viaduct to the west of Finchley, North London, United Kingdom. It carries the London Underground's Northern line from Mill Hill Ea ...

east of the station. It uesd to continue west to

and east to the Great Northern main line at

Finsbury Park station Finsbury Park () is an intermodal passenger transport, intermodal interchange station in North London for London Underground, National Rail and London Buses services. The station is the third busiest Underground station outside Zone 1, with over ...

, following the present Northern line route as far as Highgate. In 1935, as part of the London Transport

New Works Programme The New Works Programme of 1935–1940 was the major investment programme delivered by the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB), commonly known as London Transport, which had been created in 1933 to coordinate underground train, tram, trolle ...

, plans were announced to modernise and electrify the railway and transfer it to the London Underground. Work was started, and steam passenger services between Edgware and Finchley Central were withdrawn in September 1939 to facilitate it. However, the Second World War soon caused the project to be cut short. The Finchley Central – Mill Hill East section had wartime priority (due to the Inglis Barracks) and was completed in 1941, but the plans to complete the modernisation and restart passenger services to Edgware were never resumed and were abandoned in 1950. Steam freight trains continued to run between Finchley and Edgware until 1964; the track beyond Mill Hill East was lifted the following year. Although partly built over, including by the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

, most of the old track bed has become a footpath, and decaying 1930s concrete infrastructure, never used, can still be seen.

Buses

London Buses routes serving Mill Hill are

113 113 may refer to: *113 (number), a natural number *AD 113, a year *113 BC, a year *113 (band), a French hip hop group *113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run to ...

114 114 may refer to: *114 (number) *AD 114 *114 BC *114 (1st London) Army Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, an English military unit *114 (Antrim Artillery) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers, a Northern Irish military unit *114 (MBTA bus) *114 (New Je ...

186 Year 186 ( CLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, year 939 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 186 for this ...

221 __NOTOC__ Year 221 ( CCXXI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gratus and Vitellius (or, less frequently, year 974 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 221 ...

240 __NOTOC__ Year 240 ( CCXL) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Venustus (or, less frequently, year 993 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 240 f ...

251 __NOTOC__ Year 251 (Roman numerals, CCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, in the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Etruscus (or, less frequently, year 1004 ''A ...

292 __NOTOC__ Year 292 (Roman numerals, CCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Hannibalianus and Asclepiodotus (or, less frequently, year 1045 ''Ab urbe condita'' ...

, 302,

303 __NOTOC__ Year 303 ( CCCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. It was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, year 1056 ''Ab urbe condita''). The deno ...

305 Year 305 ( CCCV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1058 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 305 for thi ...

382 Year 382 ( CCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Syagrius (or, less frequently, year 1135 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 382 fo ...

605 Year 605 ( DCV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 605 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming yea ...

, 614,

628 __NOTOC__ Year 628 ( DCXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 628 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe ...

, 644,

688 __NOTOC__ Year 688 (Roman numerals, DCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 688 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevale ...

and N113.

Road

The A1 and A41 converge as they enter Mill Hill at Fiveways Corner, this section is known as the

Watford Way The A1 in London is the southern part of the A1 road. It starts at Aldersgate in the City of London, passing through the capital to Borehamwood on the northern fringe of Greater London, before continuing to Edinburgh. The road travels throug ...

. The dual carriageway passes through Mill Hill, and the routes diverge at Apex Corner (officially Northway Circus). The

was built through the western part of Mill Hill in 1967. There is a disused southbound exit slip road which passes under the Watford Way and which covers part of the old railway between Mill Hill East and Edgware Town.

Development

Mill Hill East has been designated by the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

in his

London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Greater London area in the United Kingdom that is written by the Mayor of London and published by the Greater London Authority. It is updated from time to time. The regio ...

as a 'proposed area of intensification', in and around the Inglis Barracks site. As a result, Barnet Council designated the 'Mill Hill East

Area Action Plan A local development framework is the spatial planning strategy introduced in England and Wales by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and given detail in Planning Policy Statements 12. In most parts of the two countries, maintaining th ...

' (AAP) and carried out public consultation events. An at-times noisy 'examination in public', to test the 'soundness' of the council's submitted AAP proposals, was held in October 2008, conducted by the

Planning Inspectorate The Planning Inspectorate (sometimes referred to as PINS) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government of the United Kingdom Government with responsibility for making decisions and providing recommendatio ...

, and the subsequent report broadly agreed with the council's plans. Representations were made to the Planning Inspectorate to reopen the railway line from Mill Hill East station to the west. A small victory for local protesters was that the report reaffirmed that a local closed road, Sanders Lane, would not be reopened for traffic, if only because the road was outside the AAP boundary (this had already conceded by the council) and would need separate consideration. The inspector stated in his report of December 2008: The amended AAP was formally adopted by the council on 27 January 2009.

Education

Primary schools

* Courtland, a mixed community school * Deansbrook Infant, mixed community school * Deansbrook Junior, mixed community school * Dollis Infant, a mixed community school * Dollis Junior, a mixed foundation school (now merged with Dollis Infant to form Dollis Primary) * Fairway, a mixed community school * Grimsdell, an independent co-educational pre-preparatory school run by Mill Hill School Foundation * Mathilda Marks Kennedy, a mixed Jewish voluntary aided school * St. Martin's, an independent co-educational preparatory school * St. Paul's CE a mixed, voluntary aided school * St. Vincent's Catholic Primary School * Etz Chaim Primary School, Free school *Millbrook Park Primary School

Secondary schools

* Copthall School, a community girls school *

Mill Hill County High School Mill Hill County High School, which is what MHCHS stands for, is a large secondary school with academy status located in Mill Hill, London, England. It was the first comprehensive school in the United Kingdom to have had a student accepted on t ...

, a mixed foundation school

Independent schools

The Mill Hill School Foundation runs the following schools: *

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, Day school, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' ...

– an independent boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18 * Grimsdell – a pre-preparatory day school for pupils aged 3–7 * Belmont School – a day school for pupils aged 7–13 * The Mount School/ Mill Hill International – a mixed day and boarding school for international pupils aged 11–16 *

Cobham Hall School Cobham Hall School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day and boarding school in the English parish of Cobham, Kent, for girls only in Years 7 to 11 and co-educational in the Sixth Form . It is a Round Square (educational organis ...

– an independent day and boarding school for girls in the English parish of Cobham, Kent

Invention and discovery

In 1749 the botanist Peter Collinson inherited an estate which is now part of Mill Hill School, here he created a botanical garden. The lexicographer James Murray started work on the first

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

in 1879, whilst teaching at

. He had a building built in the school grounds to house the quotation slips and his small editorial staff. Murray called this building his

scriptorium A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...

, when the project moved to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

the building was used by the school as a reading room. In the Second World War the

Maudsley Hospital The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in south London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the UK. It is part of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and works in partnership with the I ...

moved to the evacuated Mill Hill School as the Mill Hill Emergency Hospital. Here John C. Raven developed a verbal intelligence test called the Mill Hill Vocabulary scale.

University of London Observatory UCL Observatory (called the University of London Observatory until 2015) at Mill Hill in London is an astronomical teaching observatory. It is part of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University College London. History The Observator ...

is a teaching astronomical observatory which is part of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. It is situated on the A41 Watford Way, southeast of The Broadway. The Observatory was opened on 8 October 1929 by the

Astronomer Royal Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the astronomer royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the astronomer royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The Astro ...

Frank Watson Dyson Sir Frank Watson Dyson, KBE, FRS, FRSE (8 January 1868 – 25 May 1939) was an English astronomer and the ninth Astronomer Royal who is remembered today largely for introducing time signals ("pips") from Greenwich, England, and for the role ...

. In 2009, student astronomers at the observatory tracked the

extrasolar planet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and the first detection around a main-sequence star was in 1995. A different planet, first detect ...

HD 80606 b HD 80606 b (also Struve 1341 Bb or HIP 45982 b) is an eccentric Jupiter, eccentric hot Jupiter 217 light-years from the Sun in the constellation of Ursa Major. HD 80606 b was discovered orbiting the star HD 80606 in April 2001 by a team led by Mi ...

and for the first time accurately calculated its size. The

was a large medical research facility situated on the Ridgeway. Researchers at the Institute have, amongst other achievements, developed liquid and gas chromatography, discovered

interferon Interferons (IFNs, ) are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several viruses. In a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell will release interferons causing nearby cells to heighten ...

and also discovered the sex determining gene

SRY Sex-determining region Y protein (SRY), or testis-determining factor (TDF), is a DNA-binding protein (also known as gene-regulatory protein/transcription factor) encoded by the ''SRY'' gene that is responsible for the initiation of male sex ...

. In 2018 the Medical Research building was demolished to make way for new homes.

Religious sites

There are several religious institutions along the Ridgeway, including: * The Missionary Institute (which was present on the Ridgeway until 2007) * Holcombe House (part of the institute) * the motherhouse of the British Province of the

Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (; abbreviated DC), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, is a society of apostolic life for women within the Catholic Church. ...

* until 2007, Saint Joseph's College, a large seminary. * The

have had a centre since 1958, and they redeveloped the Carl Zeiss optical works to become the International Bible Students' Association in 1988. * The Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, an African church next to the Village Pond at the junction of Milespit Hill, High Street and The Ridgeway, occupying the former Methodist Church. * Mill Hill Synagogue is located near Mill Hill Broadway station. The Synagogue joined the

United Synagogue The United Synagogue (US) is the largest umbrella body for Orthodox Judaism in Britain. It is structured as a charity which serves the United Kingdom, British Jewish community in the broadest possible way. One of the largest charities in the B ...

as an affiliated synagogue in 1950. *

John Keble Church, Mill Hill The John Keble Church is a Church of England parish church in Mill Hill, London Borough of Barnet. The church was completed in 1936 and is of a modernist design. It is the only church dedicated to John Keble, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movem ...

Public services

Veolia Water Central Limited formerly Three Valleys Water supplies Mill Hill's water. EDF Energy Networks is the

Distribution network operator A distribution network operator (DNO), also known as a distribution system operator (DSO), is the operator of the electric power distribution system which delivers electricity to most end users. Each country may have many local distribution netwo ...

licensed to distribute electricity from the transmission grid to homes and businesses in Mill Hill. On Partingdale Lane there is a large electrical station, built in 1961. The station is served by very high-voltage cables underground along Totteridge Valley. The proposed above-ground pylons and cables were rejected after a high-profile residents' campaign.

British Gas British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving ...

had a large

gasworks A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

at Mill Hill East with two

gasometer A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas (coal gas or formerly also water gas) is natural gas storage, stored near atmospheric pressure at room temperature, ambient temperatures. ...

s, now replaced with housing and shops including a

supermarket.

Parks and recreation

In 1923 Hendon Urban District Council brought part of Daws Farm thought to be named after Thomas Daws and turned it into Mill Hill Park. This was then transferred to Barnet Council in 1965 which now manages the park. In the park there are football pitches, cricket pitch, tennis courts, basketball court, a children's play area, outdoor gym, cafe and toilet block. The same building also houses Mill Hill Bowls Club with two pitches. Arrandene Open Space is a green space that sits next to Mill Hill Park separated by Wise Lane.

Notable people

*English traveller

Celia Fiennes Celia Fiennes (7 June 1662 – 10 April 1741) was an English traveller and writer. She explored England on horseback at a time when travel for its own sake was unusual, especially for women. Early life Born at Newton Tony, Wiltshire,"June 7t ...

(1662 – 1741) *Botanist Peter Collinson (1694 – 1768) *Parliamentarian

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...

(1725 - 1797) *Abolitionist

(1759 - 1833) *Sir

(1781 - 1826), founder of Singapore *Bandleader

Edmundo Ros Edmundo Ros OBE, FRAM (7 December 1910 – 21 October 2011), born Edmund William Ross, was a Trinidadian-Venezuelan musician, vocalist, arranger and bandleader who made his career in Britain. He directed a highly popular Latin American orche ...

(1910 - 2011) lived on Page Street at Edritt House, named after himself and his wife *Actor John Slater (1916 - 1975) *Actor

Ian Carmichael Ian Gillett Carmichael, (18 June 1920 – 5 February 2010) was an English actor who Ian Carmichael on stage, screen and radio, worked prolifically on stage, screen and radio in a career that spanned seventy years. Born in Kingston upon ...

lived on Nan Clark's Lane (1920 - 2010) *Actor

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor. He became best known for his roles in television, most notably starring as the Second Doctor, second incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the lo ...

(1920 - 1987) best known as the second Doctor from ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', was born in Mill Hill and lived in Shakespeare Road. *Actor

Graham Crowden Clement Graham Crowden (30 November 1922 – 19 October 2010) was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric scientist, teacher and doctor characters. Early life C ...

(1922 - 2010) lived on Hammers Lane *Actor

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American actress, producer, and singer. In a career spanning 80 years, she played various roles on stage and screen. Among her numerous accolades wer ...

(1925 - 2022) lived with her parents at 7 Weymouth Avenue for the first half of the 1930s *Actor Patrick McGoohan (1928 - 2009) lived on The Ridgeway with his wife and three daughters *Racing driver Graham Hill (1929 - 1975) lived at Mill Hill for much of his adult life, along with his son Damon Hill (b. 1960). Their house in Parkside has a blue plaque *Playwright and novelist Michael Frayn (b. 1933) was born in Mill Hill *Songwriter Mitch Murray (b. 1940) lived in Sunnyfield *Athlete Julian Goater (b. 1953) grew up in Grants Close *Pop singer Paul Young (b. 1956) lived at Hyver Hall *Pop singer Rachel Stevens (b. 1978) from S Club 7 lives in Mill Hill *Pop group Girls Aloud resided at nearby Princess Park Manor.

Sport

Old Cholmeleians Sports Ground is on Hendon Wood Lane, and provides facilities for football and cricket. It is the home base for Old Cholmeleians Cricket Club. The local rugby club is Mill Hill Rugby Football Club established in 1937 with 2 men's teams. The 1st XV currently compete in Herts Middlesex 2 and the 2nd XV are in the Herts and Middlesex Merit leagues. Mill Hill darts team, the current Middlesex Superleague champions, are based at Mill Hill Services Club.

References

External links

*
Mill Hill Preservation SocietyMill Hill Residents AssociationMill Hill Facebook Group
{{Authority control Mill Hill, Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Barnet Places formerly in Middlesex District centres of London