Temple Fortune is a place in the

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

to the north of

Golders Green Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...

. It is principally a shopping district used by residents of the

Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is an elevated suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentiet ...

. Between here and Golders Green, at Hoop Lane are two cemeteries –

Golders Green Jewish Cemetery Golders Green Jewish Cemetery, usually known as Hoop Lane Jewish Cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery in Golders Green, London NW postcode area, NW11. It is maintained by a joint burial committee representing members of the West London Synagogue and ...

and

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

. Religious buildings include the Catholic Church of

St Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

, St. Mary & Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church, and

North Western Reform Synagogue North Western Reform Synagogue (usually known as Alyth, although Alyth is strictly speaking the name of the Jewish community that was founded in 1933; the synagogue is ''Alyth Shul'') at Temple Fortune in north west London. The synagogue was buil ...

(also known as Alyth Shul).

History

'Temple' derives from the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

, a medieval Christian military order which held a sub-manor in the area, while 'Fortune' may come from ''foran tun'', a settlement in front of the main one. Here a lane from

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

, called Ducksetters Lane (c.1475), intersected. It is likely that the settlement was originally the Bleccanham estate (c.900s). By the end of the 18th century Temple Fortune Farm was established on the northern side of Farm Close. The building of the

Finchley Road Finchley Road is a designated arterial road in north-west London, England. The Finchley Road starts in St John's Wood near central London as part of the A41; its southern half is a major dual carriageway with high traffic levels often freque ...

(c.1827), replaced Ducksetters Lane as a route to Finchley, and resulted in the development of a small hamlet. Hendon Park Row (c.1860s) is of this period, and consisted of around thirty small dwellings built by a George Stevens, which were, with two exceptions, demolished (c.1956). A small dame school and prayer house run by Anglican Deaconesses existed in the 1890s and 1900s, which developed to become St Barnabas (1915). Along the Finchley Road was a number of villas (c1830s), joined by the Royal Oak public house (c.1850s). By the end of the 19th century there were around 300 people living in the area, which included a laundry, a small hospital for children with skin diseases. The principal industry was brick making. In 1895 a Jewish cemetery was established adjacent to Hoop Lane, with the first burial in 1897.

opened in 1902 (although much of it was built after 1905). The significant moment in Temple Fortune's development into a suburban area occurred in 1907. The establishment of the

brought major changes to the area east of the Finchley Road. Temple Fortune Farm was demolished, and along the front of the road, the building of Arcade, and Gateway House (c.1911) established the Hampstead Garden Suburbs retail district. Also significant in that year was the opening of Golders Green tube station. Although the area had been served by horse-drawn omnibuses (since at least the 1880s) and later motor buses (from 1907), it was the tram line of 1910, connecting Church End with

Golders Green Station Golders Green is a London Underground station in Golders Green, north London. The station is on the Edgware tube station, Edgware branch of the Northern line between Brent Cross tube station, Brent Cross and Hampstead tube station, Hampstead st ...

, which led to the development of the area west of the Finchley Road. A Carmelite Monastery was established in Bridge Lane in 1908. St Edward the Confessor, a Roman Catholic church, was built in 1916. The now demolished Orpheum Theatre (1930), was intended to rival the Hippodrome in Golders Green. It was for a long time a huge

Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...

cinema, seating over 1,800 people, but a sheltered-accommodation building (Birnbeck Court) now stands on the site at 850, Finchley Road. St Barnabas church was closed in 1994 and re-dedicated in 1996 as St. Mary & Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church; the Carmelite Monastery was acquired for residential development in 2007, to become Carmel Gate.

Geography

It is located on

just south of

Henlys Corner Henlys Corner is a brief combining junction of the A1 and the North Circular Road in North London, in the middle of which is the crossroads of the A598. Connecting roads and public transport The intersecting local road is Finchley Road/Regent's ...

junction and north of Golders Green.

Transport

London bus routes 13,

102 102 may refer to: * 102 (number), the number * AD 102, a year in the 2nd century AD * 102 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 102 (ambulance service), an emergency medical transport service in Uttar Pradesh, India * 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron, Royal ...

, 460 and N13 (night) serve the Finchley Road here.

Brent Cross tube station Brent Cross is a London Underground station located on Highfield Avenue in the Golders Green area of north west London. The station is a Grade II listed building. The station is on the Edgware branch of the Northern line, between Hendon Cent ...

Golders Green tube station Golders Green is a London Underground station in Golders Green, north London. The station is on the Edgware branch of the Northern line between Brent Cross and Hampstead stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 3 and is the first surface station on ...

(both on

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...

Edgware branch) and

Finchley Central tube station Finchley Central is a London Underground station in the Church End area of Finchley, north London. The station is located on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line, between West Finchley and East Finchley stations; it is the junction for ...

(on the

High Barnet branch) are the nearest train stations.

Recreation

The Temple Fortune Club is a private sports club established in 1922, offering

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

. It is for members only and does not have 'pay and play' facilities in any section. Temple Fortune Football Club was formed on 28th December 1968 at Princes Park by a group of local youngsters who originally played in the park in the mid-1960s. The club joined the Maccabi (Southern) Football League (MGBSFL) in 1976 and were founder members of the Maccabi Masters Football League (veterans) in 1999. Having played at numerous venues in the London Borough of Barnet and Harrow, the club currently hosts home matches at Silver Jubilee Park in Kingsbury where a brand-new artificial pitch was laid in June 2022. The club's traditional colours are yellow, red and navy blue, which have been mainly worn since 1985. The club's crest is a shield with 'TFFC' lettering in white on a red panel, above a navy blue panelled football centred on a yellow background with red pinstripes. The wording 'Founded 1968' appears curved under the football, coloured navy blue. The club's motto is 'Fortune Favours The Brave'. In 2018 TFFC celebrated its golden anniversary by holding a commemorative lunch, attended by long-serving members and David Wolff (chairman of the MGBSFL) and a special match at Princes Park, on the very pitch where small-sided games had been played leading up to the formation in 1968. The club also produced a 104-page book to commemorate 50 years of existence. One of the club's founders, Nigel Kyte, still runs the main admin of Temple Fortune FC over 53 years on as the club chairman. The club currently runs three league teams and the First Team manager is Simon Linden who is also the vice-chairman. Kerry Higham became the second female member to serve on the club's management committee when elected in June 2022. The club's website is www.tffc.co.uk and social media accounts are run on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. (Source: Temple Fortune FC website archives, verified by club chairman and TFFC historian Nigel Kyte. Updated: November 2022)

References

{{LB Barnet Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Barnet District centres of London