Arkley is an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an op ...

of north

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, England, within the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban 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 London borough ...

. It is located north-northwest of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City ...

. It consists of a long village strung out between Barnet and Stirling Corner, roughly centred on the "Gate" pub, and composed of the ancient hamlets of

Barnet Gate Barnet Gate is a hamlet on the northern edge of the London Borough of Barnet to the west of Arkley, in England. There was a settlement there during the Roman occupation of Britain and in the Anglo-Saxon period it was known as ''Grendeles Gatan'' ...

, Rowley Green and Arkley. At above sea level, Arkley is one of the highest points in London.

History

Toponymy

The origins of the name ''Arkley'' are unclear; it is first recorded as ''Arkleyslond'' in 1332. The first element of the name appears to come from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

word ''(e)arc'' (or ark, meaning a chest, bin or other wooden receptacle), while the second element is from ''leāh'', a woodland clearing or glade. ''–lond'' in the earlier name means "cultivated ground". The name ''Arkley'' would thus mean "woodland clearing by the ark or by the place where arks are made".

Historical background

It is thought by some that Hendon Wood Lane was originally a minor

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

. Certainly the name, "Grendel's Gate" (now

, and formerly known as "Grims Gate"), is associated with the monster from the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

epic,

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. ...

. This implies that the place was of modest importance as early as 1005. It may have been a centre of a small but significant community, founded on a

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

economy. The area is later referred to in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

documents as "Southhaw", and may have predated the settlement at

Chipping Barnet Chipping Barnet or High Barnet is a suburban market town in north London, forming part of the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement, and is located north-northwest of Chari ...

. Certainly, Barnet manorial court was held here in the 13th century. From at least the early 19th century until the 1890s, Arkley was commonly known as "Barnet Common" or "West Barnet". Prior to 1894, Arkley was part of the parish of Chipping Barnet. Under 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 ...

parish and district councils were established, with new

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 authorit ...

es created where the old parishes straddled the

sanitary district Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

s which formed the building blocks of the new districts. Chipping Barnet parish was therefore split into three separate civil parishes, with the part within

Barnet Urban District Barnet was a local government district in south Hertfordshire from 1863 to 1965 around the town of Barnet. Creation Barnet Local Government District was created on 25 September 1863, after the town's ratepayers decided to adopt the Local Governm ...

retaining the Chipping Barnet name, the part within East Barnet Valley Urban District becoming Barnet Vale, and the rural part of the old parish becoming the civil parish of Arkley. The changes to parish boundaries took effect on 4 December 1894, ahead of the new district councils coming into being later that month. Arkley was part of

Barnet Rural District Elstree Rural District (until 1941 called Barnet Rural District) was a rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974. Creation The district had its origins in the Barnet Rural Sanitary District, which had been created in 1872, ...

. Arkley parish council formally came into office on 31 December 1894 and held its first meeting on 3 January 1895 at the village school in Arkley. Arkley parish comprised the areas to the west and south of the town of Barnet, including areas such as Ducks Island and Underhill as well as Arkley village itself, which was on the north-western edge of the civil parish. After a boundary change in 1897 ceding some territory to Barnet Urban District, the civil parish of Arkley covered . Arkley was absorbed into Barnet Urban District on 1 April 1905, at which point its parish council was dissolved and it was thereafter governed by Barnet Urban District Council. Whilst no longer having its own parish council, Arkley civil parish was not formally abolished until 1 April 1965, when Barnet Urban District was transferred from Hertfordshire to become part of the London Borough of Barnet in

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

. Between 1901 and 1951 the population of the civil parish of Arkley rose from 483 to 7,536.

Buildings

St Peter's Church, which was designed by George Beckett, was built in 1840 as a private chapel at a cost of £5,000. It contains a wall tablet of its benefactor, Enoch Durant, who died in 1848. The chancel was added in 1898. After Durant's death the advowson was transferred to the rector of Barnet, and an ecclesiastical parish was formed in 1905. Arkley Windmill was in use by 1806. It is marked as "corn" windmill on the

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

of the 1860s. From photographs, it appears to have had only two of its original sails by the 1890s, by which time it may have been powered by steam. It ceased to be a functioning mill during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and was restored in 1930, but not as a working mill. The Gate Inn retains some of its original features. The sign, in the form of a hanging five bar gate, has an inscription which reads: St Peter, Arkley, Herts - geograph

According to the old article displayed on one of its walls, the Gate was once visited by

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20t ...

and her dancing troupe. Until the early 1960s a large tree grew up from the floor of the pub and out through the roof.

Nature reserves

For its size, Arkley has more Sites of Importance for Nature Conservations than any other district in Barnet: * Arkley Lane and Pastures * Arkley South Fields * Barnet Gate Wood * Glebe Lane Pastures *

Rowley Green Common Rowley Green Common is a six hectare Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Importance Metropolitan for Nature Conservation in Arkley, north London. It is owned by the London Borough of Barnet. It is also registered common land. It is mainly woodl ...

* Rowley Lodge Field * Totteridge Fields and Highwood Hill In addition, Dollis Brook and

Folly Brook Folly Brook is a long 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 strips of w ...

, which are also Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation, rise in Arkley.

Geography

Transport

Tube

Nearest: *

High Barnet Chipping Barnet or High Barnet is a suburban market town in north London, forming part of the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement, and is located north-northwest of Charing Cr ...

–

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, t ...

Buses

* 107 – New Barnet Station to Edgware Station via Borehamwood *

307 __NOTOC__ Year 307 ( CCCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Maximinus (or, less frequently, year 1060 ...

– Barnet General Hospital to Brimsdown via Barnet and Enfield *

614 __NOTOC__ Year 614 ( DCXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 614 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

– Queensbury Station to Hatfield Business Park via Barnet (Monday to Saturday) * 384 – Edgware to Cockfosters Station via Barnet (Quinta Drive)

Local industry

Local clay has been exploited for brick-making and

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

over the centuries. During the 1950s, a 13th-century

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

at Dyke Cottage was excavated, revealing a large cooking pot, and 19th-century

maps mark a "Tile Works". In the 1970s, John Britten produced a small racing car named the "Arkley" in the area.

Sports

Arkley Golf Club was founded in 1909. The course was designed by James Braid and Harry Vardon.. On 29 November 1975, a

Piper PA-23 Aztec The Piper PA-23, named Apache and later Aztec, is an American four- to six-seat twin-engined light aircraft aimed at the general-aviation market. The United States Navy and military forces in other countries also used it in small numbers. Origin ...

aircraft piloted by retired

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racing driver

Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...

crashed on the golf course, killing all six people on board.

Notable people

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter. He first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s, before joining the BBC, on the BBC ...

– radio disc jockey *

– retired F1 driver and

Embassy Hill Embassy Racing With Graham Hill, commonly abbreviated to Embassy Hill, was a short-lived Formula One team started by two-time Formula One World Champion Graham Hill. The team debuted in with a customer Shadow DN1 car, and began racing as a con ...

car owner, lived between

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly know ...

and

Shenley Shenley is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, between Barnet and St Albans. The village is located 14 miles from Central London. History The history of Shenley stretches back a thousand years or more – it is mentioned i ...

. He was killed when his private plane crashed on Arkley Golf Course in 1975. *

Mark Heap Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957) is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his roles in television comedies, including, ''Brass Eye'', '' Big Train'', ''Spaced'', ''Jam'', ''Green Wing'', ''Friday Night Dinner'', ''Upstart Crow'' and ''Ben ...

– actor *

Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...

(1913–1988) – actor, lived for many years in Arkley and also died there. *

Humphrey Lyttelton Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008), also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family. Having taught himself the trumpet at school, Lyttelton became a professional ...

– musician *

W. E. Shewell-Cooper Dr. Wilfred Edward Shewell-Cooper (15 September 1900 – 21 February 1982) was a British organic gardener and pioneer of no-dig gardening. He wrote and published several books, including ''Soil, Humus and Health'' (1975), ''The Royal Gardeners' ...

–

organic gardener The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to organic gardening and farming: Organic farming – alternative agricultural system that relies on fertilizers of organic origin such as compost, manure, green manur ...

, used Arkley Manor for many years as a home and show garden *

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...

– comedian * Jermaine Jenas – footballer *

Bacary Sagna Bacary Sagna (born 14 February 1983) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right back and is mostly known for his time at Arsenal. He also played for the France national football team. Sagna's former manager at Arsenal, A ...

– footballer *

Marouane Chamakh Marouane Chamakh (; ar, مروان الشماخ; born 10 January 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is described as a prototypical target man and is noted for his "link-up play", "tall stature" and "excelle ...

– footballer *

Zayn Malik Zain Javadd Malik ( ; born 12 January 1993), known mononymously as Zayn, is an English pop and R&B singer. Zayn auditioned as a solo contestant for the British music competition television series ''The X Factor'' in 2010. After being eliminate ...

– musician, formerly of

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...

Perrie Edwards Perrie Louise Edwards (born 10 July 1993) is an English singer. She rose to prominence in the 2010s as a member of the British girl group Little Mix, one of the world's best-selling girl groups. With Little Mix, she released six studio albums ...

– musician, member of girlband

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British v ...

Theresa Villiers Theresa Anne Villiers (born 5 March 1968) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chipping Barnet since 2005, having previously served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2005. A member of the ...

– MP for

References

External links

Arkley (A Guide to Old Hertfordshire)
{{authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Barnet