Barnet Gate is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

on the northern edge of 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 west of

Arkley Arkley is an area of north 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, roughly centred on the "Gate" pub, ...

, in England. There was a settlement there during the

Roman occupation of Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered was ...

and in the Anglo-Saxon period it was known as ''Grendeles Gatan'' (Grendel's Gate or Grendelgate) after

Grendel Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem '' Beowulf'' (700–1000). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. Grendel is feared by a ...

, the monster in the epic poem ''

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. The ...

''. Manor courts were held there and brickmaking was an important local industry. It was on the edge of Southaw wood which was cleared when nearby

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 Charing Cr ...

was developed after which it was known as Barnet Gate. The Gate referred to no longer exists but was either a gate used to prevent cattle straying onto Barnet Common or a gate that marked the boundary between

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

and

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 ...

History

Barnet Gate was a settlement as early as the

and Hendon Wood Lane may have been a

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 ...

.Arkley and Barnet Gate.
Richard Nurse, London Borough of Barnet, 18 December 2007. Retrieved from archive.org During the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

period, Barnet Gate was known as ''Grendeles Gatan'' (Grendel's Gate or Grendelgate) and referred to as such in a c.975 charter giving the northern bounds of

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

, a reference to the monster killed in the legend of ''

''. The gate referred to no longer exists but was either a gate used to prevent cattle straying onto Barnet Common,Willey, Russ. (2006) ''Chambers London Gazetteer''. London: Chambers. p. 25. or a gate that marked the boundary between

and

which ran through the locality. Manor courts were held in the area and the British Library hold a book in their collection titled ''Barnet Court Book'' which records a

manor court The manorial courts were the lowest courts of law in England during the feudal period. They had a civil jurisdiction limited both in subject matter and geography. They dealt with matters over which the lord of the manor had jurisdiction, primarily ...

held in Barnet Gate in 1354. It had the name Greensgate in 1574 and Grinsgate in 1754. The settlement was on the edge of Southaw (or ''Suthawe'') wood which belonged to the

Abbey of St Albans St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be ...

but which was cleared when

was developed to the east. The word ''barnet'' is derived 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 settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

word ''bærnet'', or "the land cleared by burning".

Industry

There is a history of brickmaking in the area with a brickworks recorded in the 13th century. A late 19th century Ordnance Survey map shows a brick field, two wash mills and a tile works on the south side of Barnet Road adjacent to Barnet Gate Lane. Brickfield Lane runs north from Barnet Road where

Hadley Football Club Hadley may refer to: Places Canada * Hadley Bay, on the north of Victoria Island, Nunavut England * Hadley, London, a former civil parish within Barnet Urban District from 1894 to 1965 * Hadley, Shropshire, part of the new town of Telford, ...

, whose nickname is "the bricks", play at Barnet Gate Sports Ground.

Buildings

The Gate public house, originally The Bell, is on the corner of Barnet Road and Hendon Wood Lane and was built during the Victorian era.

Barnet Gate Mill Barnet Gate Mill or Arkley Windmill is a grade II* listed tower mill at Barnet Gate in the London Borough of Barnet, originally in Hertfordshire. There is no public access. History Barnet Gate Mill was probably built between 1822 and 1840. A ...

, also known as the Arkley Windmill, is a

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

tower mill A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520 Thi ...

in private ground between Windmill Lane and Brickfield Lane. The associated barn for storing grain for the windmill is grade II listed in Brickfield Lane. The entrance to the grade II listed

Hyver Hall Hyver Hall is a grade II listed house in Barnet Road, to the west of Barnet Gate and Arkley, in the London Borough of Barnet. It was purchased by Harpinder Singh Narula in 1991.National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

in 1948. From 1962 it began to accept mentally handicapped children and in 1971 became devoted solely to cases of mental handicap. It closed in 1999 after which Winifred House was demolished and a development of luxury homes built. The hospital is remembered with two plaques in the modern Winifred Close.Winifred House, Zachary Merton Convalescent Hospital Home for Children., Barnet
National Archives. Retrieved 6 July 2021.

Natural environment

Barnet Gate Wood Barnet Gate Wood is a public open space in Barnet Gate, Barnet, London. It is owned and managed by the London Borough of Barnet, and is part of the Watling Chase Community Forest.Barnet Gate Wood Nature Trail, leaflet published by the London Borou ...

is south of Barnet Road and to the west of Hendon Wood Lane. Immediately to the south of the wood is

Moat Mount Open Space Moat Mount Open Space is a 110-hectare park and nature reserve in Mill Hill in the London Borough of Barnet. It is part of Moat Mount Open Space and Mote End Farm Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade II, which includes Barne ...

, a nature reserve that was originally part of the

Forest of Middlesex The Forest of Middlesex was an ancient woodland covering much of the county of Middlesex, England, that was north of the City of London and now forms the northern part of Greater London. A path was cut through the forest for the creation of Watling ...

before it was deforested. The

Dollis Brook Dollis Brook runs through the London Borough of 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 sec ...

rises at Mote End Farm before running eastwards under Hendon Wood Lane and the ten-mile

Dollis Valley Greenwalk The Dollis Valley Greenwalk (or Green Walk) is a footpath route in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England, between Moat Mount Nature Reserve in Mill Hill and Hampstead Heath. The route is designed to act as a link between the Capital ...

, which broadly follows the route of the brook, starts at Moat Mount Open Space.Walk London Loop 16.
Archived at the Internet Archive 16 July 2011.

Maps

File:Barnet Common on an 1805 map by William Hyett.jpg, Barnet Gate (left) and Barnet Common (centre) on an 1805 map File:Arkley & Barnet Gate on Map of Middlesex Sheet 006, Ordnance Survey, 1868-1883.jpg, Barnet Gate and Arkley on a late 19th century Ordnance Survey mapMap of Middlesex, Sheet 6, Ordnance Survey, 1868-1883. File:Map of Barnet Gate.jpg, Modern area mapOpenStreetMap, 3 July 2021.

References

External links

* {{Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Barnet Hamlets in England