Hadley Wood is an affluent suburb in the north of

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 ...

, close to the border with

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 gov ...

. It appears to be a stand-alone village surrounded by

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

land, however, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

it is part of the

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London borough in North London. It borders the London boroughs of Barnet to the west, Haringey to the south, and Waltham Forest to the southeast. To the north are the districts of Hertsmere, Welwyn Hat ...

, about north 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 ...

(although it is situated closer to Barnet).

History

The area in which Hadley Wood resides is part of the historical hunting grounds of

Enfield Chase Enfield Chase is an area of Enfield that is named for a former royal hunting ground. Much of the former area of the Chase has been developed, but a large part survives between Cockfosters in the west and Enfield in the east as Trent Count ...

and some of the land that has been part of the estate of the Sovereign since 1399 remains to this day owned by the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...

. The Act of Disenchasement of 1777 divided Enfield Chase into plots for sale as agricultural leases. Much of the work was carried out by Francis Russell, "His Majesty's Surveyor for the South part of the Duchy" (of Lancaster). As a reward for his good work Russell was allowed to purchase 152 acres of land between Beech Hill and Cockfoster Road,

Beech Hill Park Beech Hill Park is a Grade II listed building off Beech Hill in Hadley Wood, North London, that is used today as the club house of Hadley Wood Golf Course. It was built in 1781 for Francis Russell, secretary and surveyor to the Duchy of Lanca ...

, where he built Russell Mansion (later renamed Beech Hill Park Mansion - see image to the right below). After several ownership changes the estate was acquired by

Charles Jack Charles Jack (1810 – 22 April 1896) was an Irish farmer and landowner who was primarily responsible for the construction of Hadley Wood from the late 1880s, and the building of Hadley Wood railway station. Hadley Wood Jack was born in Ba ...

, a local farmer, in 1854. In the 1880s Jack negotiated the establishment of a railway station (which introduced the name "Hadley Wood") with Great Northern Railway, and arranged for the Duchy of Lancaster to convert the leases around that into building leases. Charles Jack died in 1896 but the development continued and by 1901 over 60 dwellings had been constructed, however, the estate started to sell some of its interests. Jack's freehold property, Beech Hill Park Mansion, became dilapidated and the site was sold off in the early 1920s, becomin
Hadley Wood Golf Club
Hadley Wood sits just east of the village of Monken Hadley (which is now a suburb of Barnet), with the two settlements sharing several features of social life. However, in modern history the two communities are distinct and separate, belonging to different parishes (both civil and

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor