Mill Hill (The Hale) railway station was a station in

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,4 ...

north London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

, on the now-removed railway between Mill Hill East station and Edgware railway station. It was located near the junction of Bunns Lane and Lyndhurst Avenue.

History

Extract of 1900 Map showing Edgware Highgate and London Railway

The railway line was built by the

Edgware, Highgate and London Railway The Edgware, Highgate and London Railway was a railway in North London. 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 thwarted ...

(EH&LR) and was opened on 22 August 1867, in what was then rural

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) (which had taken over the EH&LR). The station, then named ''The Hale Halt'', was not opened until 11 June 1906, on the single track from Finchley Central to Edgware. The whole line ran from

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

via

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...

with branches to

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

and

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 ...

. The station was adjacent to the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 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 its headquarters. It ama ...

's (MR's) Mill Hill station (now Mill Hill Broadway), with the GNR's track passing under those of the MR just to the south of Mill Hill station. A goods service opened on 18 July 1910. After the 1921 Railways Act created the 'Big Four' railway companies, the line was, from 1923, part of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

(LNER). The station was named ''Mill Hill (The Hale)'' in 1928. In 1935,

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

devised a five-year

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, trolley ...

of improvements, and planned to take over the line from the LNER in its "

Northern Heights 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 ...

" plan. The line was to be modernised for use by electric trains on double track, and amalgamated with the

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 ...

. The two adjacent stations were to be provided with a new combined entrance building with a shared forecourt and shops. Works began in the late 1930s and were at an advanced stage, with a second track laid between Finchley Central junction and Mill Hill (The Hale) when they were interrupted by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The section of line between Finchley Central station and Edgware was closed to passenger services on 11 September 1939. Site of the former mill hill hale railway station 2009

Site of the former mill hill hale railway station 2009

After the war, shortage of funds, then the Town & Country Planning Act (which led to the Bushey Heath area being made part of the

Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

) led to the cancellation of the Northern Heights work in the early 1950s. Mill Hill (The Hale) was the only station between Edgware and Mill Hill East, and as Edgware was already served by the Underground from its own station in the town, and Mill Hill was served by the adjacent station, there was little need for the completion of the track modernisation works and the re-opening of the line for passenger services. The second track laid before the war was dismantled and removed without having been used. The goods services continued at Mill Hill (The Hale) until 29 February 1964, when it was completely closed. Until 1969,''Journal of Transport Ticket Society'', July 2017, page 229 it was possible to buy an Underground ticket to "Mill Hill The Hale" even though no such station had existed for years. This enabled passengers to keep their tickets upon alighting at Mill Hill East and to travel onwards by 240A bus anywhere between Mill Hill and Edgware. Today, the track has been removed and the platforms and station buildings have been demolished. The site of Mill Hill (The Hale) station was covered by material excavated for the construction of slip roads to the nearby section of the

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

. In 2007, work began to build flats on the site of the former station, but the bridge over the former tracks remains.

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Northern line navbox Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1906 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1939 Former Great Northern Railway stations Proposed London Underground stations Unopened Northern Heights extension stations Disused railway stations in the London Borough of Barnet Mill Hill