Monken Hadley is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. An ancient country village north of Barnet, it is now a suburban development on the very edge 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 ...

north north-west 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 ...

, while retaining much of its rural character.

History

The old English place name "Hadley" means "heathery", a woodland clearing which is covered in heather. The prefix "Monken" refers to the fact that the parish was a possession of the monks of

Walden Abbey Walden Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Saffron Walden, Essex, England founded by Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex between 1136 and 1143. Originally a priory, it was elevated to the status of an abbey in 1190. Soon after its foundi ...

East Barnet Valley Civil Parish Map 1894

The main site of the Battle of Barnet in 1471, one of the two principal engagements of the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

, was in the parish of Monken Hadley. Yorkist troops advanced through the village, although the action took place north (Hadley Wood) and west (Hadley Green) of the settlement. Although the retreat of the forces of Lord William Hastings (at the hands of the Earl of Oxford) took place in the parish of Barnet, all of the other key engagements were within Monken Hadley parish, including the historically significant death of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, believed to be at the place where a monument now stands on the Great North Road. The 4 August 1827 edition of ''The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction'', provides the following short history of the area: Historically Monken Hadley was a

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 ...

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 ...

forming part of a small protrusion into Hertfordshire. In 1889, under the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

, the civil parish was transferred to Hertfordshire. 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 ...

the parish was split with a Hadley parish becoming part of the

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 ...

, while the remaining part of the parish became part of the

East Barnet Urban District East Barnet Valley was a local government district from 1863 to 1965 around the town of East Barnet. It was partly in the counties of Hertfordshire and Middlesex until 1889, when the Middlesex part was transferred to Hertfordshire. It was renamed ...

of Hertfordshire. In 1965, under the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

, its area was transferred to

and combined with that of other districts formerly in Hertfordshire and Middlesex to form the present-day London Borough of Barnet.Vision of Britain �
Monken Hadley parish

historic map

Parish church

The parish church of ''St Mary the Virgin'' was built in its present form in 1494 (the date being carved in stone over the west door) although a church is believed to have stood on the site for more than 800 years. The present building is in the perpendicular style, and includes two side chapels (in transepts) dedicated to St Anne and St Catherine. The building was heavily renovated in Victorian times, and contains large quantities of Victorian woodwork furniture. The parish and church were heavily influenced by tractarianism and the

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of ...

, and it remains a focus of eucharistic worship within the surrounding district.

Sport and recreation

Monken Hadley has a

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

team

Hadley F.C. Hadley Football Club is a football club based in Arkley, Barnet, England. Affiliated to the Hertfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at Brickfield Lane. History The club was founded in 1882, and st ...

who play at their Brickfield Lane ground in nearby Arkley. Monken Hadley has a

King George's Fields A King George's Field is a public open space in the United Kingdom dedicated to the memory of King George V (1865–1936). In 1936, after the king's death, Sir Percy Vincent, the then-Lord Mayor of London, formed a committee to determine a ...

open space in memorial to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

. It is popular for tobogganing when there has been a good fall of snow The field descends into the Hadley Woods, which make their way into the Tudor Sports Ground area.

Hadley Green Hadley Green is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation in Hadley in the London Borough of Barnet. The reserve straddles the Great North Road between Hadley Green Road and Fold Lane. Environment It is an area of acid grassland ...

is a Local Nature Reserve which is a Site of Metropolitan Importance, and traditionally considered the main site of the Battle of Barnet. Hadley Common has a cricket field, home to a well-known cricket club, Monken Hadley CC, which is mentioned in one of the works of

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...

, who lived in Monken Hadley.

Famous residents

*The great adversarial lawyer

Sir William Garrow Sir William Garrow (13 April 1760 – 24 September 1840) was an English barrister, politician and judge known for his indirect reform of the advocacy system, which helped usher in the adversarial court system used in most common law nations ...

(1760–1840), coiner of the phrase "innocent until proven guilty", was born and brought up in the village. *

Sir Roger Wilbraham Sir Roger Wilbraham (4 November 1553 – 31 July 1616) was a prominent English lawyer who served as Solicitor-General for Ireland under Elizabeth I and held a number of positions at court under James I, including Master of Requests and surv ...

(1553–1616), Solicitor-General for Ireland, lived here towards the end of his life and is buried here, and the family monument can still be seen in the Church of St Mary the Virgin. He founded the local Wilbraham's Almshouses. * Anthony Upton, a High Court judge in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, was born here in 1656. *The writers

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social ...

and Elizabeth Jane Howard lived for a time in

Lemmons Lemmons, also known as Gladsmuir and Gladsmuir House, was the home of novelists Kingsley Amis (1922–1995) and Elizabeth Jane Howard (1923–2014) on the south side of Hadley Common, Barnet, on the border of north London and Hertfordshire.K ...

, a house near the Common, where their friend the Poet Laureate

Cecil Day-Lewis Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis; 27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972), often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Irish-born British poet and Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym of Nicholas Bla ...

died. * Spike Milligan (1918–2002), Comedian, lived at Monkenhurst, 1974-2002.

Transport links

Buses

Monken Hadley and Hadley Green are not well-served by bus routes, with most services terminating further south in Barnet. The two Transport for London routes which run nearby are: * 84 – New Barnet railway station to St Albans *

399 __NOTOC__ Year 399 ( CCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Eutropius and Theodorus (or, less frequently, year 11 ...

– Barnet (the Spires) to Hadley Wood railway station – circular service; Monday to Saturday shopping hours only.

Railway

Both fairly nearby are: *

New Barnet railway station New Barnet railway station is in the London Borough of Barnet in north London, England. It is down the line from , in Travelcard Zone 5. The station is managed and served by Great Northern. Oyster card pay-as-you-go can now be used to and ...

– Great Northern * Hadley Wood railway station – Great Northern

Tube

Two tube stations are relatively nearby: * High Barnet (Northern Line) is the closer of the two and lies to the south, within walking distance (under a mile), and is accessible via the 84 bus. * Cockfosters (Piccadilly Line) is accessible via a longer walk, nearly three miles, eastwards across

Monken Hadley Common Monken Hadley Common lies within the Monken Hadley Conservation Area, and is listed as a “ Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade I,” by the London Borough of Barnet. It is registered common land, and it is owned by the Tr ...

Geographic location

References

External links

Monken Hadley Parish Church websiteMonken Hadley Cricket Club websiteArchives relating to Monken Hadley
at

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{{Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Barnet Areas of London Places formerly in Middlesex