North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

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

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in Harringay, north London, England. The park lies on the southern-most edge of the London Borough of Haringey. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal ...

Stroud Green Stroud Green is a suburb and Ward (subnational entity), electoral ward in north London, England, split between the London boroughs of London Borough of Haringey, Haringey and London Borough of Islington, Islington. On its south-western side, St ...

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, England, from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described as one of "a new breed of urban villages" in London ...

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross, close to the Hertfordshire border. It was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it b ...

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northwest London. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex east of the ancient Watling Street in what is now the London Borough of Barnet but it is now informally considered to cover a wider area, inc ...

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...

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 C ...

Potters Bar Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882.Clive's Underground Line Guides, Northern Line, Dates
/ref> At first, services ran from Edgware to

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in Harringay, north London, England. The park lies on the southern-most edge of the London Borough of Haringey. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal ...

, King's Cross and, via Snow Hill tunnel, to

Ludgate Hill Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London, England. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760. Th ...

, Blackfriars and Loughborough Road on the south of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

. After 1869, trains terminated at

Moorgate Moorgate was one of the City of London's northern gates in its defensive wall, the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields, an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall. The gate was demolished in 1762, but ...

. Services could also run from Finsbury Park via the

North London Railway The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the Port of London further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fell into disus ...

to Broad Street after the Canonbury-Finsbury Park link opened in 1875. 21 trains a day ran to Finchley, usually in 24 minutes from Kings Cross, and 14 continued to Edgware. In 1870 the track between Finsbury Park and Finchley & Hendon (now Finchley Central) was doubled in preparation for the opening of the High Barnet branch and Muswell Hill branch. Because of the rapid rise and fall of the terrain in the area traversed by the railway, the line made extensive use of cuttings, embankments and

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

s. Particularly notable were the cutting in Highgate Hill in which Highgate station was constructed with tunnels on either side, and the viaducts over the Dollis Brook and at Muswell Hill.

Branch lines

The High Barnet branch opened on 1 April 1872 with two intermediate stations at Woodside Park and Totteridge & Whetstone ( West Finchley did not open until 1933). The line to Barnet stopped short at Underhill, south of the main village located at the top of the hill. As Barnet was a larger village than Edgware and new residential development at Finchley grew at a faster pace than on the original line, the branch line quickly became the dominant route. Direct services from London ran to High Barnet and a shuttle service was operated between Finchley and Edgware for most passenger journeys on that section, which remained a single track. The Muswell Hill branch from Highgate to

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

was constructed by a separate company, the Muswell Hill Railway Company, and opened on 24 May 1873 along with the Palace. However, when the Palace burned down only two weeks after opening, the service was considerably reduced and then closed for almost two years whilst the Palace was rebuilt. It reopened in May 1875. Another separate company, the Watford and Edgware Railway (W&ER), was established in the 1860s and had various plans to build a link from the EH&LR near Edgware to

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. The W&ER was unable to attract sufficient funds for the project and the company and the right of way that it had obtained passed through the ownership of a number of other railway companies until plans were made in the 1930s to make use of its route (see below).

Development, overcrowding and competition: 1900–1918

By the 1900s the whole line was under pressure from overcrowding. The populations of areas along the line, particularly at

Hornsey Hornsey () is a district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood to the west and Alexand ...

, Highgate, Muswell Hill, and Finchley, had increased considerably with the rapid

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

expansion of London, but the GNR service had not been expanded to cope. The line was also congested with goods traffic, mostly coal and building materials. By 1903 the morning trains from Barnet were full by the time they arrived at East Finchley. As the doors of the compartments in the carriages were in those days locked with aid of a simple square key, some passengers took to purchasing these keys from local ironmongers, and locking the doors from the inside. It was not unknown for harsh words and even, on odd occasions, for blows to be exchanged. New stations were opened at Cranley Gardens (1902, between Highgate and Muswell Hill) and Mill Hill (1906, between Mill Hill East and Edgware). In 1905

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

services were established in both

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

and Finchley, and extended shortly after to Barnet. This combined with motor transport alleviated some of the problem. This relief was also competition, and the GNR introduced new

engines An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

, specially designed to manage the steep inclines on the routes which slowed up the services. Further competition came from the opening of the new underground

Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway The Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR), also known as the Hampstead Tube, was a railway company established in 1891 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London. Construction of the CCE&HR was delayed for ...

(CCE&HR) to Archway (then named Highgate) and

Golders Green Golders Green is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet in north London, northwest of Charing Cross. It began as a medieval small suburban linear settlement near a farm and public grazing area green, and dates to the early 19th century. It ...

in June 1907 a move that stimulated large scale house building to the south of the Edgware branch spreading out from

Golders Green Golders Green is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet in north London, northwest of Charing Cross. It began as a medieval small suburban linear settlement near a farm and public grazing area green, and dates to the early 19th century. It ...

. The GNR took over the Muswell Hill Railway (renamed to the Muswell Hill and Palace Railway) in September 1911 and merged it with the rest of the line. Further developments were halted by the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

.

Amalgamation: 1918–1939

In 1923 as a consequence of the railway grouping instigated by the

Railways Act 1921 The Railways Act 1921 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an act of Parliament enacted by the British government, and was intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grou ...

, the GNR became part of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

(LNER). In January 1924 the newly enlarged company announced that the line would be electrified, although little was done. Meanwhile, the CCE&HR, now part of the

London Electric Railway The London Electric Railway (LER) was an underground railway company operating three lines on the London Underground. It was formed in 1910 and existed until 1933, when it was merged into the London Passenger Transport Board. History The LER ...

(Underground Group), was using plans dating back to 1901 for the Edgware and Hampstead Railway to construct an extension of its line from Golders Green through Hendon to a new station at

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northwest London. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex east of the ancient Watling Street in what is now the London Borough of Barnet but it is now informally considered to cover a wider area, inc ...

where it would be in direct competition with the LNER line. The Underground Group had also bought up the rights of the W&ER and published proposals to further extend the line to

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...

and Watford although nothing was done immediately. Following the nationalisation of the Underground Group in 1933, the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Londo ...

announced the 1935–1940 New Works Programme which included the following proposals for the Finsbury Park to Edgware, High Barnet and Muswell Hill lines: # Upgrade the line to allow electric tube trains on all the lines and double the line from Finchley to Edgware. # To run the LNER Edgware line into Edgware Underground station where the trains from East Finchley could terminate. # To connect the Underground from Archway to East Finchley via a new tunnel under the LNER's Highgate station. # To activate the dormant proposals to extend the line from Edgware to

Bushey Heath Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...

with intermediate stations at Brockley Hill and Elstree South. Much of the work was carried out, with East Finchley and Highgate stations being completely rebuilt and the electrification works were well advanced before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

put a stop to progress. Passenger services on the Finchley Central to Edgware line were ended in September 1939.

End of the line: 1939 onwards

Underground trains took over from LNER steam services between East Finchley and High Barnet on 14 April 1940. LNER Services were withdrawn between Highgate and East Finchley in March 1941 (both services having briefly operated to the latter station from the two parts of Highgate station). Underground trains began serving Mill Hill East in May 1941 but never ran to Edgware as planned. In 1942 the Finsbury Park - Highgate - Alexandra Palace line was reduced to a peak service shuttle to Finsbury Park, ending through running to central London. After the war, the introduction of London's

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 ...

made the project to continue the line to Bushey unnecessary as the intended housing development proposed in the area was prevented by the new legislation. The plan was formally cancelled in October 1950. In 1953 the modernisation and electrification of the remaining sections of track between Mill Hill East to Edgware also Finsbury Park to Alexandra Park were also abandoned. The last regular passenger service between Finsbury Park, Highgate and Alexandra Palace was run on 3 July 1954. In 1957 the goods yards at Cranley Gardens and Muswell Hill were closed and the line from Park Junction (Highgate Station) to Alexandra Palace was abandoned. The line from Finsbury Park to Edgware continued to be used for goods traffic, primarily coal, milk and building materials, even into the period when diesel engines had replaced steam locomotion. However, the introduction of the

Clean Air Act 1956 The Clean Air Act 1956 (4 & 5 Eliz. 2. c. 52) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted principally in response to London's Great Smog of London, Great Smog of 1952. It was sponsored by the Ministry of Housi ...

established a shift away from coal as a fuel for domestic heating and the demand for coal slumped. At the same time, the expansion of road haulage reduced the demand for rail transportation of other bulk loads and the line closed completely between Edgware and Mill Hill East in 1964 with equipment and track removed by the following year. London Underground regularly moved stock for the Northern City Line along the old lines between Highgate Wood Depot, Finsbury Park and Drayton Park Depot until September 1970. The movements ran regularly on Tuesdays, and occasionally on Mondays and Wednesdays. The tracks were removed in 1971 following which the Northern City Line empty stock movements ran from

Neasden Neasden is a suburban area in northwest London, England. It is located around the centre of the London Borough of Brent and is within the NW2 (Cricklewood) and NW10 (Willesden) postal districts. Neasden is near Wembley Stadium, the Brent Reserv ...

via King's Cross (York Road) and the Widened Lines. The sections of the line from Finsbury Park to the southern portals of the southern tunnels at Highgate station and between the sites of Cranley Gardens and Muswell Hill stations now form a linear urban park known as Parkland Walk. Stretches of the Mill Hill East to Edgware line are now local nature reserves: Copthall Railway Walk and Mill Hill Old Railway Nature Reserve.

Stations

All listings are with original names. Stations on the Finsbury Park to Edgware line, from south to north: *

Finsbury Park station Finsbury Park () is an intermodal passenger transport, intermodal interchange station in North London for London Underground, National Rail and London Buses services. The station is the third busiest Underground station outside Zone 1, with over ...

*

Stroud Green Stroud Green is a suburb and Ward (subnational entity), electoral ward in north London, England, split between the London boroughs of London Borough of Haringey, Haringey and London Borough of Islington, Islington. On its south-western side, St ...

- Opened in 1881. *

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, England, from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described as one of "a new breed of urban villages" in London ...

*

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

- Rebuilt prior to the take-over by Underground services. * East End, Finchley - Renamed to "East Finchley" in 1886. The station was completely rebuilt prior to the take-over by Underground services. * Finchley & Hendon - Renamed twice: to "Finchley (Church End)" in 1894 and "Finchley Central" in 1940. It was the main goods yard for the Finchley area, with two separate yards in operation. *

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross, close to the Hertfordshire border. It was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it b ...

- Now Mill Hill East. The station was important for two reasons: North Middlesex Gas Company established a works in 1862, with coal being carried on the line to feed the works in increasing quantity up until 1961. From here onwards, the original track has been lifted. The Mill Hill Barracks were established beside the station in 1905. * Hale - Opened in 1906 as a halt for milk from Mill Hill farms. But as suburban dwellings, in what is now called Mill Hill Broadway, began to appear after 1910 the platform was extended and a ticket office was established with a station master. It was renamed "The Hale for Mill Hill" no later than 1919, supplying mostly coal and commuters. In preparation for the proposed electrification during the late 1930s the station platform was extended with concrete and was closed in 1939 to allow work to be accelerated but it was never reopened and subsequent work was aborted. *

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northwest London. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex east of the ancient Watling Street in what is now the London Borough of Barnet but it is now informally considered to cover a wider area, inc ...

- There was a small engine shed, but after damage from "the great blizzard of January 1881" it was demolished and never replaced. Not to be confused with Edgware Underground station 200 yards to the north. All has been demolished. On the Highgate to Alexandra Palace branch: * Cranley Gardens - Opened in 1902. *

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...

*

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

On the Finchley Central to High Barnet branch: * West Finchley - Opened in 1933 by the LNER to serve new developments that had taken place between Church End, Finchley and the Dollis Brook. The station was built from material of older stations the company had further north in Yorkshire. The result is that the station is in keeping with the style of other stations on the same route. The footbridge, for example, comes from Wintersett and Ryhill,

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. * Torrington Park - Renamed "Woodside Park" in 1889 when the station was rebuilt. Coal sidings were built by 1906. * Whetstone and Totteridge - Now "Totteridge and Whetstone". Pickfords had a horse hospital and stables here, and the nursery gardeners Sweets also used the station. *

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 C ...

- Opened on the site of the old

Barnet Fair Barnet Fair is an annual horse and pleasure fair held near Mays Lane, Chipping Barnet, Barnet, England, on the first Monday in September. The Fair takes place over three days starting on 4 September. It still operates under its royal Charte ...

. The name is not, as is popularly thought, a railway name, and has been in use since at least the 16th century. There was a cattle pound in the station yard. Other notable structures were: Dollis brook viaduct

* Dollis Viaduct - 13 arches each with a span of , and high (the highest point above ground on the present underground). It was designed by Sir John Fowler and Walter Marr Brydone to span Dollis Brook and was built between 1863 and 1867. * Muswell Hill viaduct - Carried trains high on brick pylon on the way to Muswell Hill station. Affords excellent views of central London. * United Dairies sidings - Came into use in the early 1920s and was originally owned by Manor Dairies. It had sidings of its own, and was used as a distribution depot. It was closed in 1960.

In fiction

The Alexandra Palace branch features in the novel '' The Horn of Mortal Danger'' (1980). The book begins with two children exploring Cranley Gardens station and the tunnel to Highgate; they discover a "secret railway" which can be accessed by a gate in the wall of the tunnel. A version of the railway also features in scenes eventually cut from ''

Shaun of the Dead ''Shaun of the Dead'' is a 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Shaun, a downtrodden London salesman who is caught alongside his loved ones in a zombie apocalypse. It also star ...

''.Nick Cooper
"Shaun of the Dead"
/ref>

References

External links

Northern Heights - 1970

Lost Lines - Northern Heights

Transport for London - Parkland Walk

Video about the abandoned Mill Hill-Edgware extension
by Jay Foreman
Friends of Parkland walk website
{{Northern line navbox Transport in the London Borough of Barnet Early British railway companies Great Northern Railway (Great Britain) Transport in the London Borough of Haringey Predecessor companies of the London Underground Railway companies established in 1862 Railway lines opened in 1867 Railway companies disestablished in 1867 History of rail transport in London Closed railway lines in London Alexandra Palace 1862 establishments in England British companies established in 1862 British companies disestablished in 1867

Establishment

Branch lines

Development, overcrowding and competition: 1900–1918

Amalgamation: 1918–1939

End of the line: 1939 onwards

Stations

In fiction

References

External links