Hornsey
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Hornsey () is a district of north
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England, in the
London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey ( , same as Harringay) is a London boroughs, London borough in north London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation ...
. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of
Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...
. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood to the west and Alexandra Park to the north, and lies in the valley of the now-culverted River Moselle. The central core of the area is known as Hornsey Village.


Locale

Hornsey is relatively old, and the oldest recorded village 202, according to the Place Names of Middlesexnow in London. Originally a village, it grew up along Hornsey High Street- at the eastern end of which is the churchyard and tower of the former St Mary's parish church, which was first mentioned in 1291. At the western end is Priory Park. This was the administrative centre of the historically broad parish. North of Hornsey High Street, and immediately to its south, some of the area is public sector housing, surrounded by the late-Victorian terraces developed by builders such as John Farrer. Between the western end of the High Street and the bottom of
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 ...
, the character of the area changes; most being part of the Warner Estate built up with large late-Victorian houses. To the south west of the High Street is Priory Park. The High Street has a variety of shops, coffee shops, restaurants and pubs, the oldest being the Three Compasses. The eastern section retains strips of grassed areas. The 13th-century St Mary's Tower is all that remains of St Mary's Church. The
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
was demolished in Victorian times and a grey stone church was built on the corner of Church Lane and Hornsey High Street. The tower was retained as there were not enough funds raised for a new bell tower. However, in the late '60s the Victorian church was demolished and St Mary's school was built on the site. The 500-year-old Tower was restored and managed by the charity, Friends of Hornsey Church Tower (FoHCT). It is now used for open-air live performances and occasional services. The internal space, known as The Intimate Space, claims to be London's smallest performance space. It has become one of the four key venues of the Crouch End Festival that now runs an annual two-day music festival, The Tower Music Festival. Hornsey Parish Church holds open-air services there every Sunday. Hornsey also has a Bowling Club which is situated on land owned by the London Diocesan Fund, part of the
Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...
. The London Diocesan Fund had expressed an interest in building new homes on the site of the Bowling Club in 2015. Priory Park is, along with Alexandra Park, the main park serving the area. It is a 6.5-hectare site. Two key events that happen in the park annually are the YMCA Fun Run and the Carter's Steam Fair. It has a cafe, kid's paddling pool and tennis courts. The park was originally opened in 1896 as the Middle Lane Pleasure Grounds. In 1926 the western section was added after the acquisition of a piece of land known as Lewcock's Field. The expanded park was renamed Priory Park The park was created in two sections. Two parcels of land at the eastern and southern ends were purchased in 1891 by the Borough of Hornsey at the instigation of Henry Reader Williams and opened in 1896 as the Middle Lane Pleasure Grounds. In 1926 the western section was added after the acquisition of a piece of land known as Lewcock's Field. During World War 1 this had been requisitioned by the council for allotments. After the war an initial plan for the council to develop the field for housing was dropped on grounds of cost, and an expanded park was renamed Priory Park in 1926. Some locals have suggested it be renamed Hornsey Park. Hornsey is served by 6 major churches including Hornsey Parish Church, Holy Innocents, Moravian, Middle Lane Methodist, St John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church and Campsbourne Baptist Church. Mosques in the area include Wightman Road Mosque and Diyanet Camii.


Geography

There are various views as to the location of Hornsey's current boundaries. The northern and eastern boundaries are relatively uncontentious. Although the eastern boundary of the parish was Green Lanes, it is alleged by some that these are now restricted by Alexandra Park and the Great Northern Railway respectively. The southern and western boundaries are less clear cut. A recent version of those boundaries was provided by local opinion as expressed in a small residents' survey undertaken as part of the application for the Crouch End Neighbourhood Forum. It offers a contemporary view of where local residents see the boundary between Hornsey and Crouch End and so defines the southern and western boundaries. The area defined is almost identical to that presented by one individual on a personal Google Map. Both closely resemble the post-19th-century Anglican parish and refer to former methods of property reference such as the layout of building schemes (developers' estates).


History

The name Hornsey has its origin in the Saxon period and is derived from the name of a Saxon chieftain called Haering. Haering's Hege meant Haering's enclosure. The earliest-written form of the name was recorded as Harenhg' in about 1195. Its development thereafter gave rise to the modern-day names of Harringay (the district of London), the London Borough of Haringey and Hornsey. The church was first mentioned in 1291. Hornsey Village developed along what is now Hornsey High Street, and in the seventeenth century it was bisected by the New River that crossed the village in three places: first at the end of Nightingale Lane, secondly from behind the Three Compasses and lastly, as it does now, at the bottom of Tottenham Lane. The village grew dramatically after about 1860 and eventually merged with the separate settlement at Crouch End (first mentioned in 1465), to form an urban area in the middle of the parish. Hornsey was a much larger original
ancient 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
than today's
electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
of the same name. These entities are smaller than the Municipal Borough of Hornsey which co-governed the area with
Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the cou ...
from
1889 Events January * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the Dakotas ...
until 1965, since when the name refers, as a minimum, to the London neighbourhood with a
high street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
at its traditional heart to the west of Hornsey railway station. Its
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
ranked sixth in size, of more than forty in Ossulstone, the largest
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
in
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 ...
and was a scattered semi-rural community of 2,716 people in 1801. By 1901 the population had risen about eightfold in forty years, reaching 87,626, by which time new localities/districts, mainly Crouch End and
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 ...
, were popularly becoming considered distinct from Hornsey. The N8 postcode district, the current form of Hornsey ward as devised from time-to-time for equal representation (electorate) across wards of the Borough, and the choice of other railway and tube stations towards, on these definitions, outer parts create conflicting definitions of Hornsey and it is unclear whether since 1965 the term is distinct from Hornsey Village, a term unrecognised by some residents. The old parish used to have two small detached parts immediately beyond and within Stoke Newington Parish. In the 1840s the parish had 5,937 residents, slightly reduced by the loss of
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 ...
but comprised taking in besides its own village, the established
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
s of
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 ...
, Crouch End,
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 ...
, and part of
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 ...
. In the later eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth century, Hornsey became an increasingly popular area for wealthy merchants wanting a comfortable home close to London. With them came the laying out some large estates and subsequently the development of large villas along the principal routes. The arrival of the railway in 1850 made Hornsey a commuter town and accelerated urban development. In the late 1860s, large areas of Hornsey were developed by freehold land societies for working-class housing including Abyssinia (later known as Hornsey Vale) and Campsbourne. Development of a generally much more middle-class nature continued throughout the Victorian and
Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...
eras with the final gaps being filled during interwar period. Most of the early freehold land estates have since been demolished for public housing, or in the case of Abyssinia (Hornsey Vale) to accommodate the Hornsey School for Girls. The tower of the original parish church still stands in its ancient graveyard in Hornsey High Street, at the centre of the old village. Well-known people buried in the churchyard include English poet Samuel Rogers and Dutch poet Gerrit van de Lind
Schoolmeester, Gerrit van de Linde
ka The Schoolmaster Other notable places are the former Hornsey Town Hall in Crouch End, and Highpoint and Cromwell House in
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 ...
. On the north side of the High Street was the old public bath and wash house (not to be confused with Hornsey Road Baths & Laundry away on Hornsey Road) which was demolished to make way for a new housing scheme and
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...
. Opened in 1932, it had 33,000 users a year in the 1950s. A small group of residents wished Haringey Council to purchase the site and install arts and crafts studios, with a gallery, primarily for local artists. For 1978 to 2002 in the borough, having in its initial 13 years no wards mentioning ''Hornsey'', three wards bearing the name existed and so popularised it among bordering, competing areas with newer names, strongly reflecting their historic, shared identity: #Hornsey Central #Hornsey Vale #South Hornsey


Economic development

In the 1840s a section of a major new railway line from London to the north, the
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain) The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was a British railway company incorporated in 1846 with the object of building a line from London to York. It quickly saw that seizing control of territory was key to development, and it acquired, or took le ...
, was constructed right through Hornsey near to the centre of the village, and a station - the first out of London on the line - was built to serve it on Tottenham Lane, opened on 8 August 1850. It was successful and sidings on both sides of the line were constructed s well as goods depots, so Hornsey became somewhat of a railway town. This tradition continues: two major maintenance depots for the new electric trains running from Finsbury Park to Brighton have been constructed beside the main line. In 1870 the first shop of what would become the David Greig national grocery chain, once a rival to Sainsbury's, was opened in 32 Hornsey High Street by Greig's mother. In 1951 the first
Lotus Cars Lotus Group (also known as Lotus Cars) is a British multinational automotive manufacturer of luxury sports cars and electric vehicles. Lotus Group is composed of three primary entities. Lotus Cars, a high-performance sports car company, is ba ...
factory was established in stables behind the Railway Hotel (now No5 Dining) on Tottenham Lane. The company was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd by Colin Chapman. The Railway Hotel pub was owned by Chapman's father. In its early days, Lotus sold cars aimed at private racers and trialists. Its early road cars could be bought as kits, in order to save on purchase tax. Lotus moved to
Cheshunt Cheshunt (/ˈtʃɛzənt/ CHEZ-ənt) is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, situated within the London commuter belt approximately north of Central London. The town lies on the River Lea and Lee Navigation, bordering th ...
in 1959, and to Hethel in Norfolk in 1966. Adjacent to the pub was the first Lotus showroom (formerly part of Jewson's) where there is now a memorial plaque to Colin Chapman erected by Club Lotus. An application to demolish the building by Jewson's, listed by Haringey Council as an "historic building of interest", was turned down following a public campaign by local resident Chris Arnold, son of the former Lotus Sales Director Graham Arnold. It was briefly a plumbing shop but is now empty. Suggestions have been made to turn it into a Colin Chapman museum or the Colin Chapman Innovation Centre for young people. The site is now being developed by Fifth State as the Lotus Buildings and will celebrate the Lotus heritage with a community cafe, new public spaces and housing for students. Established in 1964, Hornsey Co-operative Credit Union was Britain's oldest
credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...
, until it merged with London Capital Credit Union in 2013. Since 2000 Hornsey's residential developments have been architecturally diverse and overall accommodative of a diverse range of the local community. This has included estates of more than 50 homes with a proportion available under
social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
and
affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...
schemes. The Hornsey Water Treatment Works were developed alongside the New River, the water supply system constructed in the 17th century that brings water from Hertfordshire to London. The brick buildings associated with the works were the last constructed by the New River Company before the
Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functio ...
took over in 1904. They are now run by
Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Limited, trading as Thames Water, is a British private utility company responsible for the water supply and waste water Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking w ...
and still supply some of London's water.


Rail transport

The
East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...
from to the east Midlands, northern England and Scotland, successor to the GNR mentioned above, crosses Hornsey. Local commuter and regional services are provided from Hornsey railway station by Great Northern into Central London ending in
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 ...
and towards
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 ...
. A change at
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 ...
gives direct access on the overground lines to central London, south London and Brighton. Turnpike Lane tube station on the
Piccadilly Line The Piccadilly line is a Deep level underground, deep-level London Underground line running between the west and the north of London. It has two western branches which split at Acton Town tube station, Acton Town and serves 53 stations. The li ...
is the nearest Underground station.


Education

Secondary schools serving the area include Greig City Academy, Hornsey School for Girls and Highgate Wood Secondary School. Primary schools within Hornsey include Campsbourne Primary School and St Mary's Primary School.


In literature

In Jonathan Coe's 1987 debut novel ''The Accidental Woman'', the protagonist Maria shares a flat in Hornsey with two other women for several years.


Notable residents

:''See :People from Hornsey''


Transport and locale


Nearest places

* Crouch End *
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms ...
* Harringay *
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 ...


Nearest stations

* Hornsey * Harringay * Turnpike Lane * Buses 29,41,141,144,W5 serve Hornsey, while night buses N41 and N91 serve Hornsey also.


References


External links


Vision of Britain
entry for Hornsey
Local community website for all of N8, i.e. Crouch End and Hornsey

Hornsey Historical Society


- includes a history of Lotus in Hornsey. {{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Haringey Places formerly in Middlesex