Finchley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 51°35′57″N 0°11′13″W / 51.5993°N 0.1870°W
Finchley is a district in the London Borough of Barnet, London, England. It is predominantly a residential suburb with a number of retail districts.
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[edit] History
Finchley probably means Finch's clearing or finches' clearing in late Anglo-Saxon; the name was first recorded in the early 13th century.[1]
[edit] Governance
Finchley was from 1959 to 1992 the Parliamentary constituency of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990.[2] Finchley is now covered by the new constituency of Finchley and Golders Green and has been held by Labour MP Rudi Vis since his unexpected victory in 1997.[3]
[edit] Geography
Finchley is situated on a hill, 90 metres (300 ft) above sea level about 11km (7 miles) north of Charing Cross and about 6km (4 miles) south of Barnet. To the east is the Dollis valley formed by Dollis Brook which is the natural eastern boundary of Finchley.[1]
Finchley is roughly triangular in shape and divided into four areas:
- East Finchley, roughly the area between Highgate and the North Circular Road, and in postal area N2;
- Church End Finchley, often known as "Finchley Central", the area west of the North Circular Road, centred around Ballards Lane and Finchley Central tube station, and in postcode district N3;
- West Finchley, a small residential area around West Finchley tube station, and in postcode district N3; and
- North Finchley, the area surrounding Tally-Ho Corner, stretching west to Woodside Park and the Northern Line, in postcode district N12.
The area of London known as Finchley Road, around Finchley Road tube station, is not part of Finchley, but instead refers to a commercial district in Swiss Cottage, Camden. The area is named after a section of the A41 road, which eventually runs north to Finchley.
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[edit] Landmarks
The Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley is one of the oldest purpose-built cinemas in the UK.
[edit] Transport
Finchley is served by four London Underground stations all on the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line.
- East Finchley tube station
- Finchley Central tube station
- West Finchley tube station
- Woodside Park tube station
Two of London's major roads, the North Circular Road and the A1 meet and briefly merge at Henley's Corner at the southern edge of Finchley. The medieval Great North Road that runs along Finchley's eastern edge was notorious for Highwaymen.[1]
[edit] Sport
The local football team is Wingate & Finchley who play in the Southern League Eastern Division. It was founded as a specifically Jewish football club in 1946. The local rugby team is Finchley RFC. Finchley Cricket Club (founded 1832), play in the Middlesex Premier League. They play at Arden Field, East End Road, N3.
[edit] Notable people
- Fleur Adcock, poet
- Harry Beck, designer of the original Tube map
- Emma Bunton, singer
- Charles Dickens, novelist[4]
- Samantha Fox, UK model and singer
- Robert Fripp, musician
- Octavia Hill, social reformer[5]
- David Jason, actor
- Mark Kermode, film critic
- McFly, UK band
- Tony Maudsley, actor.
- Stephen Merchant, actor/director/writer/comedian
- George Michael, singer and songwriter
- Spike Milligan, comedian[6]
- Eric Morecambe, comedian
- Tim Parks, novelist (his semi-autobiographical Tongues of Flame is set in the North Finchley of 1968).
- Steve Pemberton, actor and member of The League of Gentlemen
- Anna Popplewell, actor.
- Cliff Richard, singer
- Will Self, novelist, reviewer and columnist[7]
- Peter Sellers, comedian
- Feargal Sharkey, singer
- Reece Shearsmith, actor and member of The League of Gentlemen
- Sir William Shee, the first Roman Catholic judge to sit in England and Wales since the Reformation.[1]
- Jerry Springer, born at East Finchley Station, or possibly Highgate, during World War II
- Steven Stapleton, musician
- Owen Suffolk, Australian transported convict and bushranger - born in Finchley in 1777[8]
- Margaret Thatcher, local MP and Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1979-1990[2]
- Terry-Thomas, actor[9]
- Alan Tilvern, actor
- Tamás Vásáry, pianist and conductor.
- Ram Vaswani, professional poker player
[edit] Cultural references
William Hogarth's painted his satirical 'March of the Guards to Finchley' in 1750. It is a depiction of a fictional mustering of troops on the Tottenham Court Road to march north to Finchley to defend the capital from the second Jacobite rebellion of 1745.
Perhaps because of its rather ordinary, middle-class suburban image, a number of fictional characters have been associated with the area, including:
- Bluebottle, a character in the 1950s BBC radio series The Goon Show, hails from Finchley.
- In the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Susan Pevensie says that she and her siblings, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy, are from Finchley, despite no mention of Finchley being made in C. S. Lewis's book.
[edit] Community facilities
The artsdepot at Tally Ho Corner North Finchley opened in Autumn 2004. Victoria Park is located in Ballards Lane between North Finchley and Finchley Central. It was opened in 1902 and was intended to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and was Finchley's first Public Park.
[edit] Twinning
Finchley Borough had four twin towns, the London Borough of Barnet continues these links.
Jinja, Uganda Since 1963[10]
Le Raincy, France Since 1962[11]
Montclair, United States Since 1945[12]
Siegen-Wittgenstein, Germany Since 1951[13]
[edit] Gallery
 Ballards Lane |
 St Mary's Church |
 Christ's College old building |
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 Art Deco 'Archer' Statue at East Finchley Tube Station |
 The Phoenix Cinema |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Baker & Elrington (1980). "A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6". Victoria County History. pp. 38-55.. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22501. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
- ^ a b "Historic Figures Margaret Thatcher (1925 - )". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/thatcher_margaret.shtml. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
- ^ "Rudi Vis". BBC News. 17 October, 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2082613.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-09.
- ^ Nurse, Richard (13/02/2008). "Finchley N12 Fallow Corner". LB Barnet. http://www.barnet.gov.uk/index/leisure-culture/libraries/archives/archives-histories/archives-finchleyhistories/archives-finchley-fallowcorner.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-28.
- ^ "Early Social Reform Influences". Octavia Hill’s Birthplace House. http://octaviahill.org/early-social-reform-influences.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-28.
- ^ "Spike Milligan Statue Fund". Finchley Society. http://www.finchleysociety.org.uk/actstatuefund.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-28.
- ^ Self, Will (6 July 2007). "Head in the clouds". The Independent. http://will-self.com/2007/07/06/head-in-the-clouds/. Retrieved on 2009-04-28.
- ^ Eastwood, Jill (1976). "Suffolk, Owen Hargraves (1830? - )". Australian Dictionary of Biography Online. http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A060234b.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-29.
- ^ Mccann, Graham (05th September 2008). "I say! What a bounder... All dandy comic legend Terry-Thomas really liked was 'jolly eager girls'". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1052851/I-say-What-bounder--All-dandy-comic-legend-Terry-Thomas-really-liked-jolly-eager-girls.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-29.
- ^ Godleman, Mike (04/07/2007). "Town twinning Jinja (Uganda)". LB Barnet. http://www.barnet.gov.uk/index/leisure-culture/tourism-travel/town-twinning/jinja.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-28.
- ^ Costello, Laura (28/07/2008). "Town twinning Le Raincy (France)". LB Barnet. http://www.barnet.gov.uk/index/leisure-culture/tourism-travel/town-twinning/le-raincy.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-28.
- ^ Costello, Laura (29/07/2008). "Town twinning Montclair (USA)". LB Barnet. http://www.barnet.gov.uk/index/leisure-culture/tourism-travel/town-twinning/montclair.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-28.
- ^ Godleman, Mike (28/07/2008). "Town twinning Siegen Wittgenstein (Germany)". LB Barnet. http://www.barnet.gov.uk/index/leisure-culture/tourism-travel/town-twinning/siegen-wittgenstein.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-28.
[edit] External links
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