Hornsey

Not to be confused with Hornsea.

Hornsey
Hornsey  Hornsey shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ305895
London borough	Haringey
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	N8
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Hornsey and Wood Green
London Assembly	Enfield and Haringey
List of places: UK • England • London

Hornsey is a district in London Borough of Haringey in north London in England. Whilst Hornsey was formerly the name of a parish and later a municipal borough of Middlesex, today, the name refers only to the London district. It is an inner-suburban area located 6.2 miles (10 km) north of Charing Cross.

Locale

The boundaries of Hornsey neighbourhood today are not clearly defined. Since the Municipal Borough of Hornsey was abolished in 1965, the name may refer either to the N8 postal district which includes Crouch End and part of Harringay, or to an area centred around Hornsey High Street, at the eastern end of which is the churchyard and tower of the former parish church which used to be the administrative centre of Hornsey (parish).

To the north of Hornsey High Street, and immediately to its south, the area is largely public sector housing, save for the more upmarket development by the New River. Between the western end of the High Street and the bottom of Muswell Hill, the character of the area changes dramatically. Much of this part is the Warner Estate built up with large well-appointed late Victorian houses. To the south west of the High Street is Priory Park, a pleasant urban green space.

The High Street has a range of shops and an increasing number of restaurants. The eastern section retains strong echoes of its rural past and hosts the 13th Century tower which is all that remains of St Mary's Church.

On the north side of the High street is the old public bath and wash house. Opened in 1932, it had 33,000 users a year in the 1950s. It is now abandoned and sits on a site the future of which is documented here. A small group of local residents have suggested to Haringey Council that it should be developed as an arts & crafts studio and gallery for local artists.

History

The name Hornsey originated from a Saxon chieftain named Haering; 'Haering's Hege was Haering's enclosure. It shares this derivation with Harringay neighbourhood and Haringey borough. The 'Haringey' variant is the oldest recorded form.

Hornsey High Street in 1873, with the old Three Compases pub building in the centre

Hornsey Village, which was first recorded in 1202 according to the Place Names of Middlesex, was the focus of parish with its Church first mentioned in 1291. The 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.

Much of Hornsey was built up in Edwardian times, but the tower of the original parish church still stands in its ancient graveyard in Hornsey High Street, at the centre of the old village. Other notable places are the Doragh Gasworks, the former Hornsey Town Hall in Crouch End, and Highpoint and Cromwell House in Highgate.

In 1954 the first Lotus Cars factory was established behind the Railway Hotel (now Funky Brownz Bar) on Tottenham Lane.

Education

For details of education in Hornsey see the London Borough of Haringey article.

• Greig City Academy
• Hornsey Secondary School for Girls
• Highgate Wood School Arts College

Hornsey in literature, on film and television

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

Notable current and former residents

Former residents include poets A.E. Housman and Thomas Moore, publisher Andrew Melrose, eminent theatre architect Frank Matcham, soviet communist apologists William Peyton Coates and Zelda Coates. Actor Bob Hoskins grew up here. The once-famous poet Samuel Rogers, a friend of Byron and Dickens, is buried in Hornsey churchyard.

Other notable residents are:

• Sway DaSafo
• Lilian Harvey
• Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer
• Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars
• Richard French, philosopher
• Jazzie B, musician
• Paul Eddington, actor

Transport and locale

Nearest places

• Crouch End
• Harringay
• Muswell Hill
• Wood Green
• Finsbury Park
• Highgate
• Turnpike Lane
• Stroud Green

Nearest tube station

• Turnpike Lane tube station

Nearest railway stations

• Crouch Hill railway station
• Hornsey railway station
• Harringay railway station

External links

• Local community website for all of N8, i.e. Crouch End and Hornsey
• Hornsey Historical Society
• The Colin Chapman Museum and Education Centre - includes a history of Lotus in Hornsey.
• Local community website used by Hornseyites - Harringay Online