Walking in Barnet North west Londons parks, open spaces, footpaths around Mill Hill
Mill Hill was originally part of a forest with area's believed to be inhabited as far back as the iron age (around 500-BC) with the Romans following along around the 900 years later & leaving a few traces of them being in the area for a short time. Other period's also show Mill Hill listed in the Doomsday book where there is evidence of having two Anglo-Saxon land owners & a Bishop owning large areas of the lands what is now known as Mill Hill. Its from this time that much of the forest was removed & more farming land was created. There was also the introduction of a mill. (Hence Mill Hill) Mill Hill was at this time still under the jurisdiction of Middlesex with 9th century Saint Mary’s church in Hendon being then, the local parish. With the cutting down of much of the forest, Mill hill was now ivolving with many farms of which many local roads have inherated there names from the farms. IE: Lawrence, Burton, Bittacy, Bunns, Daws, Dollis to name a few. Mill hill was now starting to create a community with meeting areas like the Angel & Crown alehouse that used to be by the Angle pond.(image to right) Some of the almshouse buildings built with the help of Thomas Nicoll originally forming part of the village are still there today & dating from 1696. Another land mark just a few yards away is the Rosebank cottage a Quaker meeting house that dates from 1678-1719. In the early 1800’s came the beginnings of Mill Hill School with Saint Paul’s Church being built just a
few years latter with the help of William Wilberforce who was the founder of the abolition of the slave trade & being the patron of the church. Mill hill as we know it today was starting to be developed around the late 1860’s when the Midland Railway was put in place, running from Saint Pancras to Bedford & another GLR steam railway running from Finsbury Park via Mill Hill east to Edgware. The GLR was partly a passenger service, but was mainly servicing the Gas works at Mill Hill east & the Charrington’s coal yard at Edgware.(Now Sainsbury’s) Housing estates were imerging in Mill Hill in several areas, but the better known Poets corner (1878) was one of the first to be built on Sir Charles Flower’s land by the Birkbeck Freehold Land Society. It was a few years later (1895) that some land was also given to the Linen and Woollen Drapers’ Association east of Hammers Lane, where quite a few retirement home’s where built.
Just after the first world war, more housing developments were built & comunity areas developed with Mill Hill park in 1923 & the swimming pool in 1935. But the building of the Watford by-pass A1/A41 in the late 1920’s was the start of the now developed Mill Hill with the building of a dance hall/Cinema, fire station, churches & more housing estates is more how we now see Mill Hill today.
Just after the first world war, more housing developments were built & comunity areas developed with Mill Hill park in 1923 & the swimming pool in 1935. But the building of the Watford by-pass A1/A41 in the late 1920’s was the start of the now developed Mill Hill with the building of a dance hall/Cinema, fire station, churches & more housing estates is more how we now see Mill Hill today.
Mill Hill village & Angle pond
