Mill Hill
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Coordinates: 51°37′04″N 0°13′47″W / 51.6179°N 0.2296°W
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Mill Hill is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a suburb situated 8 miles (13 km) north west of central London.
Its postal address is London NW7, which covers a large geographical area - in fact it is the largest of all the London numbered postal districts. This is because Mill Hill consists of several distinct parts: the old original centre based around Mill Hill Village; the later-developed but now main hub of the area at Mill Hill Broadway, and the area around Mill Hill East and Partingdale. A further area at the western edge of the suburb, The Hale, is on the borders of Mill Hill and Edgware, and is partly in each.
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[edit] History
The area's name was first recorded as Myllehill in 1547 and self-evidently means "hill with a windmill".[1].
[edit] Geography
[edit] Mill Hill Village
Mill Hill Village is the ancient heart of the district, a ribbon development along an ancient route called The Ridgeway. It is thought that the name Mill Hill is derived from a mill that once occupied a site on the Ridgeway, on an area of open ground (now a park) now known as the Mill Field, although whether a mill did actually exist is open to question. It is bounded both to the north and south by Green Belt land. Its proximity to London made it popular as a country retreat from the 17th century onwards. There are a number of large houses and quaint cottages. William Wilberforce (MP and abolitionist of the slave trade) and Sir Stamford Raffles (founder of Singapore) both briefly resided here; the former being the patron of Mill Hill’s first church, Saint Paul’s [1]. There are a number of large institutions including Mill Hill School, The Missionary Insititute (which was present on the Ridgeway until 2007), Holcombe House (part of the Institute), The National Institute for Medical Research, the motherhouse of The Daughters of Charity and, until 2007, Saint Joseph’s College, a large seminary. There is a non-denominational cemetery called Mill Hill Cemetery, formerly known as the Paddington District Cemetery. The 1960s pop singer Billy Fury is buried there. There are also some Dutch war graves. To the southwest is a small suburban district called Poets' Corner, and to the north an old estate, now a recreation ground, called Moat Mount (once the home of Irwin Cox). Further north, on the Green Belt between The Ridgeway and Totteridge Common, one of the last remaining farms in the Greater London area is situated, Burtonhole Farm. The High Street, at 100m, is the shortest in London.
Partingdale and Burtonhole form a distinct valley north of The Ridgeway. North is Folly Brook, a tributary of the River Brent, running west to east, a boundary between both the suburb of Totteridge and Mill Hill, and the ancient counties of Hertfordshire and Middlesex. Along Partingdale Lane is Seafield House, now a private home, but originally a nuclear bunker to protect the London North Group of regional government, between c1951-1958. To the west are Burton Hole Farm, the last proper farm in Mill Hill, specializing in blond continental cattle, a garden centre called Finchley Nurseries, and a number of sports grounds. Between Partingdale and Burtonhole there is a large electrical station, built in 1961. The station is served by very high voltage cables run underground along Totteridge Valley. The proposed overground cables and pylons were rejected after a high-profile environmental campaign.
Arrandene is a large open space which is bordered by Wise Lane, Wills Grove, Milespit Hill and The Ridgeway. While there are many open spaces in the area, Arrandene is unique for its many open fields and meadows, as well as its woodland. The open fields were originally hay meadows which provided feed for the horses pulling carriages north to Barnet and beyond.
[edit] Mill Hill Broadway
The modern-day centre of Mill Hill is at Mill Hill Broadway. This is a suburban district that developed from the 1890s onwards, and especially in the early part of the 20th centruty, after the arrival of the LMS railway station in 1867. The Broadway itself is now an important local retail area with numerous shops and cafes. There is a railway station, Mill Hill Broadway, on the First Capital Connect line, together with a bus station serviced by six London Buses routes. The area used to be served by another smaller station, Mill Hill (The Hale) railway station on the Highgate to Edgware railway, but after that line was electrified only as far Mill Hill East, the station was abandoned. University College London has an Observatory on the A41 Watford Way, south east of The Broadway. The M1 Motorway was built through this part of Mill Hill in 1967.
[edit] Mill Hill East
The eastern part of Mill Hill has recently undergone redevelopment, with the old gas works having been replaced by a new Waitrose and a recent housing development. There is a tube station. This opened in 1867 as part of the Highgate to Edgware railway but became part of the Tube network in 1941 when the line was electrified as far as Mill Hill East only. Thus, the station is now only a spur on the High Barnet Branch of the Northern Line. The spur crosses the Dollis Brook Viaduct. It is the least-visited station on the Northern Line - only one in eight northbound trains goes there, and at some times of day it is served only by a shuttle service to Finchley Central. The small local retail area at Mill Hill East is at “Kelly’s Corner” (officially Holders Hill Circus) east of the station. Here was Inglis Barracks home of the Middlesex Regiment between 1905 and 1962. The army postal depot remained for many years after until moving to Northolt. The barracks hit the news in 1988 when 23-year-old soldier Michael Robbins was killed and nine others were injured by an IRA bomb blast. The United Kingdom / Carl Zeiss / Bausch & Lomb Optical Works was established here in 1912 and demolished in about 1987. The Jehovah's Witnesses have had a centre here since 1958, and they redeveloped the optical works to become the International Bible Students' Association in 1988. To the south of Mill Hill East are Copthall and Holders Hill.
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[edit] Transport
Mill Hill Broadway station is situated off The Broadway. The station is operated by First Capital Connect, located on the Midland Main Line as part of the Thameslink service. There are regular trains to St. Albans and Luton Airport to the north, and West Hampstead (8 minutes) and St. Pancras International (17 minutes) to the south, with most services going through central London and serving Farringdom, City Thameslink, Blackfriars and beyond. It is in Travelcard Zone 4. It is also served by bus routes 114, 221, 240, 251, 302 and 303. Bus routes 113 and 186 are also nearby along the A1/A41, reaching Oxford Circus and Brent Cross respectively.
Mill Hill East station is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line, and is the terminus, and only station, of a branch from Finchley Central station. The station is situated off Bittacy Hill. Opened in 1867, the station has been operated as part of the London Underground since 1941. The normal off-peak service is four trains an hour to and from Finchley Central, but through trains are provided in the peaks. Bus routes 221, 240 and 382 serve the station.
[edit] Education
[edit] Infant and Junior Schools
- Belmont, the preparatory school within the Mill Hill School Foundation[2]
- Courtland, a mixed community school[3]
- Deansbrook Infant, mixed community school[3]
- Deansbrook Junior, mixed community school[3]
- Dollis Infant, a mixed community school[3]
- Dollis Junior, a mixed foundation school[3]
- Fairway, a mixed community school[3]
- Grimsdell, an independent co-educational pre-preparatory school run by Mill Hill School Foundation[4]
- Mathilda Marks Kennedy, a mixed Jewish voluntary aided school[3]
- St. Martin's, an independent co-educational preparatory school[5]
- St Paul's CE a mixed, voluntary aided school[3]
[edit] Secondary Schools
- Copthall, a community girls school[6]
- Mill Hill County High, a mixed foundation school[6]
- Mill Hill, an independent boarding and day school[7]
- The Mount, an independent day school for girls aged 4 to 18 years[8]
[edit] Notable people
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ MIll, A. D. (2004). A Dictionary of London Place-names. Oxford University Press. pp. 152. ISBN 0198609574.
- ^ "Belmont, Mill Hill Preparatory School". Mill Hill School Foundation. http://www.belmontschool.com/. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Find a Primary or Nursery School". LB Barnet. http://www.barnet.gov.uk/schools-primary.htm?postcode=NW7&search=true. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ "Grimsdell, Mill Hill Pre-Preparatory School". Mill Hill School Foundation. http://www.grimsdell.org.uk/. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ Wilson, A.. "St. Martin's School". St. Martin's School. http://www.stmartinsmillhill.co.uk/. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ a b "Find a Secondary School". LB Barnet. http://www.barnet.gov.uk/schools-secondary.htm?search=true&postcode=NW7. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ "About Mill Hill". Mill Hill School Foundation. http://www.millhill.org.uk/about/index.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ "The Mount School". http://www.mountschool.com/. Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
- ^ a b c d e Hibbert, Christopher; Ben Weinreb, John Keay, Julia Keay (2008). The London Encyclopaedia (3rd ed.). Pan Macmillan. pp. 550. ISBN 9781405049245.
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