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'Harringay' is an area of north London in the United Kingdom and part of the London Borough of Haringey. Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names, , A. D., Mills, Oxford University Press, ,

Contents

Location

The Locale

Geography & Geology

History

Historical Outline

Etymology

Harringay & Entertainment

Transport & Communications History

Demographics

Education

Sport

Green Harringay

Transport and local Area

Nearest places

Places of interest

Nearest railway stations

Nearest tube stations

Buses

References & Notes

External links

Location

Like most districts of London, Harringay has no formal boundaries and cannot be precisely defined. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the northern boundary of Finsbury Park up to the southern boundary of Ducketts Common, not far from Turnpike Lane. The most certain boundary is formed in the West by the Great Northern Railway. The northern boundary is to the south of Turnpike Lane, running parallel to it, somewhere between Sydney Road and Fairfax Road. In the north-east, the boundary roughly corresponds with a line drawn between the south of Duckett's Common and the north end of Warwick Gardens. A line due South of this point, as far as Hermitage Road, forms the eastern boundary. South-east of here a line to the centre of Finsbury Park completes the south eastern limits. Although Finsbury Park is officially part of Harringay Ward boundaries classify the park as being within Harringay Ward - Haringey Council Map showing the ward boundaries., it forms a soft southern boundary; the actual town boundary being formed by Endymion Road. Including the park, Harringay has an area of about 1¾ miles (2.8km) from North to South^[1] and ½ mile (0.8km), at its widest point, from East to West.^[2][3]

The Locale

Harringay is a comfortable North London residential area close to Crouch End. Its main shopping street, Green Lanes, is a vibrant and cosmpolitan high street. Some shops have a long established presence, like Disney's furniture store trading here since 1913. Others are part of the more transitional nature of Green Lanes and in 2007 include a scattered cluster of Turkish bakeries, grocers, cafes and restaurants. There are several pubs including the Grade II listed ^[4] and Pevsner noted ''Salisbury''.^[5] Part of the 1980 film The Long Good Friday^[6] and the 1992 biopic of Charlie Chaplin.^[7] were shot here. At the northern end of Harringay is the ''Queens Head'', Harringay's oldest pub^[8]. Towards the southern end stands the well-preserved, Victoriana-laden ''Beaconsfield'' public house. Opposite is the new Arena Shopping Mall with shops including Sainsbury's supermarket, Homebase store and one of Britain's first ever "drive-thru" McDonald's restaurants.

A large section of the eastern side of Green Lanes is called Grand Parade. With the exception of the gaps introduced by the residential roads running eastwards, the Grand Parade runs almost uninterrupted, for nearly half a mile from just North of Harringay Green Lanes Railway Station to St Ann's Road.^[9]
Whilst the main road feels definitely cosmopolitan, the population of the surrounding streets is somewhat more homogeneous (See Demographics Section.). The streets to the West of Green Lanes are known as ''Harringay Park'' or the ''Harringay Ladder'' (due to their similarity to a ladder when seen on a map). The streets to the East behind Grand Parade are known as ''Harringay Gardens''. Most of the streets in the ''Gardens'' are named after British earldoms. The street names of the ''Harringay Park'' roads also have a specific provenance. South of Harringay station, all the names have connections with Benjamin Disraeli and his novels^[10]. North of Harringay station until as far north as Turnpike Lane, all streets are named after British explorers or Admirals of the British Navy^[11].

Geography & Geology

Harringay is just under 5½ miles (8.7 km) from the centre of London ^[12] sitting on a chalk bed covered by a thick layer of London Clay. The western part of the town is hilly, rising to 138 feet at it highest. Further to the west, beyond Harringay, the ground rises steadily to a highest point of 445 feet in Hampstead, about 3½ miles (5.4 km) away.^[13] The eastern part of Harringay is low-lying, at between 60 and 90 feet, as the land descends towards the Lee Valley, 2 miles (3.2 km) to the East ^[14].
The only river still running above ground is the man-made New River, constructed in 1619 to bring water into London from Hertfordshire. However two natural rivers still flow through Harringay beneath the ground. These are just two of the many springs and streams which used to flow through this part of London from the high ground to the West and into the River Lee. Stonebridge Brook ran above ground meandering eastwards just to the North of old Harringay House. It crossed the estate, running roughly beneath present-day Effingham and Fairfax Roads, ran along Green Lanes for a short way and then eastwards North of St Ann's Road and on to the Lee.^[15] Although still flowing underground today, the Harringay section was fully culverted by 1885. Hermitage Brook flowed roughly along the southern boundary of the western part of Harringay and then, staying close to its Southern edge, under where the Arena Shopping Mall stands today. It was culverted and flows underground just to the South of the mall today.^[16]
:''Sources:'' ^[17]

History

See also
Main articles: History of Harringay

Historical Outline

In the Ice Age Harringay was on the edge of a huge glacial mass that reached as far south as Muswell Hill. The Earliest Records of Harringay alias Hornsey; From Prehistoric Times to 1216 AD, , Stephen J., Madge, Public Libraries Committee Hornsey, , The area was then largely covered with forest till the Middle Ages when it was developed as agricultural land. From 1750 to 1880 Harringay experienced the pressures of the burgeoing population in London. Gradually inroads into the pastoral landscape were made, first for the lesiure and then for the settlement of Londoners. By 1900 Harringay had become a respectable outer London suburb with all the land bulit over and only Finsbury Park remaining as a hint of its former self. Identified as a single unified urban area from 1900, Harringay was originally split between the old boroughs of Hornsey and Tottenham with the boundary between the two running slightly to the West of Green Lanes. The unification of the two boroughs in 1965, as the London Borough of Haringey, brought all Harringay under the control of a single unit of local governance for the first time in more than a thousand years. Nonetheless, the old boundary between the two boroughs is still visible. On many of the roads in West Harringay, it is possible to see the boundary where the paving stones give way to tarmaced pavement. The old parish / borough boundary markers are also still in place on some roads.

Etymology

:''See: Etymology Subsection of Main Article: History of Harringay''
The name ''Harringay'' has its origin in the Saxon period and is derived from the name of a Saxon chieftan 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 (another nearby district of London).
:''Sources:''^[18]

Harringay & Entertainment

:''See: Harringay & Entertainment Subsection of Main Article: History of Harringay ''
From 1750 till the second half of the Twentieth Century, Harringay became a destination for Londoners to relax. Hornsey Wood House, Finsbury Park, Harringay Stadium and Harringay Arena were all hugely popular leisure destinations in their day. The Stadium and Arena site is now occupied by Sainsbury's and the Arena Shopping Mall.

Transport & Communications History

:''See: Transport & Communications History Subsection of Main Article: History of Harringay''
There is little doubt that the history of transport communications through Harringay had a significant effect on shaping it today. In Roman times, a great roadway to the North was established.^[19] This roadway endured as a great communication passage to the North and brought much activity through the heart of the area. It also acted as the rough dividing line for land ownership, identifying Harringay’s position on the edge of manorial and subsequently borough boundaries.
In the mid-Nineteenth Century, the arrival of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) cleaved western Harringay from the rest of the Borough of Hornsey and set it fair for its subsequent union with the south-westernmost slice of the Borough of Tottenham. The subsequent construction of the Tottenham & Hampstead Junction Railway (THJR) almost defined Harringay's present-day southern boundary.

Demographics

As of the 2001 Census, the population of Harringay was about 13,000.^[20] The racial breakdown was: 70% white, 15% black, 9% Asian, 3% Mixed and 3% other. 72% of its inhabitants were born in Europe, with 12% in Asia, 9% in Africa (mainly Eastern & Southern), and 4% in North America. Within this mix, 6% were born in Cyprus and 3% in Turkey.
About 46% of the population report themselves as Christian and 13% Muslim. Other religions are present in smaller percentages.
Over 60% of residents are classified as being in the three highest social groups, whilst 10% are students.
Approximately 47% of households are owner-occupied and about 30% living in privately rented accommodation. 17% is public or other social housing.

Education

There are three schools located within Harringay. These are shown below together with the number of places available in 2006^[21]:

★ North Harringay Primary (441)

★ South Harringay Infants (172)

★ South Harringay Junior (130)
''For full details on Education see Education Section: London Borough of Haringey.''

Sport

Harringay has boasted a few ice hockey teams over the years, most notably the rivals Harringay Racers and Harringay Greyhounds who both played out of the now defunct Harringay Arena. Boxing was also popular at the arena. Harringay Stadium was a major greyhound and speedway track, which could contain about 50,000 spectators.

Green Harringay

Harringay has many green spaces:

★ Finsbury Park - officially part of Harringay.

★ The Green Flag awarded Railway Fields Local Nature Reserve ^[22] near Harringay Green Lanes Station.

★ The New River Path.^[23] accessible from Wightman Road and from Green Lanes opposite Finsbury Park.

★ A very small area of wild ground called ''Harringay Stadium Slopes'' to the South and East of Sainsbury's car park, above Hermitage Road.^[24] It is accessible from Surrey Gardens, off Finsbury Park Avenue.

★ Falkland & Fairfax Open Space, Falkland Road, N8.

★ A recently developed roof garden at North Harringay Primary School.^[25]

★ A small but very well kept and award winning community garden in Doncaster Gardens (off Stanhope Gardens).^[26]

Behind busy Wightman Road - The New River Path

A haven of tranquility on Green Lanes - Railway Fields, Harringay

Also close by are:

★ Parkland Walk running through nearby Stroud Green up to Highgate.

★ Alexandra Park.

★ Queens Wood.

★ Highgate Wood.

★ Chestnuts Park in St Ann's Road.

★ Priory Park at the end of Hornsey High Street.
''See also: Haringey parks and open spaces''

Transport and local Area

Nearest places

★ Stroud Green

★ Crouch End

★ Muswell Hill

★ Stoke Newington

★ Hornsey

★ Turnpike Lane

★ Wood Green

★ West Green

★ Finsbury Park

★ Manor House

Places of interest

★ St Paul's Church - striking modernist church on Wightman Road.

★ Hornsey Church - 13th Century church tower.

★ See also ''Green Harringay'' above.

Nearest railway stations

★ Harringay railway station

★ Harringay Green Lanes railway station

★ Hornsey railway station

Nearest tube stations

★ Manor House Tube Station

★ Turnpike Lane Tube Station

Buses

There are three major bus routes that connect Green Lanes with the City and the West End; the 29, 141, and the 341,. The nearby Turnpike Lane bus station offers further connection to the West, East and North.^[27]

References & Notes

1. Measured between OS Grid Refs TQ 315 896 and TQ 315 868.
2. Measured between OS Grid Refs TQ 321 886 and TQ 312 886.
3. Google map showing Harringay's boundaries.
4. English Heritage Website
5. The Salisbury Public House, Harringay, London, UK
6. For additional information see: IMDb Website - The Long Good Friday
7. For additional information see: IMDb Website - Chaplin.
8. See History of Harringay - 1750 to 1880 page.
9. Measured between OS Grid Refs TQ 318 881 and TQ 317 887.
10. Novels of Benjamin Disraeli: ''Alroy, Conningsby, Endymion, Lothair, Sybil, Tancred, Venetia''.
11. Admirals and explorers: Frobisher, Allison, Fairfax, Beresford and Umfreville.
12. This measurement is taken from the point where St Ann’s Road meets Green Lanes to the traditional centre of London, at the statue of King Charles in Trafalgar Square.
13. This measurement is taken from the point where St Ann’s Road meets Green Lanes to the highest point of Hampstead, near Spaniards.
14. This measurement is taken from the point where St Ann’s Road meets Green Lanes to the nearest point of the River Lee to the East.
15. 1869 & 1894 Ordnance Survey Maps.
16. Haringey's Hidden Streams Revealed, , Albert & David, Pinching & Bell, Hornsey Historical Society, ,
17. All elevation measurements are from Google Earth. All distance measurements are taken as a straight line bewteen the two points identified, sourced from the Ordnance Survey.
18. An Introduction to the Early Records of Harringay alias Hornsey, , Stephen J., Madge, Public Libraries Committee Hornsey, , The information used for this section is derived from this very detailed study carried out by the author over 36 years. In addition to being an historian of local history, Madge was Editor of the British Records Society.
19. See Early History page.
20. There is no single figure provided in the census for Harringay. The figure used for the total population of Harringay is an approximation, calculated by using the data for Harringay Ward and taking 20% of the figure for St Ann’s Ward. All other data given is from the Harringay Ward which includes about 80% of the population and is broadly representative of the whole. See ward Harringay & St Ann's ward boundaries on this Google Map link Harringay & St Ann's Ward boundaries.
21. School Place Planning Report, , , Haringey Council, , ,
22. London Wildweb - Railway Fields Local Nature Reserve Haringey Council - Haringey Council Nature Reserves.
23. London Wildweb - New River Path.
24. London Wildweb - Harringay Stadium Slopes.
25. London Community Herbalists Website - North Harringay Primary School Roof Garden.
26. Haringey Council Green Penant Gardens Page - Doncaster Gardens Community Garden.
27. Haringey London Borough Council - Travelling around Haringey.

External links

★ Community Website for Harringay Residents

★ h2g2 - The Trouble with Harringay, North London, UK

★ Wymondham Learning Centre, ''Bombs over Harringay''. 09 March 2005.

★ A blog for Finsbury Park N4