View source for Hornsey

{{Short description|Area of London, England}}
{{Other uses|Hornsey (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Hornsea}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox UK place
| static_image_name = Great Northern Railway Tavern, Hornsey High Street - geograph.org.uk - 354363.jpg
| static_image_caption = Great Northern Railway Tavern, Hornsey
| country = England
| map_type = Greater London
| region = London
| population = 12,659
| population_ref = (2011 Census Ward only)<ref name=ons>[http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030211201309/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/ |date=11 February 2003 }} [[United Kingdom Census 2011]] ''[[Office for National Statistics]]'' Retrieved 5 November 2014</ref>
| area_total_km2 = 1.06
| official_name = Hornsey
| constituency_westminster = [[Hornsey and Friern Barnet (UK Parliament constituency)|Hornsey and Friern Barnet]]
| post_town = LONDON
| postcode_area = N
| postcode_district = N8
| london_borough = Haringey
| dial_code = 020
| charingX_distance_km = 10
| charingX_direction = South
| os_grid_reference = TQ305894
| coordinates = {{coord|type:city(13000)_region:GB-HRY|display=inline,title}}
}}

'''Hornsey''' ({{IPAc-en|'|h|ɔr|n|z|i}}) is a district of north [[London]], England, in the [[London Borough of Haringey]]. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred {{cvt|10|km}} north of [[Charing Cross]]. It adjoins green spaces [[Queen's Wood]] to the west and [[Alexandra Park, London|Alexandra Park]] to the north, and lies in the valley of the now-culverted [[River Moselle (London)|River Moselle]]. The central core of the area is known as Hornsey Village.

==Locale==
Hornsey is relatively old, and the oldest recorded village [1202, according to the Place Names of Middlesex] now in London. Originally a village, it grew up along Hornsey High Street- at the eastern end of which is the churchyard and tower of the former St Mary's parish church, which was first mentioned in 1291. At the western end is [[Priory Park, Haringey|Priory Park]]. This was the administrative centre of the historically broad parish.{{Full citation needed|date=July 2022}}

North of Hornsey High Street, and immediately to its south, some of the area is [[public sector housing]], surrounded by the late-Victorian terraces developed by builders such as John Farrer.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://hornseyhistorical.org.uk/john-farrer-man-changed-hornsey/|title=John Farrer - The Man Who Changed Hornsey|last=Owen|first=Janet|publisher=Hornsey Historical Society|year=2009|isbn=978-0905794402|location=London}}</ref> Between the western end of the High Street and the bottom of [[Muswell Hill]], the character of the area changes; most being part of the Warner Estate built up with large late-Victorian houses. To the south west of the High Street is [[Priory Park, Haringey|Priory Park]].

The High Street has a variety of shops, coffee shops, restaurants and pubs, the oldest being the Three Compasses. The eastern section retains strips of grassed areas.

The 13th-century St Mary's Tower is all that remains of St Mary's Church. The [[nave]] was demolished in Victorian times and a grey stone church was built on the corner of Church Lane and Hornsey High Street. The tower was retained as there were not enough funds raised for a new bell tower. However, in the late '60s the Victorian church was demolished and St Mary's school was built on the site.

The 500-year-old Tower was restored and managed by the charity, Friends of Hornsey Church Tower (FoHCT). It is now used for open-air live performances and occasional services. The internal space, known as The Intimate Space, claims to be London's smallest performance space. It has become one of the four key venues of the Crouch End Festival that now runs an annual two-day music festival, The Tower Music Festival. Hornsey Parish Church holds open-air services there every Sunday.

Hornsey also has a Bowling Club<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hornsey Bowls Club, Hornsey|url=http://www.hornseybowlsclub.co.uk/community/hornsey-bowls-club-13612/home/|access-date=2020-06-19|website=www.hornseybowlsclub.co.uk}}</ref> which is situated on land owned by the London Diocesan Fund, part of the [[Diocese of London]]. The London Diocesan Fund had expressed an interest in building new homes on the site of the Bowling Club in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Haringey Council Planning website|url=https://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/savills_on_behalf_of_london_diocesan_-_response.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200620051803/https://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/savills_on_behalf_of_london_diocesan_-_response.pdf |archive-date=2020-06-20 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Priory Park, Haringey|Priory Park]] is, along with Alexandra Park, the main park serving the area. It is a 6.5-hectare site. Two key events that happen in the park annually are the YMCA Fun Run and the Carter's Steam Fair. It has a cafe, kid's paddling pool and tennis courts.
The park was originally opened in 1896 as the Middle Lane Pleasure Grounds.[2] In 1926 the western section was added after the acquisition of a piece of land known as Lewcock's Field. The expanded park was renamed Priory Park The park was created in two sections. Two parcels of land at the eastern and southern ends were purchased in 1891 by the Borough of Hornsey at the instigation of Henry Reader Williams and opened in 1896 as the Middle Lane Pleasure Grounds. In 1926 the western section was added after the acquisition of a piece of land known as Lewcock's Field. During World War 1 this had been requisitioned by the council for allotments. After the war an initial plan for the council to develop the field for housing was dropped on grounds of cost, and an expanded park was renamed Priory Park in 1926. Some locals have suggested it be renamed Hornsey Park.

Hornsey is served by 6 major churches including Hornsey Parish Church, Holy Innocents, Moravian, Middle Lane Methodist, St John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church and Campsbourne Baptist Church. Mosques in the area include [[London Islamic Cultural Society|Wightman Road Mosque]] and Diyanet Camii.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mosque Hornsey Diyanet Camii - London, N8 7QB, Informations and Prayer Times |url=https://www.local-masjid.com/mosque/hornsey-diyanet-camii/1712 |access-date=2023-08-11 |website=www.local-masjid.com}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{See also|Hornsey (parish)}}
There are various views as to the location of Hornsey's current boundaries. The northern and eastern boundaries are relatively uncontentious. Although the eastern boundary of the parish was Green Lanes, it is alleged by some that these are now restricted by Alexandra Park and the Great Northern Railway respectively.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} The southern and western boundaries are less clear cut. A recent version of those boundaries was provided by local opinion as expressed in a small residents' survey undertaken as part of the application for the Crouch End Neighbourhood Forum. It offers a contemporary view of where local residents see the boundary between Hornsey and Crouch End and so defines the southern and western boundaries.<ref>The relevant map is on page 9 of this Neighbourhood Forum application. It is based on mainly on the responses to the survey but also reflects the aims of the local-government-recognised Crouch End forum. Hornsey is north of the solid blue line, south of Alexandra Park, east of a "foot" (shallower slope) of Muswell Hill and west of the Great Northern Railway. Taken from [http://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/application_for_a_crouch_end_neighbourhood_forum_sep15.pdf Application for a Crouch End Neighbourhood Forum, September 2015 (Accessed on Haringey Council website, June 2018)]</ref> The area defined is almost identical to that presented by one individual on a personal Google Map.<ref>[http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=51.584937,-0.119262&spn=0.017093,0.038366&z=15&msid=114664306441918231955.00046a2e3a7d4496b5aee A local resident's assertion of the popular boundaries on Google maps with more than 2,500 views].</ref> Both closely resemble the post-19th-century Anglican parish<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/15658/|title=St Mary with St George, Hornsey Parish Church|website=www.achurchnearyou.com}}</ref> and refer to former methods of property reference such as the layout of building schemes (developers' estates).

{{Geographic Location
|title     = Neighbouring areas
|Northwest = [[Fortis Green]]
|North     = [[Alexandra Park, London|Alexandra Park]]
|Northeast = [[Wood Green]]
|West      = [[Muswell Hill]]
|Centre    = Hornsey
|East      = [[Turnpike Lane, Haringey|Turnpike Lane]]
|Southwest = [[Highgate]]
|South     = [[Crouch End]]
|Southeast = [[Harringay]]
}}

==History==
{{See also|Municipal Borough of Hornsey}}
[[File:Hornsey High St 1873 sm.jpg|thumb|left|Hornsey High Street in 1873, with the old ''Three Compasses'' pub building in the centre]]
[[File:Crouch End, Former Hornsey Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 988273.jpg|thumb|[[Hornsey Town Hall]], completed in 1935]]
The name Hornsey has its origin in the Saxon period and is derived from the name of a Saxon chieftain 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.<ref>Madge, Stephen J. (1936). The Origin of the Name of Hornsey. Public Libraries Committee Hornsey. For further details on the etymology of the name, see [[History of Harringay]]</ref> The church was first mentioned in 1291.<ref>{{cite web|first1=A P |last1=Baggs|first2=Diane K |last2=Bolton|first3=M A |last3=Hicks|first4= R B|last4= Pugh|title= 'Hornsey, including Highgate: Churches', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6, Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey With Highgate, ed. T F T Baker and C R Elrington |location=London|year= 1980|pages= 172–182|publisher=British History Online|url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol6/pp172-182 |access-date= 30 June 2018}}</ref> Hornsey Village developed along what is now Hornsey High Street, and in the seventeenth century it was bisected by the [[New River (London)|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),<ref>{{cite book|title=A Dictionary of London Place-Names|first =A.D.|last =Mills|isbn=9780199566785|publisher= Oxford|year= 2010|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UWKcAQAAQBAJ&q=Crouch+End+&pg=PA68 67–68]}}</ref> to form an urban area in the middle of the parish.

Hornsey was a much larger original [[ancient parish]] than today's [[wards of the United Kingdom|electoral ward]] of the same name. These entities are smaller than the [[Municipal Borough of Hornsey]] which co-governed the area with [[Middlesex County Council]] from [[Local Government Act 1888|1889]] until 1965, since when the name refers, as a minimum, to the London neighbourhood with a [[high street]] at its traditional heart to the west of [[Hornsey railway station]]. Its [[Hornsey (parish)|parish]] ranked sixth in size, of more than forty in [[Ossulstone]], the largest [[Hundred (county division)|hundred]] in [[Middlesex]] and was a scattered semi-rural community of 2,716 people in 1801.<ref name=pop/> By 1901 the population had risen about eightfold in forty years, reaching 87,626, by which time new localities/districts, mainly [[Crouch End]] and [[Muswell Hill]], were popularly becoming considered distinct from Hornsey.<ref name=pop>{{cite web|title='Table of population, 1801-1901', in A History of the County of Middlesex|volume=2|first= William |last=Page |location=London|year= 1911|pages= 112–120|publisher=British History Online |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol2/pp112-120 |access-date= 13 June 2018}}</ref> The [[N postcode area|N8 postcode district]], the current form of Hornsey ward as devised from time-to-time for [[malapportionment|equal representation]] (electorate) across wards of the Borough, and the choice of other railway and tube stations towards, on these definitions, outer parts create conflicting definitions of Hornsey and it is unclear whether since 1965 the term is distinct from Hornsey Village, a term unrecognised by some residents.

The old parish used to have two small [[detached part]]s immediately beyond and within Stoke Newington Parish.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22489 |chapter=Ossulstone Hundred |editor1-first=T.F.T. |editor1-last=Baker |editor2-first=C.R. |editor2-last=Elrington |editor2-link=Christopher Elrington |first1=A.P. |last1=Baggs |first2=Diane K. |last2=Bolton |first3=M.A. |last3=Hicks |author-link3=Michael Hicks (historian) |first4=R.B. |last4=Pugh |author-link4=Ralph Pugh |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |date=1980 |title=A History of the County of Middlesex |volume=6 |pages=1–5 |access-date=8 November 2015 }}</ref> In the 1840s the parish had 5,937 residents, slightly reduced by the loss of [[Finsbury Park]] but comprised {{cvt|2362|acre|km2}} taking in besides its own village, the established [[hamlet (place)|hamlet]]s of [[Muswell Hill]], [[Crouch End]], [[Stroud Green]], and part of [[Highgate, London|Highgate]].<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51045 |chapter=Horndon, East - Horsell |first=Samuel |last=Lewis |author-link=Samuel Lewis (publisher) |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |date=1848 |title=A Topographical Dictionary of England |access-date=5 November 2014}}</ref>

In the later eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth century, Hornsey became an increasingly popular area for wealthy merchants wanting a comfortable home close to London. With them came the laying out some large estates and subsequently the development of large villas along the principal routes. The arrival of the railway in 1850 made Hornsey a commuter town and accelerated urban development. In the late 1860s, large areas of Hornsey were developed by freehold land societies for working-class housing including Abyssinia (later known as Hornsey Vale) and Campsbourne.<ref>{{cite book |title=Abyssinia: Hornsey's Lost Village |first=Hugh |last=Flouch |publisher=Hornsey Historical Society|year=2024 }}</ref>  Development of a generally much more middle-class nature continued throughout the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] and [[Edwardian]] eras with the final gaps being filled during interwar period. Most of the early freehold land estates have since been demolished for public housing, or in the case of Abyssinia (Hornsey Vale) to accommodate the [[Hornsey School for Girls]].

The tower of the original parish church still stands in its ancient graveyard in Hornsey High Street, at the centre of the old village. One-time well-known poets buried in the churchyard include English poet [[Samuel Rogers]] and Dutch poet Gerrit van de Linde [<ref>https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/De Schoolmeester|Gerrit van de Linde</ref>] [aka The Schoolmaster]. [[Thomas Moore]]'s daughter Barbara is buried but the location has been lost.

Other notable places are the former [[Hornsey Town Hall]] in [[Crouch End]], and Highpoint and [[Cromwell House]] in [[Highgate]]. On the north side of the High Street was the old public bath and wash house (not to be confused with Hornsey Road Baths & Laundry {{convert|1+1/2|mi}} away on Hornsey Road) which was demolished to make way for a new housing scheme and [[Sainsbury's]]. Opened in 1932, it had 33,000 users a year in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite book |title=Hornsey Past |first=Steven |last=Denford |publisher=Historical Publications |year=2008 }}</ref> A small group of residents wished [[Haringey Council]] to purchase the site and install arts and crafts studios, with a gallery, primarily for local artists.

For 1978 to 2002 in the borough, having in its initial 13 years no wards mentioning ''Hornsey'', three wards bearing the name existed and so popularised it among bordering, competing areas with newer names, strongly reflecting their historic, shared identity:
#Hornsey Central
#Hornsey Vale
#South Hornsey<ref>[http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadAreaSearch.do?a=7&i=1001&m=0&s=1415204765986&enc=1&areaSearchText=hornsey&areaSearchType=14&extendedList=false&searchAreas= Ward search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082145/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadAreaSearch.do?a=7&i=1001&m=0&s=1415204765986&enc=1&areaSearchText=hornsey&areaSearchType=14&extendedList=false&searchAreas= |date=4 March 2016 }} Office for National Statistics.  Retrieved 5 November 2014.</ref>

===Economic development===
[[File:New development on Chadwell Lane, Hornsey - geograph.org.uk - 1098912.jpg|thumb|21st-century housing in Chadwell Lane, Hornsey]]
In the 1840s a section of a major new railway line from London to the north, the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)]], was constructed right through Hornsey near to the centre of the village, and a station - the first out of London on the line - was built to serve it on Tottenham Lane, opened on 8 August 1850. It was successful and sidings on both sides of the line were constructed s well as goods depots, so Hornsey became somewhat of a railway town. This tradition continues: two major maintenance depots for the new electric trains running from Finsbury Park to Brighton have been constructed beside the main line.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.railwaygazette.com/passenger/siemens-beats-bombardier-to-thameslink-train-order/36028.article|title=Siemens beats Bombardier to Thameslink train order|website=Railway Gazette International}}</ref>

In 1870 the first shop of what would become the [[David Greig (supermarket)|David Greig]] national grocery chain, once a rival to Sainsbury's, was opened in 32 Hornsey High Street by Greig's mother.

In 1951 the first [[Lotus Cars]] factory was established in stables behind the Railway Hotel (now No5 Dining) on Tottenham Lane. The company was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd by [[Colin Chapman]]. The Railway Hotel pub was owned by Chapman's father. In its early days, Lotus sold cars aimed at private racers and trialists. Its early road cars could be bought as kits, in order to save on [[purchase tax]]. Lotus moved to [[Cheshunt]] in 1959, and to Hethel in Norfolk in 1966. Adjacent to the pub was the first Lotus showroom. The site is now being developed by Fifth State<ref>[https://thelotusbuilding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Lotus-Building-A1-Boards.pdf proposal]</ref> as the Lotus Buildings and will celebrate the Lotus heritage with a community cafe, new public spaces and housing for students.

Established in 1964, [[Hornsey Co-operative Credit Union]] was Britain's oldest [[credit union]], until it merged with [[London Capital Credit Union]] in 2013.

Since 2000 Hornsey's residential developments have been architecturally diverse and overall accommodative of a diverse range of the local community. This has included estates of more than 50 homes with a proportion available under [[social housing]] and [[affordable housing]] schemes.

The Hornsey Water Treatment Works were developed alongside the [[New River (London)|New River]], the water supply system constructed in the 17th century that brings water from Hertfordshire to London.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://harringayonline.com/group/historyofharringay/forum/topics/a-river-through-it-development-of-the-new-river-and-water-works-i|title=A River Through it - Development of the New River and Water Works in Hornsey|website=www.harringayonline.com}}</ref> The brick buildings associated with the works were the last constructed by the [[New River Company]] before the [[Metropolitan Water Board]] took over in 1904. They are now run by [[Thames Water]] and still supply some of London's water.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=1285|title=Engineering Timelines - Hornsey Water Treatment Works|website=www.engineering-timelines.com}}</ref>

==Rail transport==

The [[East Coast Main Line]] from {{stnlink|London King's Cross}} to the east Midlands, northern England and Scotland, successor to the GNR mentioned above, crosses Hornsey. Local commuter and regional services are provided from [[Hornsey railway station]] by [[Thameslink and Great Northern|Great Northern]] into Central London ending in [[Moorgate]] and towards [[Hertfordshire]]. A change at [[Finsbury Park station]] gives direct access on the overground lines to central London, south London and Brighton. [[Turnpike Lane tube station]] on the [[Piccadilly Line]] is the nearest Underground station.

==Education==
{{main|London Borough of Haringey#Education}}
Secondary schools serving the area include [[Greig City Academy]], [[Hornsey School for Girls]] and [[Highgate Wood Secondary School]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}
Primary schools within Hornsey include Campsbourne Primary School and St Mary's Primary School.

Hornsey has its own active local learned Society, Hornsey Historical Society. <ref>https://hornseyhistorical.org.uk/ {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2025}}</ref>.

==In literature==

In [[Jonathan Coe]]'s 1987 debut novel ''The Accidental Woman'', the protagonist Maria shares a flat in Hornsey with two other women for several years.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

==Notable residents==
:''See [[:Category:People from Hornsey]]''

==Transport and locale==

===Nearest places===
*[[Crouch End]]
*[[Alexandra Palace]]
*[[Muswell Hill]]
*[[Wood Green]]
*[[Harringay]]
*[[Finsbury Park (district)|Finsbury Park]]
*[[Stroud Green, London|Stroud Green]]

===Nearest stations===
* [[Hornsey railway station|Hornsey]]
* [[Harringay railway station|Harringay]]
* [[Turnpike Lane tube station|Turnpike Lane]]
* Buses 29,41,141,144,W5 serve Hornsey, while night buses N41 and N91 serve Hornsey also.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Hornsey}}
{{EB1911 poster|Hornsey}}
* [https://visionofbritain.org.uk/place/970 Vision of Britain] entry for Hornsey
* [http://opinion8.ning.com/ Local community website for all of N8, i.e. Crouch End and Hornsey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113051721/http://opinion8.ning.com/ |date=13 January 2020 }}
* [https://hornseyhistorical.org.uk/ Hornsey Historical Society]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081006055503/http://www.colinchapmanmuseum.org.uk/Index.htm The Colin Chapman Museum and Education Centre] - includes a history of Lotus in Hornsey.
{{Areas of London}}
{{LB Haringey}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Hornsey| ]]
[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Districts of the London Borough of Haringey]]
[[Category:Places formerly in Middlesex]]