Mill Hill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mill Hill is a place in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a suburb situated 9 miles (14.5 km) north west of Charing Cross.
There are four areas in Mill Hill: Mill Hill Village, Mill Hill Broadway, Mill Hill East, and Partingdale. A further part of Mill Hill, The Hale, is on the borders of Mill Hill and Edgware, and is often considered to be part of the latter.
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[edit] Districts
[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 its name is derived from a mill that once occupied a site on the Ridgeway, on an area of open ground now known as the Millfield Park. It is bounded both north and south with 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 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 National Institute for Medical Research, the motherhouse of The Daughters of Charity, and Saint Joseph’s College, a large seminary. There is a cemetery called Mill Hill Cemetery. 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).
[edit] Mill Hill Broadway
Mill Hill Broadway is a suburban district that developed from the 1900s onwards. The Broadway itself is an important local retail area. There is the railway station, Mill Hill Broadway, on the First Capital Connect line, complete with a bus station. The area used to be served by another station called Mill Hill (The Hale) railway station on the Highgate-Edgware railway, but when that line was only electrified as far as Mill Hill East, this station was abandoned. University College London has an Observatory on the A41, near The Broadway.
[edit] Partingdale and Burtonhole
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, originally a nuclear bunker to protect the London North Group of regional government, between c1951 – 1958. To the west is Burton Hole Farm, the last proper farm in Mill Hill specialising in blond continental cattle, a small nursery garden called Finchley Nurseries, and a number of sports grounds. Between Partingdale and Burton Hole there is large electrical station, built in 1961.
[edit] Arrandene
Arrandene is a large open space which is bordered by Wise Lane, Wills Grove and The Ridgeway. It contains much beautiful and unadulterated scenery, making it a popular place in the area who want to get away from the busy town life. It is also very popular among dog-walkers.
