The Hale

The Hale
The Hale  The Hale shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ205918
London borough	Barnet
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	NW7
Post town	EDGWARE
Postcode district	HA8
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Hendon
London Assembly	Barnet and Camden
List of places UK England London

Coordinates: 51°37′12″N 0°15′36″W / 51.620°N 0.260°W / 51.620; -0.260

The Hale is an area and ward within the London Borough of Barnet. It lies on the borders between Mill Hill and Edgware and centres on the small retail centre at the junction of Deans Lane, Hale Lane and Selvage Lane. This centre constitutes Upper Hale, but is much better known locally as the 'Green Man' after the erstwhile pub of the same name that stood at the site from at least the early 18th century. A smaller area that was traditionally known as Lower Hale centres on the junction of Hale Lane, Farm Road and the nearby bridge over Deans Brook; this area is generally regarded as being within Edgware.^[1] The traditional area known as The Hale extends northwards from the 'Green Man' to the A41 and Apex Corner and the southern end is traditionally marked by the disused Edgware and Highgate railway line just south of West Way and Hale Drive; beyond lies Burnt Oak. Today's borough ward has slightly larger boundaries.

History

The Hale was a rural area until well into the 20th century, with only the Green Man pub and the Railway Tavern (still in existence today) on opposite corners, as well as farms at Upper Hale and Lower Hale. The Green Man pub was somewhat famous in the 19th century, including for sports such as boxing. The pub was totally rebuilt as it is today in the late 1920s, but eventually had its name changed in the late 1980s and has since become a Harvester Inn.

At the turn of the 20th century, The Hale was a popular place for day-trippers from Central London who frequented the two public houses.^[1] The area changed quickly with rapid development in the late 1920s and early 1930s, particularly triggered by the arrival of the Northern line to Edgware station in 1924, and the consequent introduction of omnibus services from that station to The Hale and Mill Hill. The farms at Upper Hale and Lower Hale were sold and developed for residential housing, such as the Hale Estate (based around the east side of Selvage Lane, Sunbury Avenue, Sunbury Gardens and Maxwelton Avenue) in the late 1920s. Thus, since the early 1930s The Hale has been a suburban area generally characterised by private detached and semi-detached houses.

A notable building in The Hale is a church named in honour of John Keble. It a Grade II-listed modernist-style building which was completed in 1936. Another significant building is Maxwelton House - recently discovered during renovations to be one of the oldest buildings in the larger Edgware and Mill Hill area - which is now a school building on Hale Lane. In 1932, the John Grooms Crippleage was opened just south of the A41 Edgware Way near Stoneyfields Lane; this was closed in the 1980s and replaced by modern private housing.

Geography

Neighbouring areas

	Edgware	Scratchwood	Moat Mount
	Deans brook		Mill Hill
		The Hale
	Burnt Oak	Grahame Park	Colindale

Transport

The Hale was formerly served by Mill Hill (The Hale) railway station on Bunns Lane from 1906 until it shut in 1939. Its immediate neighbour, Mill Hill Broadway railway station, is the nearest station today, within a short walking distance.

The Hale is directly served by London Bus routes 221, 240, 292 and 305 - and routes 113, 186 and 614 serve the A41 at the north end of the district. All of these routes also serve Edgware station on the Northern line, which remains the other main route to and from the area.

At various times 'Mill Hill Green Man ' was itself a terminal point for buses, most famously the 52 from Victoria from the early 1930s until the construction of the M1 and the then new bus station at Mill Hill Broadway, to where the 52 was diverted in 1967.

References

London Borough of Barnet Districts Arkley Barnet Gate Brent Cross Brunswick Park Burnt Oak Childs Hill Chipping Barnet Church End Cockfosters Colney Hatch Colindale Cricklewood East Barnet East Finchley Edgware Finchley Friern Barnet Golders Green Grahame Park The Hale Hampstead Garden Suburb Hendon The Hyde Mill Hill (including Mill Hill East) Monken Hadley Muswell Hill New Barnet New Southgate North Finchley Oakleigh Park Osidge Southgate Temple Fortune Totteridge West Hendon Whetstone Woodside Park Attractions artsdepot Avenue House Barnet Gate Mill Barnet Museum RAF Museum Parks and open spaces Arrandene Open Space Barnet Gate Wood Basing Hill Park Bethune Park Bittacy Hill Park Brent Park Brent Reservoir Cherry Tree Wood Childs Hill Park Clitterhouse Recreation Ground Coppetts Wood Darland's Lake Nature Reserve Dollis Valley Greenwalk Edgwarebury Park Friary Park Golders Hill Park Greenhill Gardens Hendon Park King George's Fields Long Lane Pasture Lyttelton Playing Fields The Mill Field Mill Hill Park Moat Mount Princes Park Monken Hadley Common Oak Hill Park Oak Hill Wood Old Court House Recreation Ground Princes Park Rowley Green Common Scratchwood Stoneyfields Park Sunny Hill Park Swan Lane Open Space Totteridge Fields Tudor Sports Ground Victoria Park Victoria Recreation Ground Watling Park West Hendon Playing Fields Whitings Hill Open Space Constituencies Chipping Barnet Hendon Finchley and Golders Green Tube and railways stations Brent Cross Burnt Oak Colindale Cricklewood East Finchley Edgware Finchley Central Golders Green Hendon Hendon Central High Barnet Mill Hill Broadway Mill Hill East New Barnet New Southgate Oakleigh Park Totteridge and Whetstone West Finchley Woodside Park Other topics Brent Cross Cricklewood Coat of arms Council Grade I and II* listed buildings Nature reserves People Public art Schools Category Commons