Hadley Wood

Hadley Wood
Hadley Wood
Hadley Wood shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ265975
London borough	Enfield
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BARNET
Postcode district	EN4
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Enfield Southgate
London Assembly	Enfield and Haringey

Beech Hill Park, as illustrated in European Magazine, 1 July 1796.^[1]

St Paul's Church, the first church in Hadley Wood. Built in concrete in 1910–11 to the plan of Albert Kingwell.

Shops in Crescent West adjacent to the railway station.

Hadley Wood is a suburb in the north of Greater London, close to the border with Hertfordshire. It is located in the London Borough of Enfield, about 11 miles (17.7 km) north north-west of Charing Cross and is situated close to Barnet.

History

Hadley Wood borders onto the village of Monken Hadley, now a suburb of Barnet, and the two settlements share some features of social life. However, in modern history the two communities are distinct and separate, belonging to different parishes (both civil and ecclesiastical), which in turn belong to different civil Boroughs and ecclesiastical Deaneries.

Hadley Wood has historically been linked to Cockfosters. In civil administration it was part of the Municipal Borough of Enfield from its foundation in 1850 until 1965. In 1909 it became part of the newly created Ward of Hadley Wood and Cockfosters, for the return of local Councillors. In 1965 the Municipal Borough was abolished, and the London Borough of Enfield formed. The Ward of Hadley Wood and Cockfosters, whilst covering the same geographical area, is now known simply as the Ward of Cockfosters.^[2]

In ecclesiastical administration, Hadley Wood remains part of the parish of Cockfosters, and the Deanery of Enfield.^[3] However, in 1911 a small local church (technically a 'proprietary chapel') dedicated to St Paul was opened on Camlet Way, Hadley Wood. Although it has not achieved the status of a parish church, it now operates independently of Cockfosters parish church, with its own staff and administration.

The large railway station at Hadley Wood, with four long platforms, seems out of proportion to the size of the community. Local folklore suggests that the station was enlarged at the behest of local resident Sir Nigel Gresley, the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway, who lived in Hadley Wood during the 1920s and 1930s before moving closer to St Albans,^[4] although there seems to be little or no evidence to support the theory.

Education

• Hadley Wood School is a primary school administered by the London Borough of Enfield.^[5]
• There is a Church of England Primary School in the neighbouring community of Monken Hadley, administered by the London Borough of Barnet.
• A private Roman Catholic secondary school, St Martha's Convent School, takes female students from the ages of 11-18 and is located in nearby Monken Hadley.

Transport links

• Hadley Wood railway station is located at the meeting of Crescent East and Crescent West in the centre of Hadley Wood. It is operated by Great Northern.
• There is no underground station in Hadley Wood. The closest are Cockfosters tube station (Piccadilly line) and High Barnet tube station (Northern line).
• London Buses routes 298 and 399 serve Hadley Wood.

See also

• Beech Hill Park, a grade II listed building off Beech Hill, that is today used as the club house of Hadley Wood Golf Course.
• Charles Jack, farmer and landowner who was primarily responsible for the construction of Hadley Wood.
• Albert Kingwell, long-serving estate manager at Hadley Wood.

References

Further reading

• Clark, Nancy. (1968) Hadley Wood: Its background and development. (2nd revised edition 1978).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hadley Wood.

• Hadley Wood Association.