David Berguer

Last updated

David Ian Berguer (October 1939 - September 2024) was a British local historian and author, and the chairman of the Friern Barnet and District Local History Society. His books include The Friern Hospital Story (2012), the story of the former Colney Hatch Asylum.

Contents

Writing

Friern Hospital, the subject of Berguer's major work. Friern Hospital 05.jpg
Friern Hospital, the subject of Berguer's major work.

His career was in media management in the advertising industry. He retired in 2000 and at that time was one of the founders of the Friern Barnet and District Local History Society. [1] His first book was Under the Wires at Tally Ho, an examination of the trams and trolleybuses that once served the area of Finchley in north London.

This was followed by The Friern Hospital Story, which examined the complete history of the former Colney Hatch Asylum, later known as Friern Hospital, from its design and opening in 1851 to its closure in 1993, and subsequent conversion to flats known as Princess Park Manor. [2] In 2014 the book was named by the London & Middlesex Archaeological Society the best single topic publication written by a member of their 55 affiliated local history societies. [3]

In 2014, Berguer produced All over by Christmas, an examination of conditions on the home front in Barnet during the First World War [4] for which he and a team trawled local newspapers from the wartime period to extract the source material. He originally thought the book would be short but there was so much information available that the final work was nearly 300 pages long. [5] In 2016, he produced Whetstone Revealed with John Heathfield.

Selected publications

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finchley</span> District of London, England

Finchley is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, 7 mi (11 km) north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muswell Hill</span> Suburb in north London, England

Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over 100 m (330 ft) above sea level, is situated 5+12 miles north of Charing Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Borough of Barnet</span> Borough in the United Kingdom

The London Borough of Barnet is a local authority area on the northern outskirts of London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It is the second largest London borough by population with 389,344 inhabitants as of 2021, also making it the 17th largest district in England. The borough covers an area of 86.74 square kilometres (33 sq mi), the fourth highest of the 32 London boroughs, and has a population density of 45.8 people per hectare, which ranks it 25th.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whetstone, London</span> Human settlement in England

Whetstone is a suburb of north London, in the London Borough of Barnet, bearing the postcode N20. It is served by an Underground station called Totteridge and Whetstone. Whetstone is around 7.8 miles North of Charing Cross and is a settlement in the London Borough of Barnet, previously part of the Borough of Finchley prior to the 1960s. The combined areas of Totteridge and Whetstone was, at the outset of the 21st century, found to be the 63rd-richest of the more than 9,000 wards of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Finchley</span> Human settlement in England

North Finchley is a suburb of London in the London Borough of Barnet, situated seven miles (11 km) northwest of Charing Cross. North Finchley is centred on Tally Ho Corner, the junction of the roads to East Finchley, Church End, Friern Barnet and Whetstone. Church End is usually known as Finchley Central, owing to the name of the tube station located there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colney Hatch</span> Human settlement in England

Colney Hatch is the historical name for a small district within the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Colney Hatch refers to a loosely defined area centred on the northern end of Colney Hatch Lane (B550), which connects Friern Barnet with Muswell Hill, crossing the North Circular Road. The area is predominantly residential with a mixture of Victorian and Edwardian houses and much more recent development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Southgate railway station</span> National Rail station in London, England

New Southgate railway station is on the boundary of the London Borough of Barnet and the London Borough of Enfield in north London, in Travelcard Zone 4. It is 6 miles 35 chains (10.4 km) down the line from London King's Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Southgate</span> Human settlement in England

New Southgate is a residential suburb straddling three Outer London Boroughs: a small part of the east of Barnet, a south-west corner of Enfield and in loosest definitions, based on nearest railway stations, a small northern corner of Haringey in North London, England where estates merge into Bounds Green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friern Hospital</span> Former psychiatric hospital in North London, England

Friern Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in the parish of Friern Barnet close to a crossroads which had a hamlet known as Colney Hatch. In 1965, it became part of the London Borough of Barnet and in the early 21st century was converted to residential housing as Princess Park Manor and Friern Village. The hospital was built as the Second Middlesex County Asylum and was in operation from 1851 to 1993. After the County of London was created in 1889 it continued to serve much of Middlesex and of the newer county, London. During much of this time its smaller prototype Hanwell Asylum also operated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friern Barnet</span> Suburb of London

Friern Barnet is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, 7.4 miles (11.9 km) north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane, Woodhouse Road and Friern Barnet Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friern Barnet Urban District</span>

Friern Barnet Urban District was a local government area in Middlesex, England created in 1883 from the civil parish Friern Barnet. It was succeeded by the London Borough of Barnet in 1965 as one of the smaller of its contributory predecessor districts. It was at the local level governed for 11 years by a local board, then by Friern Barnet Urban District Council which operated primarily with separate functions from the County Council, operating occasionally for major planning decisions and major projects together with that body, Middlesex County Council.

The London Borough of Barnet, located on the northern periphery of London and having much of the area within its boundaries in the Metropolitan Green Belt, has many parks and open spaces. In addition there are large areas taken over by cemeteries and golf courses, and part of Hampstead Heath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Man, Whetstone</span> Former pub in Whetstone, London

The Green Man was a public house at 1308 High Road, Whetstone, north London, that dated from the 15th century and subsequently redeveloped several times. It closed in the late 20th century and is now a motor repair business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints' Church, Oakleigh Park</span>

All Saints' Church is a Church of England church in Oakleigh Road North, Oakleigh Park, London. The church is sometimes referred to as All Saints' Friern Barnet. It is a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnet Tunnel</span>

The Barnet Tunnel is a railway tunnel in north London on the East Coast Main Line. It has also been known as East Barnet Tunnel, Whetstone Tunnel, and Oakleigh Park Tunnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Miles (businessman)</span> English businessman (1816–1886)

John Miles was an English businessman who was master of the Stationers Company and a director of the New River Company. He was a major landowner in Friern Barnet and Whetstone in north London in the second half of the nineteenth century and was instrumental in the development of those areas.

Ernest Arthur Lazarus-Barlow was an English banker and businessman who was the manager of three branches of a French bank in England. He was active in charitable work in north London and was awarded the Légion d'honneur in recognition of his charitable work for the French Hospital in London and other causes related to helping French people in London.

The Friern Barnet & District Local History Society is a group devoted to the history of the Friern Barnet area of North London and its neighbouring areas of North Finchley, New Southgate, Whetstone, and South Friern. The society was formed in 1990 by John Donovan, who lived in the area for nearly 30 years. The first public meeting was held at the former Friern Barnet Town Hall in September 2000. The society sponsors the Friern Barnet Photo Archive.

The Manor of Halliwick was an historic manor in Friern Barnet, Middlesex, England,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Simmons</span>

Sydney Simmons was an English entrepreneur and philanthropist in Okehampton, Devon, and Friern Barnet, Middlesex. Born in Devon, he was first apprenticed to a drapery company before travelling to London in 1862 where he became the North American representative of a carpet company. He acquired the rights to a new carpet cleaning process, the exploitation of which in Britain made him wealthy. He lived in Friern Barnet and funded a number of philanthropic projects there and in his native Okehampton where he was buried.

References

  1. Biography. Chaville Press. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  2. David Berguer talks to Rosy Moorhead about his book that looks at the history of Friern Hospital. Rosy Moorhead, Times Series, 15 November 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  3. The Friern Hospital Story. Friern Barnet & District Local History Society. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  4. All Over by Christmas. Friern Barnet & District Local History Society. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  5. Friern Barnet & District Local History Society has put together a book about the Barnet Home Front during World War One. Rosy Moorhead, Times Series, 27 March 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2017.