Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. It began as a medieval small suburban linear settlement near a farm and public grazing area green, and dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and early 20th century suburb with a commercial crossroads. The rest is of later build. It is centred approximately 6 miles (9km) north west of Charing Cross on the intersection of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.
It is known for its large Jewish population as well as for being home to the largest Jewish kosher hub (located west of Hoop Lane after the rail bridge) in the United Kingdom, which attracts many Jewish tourists.
History
Extract of OS Map of 1868–1883. Click on map to view wider sheet.
The name Golders comes from a family named Godyere who lived in the area, and Green alludes to the manorial common at a cross roads next to which the settlement was built.[2] Golders Green has been a place in the parish and manor of Hendon since around the 13th century. The earliest reference to the name of the adjacent district of "Temple Fortune" is on John Rocque's map of 1754, which also shows what is now Golders Green Road as Groles Green. However the name Temple Fortune reveals a much earlier history. It is likely that the name refers to the Knights of St John, who had land here (c. 1240). Fortune may be derived from a small settlement (tun) on the route from Hampstead to Hendon. Here a lane from Finchley, called Ducksetters Lane (c. 1475), intersected. It is likely that the settlement was originally the Bleccanham estate (c. 10th century). By the end of the 18th century Temple Fortune Farm was established on the northern side of Farm Close.
The building of Finchley Road (c. 1827) replaced Ducksetters Lane as a route to Finchley, and resulted in the development of a small hamlet. Hendon Park Row (c. 1860s) is of this period, and consisted of around thirty small dwellings built by a George Stevens, which were, with two exceptions, demolished around 1956. A small dame school and prayer house run by Anglicandeaconesses existed in the 1890s and 1900s, and developed to become St. Barnabas (1915). Along Finchley Road were a number of villas (c. 1830s), joined by the Royal Oak public house (c. 1850s). By the end of the 19th century there were around 300 people living in the area, which included a laundry and a small hospital for children with skin diseases. The principal industry was brick making.
In 1895, Golders Green Jewish Cemetery was established adjacent to Hoop Lane, with the first burial in 1897. Golders Green Crematorium was opened in 1902 (although much of it was built after 1905). A significant moment in Temple Fortune's development into a suburban area occurred in 1907, when transport links were vastly improved by the opening of Golders Green Underground station.
Although the area had been served by horse-drawn omnibuses (since at least the 1880s) and later motor buses (from 1907), the tram line of 1910, connecting Finchley Church End with Golders Green Station, led to the development of the area west of Finchley Road. The establishment of Hampstead Garden Suburb brought major changes to the area east of Finchley Road. Temple Fortune Farm was demolished and along the front of the road the building of the Arcade and Gateway House (c. 1911) established the Hampstead Garden Suburb's retail district.
For local elections Golders Greenward covers the north and west of the area; Childs Hill the south to the centre and Garden Suburb, named after Hampstead Garden Suburb: most of the east. Councillors are elected from across 21 wards. Nationally it votes for the MP for seat of Finchley and Golders Green, which encompasses the parts of the NW11 and NW2 postcode districts it contains.[4] The same boundaries are used for the Golders Green, Childs Hill and Garden Suburb wards of the Metropolitan Police Service.[5]
It is about 160 feet (50m) to 260 feet (80m)above sea level.
The area is adjacent to the Heath Extensions part of Hampstead Heath.
Golders Green is often referred to as a Jewish area, and 2021 Census data shows that 49.9% (7,358 of 14,744)[6][7] of residents identified as Jewish, making it the epicentre of the largest Jewish population in Europe along with its surrounding areas, including Hampstead, Hendon and Finchley within the Borough of Barnet, which is home to 55,000 Jews, the highest percentage Jewish population in any Borough of the United Kingdom.[8]
Ethnically, the Golders Green ward was 64% White (43% British, 21% Other, 1% Irish). Indians, Other Asians and Black Africans made up 5% each, while 6% claimed 'Any other ethnic group'.[8]
Jewish community
There has been a prominent Jewish community in Golders Green since the early 20th century following the building of the station at the end of the Hampstead railway.[9]Golders Green United Synagogue was the first purpose built synagogue, with its foundation stone laid on 16 October 1921. The Jewish community took root after Hitler's rise to power, with the first German Jewish immigrants forming the Golders Green Beth Hamedrash. Soon after, Galician Jewish immigrants formed other synagogues. With it came the formation of Jewish schools such as Menorah Primary School before the onset of World War II.
There are close to fifty kosher restaurants and eateries under rabbinical supervision in Golders Green, and more than 40 synagogues throughout the area continuing into neighbouring Hendon, as well as 30 Jewish schools (some in outlying areas owing to space restriction), many of them independent.[citation needed]
The Jewish community of Hendon and Golders Green is viewed as one by many in the community there, as they share the schooling system as well as rabbinical guidance and synagogue affiliations.
Japanese and East Asian community
Golders Green is home to a growing Japanese and East Asian community[10] with many families living in the district[11] being catered for a notable number of restaurants and shops specialising in Japanese and other East Asian food, such as the Seoul Plaza supermarket.
Economy
Golders Green has restaurants with many cuisines including Indian, Israeli, Thai, Turkish, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Italian eateries. These are over a dozen coffee bars; together with a number of niche food stores. The area is home to several leading banks and the high street is well-populated with high-quality amenities.[according to whom?]
Many bus routes pass through Golders Green, including the 210 to Finsbury Park, the 139 to Waterloo, the 13 to Victoria and the 102 to Edmonton Green, and from Golders Green station the 240 to Edgware, the 183 to Pinner, and both the 83 and the 245 to Alperton begin their routes.
Education
There are six state aided primary schools in Golders Green; these include: Brookland infant & junior, Garden Suburb infant & junior, Menorah primary school and Wessex Gardens.[13]
The Golders Green Unitarian Church, built in 1925 on Hoop Lane, is Grade II listed; Historic England singles out for mention a "notable temera mural by Ivon Hitchens", among other works. The congregation seceded from Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel (Hampstead) in 1903 but took a generation to build its own place of worship.[20] St Ninian's Presbyterian Church on Helenslea Avenue was built in 1911 by T. P. Figgis, noted for designing stations on the Northern line. The congregation merged with Golders Green Methodist Church (now Trinity Church, Hodford Road) in 1979. The building found new life as a Hindu temple, but was decommissioned in 2013.[21]
Synagogues
There are several synagogues in the area. The first, Golders Green United Synagogue (Dunstan Road), started in 1915 and its current building in Dunstan Road opened in 1922.[22][23] The Golders Green Beth Hamedrash opened in Golders Green in 1934, moving to the Riding in 1956. The Sassover Beis Hamedrash Helenslea Avenue moved to Golders Green from the East End in 1939 as well as the Beis Yissochor Dov (Hager's) currently in Highfield Avenue and the Hendon Adass on Brent Street.[citation needed]
The Beth Shmuel Synagogue in 1942 in Oakfields Road and relocated at 169–171 Golders Green Road in 1945[24] and is one of the most prominent synagogues in North West London, with Grand Rabbi Elchonon Halpern its longest serving Rabbi for 72 years up until his passing in 2015. In about 1960 the Eastern Jewish Community established the Ohel David Eastern Synagogue at the Lincoln Institute, the former site of the Golders Green Beth Hamedrash.[25] The Machzike Hadath Synagogue moved to Golders Green in the 1970s, opening its present building in 1983.[26]
Golders Hill Park, adjoining the West Heath of Hampstead Heath, is a formal park, which includes a small (free) zoo, a walled horticultural garden, pinetum, duckponds, a water garden and a very popular café. During the summer, children's activities are organised and there is often live music on the bandstand. Close to the park, also adjoining the West Heath is the Hill, a formal garden with an extensive and imposing pergola.
Nearby Golders Green Crematorium has an extensive garden with features such as a special children's section and a pond, in keeping with the distinct Italianate air.
The area is the setting of the humorous short story "The Ghoul of Golders Green" (May Fair, 1925) by Michael Arlen.
In his 1946 book "The Great Divorce," C.S. Lewis has a character from Golders Green. Sarah Smith and her husband are the last characters to enter the novel. She appears with great pomp and circumstance, arrayed in splendor and arriving behind a procession complete with music. She is beautiful and one of the "great ones" in heaven, but on earth had led an anonymous life in Golders Green.[28]
Golders Green was alluded to in the phrase "half as gold as green" in the 1948 BBC radio sketch "Balham: Gateway to the South", written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden. It was also an allusion to John Burgon's 1845 poem "Petra", in which Petra is called "a rose-red city, half as old as time". "Half as old as time" was itself a quotation from Samuel Rogers' Italy (1822-28). The sketch was popularised through a 1958 recording by Peter Sellers.
George Harrison recorded an unreleased track titled "Going Down to Golders Green" during the sessions for his acclaimed triple album All Things Must Pass. The song was inspired by his visits to members of the pop group Badfinger, who lived at 7 Park Avenue, off North End Road, near the borders of Golders Hill Park.
The first posthumous (1997) album release of the music of Pete Ham of the pop group Badfinger was titled 7 Park Avenue, named after the address of Badfinger's band residence in Golders Green. A second posthumous (1999) album release was titled Golders Green.
Louis Marks, television screenwriter and producer, was born there.[34]
Nicolas Medtner, composer and concert pianist, lived at 69 Wentworth Road, 1935-51.
Valerie Grosvenor Myer, writer and academic, and her husband, theatre critic Michael Grosvenor Myer, who had grown up in the district, lived in Hayes Crescent in the early years of their marriage, 1960–63.
↑ Kevin Bradford Property developers do not rule out demolishing Carmelite monastery, in Golders Green, after winning a High Court ruling against Barnet Council 26 November 2009 Hendon & Finchley Times Retrieved 1 May 2012
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.
Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Greater London since 1965. Hendon falls almost entirely within the NW4 postcode, while the West Hendon part falls in NW9. Colindale to the northwest was once considered part of Hendon but is today separated by the M1 motorway.
Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Charing Cross, close to the Hertfordshire border. It was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population was 18,451 in 2011.
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+1⁄2 miles north of Charing Cross.
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.
East Finchley is an area in North London, immediately north of Hampstead Heath. Like neighbouring Muswell Hill, it straddles the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It has the greenest high road in London.
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.
West Hampstead is an affluent area in the London Borough of Camden in north-west London. Mainly defined by the railway stations of the same name, it is situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the north-east, Swiss Cottage to the east, South Hampstead to the south-east and Kilburn to the west and south-west. The neighbourhood is mainly residential with several local amenities including a range of independent shops, supermarkets, restaurants, bars, cafes and bakeries; most of which are concentrated in the northern section of West End Lane and around West End Green. Located in travel zone 2, West Hampstead has excellent transport links, and is served by three stations: West Hampstead on the Jubilee line, West Hampstead Overground station and West Hampstead Thameslink station.
Hampstead Garden Suburb is an elevated suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentieth-century domestic architecture and town planning in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London.
Finchley Road is a designated 4.5-mile (7-kilometre) arterial road in north-west London, England. The Finchley Road starts in St John's Wood near central London as part of the A41; its southern half is a major dual carriageway with high traffic levels often frequented by lorries and long-distance coaches as it connects central London, via the A41 Hendon Way, to the M1 motorway at Brent Cross and other roads at that interchange.
Childs Hill is one of two areas at the south end of the London Borough of Barnet along with Cricklewood which straddles three boroughs. It took its name from Richard le Child, who in 1312 held a customary house and "30 acres" of its area. It is a mainly late-19th-century suburban large neighbourhood centred 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross bordered by the arterial road Hendon Way in the west and south-west, Dunstan Road in the north, West Heath and Golders Hill Park which form an arm of Hampstead Heath to the east and the borough boundary as to the short south-east border.
Hendon was an ancient parish of around 8,250 acres (33 km2) in Middlesex, on the border with Hertfordshire. As well as Hendon itself, the parish included Childs Hill, Golders Green and Mill Hill. In 1879 the parish was made a local government district. Such districts became urban districts in 1894. In 1931 the urban district absorbed the neighbouring parish of Edgware, and the following year the urban district was incorporated to become a municipal borough. The borough was abolished in 1965 when the area was transferred from Middlesex to Greater London and became part of the London Borough of Barnet.
Temple Fortune is a place in the London Borough of Barnet to the north of Golders Green. It is principally a shopping district used by residents of the Hampstead Garden Suburb. Between here and Golders Green, at Hoop Lane are two cemeteries – Golders Green Jewish Cemetery and Golders Green Crematorium. Religious buildings include the Catholic Church of St Edward the Confessor, St. Mary & Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church, and North Western Reform Synagogue.
Finchley and Golders Green is a constituency created in 1997. It is represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Sarah Sackman of the Labour Party.
Church End is a locality within Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Aside from its church it centres on Finchley Central Underground station. Church End is an old village, now a suburban development, centred 7 miles (11 km) north-northwest of Charing Cross.
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.
The Dollis Valley Greenwalk is a footpath route in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England, between Moat Mount Nature Reserve in Mill Hill and Hampstead Heath. The route is designed to act as a link between the Capital Ring and the London Loop, and between the many green spaces and wildlife corridors along the way. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long. It mainly follows the Dollis Brook and is one of the many parks and open spaces in Barnet.
Big Wood and Little Wood are two patches of woodland in Hampstead Garden Suburb in the London Borough of Barnet. They are a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1, and a Local Nature Reserve. Big Wood is 7.3 hectares and Little Wood is 1.2 hectares.
St Edward the Confessor Church is a Catholic parish church in Temple Fortune, Golders Green, Borough of Barnet, London. It was built from 1914 to 1915, and designed by Arthur Young in the Gothic Revival style. It is located on the Finchley Road, on the corner with Hoop Lane, next to Golders Green Jewish Cemetery. In 2016, it was designated a Grade II listed building.
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