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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. Its postal address is London NW7, and in area is the largest of all the London numbered postal districts.
Mill Hill roughly consists of these parts: Mill Hill Village, Mill Hill Broadway, Mill Hill East, and Partingdale. A further area, The Hale, is partly in Mill Hill and partly in Edgware.
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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 a park) now known as the Mill Field, although whether a mill did actually exist is still open to question. It is bounded both to the north and south by 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 Sir 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 Missionary Insititute (which was present on the Ridgeway until 2007), Holcombe House (part of the Institute), The National Institute for Medical Research, the motherhouse of The Daughters of Charity and, until 2007, Saint Joseph’s College, a large seminary. There is a non-denominational cemetery called Mill Hill Cemetery, formerly known as the Paddington District Cemetery. The 1960s pop singer Billy Fury is buried there. There are also some Dutch war graves. 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). Further north, on the Green Belt between The Ridgeway and Totteridge Common, one of the last remaining farms in the Greater London area is situated, Burtonhole Farm.
[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 a railway station, Mill Hill Broadway, on the First Capital Connect line, together with a bus station. The area used to be served by another station, Mill Hill (The Hale) railway station, which was actually only a "halt", on the Highgate to Edgware railway, but when that line was electrified only to Mill Hill East, the station was abandoned. University College London has an Observatory on the A41 Watford Way, south west of 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 are Burton Hole Farm, the last proper farm in Mill Hill, specializing in blond continental cattle, a garden centre called Finchley Nurseries, and a number of sports grounds. Between Partingdale and Burtonhole there is a 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. While there are many open spaces in the area, Arrandene is unique for its many open fields and meadows, as well as its woodland.
[edit] Nearby areas
[edit] Railway Station
Mill Hill Broadway station is situated off The Broadway. The station is operated by First Capital Connect, located on the Midland Main Line as part of the Thameslink service. It is in Travelcard Zone 4. It is also served by bus routes 114, 221, 240, 251, 302 and 303.
[edit] External links
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