Coordinates: 51°′″N 0°′″W / 51.5734, -0.1982
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in
London, England. It is a suburban development and
retail district situated 5.3 miles (8.5 km) north west of Charing Cross and centred on the
cross roads of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.
History
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Golders Green has been a place in the parish and manor of Hendon since around 13th century.
The earliest references to the name "Temple Fortune" is on a map (c1754). However this name reveals a much earlier history. It is
likely that the name refers to the Knight of St John, who had land here (c1240). Fortune may be derived from a small settlement
(tun) on the route from Hampstead to Hendon arrived at before arriving at Hendon. Here a lane from Finchley, called Ducksetters lane (c1475), intersected. It is likely that the settlement was originally the
Bleccanham estate (c900s). By the end of the 18th century Temple Fortune Farm was established on the northern side of Farm
Close.
The building of the Finchley Road (c1827) replaced Ducksetters lane as a route to Finchley, and resulted in the development of
a small hamlet. Hendon Park Row (c1860s) is of this period, and consisted of around thirty small dwellings built by a George
Stevens, which were, with two exceptions, demolished (c1956). A small dame school and prayer house run by Anglican Deaconesses
existed in the 1890s and 1900s, which developed to become St Barnabas (1915). Along the Finchley Road was a number of villas
(c1830s), joined by the Royal Oak public house (c1850s). By the end of the 19th century there were around 300 people living in
the area, which included a laundry, a small hospital for children with skin diseases. The principal industry was brick
making.
In 1895 a Jewish
Cemetery was established adjacent of Hoop Lane, with the first burial in 1897. Golders Green Crematorium was opened in 1902 (although much of it was built after 1905). The
significant moment in Temple Fortune's development into a suburban area occurred in 1907. The Carmelite Monastery was established in Bridge
Lane in 1908.
Transport links were vastly improved in 1907 with the opening of Golders Green
tube station. Although the area had been served by horse-drawn omnibuses (since at least
the 1880s) and later motor buses (from 1907), it was the tram line of 1910, connecting Church End Finchley with Golders Green
Station, which led to the development of the area west of the Finchley road. The establishment of the Hampstead Garden Suburb brought major changes to the area east of the Finchley Road. Temple
Fortune Farm was demolished, and along the front of the road, the building of Arcade, and Gateway House (c1911) established the
Hampstead Garden Suburbs retail district.
Both the Golders Green Hippodrome, former home of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Police Station opened in 1913.[1] St Edward the Confessor, a Roman
Catholic church, was built in 1916. The now-demolished Orpheum Theatre (1930) was intended to rival the Hippodrome in
Golders Green.
Famous people connected with the area are on whole connected to the Aida Foster School of Drama (1929 - 1969) Finchley Road. Former students include Barbara Windsor, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jean Simmons.
There is also a very large student population in Golders Green, most notably those of the Central School of Speech and
Drama.
Originally Golders Green was part of the NW4 (Hendon) postcode,[citation needed] but due to expanding population the
code was split in two, creating the new code of NW11. This is why it does not follow the London postcodes' alphabetical pattern,
starting from the second district in each area.
Community
Golders Green is a very cosmopolitan district.[citation needed] It has had a prominent Jewish community since
the 1900s.[2] The upmarket area boasts top quality
restaurants exhibiting cuisines from all over the world, from the obvious choice of Kosher
food, restaurants (notably "Bloom's") to Thai, Japanese, Turkish, Chinese,
Korean and Italian eateries. These are complemented with over a dozen coffee bars; a number of niche food stores, including two
Japanese, two Iranian and one Oriental, exist. The area is considered an affluent, well-to-do district[citation needed] and is also well known for
late-night bagels and a growing street cafe culture - by contrast, the area does not house pubs in
abundance. Dunstan Road Synagogue opened in 1922. There are now a number of synagogues and schools in the area, with one of the
best schools in the borough of Barnet, Henrietta Barnett School, found in Hampstead Garden Suburb. During the winter festival of
Hanukkah a large Chanukia, a nine-branch candle holder, is
lit each night of the festival's eight days. The expanding Orthodox, and particularly
Haredi, Jewish communities are considered to be one of the
most important in the United Kingdom with several yeshivas (seminaries) and prominent rabbis.[citation needed]
Golders Green also has a sizeable Japanese and Korean
population as can be seen by the aforementioned Japanese and Korean restaurants, food stores, and estate agents.
Attractions
Golders Hill Park, adjoining Hampstead
Heath, is a formal park in Golders Green. The site of a large house which burnt down in the 1930s, it has a walled garden,
ponds, a water garden and a small children's zoo. The zoo has been renovated and contains many varieties of birds and other
animals. The park also contains a cafe and an ice-cream bar.
During the summer, children's activities are organised and there is often live music on the bandstand. The park is adjoined by
The Hill, a formal garden with an extensive and imposing pergola.
Golders Green Crematorium is perhaps the area's most famous feature, an
extensive crematorium garden with a range of features such as a special children's section and a pond. Its main buildings have a
distinct Italianate air. It is sometimes referred to as the 'celebrity
crematorium' because of the high proportion of nationally and internationally renowned public figures to have been cremated
there. Famous people whose cremations have taken place there include Anna Pavlova,
Stanley Baldwin, Marc Bolan, Neville Chamberlain, Kingsley Amis, T. S. Eliot, Keith Moon, John Inman,
Ivor Novello and Sigmund Freud.
Appearances in popular culture
Pete Ham, guitarist/vocalist with the group Badfinger,
recorded a number of demos in the late 1960s until his death in 1975 that were grouped together
into a posthumously-released 1999 album titled Golders Green. Ham and his
fellow bandmates in his previous band The Iveys lived here at 7 Park Avenue (behind Golders Hill Park) for a time prior to his
joining Badfinger.
In the Hollywood film Marathon Man, Laurence
Olivier, playing a Nazi torturer, tries in vain to disguise his identity when stopped in
the street in New York, by saying that he actually runs a jewellery shop in Golders Green.
Harold Abrahams who was immortalised in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, lived at Hodford Lodge, 2 Hodford Road, from 1923 to 1930, years in which he
achieved great success including his famous 1924 Olympics win in Paris for the 100m sprint. Abrahams has been recognised with an English Heritage Blue Plaque at his former home.
The area is the setting of the humorous short story "The Ghoul of Golders Green".(May Fair, 1925) by Michael Arlen
George Harrison recorded an unreleased track called "Going Down to Golders green".
This because he would visit members of the pop group "Badfinger" who lived at 7 Park Avenue, off North End Road situated on the
borders of Golders Hill Park
Places of interest
Nearest places
Transport links
Golders Green bus station.
Golders Green Underground Station
References
External links
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