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| East Finchley | |
|---|---|
 .jpg)   Clockwise from top: East Finchley Underground Station, Phoenix Cinema, Cherry Tree Woods, and Holy Trinity Church | |
  East Finchley Location withinGreater London | |
| Population | 15,989 (2011 Census.Ward)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TQ265895 |
| North | |
| • Charing Cross | 5.75 mi (9.3 km) |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | N2 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
| 51°35′25″N0°10′31″W / 51.59016°N 0.17534°W /51.59016; -0.17534 | |
East Finchley is an area in NorthLondon, immediately north ofHampstead Heath. Like neighbouringMuswell Hill, it straddles the London Boroughs ofBarnet andHaringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It has the greenest high road in London.[citation needed]
East Finchley is situated 5.4 miles (8.7 km) northwest ofCharing Cross. Geographically, it is separated from the rest ofFinchley by theNorth Circular, withNorth Finchley andWest Finchley to the north, andFinchley Central (Church End) to the northwest.
East Finchley (East End) was first mentioned in 1365, when it formed a scattered hamlet, but by 1860 it was the most populous part of Finchley. Badly bombed duringWorld War 2, and with the subsequent rebuilding, the street pattern of the Old Village was destroyed. However, the area retains a strong community feeling.[2]
The area collectively namedFinchley, which included East Finchley (East End), Finchley Central (Church End) and North Finchley, was a parish until its incorporation into the ancient county ofMiddlesex in 1878; Finchley was incorporated into Greater London in 1965. Although most of East Finchley falls into the parliamentary constituency ofFinchley and Golders Green, East Finchley is a village in its own right, and not considered to be part of the town of Finchley.
The land on which most of East Finchley now stands was once part of theBishop of London's hunting ground, to the south ofFinchley Common, first recorded around 1400. The Bishop of London built a road through his land, named The Bishop's Avenue, which still exists today. Another road extended further north, weaving through what is now Market Place, The Walks, King Street, and Oak Lane. As a result, pubs such as The Old White Lion, The Bald Faced Stag, and The Five Bells (on East End Road), all of which survive today, sprang up to provide rest for the people using the road.
The area of "East Finchley Old Village" around Church Lane was west of the common and Bulls Lane (now Church Lane) dates back to at least the 17th century. With the coming of theGreat Northern Railway in 1868, the area began to emerge, and the property was built gradually between the 1870s and the 1930s. However, it was not until 1914 that a more recognisable East Finchley High Road and surrounding area was visible.
From around 1547 Finchley had a parishvestry, which became a local board in 1878, anurban district council in 1895, and finally amunicipal borough council between 1933 and 1965. The area is now part of theLondon Borough of Barnet.[3]
From 1959 to 1992 theFinchley constituency wasrepresented in Parliament byMargaret Thatcher, UKPrime Minister from 1979 to 1990.[4] Finchley is now included in the new constituency ofFinchley and Golders Green, currently represented by aLabour Member of Parliament. East Finchley ward is represented on Barnet Council by three electedLabour Councillors.[5]
.jpg)
East Finchley Underground station is marked by a well-known statue of an archer byEric Aumonier in theArt Deco style. The archer is pointing his arrow towards the entrance to the tunnel which starts south of the station and runs for 17.3 miles (27.8 km) to the end of theNorthern line atMorden. For many years this was the longest tunnel in the world. There was allegedly an arrow atMorden Station to match the archer at East Finchley, that was stolen a few months after the station was opened. However, East Finchley was not served by the Underground until 1939 and the statue was not erected until 1940.
The station is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line which serves the city (viaBank) and the west end (viaCharing Cross) with trains every 2–3 minutes. Buses also serve the high street with the 263 route going fromBarnet Hospital toHighbury Barn; the 143 bus linking East Finchley toArchway, London andBrent Cross; the 102 fromEdmonton Green, the 234 servingBarnet, The Spires fromHighgate Wood and the 603 running between Swiss Cottage and Muswell Hill.
Housing in East Finchley is diverse in its nature, encompassing many housing styles, from 19th-century terraced housing, large 30s houses, and multimillion-pound mansions onThe Bishop's Avenue. The three eleven-storey tower blocks of Prospect Ring & Norfolk Close are visible for miles around. A further even taller towerblock in Prospect Ring was completed in 2021.
Two stateprimary schools, including one faith primary school - Holy Trinity (CofE) and the other Martin Primary School are situated in East Finchley. In additional, the east and southern parts of N2 are covered by the catchment of Tetherdown, Coldfall and Highgate Primary Schools (all within theLondon Borough of Haringey). Pupils on the west side of the village attend Brookland Infant and Junior Schools, which adjoin Christ's College, or Akiva Primary.
There is Eden Primary School (Jewish) in neighbouring Muswell Hill, and Akiva Primary (Jewish) in Finchley both taking pupils from East Finchley.
East Finchley is home to two mixed non-selective non-denominationalsecondary schools - Archer Academy (opened 2013) andChrist's College (mixed, as of 2018) and a mixed Roman Catholic secondary school -Bishop Douglass Catholic School. Pupils on the east (Muswell Hill) side of the village also attendFortismere School (mixed comprehensive, which falls under theLondon Borough of Haringey Local Education Authority).
| Country of birth | Population |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | 10,492 |
 Ireland | 420 |
 Poland | 350 |
 India | 341 |
 South Africa | 206 |
According to the2011 UK Census, 72% of the ward's population was White (52% White British, 4% Irish, 16% Other White), 10% Asian British (5% Indian, 1% Pakistani, 1% Chinese, 3% Other Asian), 7% Black British (5% African, 1% Caribbean, 1% Other Black); the remaining population consists of mixed ethnic groups (2.0% White and Black African/Caribbean, 1.9% White and Asian, 1.7% Other Mixed), Arab and others .[7]
The largest religion wasChristianity, claimed by 41% of the population, followed byJudaism andIslam claimed by 9% and 7% of the population respectively.[7] Of the population, 36% either stated they had no religion (27%) or did not state their religion (9%).[7]
TheIsmaili Muslim community, headed by theAga Khan, worship at a Jamatkhana opened in 1996, which had been built in harmony with the neighbourhood as per the aims of this community.[8] It is located behind the site of the Congregational Church that had been demolished in 1965 to make way for the shops of Viceroy Parade.[8]
The independentPhoenix Cinema (once called theRex and before that theColiseum) is located on the High Road, and regularly shows films with more individual appeal than is the case with the cinema chains. It is the oldest purpose-built cinema in the UK (the only older ones having started life as theatres).Time Out, the arts magazine, describes thePhoenix as the best single-screen cinema in London. Film criticMark Kermode has written that the Phoenix Cinema "remains the single most significant cinema in my development as a bona fide cinema obsessive."[9]
There is a listedNeo-Georgian[10][11] publiclibrary located on the High Road opposite Leslie Road. Behind the library are some award-winningallotments, owned by Barnet Council. Adjacent to these are the Fuelland allotments which are held in trust. The massiveSt. Pancras and Islington Cemetery is located on the High Road. Established in 1854, it is the oldest municipal cemetery in London and the largest. The Victorian painterFord Madox Brown is buried there.
Opposite East Finchley tube station isCherry Tree Wood, approx. 4.5ha in size, and contains both woodland and grassland. Nearby parks includeColdfall Wood to the north, andHighgate Wood,Queens Wood, andHampstead Heath to the south. Also close to the tube station is the head office ofMcDonald's UK; this is seen by the flags and logos on the building.
The Archer, founded in 1993, is East Finchley's free monthlycommunity newspaper, run by volunteers.[12] It takes its name from the eponymous statue at East Finchley tube station.
InEvelyn Waugh's satirical novelScoop, Lord Copper, owner of the newspaperDaily Beast, lived in East Finchley. "That evening, Mr Salter, foreign editor of The Beast, was summoned to dinner at his chief's country seat at East Finchley."[13]
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