Muswell Hill is a district of theLondon Borough of Haringey,north London. The hill, which reaches over 100 m (330 ft) above sea level, is situated5+1⁄2 miles (9 kilometres) north ofCharing Cross.
Neighbouring areas includeHighgate,Hampstead Garden Suburb,East Finchley andCrouch End. It has many streets withEdwardian architecture.
Ancient Roman presence in the area has been attested to through the discovery of Roman coins near Southwood Lane and Muswell Hill Road.[1]
The earliest records of Muswell Hill date from the 12th century. TheBishop of London, who was the Lord of the Manor of Haringey,[2] owned the area and granted 26 ha (64 acres), located to the east of Colney Hatch Lane, to a newly formed order of nuns. The nuns built a chapel on the site and called it Our Lady of Muswell.
The nameMuswell is believed to come from a natural spring or well (the "Mossy Well"), said to have miraculous properties. A traditional story tells that Scottish kingMalcolm IV was cured ofdisease after drinking the water. The area became a place of pilgrimage for healing during medieval times.[3] TheRiver Moselle, which has its source in Muswell Hill and Highgate, derives its name from this district; it was originally known as theMosa orMosella.[4][5] Until the 1950s, the town's name was often pronounced "Muzzle Hill".[6]
In the 18th century Muswell Hill was ascattered village consisting mainly of detached villas with large gardens.[7] In 1787 one commentator wrote that nowhere within 100 miles (160 km) of London was there a village so pleasant or with such varied views.[8] Little had changed by the middle of the 19th century. One of the houses of the time wasThe Limes. This house occupied the angle of Muswell Hill Road with Colney Hatch Lane and was a three-storeyed house with portico and two-storeyed wing approached by a double carriage drive through impressive gateways. The large grounds of the house extended to Tetherdown and included a lake.[9] OppositeThe Limes was Muswell Hill pond and beyond that theGreen Man inn, built of stone[10] and likely dating to at least 1552.[1] Colney Hatch Lane itself was part of an ancient route from London to the north, and was once known as Muswell Hill Lane.[1]
Further down the hill past theGreen Man wasThe Elms, a squat three-storeyed house later improved byThomas Cubitt standing in 4.5 ha (11 acres), part of the grounds of which were laid out byJoseph Paxton.[11] A short distance down the north side of Muswell Hill wasThe Grove, which was three storeys high and had nine bays with pedimented projections at each end.[12] It stood in 3.2 ha (7.9 acres) of grounds which contained a 184 m (201 yd) avenue of oaks. In 1774 the house was occupied byTopham Beauclerk.[13]The Elms was demolished in 1900 to make way for Dukes Avenue.[1]
A little farther down the hill stoodGrove Lodge, also in wooded grounds.[14] Altogether there were eight properties in Muswell Hill worthy of note in 1817.[15]
Parallel with Muswell Hill was a track known as St James's Lane which ran across a triangle of wasteland. By the middle of the 19th century, houses were already dispersed along the lane at the foot of which wasLalla Rookh, a two-storeyed villa with a wide verandah.[16] Other buildings there were apparently cottages or huts, both single and in terraces.[17]
It was not until the end of the 19th century that Muswell Hill began to be developed more densely from a collection of country houses to the London village that it is today. The development was spurred by the opening in 1873 ofAlexandra Palace, a massive pleasure pavilion built on the most easterly of north London's gravel hills and intended as the counterpart to theCrystal Palace on Sydenham Hill in south London. Alexandra Palace was served by abranchline railway from Highgate, with an intermediary station at Muswell Hill (see below). The foot of Alexandra Palace was served by another rail network with connecting services to Finsbury Park and Kings Cross stations.
Most development was initiated in the early 20th century when the current street pattern was set out and elegant Edwardian retail parades were constructed. The shopping centre is based on roads that form three sides of a square: Fortis Green Road, Muswell Hill Broadway and the extension of the Broadway into Colney Hatch Lane. At each node point is a church: United Reformed, Church of England, Methodist, and Roman Catholic. One of the nodes, oppositeSt James CoE, was also the site of theAthenaeum music hall (later demolished with the site redeveloped as a supermarket), opposite which a survivingart deco Odeon cinema was built in the 1930s. The site of the Ritz, a cinema formerly at the top of Muswell Hill on the next node to the east, has been redeveloped as offices.
Until the mid-20th century there was a rail branch line, theMuswell Hill Railway, fromHighgate which passed through Muswell Hill, terminating at a station atAlexandra Palace. It was intended under theNorthern Heights plan to integrate this into theLondon UndergroundNorthern line; some contemporarytube maps (e.g. the1948 map) showed the line as being under construction. However, this plan was cancelled after the Second World War, and the railway line was abandoned in 1954. The line was later converted to become theParkland Walk.
In 1964, three young Muswell Hill residents, the brothers Ray and Dave Davies and Pete Quaife, formedthe Kinks. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, the Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock groups of the era. The Davies parents’ home at 6 Denmark Terrace, Fortis Green, remains a magnet for rock music tourists.
In 1950, Paul Andrew Smith was born in Muswell Hill at 12 Crown Road, and later became a founding member of the bandWednesday, formed in 1967. Their record success included the chart topping hit,Last Kiss, followed by a series of top ten records in Canada, Australia and the USA. They earned several Juno nominations, a Maple Leaf Award, Gold record award and were nominated into the Hall of Fame with a lifetime achievement in 2022.[citation needed]
In 1979Wetherspoons opened their first pub, onColney Hatch Lane.[18]
In March 2013 and June 2020 Muswell Hill was named one of the five most desirable places to live in London in theSunday Times "Best Places To Live" guide.
The hill was part of the Bishop of London's Manor of Hornsey, an area served from the medieval period by theancient parish ofHornsey. Parishes were originally ecclesiastic in purpose, but from the Tudor era onwards had a civic as well as ecclesiastical purpose.
In 1903, the area of thecivil parish of Hornsey became theMunicipal Borough of Hornsey, within the administrative county ofMiddlesex. Then in 1965 Hornsey merged withTottenham andWood Green to form the modernLondon Borough of Haringey.
Northern parts of the N10 postal area, sometimes also regarded as part of Muswell Hill, were part of the parish ofFriern Barnet, which subsequently becameFriern Barnet Urban District before becoming part of theLondon Borough of Barnet.[19]
The area is in theHornsey and Friern Barnet parliamentary constituency. The area is part of theMuswell Hill ward for elections toHaringey London Borough Council.[20]
Close to Alexandra Park and Highgate Woods, Muswell Hill's architecture is predominantly Edwardian. Muswell Hill Broadway and Fortis Green Road, the main shopping streets, still maintain their historic character with most of the original facades preserved above street level. The area has a synagogue and six churches, one of which has been converted into a steak house.
Neighbouring areas | |
|---|---|
Muswell Hill is not directly served by atube orNational Rail station.[21]
Nearby tube stations includeBounds Green (
),East Finchley (
),Finsbury Park (
),Highgate (),Turnpike Lane () andWood Green ().
National Rail () services pass to the east of Muswell Hill, calling atAlexandra Palace,Hornsey andFinsbury Park. Trains are operated byGreat Northern andThameslink to destinations such asMoorgate,Enfield andWelwyn Garden City. To the south of Muswell Hill, London Overground (
) trains serveCrouch Hill station betweenGospel Oak andBarking, viaSouth Tottenham.
Muswell Hill Broadway and Muswell Hill West are both served by London Buses, providing the area with a direct connection to theCity of London and theWest End. Buses also serve nearby stations.
| Route Number | Start | End | Key Destinations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43[22] | Friern Barnet | London Bridge | Highgate (),Archway,Islington,Angel,City of London,Bank |
| 102[23] | Brent Cross | Edmonton Green | Bounds Green (),East Finchley (),Golders Green |
| 134[24] | North Finchley | Warren Street | Highgate (), Archway,Kentish Town,Camden Town |
| 144[25] | Muswell Hill | Edmonton Green | Wood Green |
| 234[26] | Barnet | Archway | East Finchley () |
| 299[27] | Muswell Hill | Cockfosters | Bounds Green (),Southgate |
| 634[28] | Muswell Hill | Barnet | Whetstone |
| W3[29] | Finsbury Park () | Northumberland Park | Alexandra Palace,Alexandra Palace (), Wood Green,Tottenham |
| W7[30] | Muswell Hill | Finsbury Park () | Crouch End,Crouch Hill () |
TheA504 passes east–west through Muswell Hill. Eastbound traffic is carried towardsHornsey,Wood Green andthe A10. Westbound destinations includeEast Finchley,Hendon andthe M1.
TheA1201 terminates at Muswell Hill. Southbound destinations along this route includeCrouch Hill,Finsbury Park andHighbury.
Highgate is to the south of the district and can be reached via Muswell Hill Road. To the north,Colney Hatch,Friern Barnet andWhetstone can be reached via Colney Hatch Lane. Both routes are numberedB550.
TheA1 passes to the south of Muswell Hill, carrying traffic southbound towardsArchway,Islington and theCity of London. To the north, the route crosses theNorth Circular Road (A406), and traffic can reach destinations such asMill Hill,Watford,Stevenage andPeterborough.
Cycling infrastructure in Muswell Hill is limited. The now-defunctLondon Cycle Network developed two signposted routes through Muswell Hill:
The Muswell HillMetro Group campaigns to reinstate ahistoric railway line which ran between Alexandra Palace and Finsbury Park, via Muswell Hill. The group says that the line would relieve congestion on local roads and that an electric railway would improve local air quality.[32]
TheHaringey Cycling Campaign is a local cycling lobby group.[33]
The 2011 census showed that the N10 postal area (including parts ofFriern Barnet) had a population of 27,992 in the 2011 census.[34]
The same census showed that in the much smaller Muswell Hill electoral ward of the London Borough of Haringey, 84% of the population was white (65% British, 16% Other, 3% Irish). 40% were irreligious and Christian each, while the Jewish population stood at 5.3%.[35]
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Singer-songwriterRose Gray was born in Muswell Hill on 31 December 1996.[40]
John Logie Baird was the first person to transmit moving pictures, now called television. The first public broadcasts were from nearby Alexandra Palace before WW2. His scanning, rotating disc system was later replaced by a more modern electronic system. The former John Baird pub, now the Village Green, in Fortis Green Road was named after him.
MusiciansRay andDave Davies, founding members ofThe Kinks, grew up in Muswell Hill, the album titleMuswell Hillbillies being an obvious reference to their youth. They allegedly played their first ever gig in the Clissold Arms in Fortis Green.
MusicianMichael Kiwanuka was born and raised in Muswell Hill; he was the winner of theMercury Prize 2020 for his albumKiwanuka and a nominee for the 2021 63rdGrammy Award for Best Rock Album. His albumLove & Hate went to Number 1 on the UK albums chart in 2016.
Former KGB agentAlexander Litvinenko lived in Muswell Hill from his exile in 2000 until his assassination in 2006.
The groupFairport Convention started in the Muswell Hill family home ofSimon Nicol. The house, Fairport, is on the south side of Fortis Green near the junction with Tetherdown and Fortis Green Road.
The serial killer and necrophileDennis Nilsen committed his later murders in his Cranley Gardens flat in Muswell Hill and became known as the "Muswell Hill Murderer".
A resident for a short time in Muswell Hill was the Russian-born EnglandRugby union starPrince Alexander Obolensky, who died inSuffolk in an aircraft accident in 1940 while training as an RAF pilot.
Philip Martell, musical director for Hammer House of Horrors, lived in Woodland Gardens
Musician, author, poet, wit and great English eccentricVivian Stanshall lived his final years in Muswell Hill, dying in a fire in his Hillfield Park flat in 1995.
PoetMichael Wayne Rosen, known for his children's stories and poems, resides here.
ComposerDaniel Blumberg, known for his Oscar winning score forThe Brutalist, grew up in Muswell Hill.[41]
The nearest tube stations are:
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