Golders Green
Golders Green clock tower
Golders Green Underground station
Golders Green Location within Greater London
Population	18,818 (2011 Census.Ward)[1]
OS grid reference	TQ248876
London borough	Barnet
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	NW11, NW2
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Finchley & Golders Green Hendon
London Assembly	Barnet and Camden

Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, 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 (9 km) north west of Charing Cross on the intersection of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.

It was founded as a medieval hamlet in the large parish of Hendon, Middlesex. The parish was heavily superseded by Hendon Urban District in 1894 and by the Municipal Borough of Hendon in 1932, abolished in 1965. In the early 20th century, it grew rapidly in response to the opening of a tube station of the London Underground, adjacent to the Golders Green Hippodrome which was home to the BBC Concert Orchestra for many years. The area has a wide variety of housing and a busy main shopping street, Golders Green 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 Anglican deaconesses 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.

Both the Golders Green Hippodrome, former home of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the police station opened in 1913.^[3] The now-demolished Orpheum Theatre (1930) was intended to rival the Hippodrome in Golders Green.

Geography

For local elections Golders Green ward 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 (50 m) to 260 feet (80 m) above sea level.

The area is adjacent to the Heath Extensions part of Hampstead Heath.

Demography

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]

Economy

The area has restaurants with cuisines from all over the world 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.

Transport

Golders Green station is a London Underground tube station on the Northern line in zone 3. It is the first surface station on the Edgware branch when heading north. On the station's forecourt is Golders Green bus station. This is a major hub for London Buses in North West London.^[11] National Express coaches also stop at the bus station before/after central London.

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 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.^[12]

The King Alfred School is located on North End Road and Henrietta Barnett School is located in nearby Hampstead Garden Suburb.

Places of worship

Churches

Golders Green Parish Church (Church of England)

Golders Green Synagogue

The Anglican parish church of St. Alban the Martyr in North End Road was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, and in 1933 replaced the original eponymous church, on the site, which is now the parish hall. The latter was built in 1910 and made a parish church in 1922.^[13]

St. Edward the Confessor, a Roman Catholic church, was built in 1915 and consecrated in 1931.^[14] A Carmelite monastery was established in Bridge Lane in 1908^[15] and sold in 2007.^[16]

There is a Greek Orthodox cathedral on Golders Green Road,^[17] and a Coptic Orthodox church,^[18] both having been Anglican churches for most of the 20th century. The Greek Orthodox church was built in 1914.

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.^[19] 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.^[20]

Community facilities

Water Garden in Golders Hill Park

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.

Appearances in popular culture

The area is the setting of the humorous short story "The Ghoul of Golders Green" (May Fair, 1925) by Michael Arlen.

In his 1944 poem "Death Wish", Spike Milligan expresses his wishes to be buried anywhere except Golders Green Crematorium:

Bury me anywhere,
Somewhere near a tree
Some place where a horse will graze
and gallop over me.

Bury me
Somewhere near a stream,
When she floods her banks
I'll give her thanks
For reaching out to me
In my childhood scene;

But please –
don't bury me
In Golders Green.

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.^[27]

In his travelogue parody "Balham, Gateway to the South", recorded on The Best of Sellers (1958), Peter Sellers parodies John William Burgon's well known description of Petra – "A rose-red city half as old as time" – as "A rose-red city half as gold as green [Golders Green]".

George Harrison recorded an unreleased track called "Going Down to Golders Green". This came about 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.

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.

Places of interest

• Golders Green Hippodrome
• Ivy House on North End Road, former home of the renowned Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova
• Golders Green War Memorial
• Golders Hill Park
• Golders Green tube station

Notable people

• Dannie Abse, Welsh poet and doctor, lived in Golders Green.^[28]
• Michael Allmand VC (1923–1944), recipient of the Victoria Cross, was born in Golders Green.
• Aajibai Banarase (1910–1983), Indian community leader in London, lived in Golders Green.
• Ken Blaiklock (1927–2020), Antarctic explorer and recipient of the Polar Medal with 3 bars, was born in Golders Green.
• Alex Clare, singer-songwriter, lives in Golders Green.
• Elchanan Halpern, Rabbi of Golders Green.^[29]
• Kazuo Ishiguro, novelist, lives in Golders Green.^[30]
• Ghada Karmi, author, lived in Golders Green with her family after leaving Israel in 1948.
• Lina Khan, American legal scholar serving as chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, grew up in Golders Green.
• David Kossoff, actor, lived in Hayes Crescent, near Temple Fortune; his late son, musician Paul Kossoff, grew up there.
• Ernest Krausz (1931–2018), Romanian-Israeli professor of sociology and President at Bar Ilan University, lived there.
• Michael McIntyre grew up in Golders Green.^[31]
• Mary Macarthur, women's rights campaigner, lived there.
• Louis Marks, television screenwriter and producer, was born there.^[32]
• 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.
• Kathleen Simon, Viscountess Simon, abolitionist, lived and died in Golders Green.^[33]
• Osi Umenyiora, former New York Giants defensive end, was born in Golders Green.
• Evelyn Waugh, novelist, author of Brideshead Revisited, lived in nearby North End, Hampstead.
• Anthony Joshua, British professional boxer, lived in Golders Green with his mother.

Notes and references

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