History of Arkley

Arkley is about 440 feet above sea level. It is thought by some that Hendon Wood Lane was originally a minor Roman road. Certainly the name Grendel's Gate (now Barnet Gate, and formally known as Grims Gate), is associated with the monster from the Saxon epic Beowolf. This implies that the place was of modest importance as early as 1005. It may have been a centre of a small but significant community founded on a woodland economy. The area is latter referred to in medieval documents as Southhaw, and may have pre-dated the settlement at Chipping Barnet. Certainly Barnet manorial court was held here in the 13th century. Nobody is sure what the "Ark", part of Arkley means but the "ley" means a clearing of some sort. Its earliest appearance is about c1330. By the 16th century these woods had been cleared and the subsequent clearing formed common (see below).From at least the early 19th century until the 1890s, Arkley was commonly known as Barnet Common or West Barnet. The establishment of the civil parish of 830 acres in 1894 confused matters further, as it was defined by the rural area around Barnet Town, and included places as far east as Duck Island and Underhill. It is from the civil parish and the latter ward of Barnet Urban District (from 1905) that we have our population statistics for Arkley. Between 1901 and 1971 Arkley’s rose from 483 to 16,832.

Buildings

Important buildings in the area include St Peter's Church designed by George Beckett. Built in 1840 at a cost of £5,000 it contains the monument of its benefactor, Enoch Durant (d1848), and a bell cast by Thomas Mears. Arkley as an ecclesiastical district was established in the same year, and as a seperate ecclsiastical parish in 1905. Arkley Windmill was in use by 1806. It is marked as "corn" windmill on the Ordnance Survey of the 1860s 1:10,560. From photographs it appears to have had only 2 of its original sails by the 1890s, by which time it may have been powered by steam. It ceased to be a functioning mill during World War One, and was restored in 1930, but not as a working mill. The Gate inn retains some of its orignal features. The sign, in the form of a hanging five bar gate, has an incription which reads:

This gate hangs high,

and hinders none,

refresh and pay,

and travel on

Local Industry

Local clay has been exploited for brick making and pottery over the centuries. . During the 1950s a 13th century kiln at Dyke Cottage was excavated revealing a large cooking pot, and 19th century Ordnance Survey maps mark a "Tile Works". In the 1970s John Britten produced a small racing car named the "Arkley" in the area (see Arkley (automobile)) A War Memorial was erected in 1920. During the War GCHQ had a listening postin the area.

Local Groups

Arkley Golf Club was established in 1909, and is the place where Graham Hill died in an aircraft accident in November 1975. The Poor Clare Monastery was built in 1970. North London Society of Model Engineers had their model railway site here in the 1950s.

Maps

• 1786J. Cary 15 Miles Round London (Arkley = Barnet Gate top left hand corner) From the collection MOTCO
• From the collection of the Ordnance Survey

Pictures

From the collection of Steve Oughton

Arkley Mill

Form the collection of Clive Smith

Arkley street scene

Arkley Mill

Emily Cook of the British Car Owners Club in Mississippi in her Arkley Car

links

• Barnet Registration District
• Arkley Cars
• Arkley Car Brochure

Directories

Early directories use the Victorian name for Arkley “Barnet Common” or “West Barnet”

1855 1890 1899 1895 1902 1908 1914

Further Research

• Barnet Archives and Local Studies
• Barnet Museum
• Chipping Barnet Library
• Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies (HALS)

• HADAS Archived Newsletters (The Hendon & District Archaeological Society)