Barnet, Greater London, England, United Kingdom

:ENG: The London Borough of Barnet is a suburban London borough in North London. The borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It forms part of Outer London and is the largest London borough by population.

Barnet borders the Hertfordshire district of Hertsmere to the north and five other London boroughs: Camden and Haringey to the south-east, Enfield to the east, as well as Harrow and Brent to the west of the ancient Watling Street (now the A5 road). The borough's major urban settlements are Hendon, Finchley, Golders Green, Friern Barnet, Chipping Barnet, Whetstone, and Edgware; there are also village settlements notably Totteridge and Arkley along with rural areas and countryside part of the Green Belt.

The local authority is Barnet London Borough Council, which meets at Hendon Town Hall and has its main offices in Colindale.

History The area covered by the modern borough has a long history. Evidence of first-century Roman pottery manufacturing has been found at Brockley Hill and Roman coins from the third and fourth centuries were found at Burnt Oak. Both sites are on the Roman road Watling Street from London (Londinium) to St Albans (Verulamium) which now forms the western border of the borough.

Hendon is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, but the districts of Barnet, Edgware and Finchley were not referred to, possibly because these areas were included in other manors.

In 1471 the Battle of Barnet was fought in Monken Hadley, just within the present borough's boundary. It was here that Yorkist troops led by King Edward IV killed the "Kingmaker" Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick and his brother, John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu.

Administrative history A local government district called Barnet was created in 1863 covering the town of Barnet, also known as Chipping Barnet. Such districts were subsequently also created for East Barnet Valley in 1874, Finchley in 1878, Hendon in 1879, and Friern Barnet in 1883. Barnet and East Barnet Valley both straddled Hertfordshire and Middlesex until 1889 when they were placed entirely in Hertfordshire; Hendon, Finchley and Friern Barnet were all in Middlesex.

All five districts were converted into urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894. Barnet was enlarged in 1914 to take in Totteridge, and Hendon was enlarged in 1931 to take in Edgware. Hendon was made a municipal borough in 1932, as was Finchley in 1933. East Barnet Valley was renamed East Barnet in 1935.

The modern borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the former boroughs of Finchley and Hendon and urban districts of Barnet, East Barnet and Friern Barnet. The area was transferred from Middlesex and Hertfordshire to Greater London, to become one of the 32 London boroughs.

The 1963 Act did not include a name for the new borough. A joint committee of the councils due to be amalgamated suggested "Northgate" or "Northern Heights". Keith Joseph, the Minister of Housing and Local Government, eventually chose Barnet. The place name Barnet is derived from the Old English bærnet meaning "land cleared by burning". The old Barnet Urban District had been the least populous of the five predecessor districts at the 1961 census; nearly half the new borough's population lived in the old borough of Hendon.

When the present borough was created, it included part of Elstree. On 1 April 1993 Barnet's northern boundary was altered and some of its more rural northern parts, including Elstree, were transferred to Hertfordshire (and its district of Hertsmere).

Economy Chipping Barnet has been a market town since the thirteenth century, the rest of the area was agricultural. In 1588 Queen Elizabeth I granted a charter to the Lord of the Manor of Barnet to hold a twice yearly horse fair. The first example of an American style out-of-town shopping centre was built at Brent Cross in the 1970s. McDonald's has its UK headquarters at East Finchley. Argonaut Games once had its head office in Edgware.

Barnet, Greater London, England, United Kingdom | Barnet, Vermont, United States