Prior to the Norman Conquest, the region where Barnet now stands was in fact a large wood known as Southaw, which belonged to the Abbey of St. Albans. The town is said to have been created largely to serve as a link between London and St. Albans.
At the very least, the name Barnet, which is derived from the ancient English word “burning,” has been used since 1070. Barnet has traditionally been regarded as a destination for inns and marketplaces, with Chipping Barnet historically serving as the epicentre of trade and travel across the borough.
Barnet does not appear in the Domesday Survey, despite the fact that the town existed long before the Norman Conquest. The parish’s centre was East Barnet, which was the oldest section of the Borough, but its prominence diminished by the 11th Century, when a route heading from London went via St. Alban’s, and the town began to grow in earnest around the trade route.
Barnet has made a few appearances in history since then. During the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, for example, the locals were known to have marched. Armed with bows and cudgels, they compelled the Abbot of St. Albans, who was still considered as the master and owner of the land, to enable them to fish, hunt and mill their own maize. After the rebellion, the peace didn’t last long. During the English Civil War, the Combat of Barnet in 1471 saw the town’s environs become the site of a battle between Lancastrians and Yorkists.
When the monasteries were dissolved in the 1530s, the Abbey of St. Alban’s lost possession over Barnet. At the same time, the town’s agricultural identity began to fade, and it began to become increasingly integrated with London, which continued to develop and sprawl.
High Barnet is the oldest town in the borough and it is said to have been a Roman village at one time (though there is actually no evidence to back this up). This is where you’ll find “Chipping Barnet,” as it’s called, a moniker that has been passed down the generations since “Chipping” has been a term for market towns since the 12th century.
Further modifications to the town’s nature occurred, such as the conversion of High Road into a turnpike in 1712. Barnet grew even more famous as a travel route due to the fact that the town had always sat on top of the hill, to the point where it was reported in 1756 as having 25 inns for coaches to swap tired horses for fresh ones.
Throughout the early nineteenth century, the road was improved further, leading to the lowering of the hill’s inclination, as well as the building of a causeway from Underhill, and the creation of St Albans road as a shortcut to the town.
Throughout the Elizabethan period it was known as High Barnet. With the development of railroads in the mid-nineteenth century, Barnet’s population continued to rise, and Victorian brick homes became more popular in the town.
High Barnet is currently used as the name of the local community ward since it is seen to be more inclusive than Chipping Barnet. The name of the constituency is Chipping Barnet, which perhaps confusingly, was previously the name of the parish and is now connected with the lower section of the town.
Barnet is now nearly completely residential, with a few commercial and industrial outliers, such as Edgware Road on the western outskirts. Where the former military airstrip formerly stood, the borough now houses the Royal Air Force Museum. Meanwhile, in 1976, the Brent Cross Retail Centre, the UK’s first big enclosed shopping mall, opened.
A few mediaeval structures remain, notably the 1494 tower of Monken Hadley parish church, the Tudor Hall of Barnet college, and a 17th century farmhouse that served as a Church Farm House Museum until its closure in 2011.
Golders Green is a historic community on the northwestern outskirts of London that expanded significantly in the early twentieth century as new railway links were established.
Expected to complete in 2024, the Golders Green town centre public realm project seeks to create a ‘more appealing, healthier, greener, accessible, and well-connected’ public realm in the heart of the neighbourhood.
During the second round of the procurement, three teams will be called to an interview. A multidisciplinary team was previously sought in a separate tender to produce a set of new graphic identities, a wayfinding strategy, and a cultural and community engagement plan.
According to the brief, the London Borough of Barnet wants to transform Golders Green’s town centre into a flourishing, inviting, safer, healthier, and distinctive environment where people can work, live, visit, and spend time.
‘As part of achieving this goal, Barnet Council is seeking to recruit a properly competent multi-disciplinary team to design and construct public realm interventions and enhancements to Golders Green’s town centre, ranging from RIBA Stages 1-to-7.’
The current competition comes shortly after Barnet Council advertised for a design team to help with a significant rethink of the public realm in North Finchley town core.
The winner of the Pavilion for All competition, organised by Argent Related and Barnet Council, was announced by the Architects’ Journal in March 2022. DaeWha Kang Design, a new London-based firm created by ex-Zaha Hadid Architects senior associate DaeWha Kang, beat Bureau de Change, Nooma Studio and Stefan Shaw Studio to win the prestigious commission.
Brent Cross Town is being developed with health and welfare particularly in mind. Situated in Clitterhouse Playing Fields in north London, Pavilion for All is to be a net zero design for a sports and active play pavilion. The pavilion will serve as the social hub of the playing fields, serving as a gathering spot and adding to the unrivalled multi-sports and active play offerings. There will be a café, locker rooms, flexible space and a reception.
In fact, Brent Cross Town has committed to being a net-zero carbon town by 2030. It’s important for the area that the pavilion design not only displays how it will involve everyone in the community, but also that it has the very best whole-life carbon and biodiversity credentials.
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