Finchley
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Finchley is a place in the London Borough of Barnet, London, England. It is predominantly a residential area with a number of retail districts. Finchley is regarded as a well-to-do area [citation needed] boasting of some of the most expensive property in London. It is home to the world renowned The Bishops Avenue.
Location and divisions
Situated in the north of London, Finchley is divided into four areas:
- East Finchley, roughly the area between Highgate and the North Circular Road, and in postal area N2;
- Church End Finchley, often known as "Finchley Central", the area west of the North Circular Road, centred around Ballards Lane and Finchley Central tube station, and in postcode district N3;
- West Finchley, the area around West Finchley tube station, and in postcode district N3; and
- North Finchley, the area surrounding Tally-Ho Corner, stretching west to Woodside Park and the Northern Line, in postcode district N12.
The area of London known as Finchley Road, around Finchley Road tube station, is not part of Finchley, but instead refers to a commercial district in Swiss Cottage, Camden. The area is named after a section of the A41 road, which eventually runs north to Finchley.
Culture and sports
Finchley has an active local arts scene which is publicised by Barnet Borough Arts Council. The Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley is one of the oldest purpose-built cinemas in the UK. The Arts Depot at Tally Ho Corner North Finchley opened in Autumn 2004.
Finchley has two active orchestras and two choirs. The principal orchestra is the Finchley Chamber Orchestra FCO, conducted by David Lardi. The other community orchestra is the Tudor Orchestra; both orchestras rehearse at Trinity Church Centre N12 7NN, close to the Tally Ho bus terminus, the FCO on Thursday nights and the Tudor Orchestra on Monday nights. The two choirs are the Finchley Chamber Choir (FCC) FCC, again conducted by David Lardi, and the larger Finchley Choral Society conducted by Grace Rossiter. The FCC also rehearses at the Trinity Church Centre (Tuesday evenings) whilst The Finchley Choral Society FCS rehearses at Moss Hall School, Nether Street, West Finchley, N3 1NR, on Monday nights.
There is also a Finchley Children's Music Group (youth choir) FCMG.
The Guild Players are Finchley's amateur drama group, based at Finchley Methodist Church in Ballards Lane.
Finchley Cinevideo Society (FCS) is one of the country's oldest movie-making clubs - founded in 1930. It still meets weekly in North Finchley.
Finchley Games Club meets every Thursday evening to play board games, role-playing, collectible card games, etc.
The local football team is Wingate & Finchley who play in the Southern League Eastern Division. It was founded as a specifically Jewish football club in 1946. The local rugby team is Finchley RFC.
Finchley Cricket Club (founded 1832) is one of the most successful clubs in London and play in the Middlesex Premier League. They play at Arden Field, East End Road, N3. (www.finchleycricket.com).
Victoria Park is located in Ballards Lane between North Finchley and Finchley Central. It was opened in 1902 and was intended to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and was Finchley's first Public Park.
History
Finchley was from 1959 to 1992 the Parliamentary constituency of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990.
Since 1963 Finchley has been twinned with Jinja, Uganda.
Notable people associated with Finchley
- McFly, UK band
- Fleur Adcock, poet
- Harry Beck, designer of the original Tube map
- Emma Bunton, singer
- Charles Dickens, novelist
- Samantha Fox, UK model and singer
- Robert Fripp, musician
- Octavia Hill, social reformer
- David Jason, actor
- Stephen Merchant, actor/director/writer/comedian
- George Michael, singer and songwriter
- Spike Milligan, comedian
- Eric Morecambe, comedian
- Tim Parks, novelist (his semi-autobiographical Tongues of Flame is set in the North Finchley of 1968).
- Anna, movie actor.
- Will Self, novelist, reviewer and columnist
- Peter Sellers, comedian
- Feargal Sharkey, singer
- Jerry Springer, born at East Finchley Station during the war
- Steven Stapleton, musician
- Owen Suffolk, Australian transported convict and bushranger - born in Finchley in 1777
- Margaret Thatcher, local MP and Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1979-1990
- Terry-Thomas, actor
- Alan Tilvern, actor
- Tamás Vásáry, pianist and conductor.
- Reece Shearsmith, actor and member of The League of Gentlemen.
- Steve Pemberton, actor and member of The League of Gentlemen.
- Tony Maudsley, actor.
- Sir William Shee, the first Roman Catholic judge to sit in England and Wales since the Reformation.
Fictional characters
Perhaps because of its rather ordinary, middle-class suburban image, a number of fictional characters have been associated with the area, including:
- Bluebottle, a character in the 1950s BBC radio series The Goon Show, hails from Finchley.
- In the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Susan Pevensie says that she and her siblings, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy, are from Finchley, despite no mention of Finchley being made in C. S. Lewis's book.
Transport and locale
Nearest places
Nearest tube stations
- Finchley Central tube station
- West Finchley tube station
- Mill Hill East tube station
- Woodside Park tube station
- East Finchley tube station
- Brent Cross tube station
- Hendon Central tube station
- Golders Green tube station
- Totteridge and Whetstone tube station
All the above stations are on the Northern Line of the London Underground system.
