London Borough of Haringey

History

Toponymy

The names Haringey, Harringay and Hornsey in use today are all different variations of the same Old English: Hæringeshege. Hæring was a Saxon chief who lived probably in the area around Hornsey. Hæringeshege meant Hæring's enclosure and evolved into Haringey, Harringay and Hornsey.

In the Last Glacial Maximum, Haringey was at the edge of a huge glacial mass that reached as far south as Muswell Hill. There is evidence of both Stone Age and Bronze Age activity.

Background

In the Iron Age and Roman periods, Haringey was peopled by a Celtic tribe called the Catuvellauni, whose extensive lands centred on Hertfordshire and Middlesex. The Romans' presence is evidenced chiefly by the roads they built through the area. Tottenham High Road was part of the main Roman thoroughfare of Ermine Street. There have also been Roman finds in the borough which suggests possible Roman settlement.

In the 5th and 6th centuries after the Saxon invasions the settlement of Haeringehaia was founded; its name coming from the Old English haeringe meaning a "meadow of hares".

Haringey remained a rural area until the 18th century when large country houses close to London became increasingly common. The coming of the railways from the mid-nineteenth century onwards led to rapid urbanisation; by the turn of the century much of Haringey had been transformed from a rural to an urbanised environment.

Administrative history

The area of the modern borough broadly corresponds to the two ancient parishes of Tottenham (which covered most of the area) and Hornsey in the south-west. Both parishes were historically in the county of Middlesex, with Tottenham being in Edmonton Hundred and Hornsey in Ossulstone Hundred. Ossulstone was later split into divisions for certain administrative functions, and Hornsey was included in its Finsbury division.

The ancient parishes provided a framework for both civil (administrative) and ecclesiastical (church) functions, but during the 19th century there was a divergence into distinct civil and ecclesiastical parish systems. The ecclesiastical parishes were gradually sub-divided to better serve the needs of a growing population, while the civil parishes continued to be based on the ancient parishes. The civil parish of Tottenham was made a local board district in 1850, with an elected board overseeing public health and responsible for the provision of infrastructure.

Similar local government districts were created for South Hornsey in 1865, and for the rest of Hornsey parish in 1867. The boundary between the Hornsey and South Hornsey districts was adjusted in 1874 to follow the Seven Sisters Road. The Tottenham district was divided in 1888, when its western part was made a separate district called Wood Green.

The four districts of Hornsey, South Hornsey, Tottenham and Wood Green were each reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894. South Hornsey Urban District was abolished in 1900 when it was absorbed into the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington. Hornsey Urban District was incorporated to become a municipal borough in 1903, as were Wood Green in 1933, and Tottenham in 1934.

The modern borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the three municipal boroughs of Hornsey, Tottenham and Wood Green. The area was transferred from Middlesex to Greater London to become one of the 32 London Boroughs. The new borough was given the name Haringey, which was an old name for Hornsey.

Governance

The local authority is Haringey Council. It is usually based at the Haringey Civic Centre on High Road in Wood Green, although the building is closed pending refurbishment as at 2024.

Greater London representation

Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly, the borough forms part of the Enfield and Haringey constituency.

Geography

See also List of districts in Haringey.

Physical geography

Haringey is a borough of contrasts geographically. From the wooded high ground around Highgate and Muswell Hill, at 426.5 feet (130.0 m), the land falls sharply away to the flat, open low-lying land beside the River Lea in the east. 60 hectares within the borough are designated as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt.

Haringey shares borders with six other London boroughs. Clockwise from the north, they are: Enfield, Waltham Forest, Hackney, Islington, Camden, and Barnet. It covers an area of more than 11 square miles (28.5 km2). Some of the more familiar local landmarks include Alexandra Palace, Bruce Castle and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

Haringey has 600 acres (2.4 km2) of parks, recreation grounds and open spaces which make up more than 25% of its total area. They include both smaller local areas and large green areas which provide an amenity for Londoners beyond the borough's boundaries. Local Nature Reserves and a number of conservation areas can also be found in the borough. The borough is also home to five distinct ancient woods. These are Highgate Woods, Queen's Wood, Coldfall Wood, Bluebell Wood and North Wood.

The borough has achieved Green Flag status for 25 of its parks, meaning they are judged to be welcoming, safe and well-managed, with active community involvement.

Amongst the larger open spaces are: Finsbury Park, Alexandra Park, Highgate Wood, Coldfall Wood and the Lee Valley Park.

There are three rivers of note still flowing above ground in the borough. These are:

River Moselle

The New River

River Lea

Demographics

According to the GLA's population projections for 2018, the current population of Haringey is 282,904 residents.

Haringey is the 6th most deprived borough in London, and the 30th most deprived local authority in England (out of 326). Within the borough there are extreme contrasts: neighbourhoods in some of the western wards, such as Highgate, Muswell Hill and Crouch End are among the most prosperous in the country; in the east of the borough, many neighbourhoods are classified as being among the most deprived in the country.

The population grew by 17.7% between the 2001 and 2011 Censuses, and is projected to have grown by a further 11% between 2011 and 2018.

The male to female ratio in Haringey is 50:50. While the age structure is similar to that of London, the borough has a slightly larger proportion of residents aged 20–44, and a slightly smaller proportion of residents aged 65+.

According to the GLA Population Estimate for 2018, 33.6% of the borough's population are White British, 25.9% are "Other White", 8.2% are of Black African heritage, and 5.8% are of Black Caribbean heritage. Haringey is also home to several smaller Asian communities.

44% of the population are Christian, 12% are Muslim and 3% Jewish. The Muslim population is centred in the middle of the borough around Harringay, while the Jewish community is largest on the western edges of the borough in Highgate, Muswell Hill and Crouch End (where members are predominately Orthodox, Reform and Liberal), and in the Seven Sisters ward in the east of the borough which is home to South Tottenham's largest Jewish community, who make up 18.1% of the population of the ward.

Religion

Haringey is a religiously diverse borough, with large populations of all major world religions. 2021 census results were as follows:

Christianity - 39.3%

Islam - 12.6%

Judaism - 3.6%

Hinduism - 1.3%

Buddhism - 0.9%

Sikhism - 0.3%

Other Religions - 2.3%

No religion - 31.6%

Not Stated - 8.0%

Immigration

This list includes top-15 sources of immigration to Borough of Haringey for 2021 census:

Public services

Housing

There are approximately 114,313 dwellings in Haringey. Of those: 43% are owner occupied; 29% are rented from the local authority or a housing association; and 24% are rented from a private landlord.

The local council and housing associations provide just over 27,000 affordable homes. As of Q4 2017 there were 3,002 households living in temporary accommodation in Haringey.

Education

Haringey has 64 primary (including infant and junior) schools, 11 secondary schools, a City Academy, 5 special schools and a pupil support centre. In addition, there are off site provision and study support centres for children and young people with additional needs.

The number of pupils in Haringey Schools as at January 2017 was 41,550 (including nursery age children). This total was made up as follows:

Primary (state-funded) 23,735 (pupils of compulsory school age).

Secondary (state-funded) 13,377 (including sixth form students).

Special School pupils and students 485 (including post 16 children).

Health and social care

NHS services provide healthcare for all residents of Haringey. There are 52 General Practices across the borough as of 2022. These are grouped into eight Primary Care Networks with Haringey GP Federation covering the entire borough. In addition to Primary Care the population is cared for by several hospitals including the North Middlesex University Hospital, Homerton Hospital, Whittington Hospital and St Ann's Hospital. In addition, there are numerous Health & Social Care providers across the borough.

Economy

In 2016, there were 12,150 businesses in Haringey employing a total of 66,000 people. This accounted for 1.3% of all employment in London.

Haringey's economy is dominated by small businesses with 93.9% of businesses employing fewer than 10 people.

The main sectors of employment in Haringey are:

Source

The principal shopping areas in the borough are Wood Green and Turnpike Lane, Muswell Hill, Crouch End, Harringay and Tottenham Hale.

Haringey is situated within the growth corridor connecting London with Stansted, Cambridge and Peterborough.

Culture

The borough has a number of facilities offering a wide range of cultural activity

Performing arts

Haringey's theatres and other venues include:

Alexandra Palace's Great Hall, Theatre and West Hall

Haringey Shed - an outreach theatre group of Chicken Shed Theatre.

Jacksons Lane - a multi-arts centre with a full-time programme of theatre and participatory events.

New London Performing Arts Centre provides affordable, accessible drama, dance, singing and music classes to children of all ages

Bernie Grant Arts Centre.

Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate

Downstairs at the King's Head

St Mary's Tower, Hornsey

Visual arts

The Chocolate Factory

Sport

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, currently in the FA Premier League, play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which is located in the borough on Tottenham High Road. The borough also has two Non-League football clubs, Haringey Borough F.C. and Greenhouse London F.C., who both play at Coles Park.

London Skolars are a rugby league team that compete in Kingstone Press League 1. They play at New River Stadium in Wood Green, Haringey. The annual Middlesex 9s rugby league tournament also takes place at the New River Stadium.

The borough's ice hockey team, the Haringey Huskies, currently play at Alexandra Palace. Alexandra Palace has also hosted other events including the PDC World Darts Championship and a number of Boxing events.

During the 1970s, 80s and 90s, the Haringey Athletic Club were at the forefront of a new generation of inner city athletes producing many Olympians. They have since been amalgamated into the Enfield and Haringey Athletic Club. London Heathside, formed in 2000 following the merger of North London AC and Muswell Hill Runners, are also based at the London Marathon Athletics Track at Finsbury Park.

Transport

The 16 National Rail, London Overground and London Underground stations in the borough are:

Alexandra Palace (National Rail, ECML serviced by Great Northern services)

Bounds Green (London Underground, Piccadilly Line)

Bowes Park (National Rail, Hertford Branch, services by Great Northern services)

Bruce Grove (London Overground, Lea Valley Lines, Cheshunt Branch)

Harringay Green Lanes (London Overground, Gospel Oak - Barking Line)

Harringay (National Rail, ECML serviced by Great Northern services)

Highgate (London Underground, Northern Line)

Hornsey (National Rail, ECML serviced by Great Northern services)

Manor House (London Underground, Piccadilly Line)

Northumberland Park (National Rail, Lea Valley Main Line serviced by Greater Anglia services)

Seven Sisters (London Underground, Victoria Line and London Overground, Lea Valley Lines, Cheshunt Branch)

South Tottenham (London Overground, Gospel Oak - Barking Line)

Tottenham Hale (London Underground, Victoria Line and National Rail, Lea Valley Main Line serviced by Greater Anglia services)

Twin towns

Haringey has been twinned with Koblenz, Germany since 1969. It has also twinned with the towns of:

Arima in Trinidad and Tobago,

Clarendon in Jamaica,

Holetown in St. James, Barbados,

Larnaca in Cyprus,

Livry-Gargan in the suburbs of Paris, France,

Sundbyberg in Sweden and

Jalasjärvi in Finland

Coat of arms

The official heraldic arms were granted on 10 May 1965, after the mergers of the former Municipal Borough of Hornsey, the Municipal Borough of Wood Green and the Municipal Borough of Tottenham. Unlike most other London boroughs, it was decided not to create arms based on the charges in the coats of arms of the former boroughs. The coat of arms contains black and gold, representing stability, a cogwheel for industry and a rising sun for the new borough.

The borough has a simple badge described as "Eight Rays" [as in the arms]. A flag is used which looks like a banner of arms but with the tinctures reversed, so that it has eight black rays on a yellow field. The rays are also a symbol of the world's first regular high-definition television transmissions in 1936 from the mast of Alexandra Palace, one of the landmarks in the Borough of Haringey.

The arms is used in the mayoral regalia of the borough. The mayoral chain has the heraldic achievement hanging in a badge made out of 18 k gold and enamel, with the text "The London Borough of Haringey MCMLXV". The chain has stylized H's and hares sitting within laurel wreaths. The hares represent the name of the borough, since Haringey is believed to mean "a meadow of Hares".