Harringay Origins - The Real Storyby hjuk |
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Harringay developed in the late Victorian era as London expanded into the countryside to the north of Islington. It took its name from Harringay House, the grounds of which occupied most of the area west of Green Lanes as far as the Great Northern Railway. |
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The name Harringay came from the Saxon, Haering's Hege the enclosure of Haering's people. During the following several hundred years, spellings were rarely fixed and the name went through 162 recorded variations. The Harringay variant was first recorded in 1569. The variant for the nearby area of Hornsey appeared in 1646. But oldest of all, Haringey, was first recorded in 1387. |
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The choice of the Harringay spelling in 1792 by Edward Gray, the builder of Harringay House, ensured that this variant survived as the name for the area today. The spelling's survival was not always safe however. In the early 20th century the Municipal Borough of Hornsey tried to enforce use of the Haringey spelling. It was only resistance by local residents that prevented its adoption. |
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In 1965 local government in London was re-organised, and a new borough was created by combining Hornsey, Wood Green and Tottenham. (Harringay had been split between Hornsey and Tottenham). At this point the descendants of the early burghers of Hornsey got their revenge on the former residents of Harringay and chose the name Haringey for the new borough. Whilst there's no record about why they chose that spelling it's likely that went for the oldest recorded form. Children attending schools in the borough in the mid to late 1960s were taught that the ey in the new borough's name should be pronounced as in Finchley. |
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For more on this see the well researched series of Wikipedia articles on Harringay or the local website at www.harringayonline.com |
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Disclaimer The Postcodes Project includes material submitted by users of the website. The Museum accepts no liability in respect of any of this material, and we are not responsible for its content and accuracy. |
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