Two hundred years ago, just as today, Whetstone and Totteridge focused on
two important roads. Running north-south on the eastern side is the Great
North Road. It was the principal route connecting London with York. The
figure '9' on the map refers to the ninth milestone: we are exactly nine
miles (14.5 km) from the City of London.
East-west road
The other road was of greater local significance. Known today as
Totteridge Lane, it followed a ridge of high ground and connected the area
with Mill Hill and Edgware. The map shows the church and cluster of houses
that made up Totteridge Village. Where Totteridge Lane meets the Great
North Road, you can see the beginnings of a settlement at Whetstone.
New and accurate map
This section is from 'A New and Accurate Map of the Country Twenty-Five
Miles Round London'. It shows 'His Majesty's Palaces, Noblemen and
Gentlemen's Seats, Cities, Market Towns, Villages, Churches, Cottages,
Rivers, Mills, Parks, Woods, Heaths and Remarkable Hills'. The map was
drawn in 1777 by a land surveyor called John Andrew. The scale is 7/8 inch
: 1 mile.
