Barnet
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What is Barnet?
Barnet is an outer borough of London, England, located on the metropolis's northwestern perimeter. It was created in 1965 through the amalgamation of former boroughs and urban districts and includes areas such as Barnet, Hendon, and Finchley.
The name Barnet comes from the Old English bærnet (\u201cburning\u201d). Barnet's strategic location on the main road between London and St. Albans made it a center for inns and marketplaces. The population rose sharply in the mid-19th century with the advent of railways, and estates and farms were replaced by Victorian brick villas.
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Where is Barnet located in London?
Barnet is located on the northwestern perimeter of London, England. It is an outer borough of London and lies mostly within the historic county of Middlesex, though some northern districts belong historically to Hertfordshire. Barnet was created in 1965 by combining the former boroughs of Hendon and Finchley and the urban districts of Barnet, East Barnet, and Friern Barnet. Modern Barnet is almost entirely residential, with some industry along Edgware Road.
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What is the population like in Barnet?
Barnet is an outer borough of London, located on the metropolis's northwestern perimeter. The borough was created in 1965 through the amalgamation of former boroughs and urban districts. Barnet is largely residential, with some industry along Edgware Road.
In 2001, the population of Barnet was 314,564, which grew to 356,386 in 2011.
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What are some important places or landmarks in Barnet?
Barnet, an outer borough of London, has a rich history and several notable landmarks. The Royal Air Force Museum, located on the historic Hendon Aerodrome, showcases the story of flight and aerial warfare with over 80 aircraft on display.
The Battle of Barnet took place in 1471 at Hadley Green, now in East Barnet. Few medieval structures remain, but the Monken Hadley parish church, with a tower built in 1494, and the East Barnet parish church, dating from about 1100, are worth visiting.
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How is Barnet governed as a London borough?
Barnet, located on London's northwestern edge, is an outer borough formed in 1965 through the merger of Hendon, Finchley, and the urban districts of Barnet, East Barnet, and Friern Barnet. It lies mainly within the historic county of Middlesex, with northern districts historically belonging to Hertfordshire. Modern Barnet is largely residential, with some industry along Edgware Road.
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What are some unique cultural or historical features of Barnet?
Barnet, located on London's northwestern edge, has unique cultural and historical features. Originating around 1070 CE as "bærnet" ("burning"), it evolved from hayfields into a hub of inns and marketplaces due to its location on the London-St. Albans road.
A key historical event is the Battle of Barnet in 1471, a significant Yorkist victory during the Wars of the Roses. Although largely residential today, Barnet saw rapid development in the 19th and 20th centuries with the arrival of railways and the London Underground. The borough is home to the Royal Air Force Museum on the site of a former military airfield and Hendon Police College.
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Barnet, outer borough of London, England, on the northwestern perimeter of the metropolis. The borough lies mostly within the historic county of Middlesex, but many of its northern districts (including New Barnet and East Barnet) belong historically to Hertfordshire. The present borough was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former boroughs of Hendon and Finchley and the urban districts of Barnet, East Barnet, and Friern Barnet, which at one time formed separate manors and ecclesiastical parishes. It includes areas such as (roughly from north to south) Monken Hadley, Barnet, Cockfosters, New Barnet, Arkley, East Barnet, Edgware Bury, Totteridge, Oakleigh Park, Whetstone, Southgate (in part), New Edgware, Mill Hill, Edgware, North Finchley, Friern Barnet, Watling, Finchley, Church End, East Finchley, The Hyde, Hendon, Hampstead Garden Suburb, West Hendon, Golders Green, and Childs Hill.
The name Barnet, which was recorded about 1070 ce as Barneto, is derived from the Old English bærnet (“burning”). Throughout the Middle Ages its fields were cultivated in grass for hay, and its strategic location on the main road between London and St. Albans made it a centre for inns and marketplaces (notably Chipping [“Market”] Barnet). In 1471 the Battle of Barnet was fought at Hadley Green between Lancastrians and Yorkists.
The region retained its rural character long after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s, when Barnet was wrested from the control of St. Albans. With the advent of railways in the mid-19th century, however, the population began to rise sharply, and estates and farms were replaced by Victorian brick villas. Development accelerated during the 1920s and ’30s with expansion of the London Underground (subway) network.
Modern Barnet is almost entirely residential, though some industry is concentrated along Edgware Road, its western boundary. In the early 21st century the western portion of the borough underwent major regeneration, especially in the area around the Colindale Underground station, as space formerly dedicated to large institutions was given over to new housing development. Notably, the Peel Centre, which had trained officers for the Metropolitan Police for decades (having originated in 1934 as the Hendon Police College and been rebuilt and reopened in 1974), ceased cadet training, shifted its focus, and consolidated its operations. Portions of the Peel Centre site had formerly been part of Hendon’s military airfield, which closed in 1957, and now house the Royal Air Force Museum. The origins of that historic airfield date to the first decade of the 20th century. The British Newspaper Library, which had operated at Colindale for more than 80 years, relocated in 2013, with its bound copies moving to a storage facility in Boston Spa, Yorkshire, but the collection remaining accessible via the British Library at St. Pancras. Elsewhere in the borough, new housing also sprouted around the expanding Brent Cross Shopping Centre, which was the first large enclosed shopping area in the United Kingdom when it opened in 1976. A vocational college is sited at Barnet, and the main campus of Middlesex University is located in Hendon.
Few notable medieval structures remain. The Monken Hadley parish church has a tower that was built in 1494. East Barnet parish church dates from about 1100, and there are Norman traces in the Hendon parish church of St. Mary. Tudor Hall (1577), now part of Barnet College, was built for the Free Grammar School of Queen Elizabeth I (founded 1573). A mid-17th century farmhouse at Greyhound Hill, Hendon, operated as Church Farm House Museum until 2011, when it was closed as a result of budget cuts. The internationally celebrated Hampstead Garden Suburb was laid out east of Hendon by architects Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker in the early 20th century.
Margaret Thatcher, who served as prime minister of Britain from 1979 to 1990, long represented the constituency of Finchley (1959–92) in the House of Commons. Ethnic minorities account for more than one-fifth of the population of Barnet, with South Asians the most numerous. Golders Green and Finchley have large Jewish communities. Area 33 square miles (87 square km). Pop. (2001) 314,564; (2011 prelim.) 356,386.