Whetstone, London

Whetstone
Barnet council offices dominate the centre of Whetstone.
Whetstone Location within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ265935
London borough	Barnet
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	N20
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Chipping Barnet
London Assembly	Barnet and Camden

Whetstone /ˈwɛtstoʊn/ is a place in the London Borough of Barnet, bearing the postcode N20. It is to the east of Totteridge, and these areas are known together as Totteridge and Whetstone. Whetstone is around 8.5 miles North of Charing Cross and is within the boundaries of the historic county of Middlesex. The combined areas of Totteridge and Whetstone was, at the outset of the 21st century, found to be the 63rd-richest of the more than 9,000 wards of the United Kingdom.

The High Road is the A1000, formerly known as the Great North Road, parts of it still bear this name. Until the late 19th century its tiny developed area was one of two main settlements in the ancient parish of Friern Barnet, the other being Colney Hatch. It was thus the northernmost settlement in the Ossulstone hundred. Whetstone is also the northern most part of the parish of Finchley.

History

Early history

In medieval times the Hospitallers had a settlement nearby in Friern Barnet probably where Friary Park is now and alongside the old road to London. In 1340 the Bishop of London opened a gate into his park (the Highgate) which enabled a straight road across Finchley Common along the ridge there. The Hospitallers' settlement moved further west and became known as West Town, also known variously as "le Weston" (1398), "Wheston" (1417), and "Whetstonestret" (1439).

It the northernmost settlement in the Ossulstone hundred.

Until the late 19th century its tiny developed area was one of two main settlements in the ancient parish of Friern Barnet, the other being Colney Hatch. Friern Barnet remained its ecclesiastical parish and its civil form was at that time giving way to urban and rural districts, in this case Friern Barnet Urban District.

The Whetstone

The Whetstone

The Griffin pub with the Whetstone visible in the left foreground

John Heathfield of the Friern Barnet & District Local History Society writes that according to the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, the stone outside The Griffin public house commonly known as the Whetstone, is a mounting block, and if so "it would have been connected to the toll gate erected by the Whetstone & Highgate Turnpike Trust about 1730."

He also states that the earliest evidence for the existence of the stone is a photograph taken in 1861 which shows it much closer to The Griffin than it is now. The stone was moved to its present location when the toll gate was removed in 1863.

Until the late 19th century this was the northern hamlet, centred on a crossroads, of the medieval parish of Friern Barnet which stretched 3 miles (4.8 km) south-southeast and was half as wide as long. The very rural parish until then had one other main population centre, equally a hamlet, Colney Hatch.

Geography

Whetstone is the northern most part of the Finchley plateau. Whetstone, formerly part of the Finchley Constituency, was represented in Parliament by former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. Whetstone lies about 312 feet (95 m) above sea level.

Transport

Stations in the area are:

• Totteridge and Whetstone Station (Northern line)

See also

• Green Man, Whetstone

External links

Media related to Whetstone, London at Wikimedia Commons