Highgate, in addition to its healthy situation, has several open spaces, notably, Highgate Woods, a tract of delightful woodland, extending over 100 acres, divided into two portions by the Muswell Hill road, and within a short distance of the railway station: the eastern portion, formerly known as Churchyard Bottom Wood, of about 55 acres, was opened to the public by the Duchess of Albany, July 23rd, 1898, and renamed Queen's Wood; it has a footpath through it to Crouch End, and the outlook extends over Wood Green and Tottenham and the broad meadows of the Lee valley, to the Epping Forest, and the precipitous side of the hill is broken here and there by jutting knolls that command glimpses over the tops of the trees below and the dense tangle of various bushes, hazel and black birch, with small poplars, ash, alders, hornbeam and other coppice growth, intermixed with plenty of briars and ferns; the western half, known as Gravel Pit Wood, 69 acres in extent, has been presented by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (who are owners of the other portion) for the benefit of the public, to the Common Council of the City of London, who took possession May 19th, 1886, under the provisions of the Highgate and Kilburn Open Spaces Act, 1886, and have undertaken to preserve the natural features; it is bounded on three sides by the Alexandra Palace branch of the Great Northern railway and this part of the woods is upon higher ground, the trees are generally larger, and there is an avenue of pollard hornbeam, a rare feature of woodland scenery; rustic seats are provided at intervals and a keeper’s house has been erected.

Waterlow Park is nearer London, at the top of Highgate hill, between High street and Swain’s lane, and was presented to the metropolis in November, 1889, through the London County Council, by Sir Sydney Hedley Waterlow kt. and bart. Lord Mayor, 1872—3, and comprises an area of nearly 20 acres of undulating land, well timbered with oak, old cedars of Lebanon, and many other well-grown trees and shrubs; the land (with the exception of 2 ¾ acres, held on a long lease) is freehold, and for the purchase of the freehold interest of the excepted portion, or for laying out the estate as a public park, the donor has annexed to his munificent gift of a sum of £6,000. Lauderdale House, within the walls of this park, is an ancient mansion of brick, on a terrace approached by a flight of steps, belonged to John, 2nd Earl and 1st Duke of Lauderdale K.G. a prominent statesman in the reign of Charles II. and a member of the famous Cabal administration, and was for some time the residence of Nell Gwyn; the overhanging gabled front is supported on pillars, and the space below forms an open verandah; in front is a small fountain, and higher up the hill are shady walks leading up by rustic steps through a thickly wooded park, beyond which are the lawns and spreading cedars which surround Fairseat House, for many years the residence of Sir S. H. Waterlow; this is a large mansion of three storeys in the French Renaissance style, one wing of which has a fine bay window of two stages and a bold mansard roof, the top of which is surrounded with an ornamental railing; in the grounds are two lakes, the lower and larger of the two having a boathouse, and from the park is well seen the dome of the church of the Passionist Fathers on Highgate hill, in the distance the greater dome of St. Paul’s breaks the view, and in bright weather the glittering mass of the Crystal Palace is distinctly visible.

Parliament Hill fields, on the west of Highgate, acquired in 1888 by the London County Council, and virtually an extension eastward of Hampstead Heath, is a beautiful rising ground, skirted by the noble woods of Lord Mansfield’s park, and from the elevated knoll commands a panoramic view embracing nearly the whole of London, with the Surrey Downs, Shooter’s Hill in Kent, and the hills in Essex. At the foot of the hill are the Highgate Ponds, across which is a fine view from the slope of West hill.

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HIGHGATE is a northern suburb of London and derives its name from the toll-gate which formerly stood where the North road entered the park of the Bishop of London, being situated on a range of hills 420 feet high, 5 miles from the General Post Office, partly within the ancient manor of Cantelows and partly in that of Hornsey, anciently called “Haringey,” partly in the Hornsey division of the county and partly in St. Pancras parliamentary borough and parish and the Harrow division of the county, Ossulstone hundred, Highgate petty sessional division, Clerkenwell county court district, and in the rural deanery of Highgate, archdeaconry of Middlesex and diocese of London; it is within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court and Metropolitan police, and in the Northern Metropolitan postal district. The North road passes through Highgate hill by means of a deep cutting, over which an archway was erected in 1813, 63 ½ feet in height, of stone and brick and surmounted by iron railings, carrying the road to Crouch End, whence an extensive prospect of London is obtained: this archway is now (1898) being removed and a single arch of steel is to be constructed, and the North road widened. Here is a station on the Edgware branch of the Great Northern railway. The place is lighted with gas by the Hornsey Gas Co. and the Gas Light and Coke Co. and supplied with water by the New River Company. That portion of Highgate which lies in Hornsey parish is included in the Hornsey Urban district, of which it forms a ward; it was formerly a chapelry, and was formed into a separate ecclesiastical parish on October 3, 1834, out of Hornsey and St. Pancras. The church of St. Michael, erected in 1832, in the place of the chapel at the " Gate House,” an ancient hermitage granted to Sir Roger Cholmeley, which had served for the whole place up to that date, is a building of white brick, in the Gothic style, consisting of chancel, nave of seven bays, aisles and an embattled western tower with pinnacles and spire containing a clock and one bell, and the tower, from its elevated position, is visible for miles around: a bay was added and chancel formed in 1881: the nave was extended and the chancel rebuilt under the direction of the late G. E. Street esq. R.A. and new fittings were presented about the same time, in memory of former residents: the stained east window was erected in 1889 in memory of the late Rev. Daniel Trinder M.A. vicar, 1878—88, d. April 2, 1888: there are 1,300 sittings, of which 500 are free. The register of baptisms and burials dates from 1633; marriages, 1635. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £570, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of London, and held since 1896 by the Rev. Wilfrid Rathmell Ogle M.A. of Trinity College, Oxford. The population of the ecclesiastical parish in 1891 was 4,069. St. Anne’s, Brookfield, ecclesiastical parish was formed out of St. Pancras in 1853: the church, at Highgate rise, in the centre of the district, and erected in 1853 at the sole expense of Miss Barnett, in memory of her brother, is an edifice of stone, in the Gothic style, consisting of chancel with aisles, clerestoried nave of five bays, aisles, porch and a western tower with spire containing 8 bells, presented by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts: all the windows excepting those of the clerestory are stained: there are sittings for 600 persons. The register dates from the year 1854. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £442, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of London, and held since 1881 by the Rev. Charles Tabor Ackland M.A. of Trinity College, Dublin. There is a mission room and house for the parish, erected in 1883, in Haydon street, Highgate New Town, at a cost of £3,500, and will hold about 600 persons. The population of the ecclesiastical parish in 1891 was 5,620. All Saints’ ecclesiastical parish, at the northern extremity, was formed out of St. Michael’s, Highgate, in 1874: the church of All Saints, North hill, erected in 1864, is a building of stone in the Gothic, style, consisting of chancel, nave, south aisle and a western turret containing one bell: there are 530 sittings. The register dates from the year 1874. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £300, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of London, and held since 1874 by the Rev. Edgar Smith B.A. of Brasenose College, Oxford. The population of the ecclesiastical parish in 1891 was 4,741. St. Augustine’s, Archway road, is an ecclesiastical parish, former March 7th, 1898, from All Saints and St. Michael; the church was originally built as a chapel of ease; the present building, which is not yet (1898) complete, was erected from designs of the late Mr. John Sedding, architect, and continued by Mr. H. Wilson, the cost up to the present time being £10,000: the church has between 500 and 600 sittings. The register dates from the year 1898. The living is a vicarage, without endowment, in the gift of the Bishop of London, and held since 1897 by the Rev. Arthur Wesley Bradnack M.A. of Clare College, Cambridge. The St. Joseph’s Retreat of the Catholic community of Passionist Fathers, or Congregation of “the most Holy Cross and Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” was established here in 1858, on a commanding position on the crest of Highgate hill, when a little chapel was opened, 21st October of that year, and the first dwelling of this missionary order was the old public house known as the “Black Doe,” which stood on the site now occupied by the present buildings comprising the Retreat, opened Sept. 1, 1878: the success of the mission necessitated the erection of a large church in place of that opened in 1862, which succeeded the chapel of 1858: the new building, opened Nov. 21, 1889, and constructed at a cost of over £20,000, is of white brick and stone, and provides sittings for 800 persons: the nave has a waggon-headed roof, richly decorated and gilt, supported on arcades having red columns with carved stone capitals, and there is a loft for the organ and orchestra: the high altar is covered by a dome with a lantern surmounted with a gilt cross, which, from its lofty position, being 125 feet higher than St. Paul’s cathedral, is a very conspicuous object: the northern face of the building has a large rose window above the entrance and a cupola at the north-eastern comer: Mr. Albert Vicars, London, was the architect: there are extensively wooded grounds around the buildings of the Retreat, extending down the slope of the hill. The Presbyterian church, in Cromwell avenue, opened in October, 1887, is a building of rag stone with tower and spire and a clock, and has sittings for 750 persons. There is a Baptist chapel in Southwood lane, opened in 1809 and enlarged in 1867, with 350 sittings, and another in Archway road, opened in 1894, with 900 sittings. The Congregational church, South grove, erected in 1859, has cost, with subsequent improvements, £9,600 and this outlay has since been considerably augmented: there are 700 sittings: connected with the church and school is a Sunday school, mission hall and other agencies. The Unitarian chapel, on Highgate hill, is a red brick building, erected in 1890 to hold 350. There is a free library and free reading room in connection with this chapel. The North London or Highgate Cemetery, on the brow of the hill just below the church of St. Michael, is about 40 acres in extent, and commands a fine prospect of the metropolis: it has two mortuary chapels, one for the Church of England and one for Nonconformists; the cemetery is the property of the London Cemetery Company. Cromwell House, a large mansion of red brick, said to have been built for Henry Ireton, the regicide, is now a convalescent home in connection with the Children's Hospital, Great Ormond street, London, and is available for the reception of 50 children. A police court, at the corner of the Archway and Bishop’s roads, was erected in 1898, at a cost of £6,000, by the Middlesex County Council. There is also a convalescent home for children in connection with All Saints' Mission House. The London Diocesan Penitentiary of St. Mary Magdalene, on North hill, was opened in 1855 for the reception of 66 women, who are trained in religious principles and employed in laundry, sewing and domestic work, so as to fit them for any kind of domestic service, and on leaving are provided with suitable situations; the institution is supported by voluntary contributions and by the work of the inmates; visitor, the Lord Bishop of London; warden, Rev. J. H. Amps, to whom all applications for admission should be made.

The Infirmary for the sick poor of the Holborn union, one of the largest of its kind in London, is nearly at the foot of Highgate hill, at its junction with the Archway road, and locally in the parish of Islington: it was erected in 1877—9, a cost of about £80,000, and is a structure of brick in the Domestic Gothic style, from designs by Mr. W. H. Saxon Snell F.R.I.B.A.: the buildings, occupying a triangular-shaped site, about 3 acres in extent, may be roughly described as consisting of a central block, including the administrative offices, flanked on either side by a pavilion or supplementary block, united to it by a covered corridor; the upper portions of each block being connected with that adjoining by means of iron bridges; in the rear of the main building and occupying one angle of the site are washhouses and laundry, and a mortuary and stables set round and partly inclosing a yard: the establishment is provided with accessory offices and is fitted with hydraulic lifts, in addition to the staircases; while a tramway, communicating with them, runs the whole length of the corridor: the kitchen, 60 feet long and 44 feet wide, is supplied with efficient ranges and other apparatus; adjoining it is a larder, and in the basement are general linen and other stores, and a store capable of holding 300 tons of coal: the hospital is arranged for the reception of about 625 patients.

Whittington College, in Archway road, was founded in 1410 by the famous Lord Mayor, Sir Richard Whittington, and was moved here from its original site at College hill, Upper Thames street, about the year 1818: it is now a Home for elderly ladies, each of whom has a residence and a yearly allowance: the buildings stand in recreation grounds: the inmates are nominated by the Court of Assistants of the Mercers’ Company, who are the trustees of the Whittington estates: there is a chapel, of which the Rev. Edward Dawson Morley, M.A. of Hertford College, Oxford, has held the chaplaincy since 1898.

There are also almshouses, founded by Sir John Woolaston knt. and rebuilt by Edward Paunceforth esq. governor of Sir Roger Cholmeley’s school in 1722: these almshouses maintain 12 poor persons, and are under the management of the governors of Sir Roger Cholmeley’s school.

The “Fox and Crown,” West hill, is an inn, whose landlord in 1837 stopped the runaway horses of the Queen’s carriage.

Near the church is an old brick house where Dr. Henry Sacheverell, tried before the House of Lords in 1710 for inflammatory preaching, and subsequently rector of St. Andrew’s, Holborn, died 5th June, 1724.

Holly Village, erected by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, consists of twelve model cottages, ornamentally built. Holly Lodge is the residence of the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, and Caen Wood Towers, of Francis Reckitt esq. J.P.

The principal landowners are the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, the Earl of Mansfield K.T. and the Baroness Burdett-Coutts. The area of Highgate is 3,158 acres.

Petty Sessions are held at the Court house, Archway road N every Monday at 10 a.m.

The following places are included in the Petty Sessional Division:-Colney Hatch, Crouch End, Finchley, Friern Barnet, Highgate, Hornsey, Muswell Hill, & Whetstone.

Places of Worship, with times of services

St. Michael’s Church, Rev. Wilfrid Rathmell Ogle M.A. vicar; Rev. Thomas Arthur Davies M.A. & Rev. Philip Bernard Wingate B.A. curates; 8 (holy communion) & 11a.m. 3.30 (children’s service) & 7 p.m.; Wed. Fri. & holy days, 11 a.m.; other days, 10 a.m.; 5.30 p.m.; Thur. 7.15 a.m.; holy days, 7.15 & 11.30 a.m.; Saints’ days, 8 p.m.

St. Anne’s Church, Highgate rise, Rev. Charles Tabor Ackland M.A. vicar; Rev. E. R. Webster B.A. & Rev. Morris Roberts A.K.C.L. curates; 8.30 & 11 a.m. & 7 p.m.; Wed. & Fri. Litany 10.30 a.m. & evening prayer, 5.30 p.m.; Saints’ days, morning prayer & holy communion, 10.30; evening prayer, 5.30.

Mission Room (St. Anne’s), Haydon street, 11 a.m. & 7 p.m.; Wed. 8 p.m.

All Saints, North hill, Rev. Edgar Smith B.A. vicar; Rev. W. M. H. Church M.A. & Rev. Aidan Hancock. B.A. curates; 10.45 a.m. & 7 p.m.; holy communion Sundays, 7 & 8 a.m.; daily, 7.30 a.m.; additional 1st Sun. (plain) other Sundays (choral), 11.30 a.m.; holy days, 10.20 a.m.; children’s service, 3.30 p.m.; every day at 5.30 p.m.

St. Augustine’s, Rev. Arthur Wesley Bradnack M.A. vicar; Rev. Louis T. Terry M.A. curate; holy communion, 7, 8 & 11.30 a.m. (choral); additional 3rd sun. 10 a.m.; matins, 10.45 a.m.; Litany, 7.50 p.m.; catechism, 3.30 p.m.; evensong, 7 p.m.; holy communion, daily, 7 a.m.; Wed. 6 & 7 a.m.; matins, Wed. & Fri. 10.30 a.m.; other days, 7.45 p.m.; evensong, Wed. & Sat. 8 p.m.; other days, 5.30 p.m.

St. Joseph’s Retreat & Catholic Church, Very Rev. Gregory Callaghan, provincial; Very Rev. Andrew Ivory, rector; Rev. Malachy Gavin, vicar; mass, 7, 9, 10 & 11 a.m. children’s service 3.30 & vespers 7 p.m.; daily mass 6.30, 7, 8 & 9.30 a.m. .; evening service wed. 7.30 p.m.; Fri. 7.30 p.m.

Presbyterian Church of England, Cromwell avenue, Rev. Alexander Ramsay M.A., B.D.; 11 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Wed. 8 p.m.

Baptist, Archway road, Rev. Arthur F. Riley; 11 a.m. & 7 p.m.; Wed. 7.30 p.m.

Baptist, Southwood lane, Rev. John Heskins Barnard; 11 a.m. & 7 p.m.; Mon. 7.30 p.m.

Congregational, South grove, Rev. William Boothby Selbie M.A.; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 8 p.m.

Unitarian, Highgate hill, Rev. Robert Spears; 11 a.m. & 7 p.m.; Wed. 8 p.m.

North Hill Mission Hall, Henry William Evans, missionary; 7 p.m.; Thur. 8 p.m.

Schools

Highgate School, in the North road, was founded by Sir Roger Cholmeley, Chief Justice under Edward VI. in 1565, & is a school of the first grade, preparing boys both for the Universities & for professional life; it is supported partly by endowment & partly by the payments of the scholars; there are two exhibitions of £60 & £40 yearly, tenable for three years, at either of the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge; there are also 24 Foundation Scholarships of £24 yearly, open to all candidates, day-scholars having a preference for a fourth of the above number: three Gladstone Scholarships of £24 yearly, open to boys under 15, tenable by them as boarders at the school for four years or more; & three Entrance Scholarships of £70, £60, £40, are annually awarded, limited to boarders; the school buildings are substantial edifices of red brick & the chapel has been rebuilt in the French Gothic style, from designs by Mr. Crawley; the Rev. A. E. Allcock M.A. of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Hornsey School Board, formed Dec. 21, 1874, consists of 11 members; clerk, Stanley Hodson, 99 Southwood la. Highgate; school attendance officers, Charles Battson, 25 Oxford road, Stroud Green N; William Newbold, 29 Prospero road, St. John’s road, Upper Holloway; James Nash, 3 Lynton road, Crouch End, & F. J. Pateman, 36 Clarendon road, Hornsey N; Wm. Nicholls, 77 Regina road, Stroud Green N.

Highgate Board School (under the Hornsey School Board), North hill (mixed), erected in 1877 & enlarged in 1884 & in 1889 for 430 children, & again in 1894 for 700; average attendance, 477.

Whittington Board Schools (London Board), Highgate hill, erected in 1882 & enlarged in 1888 for 300 boys, 300 girls & 400 infants; average attendance, 321 boys, 287.3 girls & 289 infants.

St. Michael’s National, North road, erected in 1851 for 470 children; average attendance, 170 boys, 140 girls & 115 infants.

St. Anne’s National (boys), Brookfield, erected in 1870, on a site given by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, for 500 children; average attendance, 150 boys, 133 girls & 220 infants.

St. Joseph’s (Catholic), Highgate hill, erected in 1866 for 450 children; average attendance, 280; Very Rev. Andrew Ivory, manager.

Conveyance

Tram cars from Archway tavern, foot of Highgate hill, every few minutes, to City, to Euston road, & to Clerkenwell road, also from Archway tavern (by cable tram), up Highgate hill to North road every five minutes, & from Duke of St. Albans to King’s Cross & Holborn about every 10 minutes; omnibuses from Archway tavern to London Bridge railway, Charing Cross, every three minutes & Finchley frequently.