Archway
| Archway | |
| Middlesex | |
|---|---|
 Archway Navigator Square | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ285875 |
| Location: | 51°33’58"N, 0°8’2"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | London |
| Postcode: | N19 |
| Dialling code: | 020 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Islington |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Islington North |
Archway is an urban area carved from Islington in Middlesex, four miles north of Charing Cross. The A1 road runs through it and it is named after a former local landmark, the high, single-arched Archway Bridge which crossed the Great North Road to the north.
Today, Archway is a modern commercial hub, gathered around Vantage Point (formerly Archway Tower) and Archway tube station.[1][2]
History
The original Archway Bridge was designed by John Nash and opened in 1813, to carry Hornsey Lane from Highgate to Crouch End, over the cutting of the Great North Road, later called 'Archway Road' here. The original, brick-built, single-arched bridge of 1813 was replaced in 1900 by the current cast-iron Hornsey Lane Bridge.[3] The 1893 Ordnance Survey map shows the bridge simply as "Highgate Archway". A few residents, especially those born and locally raised in the early 20th century, refer to the area with a definite article, as 'The Archway'.
The name 'Archway' once referred just to the bridge, but came to refer to the area round about it after the tube station originally called Highgate, was renamed Highgate (Archway) in 1939; then Archway (Highgate) in 1941, and Archway in 1947.
From 1813 to 1864, the cutting contained a toll gate, where travellers paid for the next stage of their journey, as is recorded by a plaque at 1 Pauntley Street, an apartment block. Highgate Hill, the road from Archway to Highgate village, was the route of the first motorised cable car in Europe. It operated from 1884 to 1909. Highgate tube station (later renamed 'Highgate Archway' and subsequently just 'Archway') opened on 22 June 1907 as the northern terminus of the Highgate branch of the Northern Line.
About the town
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The Whittington Hospital forms a large site in the west of the area. Larger open spaces include Archway Park, Dartmouth Park, Hillside Park and Navigator Square.
Archway adjoins Highgate and Crouch End to the north. South of Archway are Upper Holloway and Tufnell Park.
Dick Whittington
A legend perpetuated by the name of the hospital and a statue on the older street leading, beside the hospital, to Highgate records Dick Whittington, mediæval Mayor of London, failing to make his fortune in the city heard the Bow Bells (those of St Mary-le-Bow, a church on Cheapside) from here, a distance of four and a half miles leading to the later homage "turn again Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London", inscribed on the supporting stone protected by railings. On top of the thick tablet, his cat of folklore is cast in stone. A restored 1821 memorial stone topped with a small statue of Whittington's Cat is known as the Whittington Stone and is next to a pub of the same name on Highgate Hill, a street in Archway.[4] The memorial marks the legendary site where 'Dick Whittington' Sir Richard's folkloric alter ego, returning home discouraged after a disastrous attempt to make his fortune in the city, heard the bells of St Mary le Bow ring out, 'Turn again Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London.'[4] Seeing the building of a maternity hospital and drains for the poor of London during his lifetime, he left his wealth to a broad-based charity which continues into the 21st century.[5] Pauntley Street takes its name from the village of Pauntley in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, traditionally regarded as Dick Whittington's birthplace. The Whittington Hospital is also named after him.
References
- ↑ "Whittle, J. & Laurie, R.H.: 53 Fleet St. - The Highgate Archway from the Turnpike gate at Holloway" (in en). https://www.rct.uk/collection/701794/the-highgate-archway-from-the-turnpike-gate-at-holloway.
- ↑ Tate. "‘The Highgate Archway, with London and St Paul’s Cathedral in the Distance‘, Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1813" (in en-GB). https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-the-highgate-archway-with-london-and-st-pauls-cathedral-in-the-distance-d09360.
- ↑ A History of the County of Middlesex - Volume 6 pp 103-107: Hornsey, including Highgate – Communications (Victoria County History)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 National Heritage List 1298038: Whittington Stone along Highgate Hill south of junction with Magadala Avenue (Grade @ listing)
- ↑ Charitable Trusts Worshipful Company of Mercers