Grim's Ditch, Middlesex
Grim's Ditch or Grim's Dyke or Grimes Dike is an ancient earthwork in Middlesex, in the north of the county close to Hatch End and Stanmore and withing a few hundred yards of the Hertfordshire border. It lends its name to the gentle escarpment it crowns and which latter rise marks part of that border.
The earthwork is relatively short, the original course extending east to west about three miles from the edge of Stanmore, at the foot of Stanmore Hill, by Bushey Heath, and extends eastward towards the northern edge of Edgware. The remaining earthworks start mid-way at Harrow Weald Common. This is one of many linear earthworks in the southern counties bearing the name 'Grim's Ditch', 'Grim's Dyke' or similar.
Attributes
- Location map: 51°37’21"N, 0°21’27"W
- Streetmap: TQ138928
Old Redding, an old highway passes through the work, and here too run the Middlesex Greenway and the London LOOP walking routes.
Many parts of the conurbation to the south can be seen form the Dyke and the ridge of hills here, including the Shard London Bridge, which exceeds the height of all hills in Middlesex. Beyond to the south, Leith Hill in the south of Surrey can be seen (with its distinctive tower, at least through binoculars). To the north and west are the Chilterns, and in particular Coombe Hill, Buckinghamshire can be seen.
A stone marker stands by the dyke that reads:
This ancient earthwork once stretched through Harrow for some six miles from Cuckoo Hill, Pinner to Pear Wood, Stanmore, but now only parts remain. Named after Grim (another name for the English King of the gods (also the god of death), Woden).'
History
Grim's Dyke had generally been dated as fifth to sixth century AD, but an excavation in 1979 produced a radiocarbon date of 50 AD +- 80 years, which while not conclusive suggests a much earlier date.[1] It may have been built by the Catuvellauni tribe as a defence, against neighbours or against the the Romans.
Hotel and film location
In the woods stands Grim's Dyke, a house designed in 1870 by Norman Shaw for the Victorian painter Frederick Goodall. Later, it was the country home of W. S. Gilbert, one half of Gilbert and Sullivan: Gilbert suffered a heart attack and drowned while trying to save a swimmer in the lake in the grounds. It is now an hotel and is often used as a film location. The house and its gatehouse are both listed buildings.[2]
