Hornsey and Crouch End

Crouch End, with its Victorian clock tower and its award-winning town hall, set in a valley and at a cross roads, retains its village atmosphere. To its north lies Hornsey village where the medieval church tower reminds the visitor of the early beginnings of this settlement, its name indicating Anglo-Saxon origins in the ancient Middlesex Forest. Positioned some five miles north of London, the two villages were to be engulfed by the spread of its suburbs, as the expansion of the capital's workforce in the latter half of the nineteenth century led to the area being covered by terraced avenues.

Ken Gay, the author of nine previous publications describing the area, depicts the changes maninly through the archives of Hornsey Historical Society, of which he is an active member, and also uses pictures lent to him by society members. Some views show the last days of the rural scene; others show the new houses and public buildings as well as the people who, by the Edwardian era, were part of the growing population of the Borough of Hornsey.

Hornsey's role as a place for a day out is portrayed, from the opening in 1873 of the huge Alexandra Palace to more recent celebrations and events, such as the Silver Jubilee and Coronation carnivals. The end of Hornsey Borough and its replacement in 1965 by the London Borough of Haringey is also noted.