Local History Bibliography and Resources

General Histories

“Mill Hill - A Thousand Years of History” by Ralph Calder (1993). Available on this website if you have MHHS membership.

“Mill Hill: A History of Mill Hill in its Environment” by Bernard H. Oak (1994)

“Mill Hill as it was” compiled by Clive Smith (1974)

“The Story of Mill Hill Village” by Norman G. Brett-James (1928)

“The Story of Hendon. Manor and Parish” by Norman G Brett-James (1932)

“Mill Hill as it was” Volume 1 and 2 by Clive Smith (1990)

“Hendon as it was” Volume 1 and 2 by Clive Smith (1973)

“Hendon and Golders Green Past” by Hugh Petrie (2005)

“Hendon: A Pictorial History” by Stewart Gillies

“A History of Hendon” by John Hopkins (1964)

“The History and Topography of Hendon” by Edward T Evans (1891): This is available digitised here

“Barnet, Edgware, Hadley and Totteridge: A Pictorial History” by Pamela Taylor and Joanna Corden (1994)

“Barnet Then and Now. In Colour” by Yasmine Webb (2013)

“Middlesex, Old and New” by Martin S Briggs (1934): A history of the whole of Middlesex including a firsthand perspective on the rapid changes occurring during the inter-war period.

“A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5” by Victoria County History, London, (1976): This is available online here

“Semi-Detached London Suburban Development, Life and Transport” by Alan A Jackson (1991)

“Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Barnet, Finchley and Hendon” by Nick Papadimitriou (2009)

Architectural History

“Little Palaces: The Suburban House in North London, 1919-1939” published by Middlesex Polytechnic (1987)

“The Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers in England and America (1620 – 1685)” by Martin S Briggs (1932): A fascinating study of the weatherboard style house featuring plates of the many examples of it in South-East England which was then brought by the pilgrims to New England in America.

“The Buildings of England, London 4: North” by Nikolaus Peusner (1988)

“Modernism in Metroland” by Joshua Abbott (2020)

Industrial History

“London's Industrial Past” by Mark Amies (2020) – While this covers the whole of London there is a substantial amount of content on local industry like AirCo and Chevrolet at Colindale.

“Flying up the Edgware Road: The Birth of North-West London's Aviation Industry” by Mark Amies (2022)

“Hendon Electric Supply Company” by Roy Bourne (1985)

Religious History

“John Keble Church, Mill Hill 1932-1964: the early years of a modern parish church” by Rex Walford (1965)

“The Dissenters of Mill Hill” by Sheila Hume (2001). Available on this website if you have MHHS membership.

“A Century of Charity: The Story of the Mill Hill Missionaries” by Christopher Cook (1965)

“The History of the Hendon Synagogue 1928 – 1978” by Geoffrey Alderman (1978) Available online here

Mill Hill School

“The History of Mill Hill School 1807-1907” by Norman G. Brett James

“The History of Mill Hill School, 1807-1923” by Norman G. Brett James (1925)

“"Strikingly alive-": the history of the Mill Hill School Foundation, 1807-2007” by Roderick Braithwaite (2006)

Mill Hill Foundation School Archive: worth getting in contact with them if you want to do in depth research

Political and labour History

“Hendon Labour Party 1924-1992” by Daniel Weinbren (1998) - Available for download here

“History of the dispute at Duple Motors Ltd. Hendon” by S Stedman (1951?)

“Enclosure Resistance in Middlesex, 1656 - 1889: A Study of Common Right Assertion” by Paul Carter - Available for download here

Personal Reminiscences

“London Made Us” by Robert Elms (2019): Radio host and writer Robert Elms grew up in Burnt Oak and his book contains many recollections of his time there in the 1960s and ‘70s.

“Scarp” by Nick Papadimitriou (2012): A flaneur’s exploration of the “deep topography” and psychogeography of the fringes of urban Middlesex.

“Short’s Stories: Name Dropping, Mill Hill, London, NW7, 1950-63” by Ronan Short (2020)

“Alternative Guide to the London Boroughs” (2020): Contains an essay by Fatema Ahmed on her memories of Edgware.

Historical Guide and Travel Books that describe Mill Hill, Edgware and Hendon

“Magna Britannia et Hibernia, antiqua & nova. Or, a new survey of Great Britain, Volume III” (1724)

“A description of England and Wales Volume 6” (1770)

“A tour through the whole island of Great Britain” by Clement Cruttwell (1801)

“London; Being an Accurate History and Description of the British Metropolis and Its Neighbourhood” by David Hughson (1809)

“Picturesque Rides and Walks, with Excursions by Water, Thirty Miles Round the British Metropolis” by John Hassell (1818)

“Rural Rides” by William Cobbett (1822)

“A Topographical Dictionary of England” by Samuel Lewis (1848): This is available online here

“The Enjoyment of Life” by Robert James Culverwell (1850)

“The Twelve Churches or Tracings Along Watling Street” by the Authoress of “The Red rose” (1860)

“Rambles Round Eton and Harrow” by Alfred Rimmer (1882)

“Greater London: a narrative of its history, its people, and its places, Volume 1” by Edward Walford (1885)

“Our lanes and meadowpaths, or, Rambles in rural Middlesex” by H J Foley (1887)

“Middlesex” by A.R. Moncrieff (1907)

“The Skirts of a Great City” by Mrs Aruth G Bell (1907)

“The King’s England – Middlesex” by Arthur Mee (1940)

“The Illustrated London News Book of London’s Villages” by Tony Aldous (1980)

Online Resources

British Newspaper Archive: They hold millions of pages of digitised British newspapers. Of local newspapers they currently have Hendon & Finchley Times (1878–1929) and Hendon Times and Guardian (1929–40) available. There are other close-by newspapers like the Harrow Leader and the Watford Observer. They are constantly adding content so more local newspapers will be added eventually. Requires a subscription.

Mill Hill Preservation Society: Their website features a great deal of information on Mill Hill and its history.

Harrow Highways: A digitised version of Ronald S Brown’s histories of the London Borough of Harrow.

Muddle Family: A family history page for the Muddle family who lived around Edgware, lots of great photos and information.

Edith’s Streets: An encyclopaedic account of London local history

National Library of Scotland Historic OS maps: An invaluable resource pairing up old OS maps with modern maps featuring maps of Britain from the late 19th Century to the 1960s.

Layers of London: A website that allows you to overlay historic maps and data over current satellite maps with a variety of content from 1940s RAF aerial photos to pinpointed 18th Century furniture makers.

Britain from Above: A useful collection of aerial photographs from the early 20th Century.

Bomb Sights: A website which maps where bombs were dropped during the Second World War.

Borough of Barnet Pocket Histories: Barnet Archive have produced a series of excellent overviews of the various constituent parts of the borough

Borough Photos: An online resource of over 500 photos from Barnet Archive, that can be navigated through search or through the map.

London Metropolitan Archive’s photos at Collage: A vast collection of photographs from across London, navigable via search or by map

Memories Hendon: A large collection of 20th Century local photos

Medical Officer of Health Reports: Features from 1896 – 1964 for Hendon, look to the Borough of Barnet for 1965 – 1971. Many other images and resources on the medical history of the area are available at the Wellcome Library

ArtUK: Features the art of the London Borough of Barnet including many local scenes

Watercolour World: A worldwide collection of watercolours, documenting the world before photography, features many local scenes

Grace’s Guide: A vast encyclopaedia of the industrial history of Britain and abroad.
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