Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Harringay Passage
Does anyone know the correct spelling for the passage? Some of the signs say Harringay, others say Haringey, the same for A-Zs ad online maps. Surely it should be Harringay Passage?
Trivial maybe, but it's been bugging me ever since I moved in.
Trivial maybe, but it's been bugging me ever since I moved in.
Tags for Forum Posts: harringay name, harringay passage, passage
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Adam on
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it is definitely Harringay - some of the new signs are wrong and are being replaced
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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I think it's one of those historical issues. When Harringay became a recognisable town over a hundred years ago the locals called it Harringay buth the local borough of Hornsey (in which the passage was located) referred to the area as Haringey. Whilst they relented and adopted the spelling favoured by the locals, it's possible that passage signage may be linked to that episode - or more likely the signs may be the result of a bureaucratic boob. Brian may even remember if the spelling has varied over the years he's been here.
Mr Hinshelwood?
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my understanding is that the new signs are, as you put it "a bureaucratic boob"
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Permalink Reply by John Hinshelwood on
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You can still see the original Hornsey Council Street name in a couple of sections of the passage, high up on the side of house walls. The spelling adopted by Hornsey council was Haringey Passaage. Unfortunately when Haringey Council put up new street signs they were persuaded to use Harringay. There has long been confusion between the name of the District (Harringay) and the formal, and present day, name council since 1965 (Haringey). Old maps show a variety of spellings, and indeed the origin of the name Hornsey and Harrinay are the same. The physical evidence of the original passage signs gives a clue to the formal designation of the passage.
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Permalink Reply by Birdy_Too on
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I thought Harringay was the town ie Harringay Green Lanes and Haringey was the borough of, Haringey being the newer amalgamation of the names Hornsey and Harringay, both independent boroughs before the merger thirty odd years ago.
I come from Stoke-on-Trent and there is a similar confusion there as there is a town Stoke-upon-Trent within the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Can they not make it simple for us idiots.
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You're right about the current difference between Harringay & Hornsey. For a comprehensive explanation of the names' origin see Wikipedia - History of Harringay - Etymology. (I know it's kosher; I wrote it and it's fully referenced to learned folk).
As far as the passage is concerned, the change of name on the signs from Haringey to Harringay is a wonderful historical tale of residents fighting the local governemnt and winning. Over 100 yrs ago the local residents resisted the Municipal authority's attemps to impose the name Haringey on the area and the passage and insisted on Harringay. I'm glad the record of the that little struggle survives in some places. But I'm glad the residents won all those years ago. Good for them.
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Permalink Reply by StephenBln on
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Sorry.. but I'm for Haringey Passage because that's what it was originally called..
I'm not into new-fangled names :o) i.e. iphones & a 'Harringay' Passage and you wouldn't call your Hovis a Harvest.. or would you?
See here! and thanks to Liz for bringing the subject up again..
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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Yes, there's a very old sign at the bottom end of the passage that reads .... 'Haringey Passage'. 0)
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"Harringay", the Movie. Now there's a thought!
What's incredible Bob, is that most of what we know about the origins of Harringay today is thanks to Stephen Madge who spent 35 years, from about the turn of the century to 1935, researching it.
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@ Hugh.. I have to say that I was surprised that your view on Harringay/Haringey Passage coincides with the 'Tottenham' take on the subject...
My impression (after reading the wiki page), was that you often prefer the 'Hornsey' way of thinking.. as Tottenham is mentioned less in the article, although Harringay lay more within the Tottenham boundaries at 60% to 40%.. Do I detect a slight bias towards Hornsey and all that that stands for? :o)
Hornsey preferred the usage 'Haringey', presumably because it's more similar to Hornsey and called the passage 'Haringey'. Tottenham on the other hand, preferred 'Harringay', as can be seen in the naming of Harringay Road and Harringay Arena/Stadium.
I've never been able to find out exactly why Haringey was chosen as the new name for the Borough, but imagine that it was probably a concession to Hornsey, which was very sceptical about being joined together with Tottenham; would have preferred a merger with a (more affluent) Borough to the West (i.e. Finchley or Hampstead), than one to the East.
BTW, there was a school of thought that wanted Tottenham, Wood Green & Edmonton to be joined, because they were considered to be more similar socially.
Once again - I'm not keen on new names: i.e. 'Harringay Green Lanes' and therefore think that the passage should have kept it's rightful name - 'Haringey Passage'
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Oh a complete bias, yes! (But also if your scour the available material there's very little around on the bit of Harringay that was in Tottenham.) Nor sure why you'd think I prefer the "Hornsey way of thinking"? They wanted to change the name to Haringey. Has something somewhere given you the impression that's what I want??
As to why Haringey was chosen in 1965, my guess is that it's probably for the same reason that Hornsey Borough was trying to enforce this form 100 years back - that's it's the oldest recorded form out of Hornsey, Haringey & Harringay. -
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