Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Subway on Penstock Footpath from the New River Works to Wood Green closed for Summer

The tunnel under the railways from the New River path to Western Road railway provides a more tranquil walking and cycling route from Hornsey to Western Road in Wood Green.

This week the Council should have already started improvement works on the tunnel. lt will remin closed to pedestrians and cyclists from w/c 21 July to August 2025. This will allow for works to be completed within the tunnel itself. The tunnel will be reopened in early September 2025 whilst the remaining public realm works are delivered.

Let's hope that the works don't end up attracting too much the cycling traffic at the expense of pedestrians.

The name Penstock Tunnel

The tunnel is often referred to as the Penstock Tunnel. The origins of the name relate to a device called a penstock - a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems.

The earliest mention I can find of 'Penstock' relating to that neck of the woods is from 1899 when the Hornsey and Finsbury Park Journal ran a story about an inquest regarding a man "... who died in the Penstock Field, Priory Estate" - in other words to the west of the New River Works.

By 1908 references appear to the 'Penstock Footpath', which contemporary maps show running across the centre of the New River Works filter beds. Newspaper stories include a few about unlucky locals who ended up in court charged with gambling having set up "...a three-card trick on the top of umbrella".

Today there is a block of flats called Penstock House on Newland Road near where Penstock Path used to meet the road.