Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Kinda Interesting.......
Until 1942 there was a foot tunnel running under the Great Northern railway from a point on Wightman Road, close to Alison Road to Weston Park in Hornsey, giving convenient access for pupils to The Stationers' Company's School (boys) and Hornsey High School for boys. This tunnel was closed due to bombing raids on the railway marshalling yards during the Second World War. The access point for this tunnel is now a private garage of a house in Wightman Road.
There's no citation to verify, but neither do I have any reason to suppose it's not true. From looking at maps in the past I'd concluded that the original intention had been to build a road between those two points. I never had any idea that a footpath had existed. What a huge shame they never opened it up again after the war.
See also this post.
Tags for Forum Posts: harringay mysteries, harringay tunnel, new river tower
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Hugh on
-
Checked my old OS maps on this one - can't see any evidence that it's true. Anyone have any info?
-
Permalink Reply by Richard Woods on
-
My elder brothers went to Stationers from about 1946 (from Frobisher so this would have been a boon!) and neither ever mentioned this idea. I can ask the younger who is still with us. If he knows anything I will share.
-
Permalink Reply by Don on
-
Not info, but on Streetview a potential entrance/exit site on the Weston Park/Uplands Road junction shows as obvious recent infill rather than standard Victoriana, as does a likely spot on Wightman opposite Alison Road, next to the New River pathway entrance (it is indeed a private garage). There are also two tall, apparently hollow, brick structures on the river bank slightly to the north (behind M&A Garage on Wightman Road) which could - just conceivably - have been air shafts for this putative tunnel, though to my eye the brickwork doesn't look old enough and maybe they're too far away... All speculation, of course, and it would have to have been quite a long tunnel, given the width of the marshalling yards.
-
-
This is fascinating. I went for a walk around and if it did exist I believe it would of originated at the garage. When I looked at the building it looks like the front (ignore the warehouse at the back) is a Victorian "utility something" It would make sense for it to be a ramp down for horses etc. to be able to get under the new river.
Those chimneys do indeed look like air holes for ventilation. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could reopen that access route somehow as its more or less in the middle of the 2 other access routes in Horsey and Harringay stations.
-
Permalink Reply by matt on
-
Thanks Jimmy. Going with your M&A suggestion, if anything. Does anyone have a streetview shot for the other side?
If this tunnel did exist however, surely it's entrance would have started much further east than Wightman Rd. I don't know when the current expanded sidings were built, which would probably have involved a serious amount of landfilling and banking, hence mysterious tunnel entrance filled in and lost forever.
But who knows re the Weston Park side. May still exist :)
-
Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
-
Permalink Reply by HoL Site Admin on
-
The most detailed discussion of this topic can be found here.
-
-
As I've said on the other thread just linked to, I am almost certain that this is an urban myth or a twisted folk memory of the old railway viaduct that carried the original Great Northern line across the Stonebridge Brook and a carriageway to Harringay House.
There was never any reason to build a tunnel after the Hornsey Sidings was constructed. It would have been very expensive for little gain. Any logic suggested is sadly more akin to schoolboy dreaming than anything realistic........which is a a shame because it would be wonderful if it were true.
There is a bit of adventure to be had though because a bit of the of viaduct does still exist - see article I posted in the other thread.
As to the New River Tower - click on the link I've added below my original post, above.
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
