Modern Harringay vs 100 years ago - comparing maps

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Permalink Reply by Hugh on September 12, 2014 at 0:37

Using a different technique, here's an overlay of Harringay House map over Google Maps that I added to the site six years ago (my god, can it be that long ago already!).

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Permalink Reply by Alison P on September 12, 2014 at 10:01

Thanks Hugh, I'd missed that. The thing that I really like about this site is that you can look at the current and the 100 year old map side by side and move them around together. Very clever!

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Permalink Reply by Hugh on September 12, 2014 at 10:15

Yes, thanks. It's a great site. I'm a bit of a map geek.

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Permalink Reply by Sean on September 14, 2014 at 11:14

You might already have seen, but the tool at the link below allows you to compare a map from the 1890s with the current google map/ satellite image. The slider allows you to switch between the two, and even merge them together. It's fascinating to see how lots of the housing in Harringay and around seems to have been built in clumps, rather than road by road.

http://maps.google.com/gallery/details?id=zs2aHyi7W8Ek.kggHTef2F49I...

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Permalink Reply by SarahC on September 14, 2014 at 13:10

That's fascinating – I didn't realise Noel Park originally looked out on fields. And interesting to see how Downhills Park Rd follows the field boundaries exactly. And it's got the Hornsey Park area name north of Turnpike Lane that was someone mentioned recently.

It would be quite a useful resource for anyone buying property, as you can see the Moselle etc meandering in and out of gardens and identify various random bits of surface water that are now under your house.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh on September 14, 2014 at 14:12

With regards to "Hornsey Park", you'll see that many areas had  'park' attached to them. Just as similar practices are employed by estate agents today, this habit of giving pastoral sounding names to newly urbanised areas was common practice amongst Victorian land companies.

You can see "Lister Park", for the area, just to the west of Hornsey Station, "Coleraine Park" for the area just to the east of "Hornsey Park" and "Harringay Park" for the Harringay Ladder. In some cases the names had a historical connection to the areas they were attached to. Harringay Park, for example, was commonly used to describe the present-day Ladder area for the century between 1786 and 1880. I'm not aware of any direct connection between Coleraine Park and the area given that name in the map on Google. The Coleraine family did live in Bruce Castle, however. So it may be that this was the connection, or there may have been a family member who had a house just north of Turnpike Lane. 

As far 'Hornsey Park' is concerned, to the best of my knowledge the boundaries of Hornsey Park were to the West of Highgate. (See map below).

The Victoria County History Has this to say:

In 1387, Hornsey Park, which occupied the site of the present Highgate, was the place where the nobles met together, says Norden, "in a hostile manner, to rid the king (Richard II.) of those traitors he had about him."

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Permalink Reply by Hugh on September 14, 2014 at 13:50

i hadn't seen it Sean - great find.

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