Finchley and Friern Barnet Online Resources
The Victoria County History describes development of the area in detail. Finchley, Friern Barnet, and Totteridge all feature in the Victoria County History as separate chapters. Whetstone, being divided between these parishes, is found in both. Hendon and District Archaeological Society webpage contains their newsletter and articles on the history of the area, as does the Finchley Society, and the Archer Newspaper for historical articles of East Finchley.
Maps
Motco’s Cary’s 15 Miles around London (1786), is at one inch to the mile, and gives an interesting overview on one page of Finchley, Totteridge, and on the other of Friern Barnet. For 1870s Victorian Ordnance Survey maps there is www.old-maps.co.uk. These are slow to download, but can be searched using post code and place name searches. There is also www.british-history.ac.uk versions of Ordnance Survey maps which are quicker to open.
Directories
The University of Leicester has made available their collection of directories online. There are several Kelly’s Directories which cover Finchley, Friern Barnet, and Totteridge. Each has a description of the area at the time the directory was published, with a limited list of private residents, and then a list of trades’ people, including shopkeepers.
Kelly’s Directory of Middlesex and Hertfordshire 1855
- go to image 585 for Finchley
- go to image 587 for Friern Barnet
- go to image 258 for Totteridge
Kelly's Directory for Middlesex and Herfordshire 1894
- go to image 486 for Finchley
- go to image 513 for Friern Barnet
- go to image 213 for Totteridge
- go to image 709 for Whetstone
Kelly's Directory for Middlesex 1914
- go to image 160 for Finchley
- go to image 185 for Friern Barnet
- go to image 468 for Whetstone
Kelly’s Directory for Hertfordshire 1914
- go to image 255 for Totteridge
Tips for using Kelly's Directories online
The links for Kelly's Directories take you to the first page of the directory. Each page in the directory is shown as a separate image. To find the start of the section about Hendon, type the number given next to the link into the Go to Image box and click Go. You can then use the Previous Image and Next Image links to browse through the directory.
Pictures
There are now a number of online libraries providing historical pictures of the Finchley and Friern Barnet area.
- For 18th and 19th century try Collage for images from from the Guildhall Library, London.
- For Edwardian and 1920s postcards and images try the North London section of Memories local pictures.
- For 20th century images try Corbis Picture Library.
- Francis Frith provided images from the post World War Two period.
- For films from 1910 to the 1960s try British-Pathe.
- For transport try http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/
Simply use the search facility with words like: Finchley, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, and Totteridge.
Books on Finchley, Friern Barnet and Totteridge
- Finchley and Whetstone Past, John Heathfield, Historical Publications 2001
- Finchley and Friern Barnet; a pictorial history, Gillies, Stewart (MA) and Taylor, Pamela (Ph.D). Phillimore and Co. Ltd, 1992
- Village into Borough. Lawrence G.R.P. 1953
- The Book of Totteridge. Griffiths Diana. 1992
Other Finchley and Friern Barnet special topics
- Colney Hatch asylum
- Finchley Common
- La Delivrance and other statues
- Finchley and Friern Barnet Coats of Arms
- Population
- Finchley introduction
Email this pageLast modified by: Richard Nurse on 13/02/2008