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Hendon NW4, Church End

The local archaeological group HADAS found a Roman and a Saxon settlement near to St Mary's church. However, the Saxon settlement may not have continued on from the Roman one and there may have a period when Hendon was unoccupied.

St Mary's Hendon

The oldest building in the area is the Church of St Mary's Hendon. The Domesday Survey says that Hendon had a priest, and another document mentions a church building in 1157. The oldest part of the present church is 13th century.

  • the tower of the church was built around 1450 and is 50-foot high
  • the weathercock at the top, in the form of the 'Lamb and Flag, was added in the 18th century and is the badge of St John
  • eastern extensions carried out between 1913 - 15 have greatly expanded the church
  • some of the people buried at St Mary's include Herbert Chapman, Arsenal manager 1925 to 1934, Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore, and Coventry Patmore's wife Emily, the model for the poem 'The Angel in the House' (1854)

The Greyhound was originally called the church house because vestry meetings were held here until 1878. The first building burned down in 1676, and the second building was replaced with the building seen today in 1898.

From 1866, Hendon Volunteer Fire Brigade kept a manual fire engine in a building opposite the church. Between 1870 and 1890 a number of streets were laid out between the Church and Church Road. Heading and Fuller Street were named after the family of a Holborn draper called Fuller.

The area was redeveloped in the early 1970s, and all that remains is the small war memorial.

Church Farm

Church Farm is a mid-17th century building and is the second oldest building in Hendon. It was converted into Church Farmhouse Museum in 1955. The area of Sunningfields was laid out by 1871.