The changing face of Mill Hill

On my travels through Mill Hill recently, I've noticed that a few changes are taking place to well known local landmarks.The Union Church at Mill Hill Circus on the corner of the Broadway and the A41has been surrounded by hoardings. I was aware that there were plans to redevelop this site and it seems that soon this distinctive brick building, with the adjoining Harwood Hall will soon be no more. The Harwood Hall has a special place in my heart as my band, the False Dots played our first three gigs in this building. I organised these gigs in 1979 to give local young bands a chance to play. This clip is of "The Vektors" from Edgware school performing "Sound of the Suburbs" by the members. A grainy clip from the early days of video, but highly entertaining none the less.


Sadly the situation for young bands wanting to do gigs in Mill Hill is no better. Another landmark building undergoing a huge change is the distinctive government building in Bunns Lane. This has a typical 1960's appearance with regulation blue tiles. This building featured in several film/TV shows in the late 1960's after it was built, where they wanted to feature "a man from the ministry". Sadly I don't have information as to which films these were, so if you know please post a comment. I notice that the distinctive blue tiles have been painted grey???? Why????

On the subject of TV shows, Station Road was featured in an episode of the late early 1970's TV series Budgie, featuring Adam Faith. I remember arriving back on the 240 bus fromSt Vincents school and watching the filming. A scene was also shot in the alley afrom Millway to Hale Grove Gardens, featuring the footbridge Bridge over the M1. I saw the footage a couple of years ago and came over all nostalgic when I saw the front of "The New China Garden" Chinese restaurant, which has been replaced by the Hees takeaway outlet. Next door is the Launderette, which has also recently closed and is up for sale. Pondering these recent changes, I thought I'd run through a few other distinctive landmarks which have gone forever.

The Sacred Heart Church on Mill Hill Broadway was rebuilt in the mid 1990's. There is an interesting write up on the church website.

The Methodist Church in Goodwyn Avenue was also knocked down. This was on the corner with Newcombe Park. A little bit of Mill Hill rock and roll history. I first saw The Polecats, Mill Hills Rockabilly sensation, who had several chart hits at the youth club on this site. The site is covered in houses.

Another landmark which has long gone and who's site is being developed is "The Royal Scot" pub. This was at Apex Corner. The site is currently being turned into a Kentucky Fried Chicken. When I was a youngster, the Mill Hill Churches used to have their Easter procession from Mill Hill Broadway to the Royal Scot pub on Good Friday. A short service would be held in the car park, with the Priests, vicars et all on the 1st floor balcony of the pub. This ended the year Fr Dowley, Parish Priest of the Sacred Heart announced that "Jesus said I Thirst". The assembled Irish contingent decided they also thirsted and nipped in for a pint. The walk now ends in a more appropriate setting in a Mill Hill Church.

Another local landmark which disappeared is Featherstone Garage on Bunns Lane. I guess it's fair to say that not too many people are nostalgic for garages, unlike churches. No one gets married in a garage. It does strike me that many sites which used to provide work for people have gone. So many more people and so many less industrial sites? Is this healthy.

Another thing which has disappeared from many parts of Mill Hill are front gardens (see picture left). I think I'm one of the very few people in my road who still has a front garden and hasn't paved it for a car port. People come from miles around to admire it. This is one aspect of the changing face of Mill Hill I hate. I'd love to see people get a huge council tax discount if they kept their front garden, but I doubt that anyone would ever adopt this bonkers idea.


Should we have frozen Mill Hill in time and never allowed any of these things to change? Of course not. There has to be progress and development. Whilst I hate the destruction of front gardens, there simply wouldn't be any parking in Mill Hill if people didn't have car ports. Keeping a Methodist church which no one attends would quite clearly not be in anyones interest. We need to get the balance right. As I talk to people in Mill Hill, a reprise I hear all the time is "Isn't Mill Hill getting ugly". The sad truth is that the answer is yes. How many of the changes I listed above have resulted in an improvement to the street scene?

Recently the I had an exchange of correspondence with the Mill Hill Preservation Society. They posted a guest blog explaining how the organisation is evolving. I realised that what Mill Hill needs isn't "preservation" but "protection". There is no point preserving purely for the sake of it. There is a massive point in "protecting" the best bits, improving the worst bits and most of all rebuilding the sense of community we are losing. We most certainly had this when I was growing up. Earlier in this blog I mentioned the Methodist Church Youth Club. Whilst the church wasn't well attended, the youth club most certainly was. A lady called Rene Bampton ran it and was one of the things which kept me on the straight and narrow as a teenager.  The Sacred Heart Catholic Church has in recent years started building a youth club on Sunday night at 7pm. Youngsters play table tennis, pool, table football etc. Betty Turner (who's husband Steve was at the Polecats gig with me at the Methodist Church hall all those years ago) runs it.  I was out with Steve discussing the whole issue over a few beers recently. We both believe that the local community, through Churches, youth clubs, community groups and organisations such as the Scouts, guides, cubs etc are needed now more than ever. My nine year old son plays for Watling FC and I can see how much good this has done for the boys involved in the club.

If you are a parent, if you have time on your hands, if you care about where you live, even if it's only an hour or two a month, please consider getting involved with a local group. If we can pull together and work together as a community, we can have a great future and guarantee a great future for our children. If we are too lazy, decide that we'd rather sit in front of the telly with a glass of wine and let our children run riot, then we only have ourselves to blame if it all goes wrong. A community centre isn't a bulding. It is the people in it, they are what matter. The old Sacred Heart Church, Methodist Church, Royal Scot pub, etc may have gone, but the people of Mill Hill are still here. Lets make the best of what we have got.