Edgware: The Canary in the Coal Mine for London's Suburbs - Guest Blog from Anuta Zack at the Save Edgware Campaign

Guest post from at the  Anuta Zack Save Our Edgware Campaign

Edgware is under threat — and so is the future of London’s suburbs.

Ballymore and Transport for London (TfL) are pushing a high-density mega-development that doesn’t just endanger Edgware — it risks setting a dangerous precedent for speculative, unsafe, and unsustainable redevelopment across the capital.

This isn’t just a redevelopment of the Broadwalk Shopping Centre. It includes the bus station, the surface-level bus garage, and the town’s only public car park. All of these vital assets are being swept aside in favour of over two dozen tower blocks, unaffordable housing, and infrastructure that doesn’t even meet basic safety standards.

Please voice your objection by filling this simple form: https://saveouredgware.co.uk/object/by-form/

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An Underground Garage With No Safety Regulations

At the heart of the scheme is an untested underground electric bus garage — located directly beneath thousands of new homes.

There are no UK building regulations that support this type of structure. The London Fire Brigade has raised serious concerns — including the risk of high-intensity electric fires, inadequate ventilation, and even structural collapse of the buildings above in the event of an incident.

Equally alarming: Ballymore and TfL are proposing, as a fallback, to use the space for a diesel bus garage underground — despite the fact that no such facility exists anywhere in the UK. Why? Because the idea of diesel buses running underground has always been considered dangerously unviable — due to carbon monoxide, explosive risk, and lack of air circulation.

This isn’t regeneration. It’s reckless experimentation with public safety.

Outrageous Density: A Town-Sized Development Within a Town

Ballymore is proposing 3,828 new residential units — in a ward that currently contains just7,212 households.

That means increasing the local population by more than 50% in a single development, without proportional investment in infrastructure, healthcare, education, or transport capacity. This isn’t solving a housing crisis — it’s creating a services crisis, while setting a dangerous precedent for hyper-density in suburbs not designed to absorb it.

And yet, despite this immense scale, essential transport facilities are being reduced, not expanded.

A Model That Destroys Local Economies

Edgware’s high street and town centre economy are facing destruction.

The proposal would:

• Remove all commuter car parking, and cut public parking from a capacity of 1,035 spaces to just 292 — barely enough for a supermarket, let alone a town centre with a catchment of 400,000 people;
• Close the covered bus station and instead run all buses along a series of bus stops on Station Road — Edgware’s main shopping street. This would turn a busy pedestrian and retail area into a noisy, polluted bus corridor, making the town centre less safe and less welcoming, particularly for older residents, families, and people with mobility challenges;
• Cause up to 20 years of phased construction, choking off footfall and displacing long-established small businesses.

Station Road, the spine of Edgware’s economy, cannot survive this scale of disruption. The “new shopping centre” model Ballymore proposes has already failed in nearby towns — producing hollow retail spaces beneath towers, disconnected from the communities they are supposed to serve.

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A Town That Will No Longer Qualify as a Town

In 2013, Barnet Council’s own strategy documents stated:

“The average weekly footfall through the centre is estimated to be 130,000, with a broad catchment population of 400,000.”

It was these figures — along with Edgware’s strategic transport interchange andregionally significant shopping centre — that earned it designation as a Major Town Centre in the London Plan.

This scheme removes the very features that justified that status.

Without a functioning integrated bus station, without adequate parking, and without a viable shopping core, Edgware will no longer qualify as a Major Town Centre — even as it is forced to absorb one of the largest housing increases in the borough.

This is not regeneration. It is planning vandalism.

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A Dangerous Precedent for All of London

TfL is now functioning not as a public transport steward, but as a land developer — one willing to:

• Eliminate critical transport infrastructure,
• Gamble with unregulated, unsafe experimental designs, and
• Funnel public assets into speculative private development.

If this scheme proceeds, it will become a template for unsafe and unsustainable development across outer London — undermining community integrity, reducing infrastructure, and accelerating the breakdown of suburban town centres.

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Edgware Deserves Better. So Does London.

We are not anti-development. We are pro-safety. Pro-economy. Pro-community.
This scheme fails on all three counts.

• You do not build thousands of homes on top of a fire hazard.
• You do not destroy a town’s transport interchange and shopping economy.
• You do not erase a community to test a speculative model.

Edgware is the canary in the coal mine. If this goes ahead here, it will not stop here.

#SaveOurEdgware

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Anuta Zack is a memb er of the Save Edgware Campaign. Guest blogs are always welcome.

Barnet Labour renege on promise to save The Railway Hotel in Edgware

 Of all the videos I made about the London Borough of Barnet, the collaboration with Mark Amies, called The Fall of Edgware, has recieved by far the most hits. It was made in June 2020 and around 10,000 people have viewed it and it has had more comments than any other video in my collection. It was triggered by a conversation between myself and Mark about the awful state of The Railway Hotel pub. Mark was a Labour supporter at the time and had conversations with Anne Clarke and other Labour figures. Barnet Blogger Mrs Angry, a Labour and Sir Keir Starmer loyalist also weighed in. Promises were extracted that if Labour ever got into power in Barnet "Things would be different" and the hotel would be saved. When Labour won the council, three years ago, a promise was made of a compuslory purchase order. And then.... Guess what? Well Mark Amies emailed me a new video this morning. 

As Mark and Mrs Angry have found to their cost, you can't believe a word that the Barnet Labour administration tell you. It is 100% clear that like their Tory predecessors, the Barnet Tories, they would rather the place burned down and they could put a faceless, horrible tower on the site. 

The biggest joke in Barnet is that Labour has championed The London Festival of Architecture. This is a complete joke. Both Labour and Tory administrations have seen the wanton destruction of many important and architecurally important buildings, and seen them replaced with awful, ugly blocks that are destroying the nature of the Borough. It seems ineveitable and just a matter of time before The Railway joins the Newspaper Archive in Hendon, many RAF buildings in Colindale, etc. Hendons oldest building, the former Church Farmhouse Museum is up for sale, meaning it will never return to it's former glory as a museum. 

I cannot hide my disdain for the Barnet Labour politicians who completely mislead us. I believe that the Barnet Tories are even worse, but at least they don't tell porkies, they make it clear they have total contempt and disdain for us mere plebs. Labour pretend they don't, but the evidence shows that all they care about are rich developers who line the council pockets.

There is nothing that would make me more happy than for Barnet Labour to make me eat my words and start behaving like what I believed a Labour party in Barnet should behave like. I was a member of Labour from 1979 until 2009, until I realised that the party was a very different beast to what I'd believed. In a converstaion, Andrew Dismore admitted that when he was elected in 1997, he knew that there was no prospect of saving Edgware General hospital, contrary to what he'd told us all in a rally at Montrose Park in 1995. His predecessor John Gorst had voted against his own parties plans to close it. Dismore never did. I am sorry if this upsets some people, but I can only speak the truth. 

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The Edgware Railway Hotel – Time for Action - A guest blog by Mark Amies

Recent news stories about pubs being illegally demolished, or set on fire should be a source of great concern. No more so than in Edgware, where the Grade II Listed Railway Hotel sits in a parlous state, as it has for over a decade. Now you are probably aware of my regular bulletins about this landmark building on Station Road. I have written about it many times, I have tweeted about it more times than I can count, and Roger Tichborne and I have done two videos about it.

In recent times we were given the teasing story about Barnet Council undertaking a Compulsory Purchase Order on the building. However, that was some time ago, and there is no outward sign that this is going to happen. So, instead this fine building used by so many Edgwarians over the years is still begging at us, every time we pass it. 

This morning I altered my commute to get the bus into Edgware, and got off opposite the Railway Hotel, to have look around it. Obviously, I couldn’t actually get inside it, but I was able to walk around the outside, and it is a dreadful sight. Windows open and missing, fire damage left for months, years even. The building is an appalling state, and it needs attention now, before it gets to the point of no return. Walking on to Church Path and the fencing around the pub has been left open, and so it is easy to walk into the rear. There are no signs of security, and no signs to say it is being secured.

I am not going to mince my words any more.  Barry Rawlings, Ross Houston, Lucy Wakeley, Nick Mearing Smith and Shuey Gordon, if you are reading this, then please can you get something done? You are the public servants for the Borough. It is your responsibility to ensure that the Historic England Grade Two Listing on this building is kept to. 

The owner of building, whoever that is these days, needs to be made to do more. Lastly, I am not going to spare my wrath for Historic England. I want to know what they are doing. They have a Buildings at Risk register, is this on it? Are they working with Barnet Council and the Secretary of State to get this building back into safe condition and put into use for the people of the Borough?

This month the developer Ballymore is putting in a planning application for their development on the Broadwalk Shopping centre. Now the Railway Hotel is not inside that scheme, but it sits right next to it, and if Barnet Council, who are a partner in the new development , are keen to see Edgware Town Centre made a pleasant and interesting place, then why is the Railway Hotel such a low priority in all of this?

Come on guys, pull your fingers out, don’t let me inflict BarnetEye with another article about this again!

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Mark Amies is a local Edgware resident and the BBC Radio London Industriaal History correspondent for the Robert Elms show. Mark tweets under the handle @Superfast72

Mark refers to the video we made in 2020, just before lockdown, which has now been referred to over 8,000 times. 

Guest blogs are always welcome. Contact via the email or DM @Barneteye on Twitter

It's raining in Edgware! - Weather, Climate Change and Global Warming

Sometimes, I have to write blogs, as I am driven to distraction by crass stupidity and willful misinterpretation of proveable facts by people who are either very thick or very malicious. 

Let me start, with a short diversion, to explain why this interests me and why we should all educate ourselves on the subject. About 40 years ago, Gray Ramsey, the drummer in my band excitedly played me a cassette demo of a new track by the legend that is Steve Strange called "It's Raining in Edgware". Steve had bought a sampler and sampled a fart and played a melody with it at the beginning of the track. It was a rather good track and since then I've always associated Edgware with rain (rather like I associate Borehamwood with overripe tomatoes, but that's another story). My Dad was also there. He roared laughing and berated me for not being able to make such amusing music. Later that evening, he took me to one side and said, in his thick Aussie accent "I really like your mate's song. But did you know that Mill Hill is the coldest place in the whole of London?". Dad had been a WWII pilot and part of the qualifications was in meteorology. For bomber pilots such as my Dad, it was literally a matter of life and death to understand the weather. He explained that as Mill Hill was the highest point with a London post code and was the most North Westerly, it was colder, up to four degrees colder than central London. Dad came from Australia, they didn't have weather in Blackall, Queensland. He was born during a drought, a proper drought. There had been no rain for five years, he told me that he first saw rain at the age of four. What had been a dustbowl was now a huge river, called Coopers Creek. The land sprung into life. Plants and strange animals, dormant for years, sprung into life. When we had what we called droughts and hosepipe bans. he'd laugh.

Dad died in 1987, he was an intelligent man. He believed that understanding the patterns of weather was a something that was fundamental to an education. When he first heard of the subject of global warming, he was fascinated. As an Aussie, born in the outback, where the temperatures were always around 40 degrees, he dreamed of such a climate in England. When he studied it, was horrified. He told me that it would not make Britain like the outback of Queensland. He explained that due to the unique position of the UK, the prevailing change was that the UK would simply become wetter and more miserable. This is because the more the earth heats up, the more water will evaporate in the seas. This will form clouds in the Atlantic, that will dump water on Edgware and Mill Hill. Dad felt that the reports he'd read failed to take into account many factors, not least this evaporation. As clouds are white, they actually reflect sunlight, so to some degree would offset the rises. None of the papers he read mentioned this. He did however 100% accept the science and explained it's effects to me in detail. It is a shame that schools seem unable to do the same.

I was lucky. Dad took time to explain everything to me properly, in terms I could understand. What makes me laugh is just how stupid most of the people who tweet about the subject are. They look out of the window, see clouds in July and dismiss the whole matter, stating that as this July is colder than last July, climate change is nonsense. I felt it is high time, that I explained the fact that weather, climate change and global warming are three different things. I am under no illusion that this will be wasted on people, who cannot tell their backside from their elbow, but you have to try and help the poor darlinghs.

So first of all, we need to understand the difference between weather, climate change and global warming.

Weather. This is what we describe the state of the atmosphere at a given time, in a given place. As my Dad explained, Mill Hill is colder thand Edgware. Inverness is colder than London. In Mill Hill, the thing that determis the weather is the direction the wind is blowing. If it is blowing from the South West, off the Atlantic, it is likely to be wet, as that is where clouds are former. If it is blowing from the north, it is likely to be cold. If it is blowing from the South East and up from Africa, it is likely to be warm. If it is coming from the East, in Winter it will be dry and cold and in summer it will be warm.  

In the UK, the most common weather pattern is prevailing winds from the South West. The sea is colder than the land in Summer and warmer in winter. Presently, this is the way the wind is blowing, so that whilst Europe swelters, the air we are getting is colder and damp. Last year, when we were sweltering, we had a large area of high pressure, that is fairly still, with air moving from the warm south east. The biggest factor in determining our winter and summers are the jet streams, huge air currents that determine how the air systems move around the north atlantic. When these move north or south, we get different weather, hot summers such as 1976 and cold winters such as 1962/63.

Weather in the UK is often almost impossible to predict, even with massive computers and hundreds of stations monitoring weather. Knowing exactly where clouds will drop rain is very difficult to know. Sometimes, it rains in Edgware and is sunny in Mill Hill. This year, the Mill Hill Music Festival cancelled an outdoor gig, because rain and Thunderstorms were predicted. They never materialised, although South West London had flash floods. This is what weather is like. If you see someone comparing a random day this year with last year, they simply don't understand that the wind in the UK was blowing in a different direction. 

Climate Change is a different thing all together. This has little to do with day-to-day weather. Climate change means that prevailing temperatures and rain patterns show a marked difference over a longer period of time, which results in physical changes to the landscape. This may mean crops won't grow, animals lose their environment, waterways disappear or flood become common place, when they weren't before. I went to Pune in India in 2015 and the locals told me that the dates for the monsoon, which used to be accurate almost to the day, had completely changed. Areas that, unlike the UK, are not surrounded by water, see this to a far greater extent. As my Dad noted, there are all manner of factors, which we may not understand until we see the effects in action. But the bottom line is that when climate changes and food supplies are affected, that results in huge impact on local populations.

Global Warming is different to climate change, although it is also a driver. This is the thing that the armchair army of tweeters understand least. They see clouds today, when we had glorious sunshine last July and announce that Global Warming is a myth. It is a shame that they don't actually understand what it means. Across the globe, there are tens of thousands of stations that monitor the temperatures, humidity, air pressure and wind levels. Any one of these, on any one day, records the weather. When you take the sum of them all, from across the whole planet, and analyse the changes over a number of years., this tells you whether the planet is warming up or cooling down. Having all of this data, is a relatively new phenominum. We have no idea of global temperatures in Roman or Neolithic times. Does that mean that the modelling we have now is invalid? Of course it doesn't. The job of scientists is to analyse the data, identify trends and postulate theories based on this data. The way science works is that until someone disproves a theory, we tend to accept it if the data supports it. Sadly, what climate change deniers and people who refute Global Warming tend to do is look at very small subsets of data to make their point. So the fact that it's raining in Edgware in July, to them means that the fact that subsistence farmers in sub saharan Africa cannot grow crops due to the changing climate is 'nonsense and a scam'. It may well be that the people who decry climate change and global warming are correct, but if they are, they need to base their theories on complete data sets, rather than a small subset that they can manipulate to suit their rather fatuous arguments.

If you want to know which way the wind is blowing in the UK, check out the Met Office Surface pressure charts. As you can see, the wind is coming off the Atlantic from the North West, which explains the clouds and the slightly lower temperatures. If it was coming from the opposite direction, the temperatures would most probably be 15-20 degrees hotter. 

 

A look at Edgware in the 1980's - What we've lost and what we've gained

I thought I'd share some personal reminiscences of Edgware with you. I was born at Edgware General Hospital and went to Orange Hill School which was in Burnt Oak, that is a district of Edgware and had a large catchment area within Edgware. As Mill Hill Broadway lacked a pub, a cinema, a tube station, a nightclub and a nearby football ground, I spent a lot of time in Edgware. It also had two half decent record shops, the Catholic Church had a vibrant club, the Broadfields Estate had a wonderful pub, which not only was a fine music venue, but was also popular for weddings and other functions. AS a teenager, the restaurants were not like the more stuffy, posh Mill Hill venues of the time (apart from the Indian and Chinese). They had the sort of food that teenagers loved (and soon grow out of), such as great Pizza's, KFC, etc. They had Mr Jacks, owned by George Michael's Dad. A place where just about every local had their first kebab. 

So what did we do in Edgware? The cinema in Edgware was wonderful. It was a big venue, constructed in the 1920's with great fanfare. This is how I remember it, I saw many films here, a few that particularly stand out were Return of The Jedi and the Indiana Jones films. 

For those of you who are old enough to remember, here's a selection of pictures of the old Edgware Cinema, which is now Pure Gym! pic.twitter.com/zf5K0uCfuA

— Inside Mill Hill (@InsideMillHill) September 6, 2019

As soon as Edgware lost the cinema, it lost much of it's alure. Another place that everyone would visit was Jingles night club at The White Lion (Thanks to Pats Mizon for this wonderful Pic)

The place was always packed with locals out for a night of fun and funk.The White Lion was a big pub, which also had a football ground at the back, home of Edgware town. My Dad was a sponsor of Edgware Town in the 1960's and would take me to matches, and we'd invariably have a drink in the clubhouse, or in the pub. Those were my fondest memories of The White Lion. 

Edgware Town's White Lion Ground, where the club played from 1939 to 2008, is one of the 350 lost grounds and stands featured in our book The Cemetery End (1995-2020). It can be purchased here - https://t.co/4RKnZy4k31 pic.twitter.com/PUEZdOt5RL

— Vince Taylor (@Groundtastic) December 27, 2022

Whilst Jingles was popular, the White Lion pub was not really a destination as a teenager. We may have had the odd beer in there, but the centre of our world was The Beehive. I've yet to find a picture that does it justice. The atmosphere was always brilliant. On the door was Eddie, with the bouffant hair (brother of John who now runs the guitar shop). I was never quite sure what Eddie's job was, as he never prevented anything, although he did throw the occasional drunkard out. You had to be very badly behaved to get slung out. The bikers were at the back, dealing various substances. In the middle were the Au Pairs. A mate of mine, Chris, was the barman. We'd occasionally visit other pubs, such as the Masons Arms, The White Hart and The Railway Hotel, but these were a bit more grown up and respectable.

When the Beehive closed for the night, we'd head for a bite to eat. Often this was in Pizza Hut or Pizzaland. If you had a  Pizza you could have a beer and drink into the early hours. Some Saturdays, it seems that the whole of the Beehive had relocated. If we were going back to a friends, we'd nip into KFC. There was a period where a few local fascist skinheads were targetting the young Jewish kids, thinking them easy pickings. We were in KFC, when some trouble kicked off. What the skinheads didn't realise was that a bunch of Jewish hardnuts, some with Israeli army experience,  were waiting in ambush. Let's just say that the problems stopped. I found a tweet that recalled this

70s youth culture in North London

"The Soul Yids" of Edgware who would do battle with the "Clockwork Skins" of the Broadfields Estatehttps://t.co/UEY4SO0mOP pic.twitter.com/kxeWG9j296

— Mill Hill Hist Soc (@MHHistSoc) January 4, 2022

I went to Orange Hill with a fair number of the local Jewish kids.  Some had older Dads and Uncles, who'd cut their teeth in the 1960's in anti fascist punch ups. They were simply not prepared to put up with such things. I recall one guy leaping off a table and landing a flying headbut on one of the skinheads. It really was quite spectacular. By the time the police came, all of the protagonists had left and the queue for chicken had resumed. The rumour was that the Skinheads would return mob handed the following week for a monumental battle. We truned up to watch the entertainment after the Beehive kicked out, but there was no trouble at all. Battle had been done and the matter was dusted. I spoke to one of my school mates and I soon realised that a lot of planning had gone into the whole matter. It was no accident that the issue was settled so quickly. 

In truth, there was rarely trouble. The only time I personally was threatened was one night when I was about sixteen. I'd been to Dingwalls and drunk eight pints of cider. I wasn't used to boozing. I fell asleep on the tube home, woke up at Edgware and realised I needed to throw up. I decided that the best place to do this was the little alley that ran by the side of the station sidings. I ran there as fast as possible, only to be ambushed by three thugs, all bigger than me, intent on bashing me up. I issued a warning that this was a  bad idea. The lead thug grabbed my lapels and said "What are you going to do". Sadly, for him, what I did was discharge eight pints of cider and a kebab all over him. Any desire to fight immediately departed him. His mates also lost their fighting spirit. As I shuffled off, I distinctly recall him picking off pieces of kebab from his jacket. I never saw the three of them again.

I abhor violence and I was very thankful that the Good Lord protected me in such a novel way that night. I don't advocate drinking too much, but there is a saying that the Lord protects drunks and this was my most graphic example.

As a member of The False Dots and having a Dad who ran a garage that had at one stage or another, employed most of the local thugs and villains, people knew me and I never had any problems.  Edgware was full of characters. People such as Yogi - Edgwares last Hippy, who dealt cannabis and LSD, Eddie the Bouncer and his brother John and Tank, a large, blond biker girl, who regularly punched out the lights of guys who annoyed her. She was mates with my then girlfriend, so she was fine with us, but woe betited anyone who she took a dislike to.

As a rock and roller, I must also mention The Sparrowhawk pub on The Broadfields Estate. This was the local music venue. It had regular 50's Rock and Roll / Rockabilly nights, as well as Friends of the Earth Benefit gigs, with some excellent Blues and Prog Rock outfits. All of these were packed.

What really struck me when I started to put this together was just what a great place Edgware was to grow up in. As a teenager, we had a cinema, a nightclub, cheap and cheerful Pizza joints, a KFC, pubs that were edgy but safe and a community that didn't take any bullshit. What is so sad is that all of that seems to have gone. A teenager at Mill Hill County School (which took over the Orange Hill mantle) simply would never go with their mates down to Edgware. I know that some nefarious activities were mentioned, but all of this was vary low level and on a very social basis generally. Many of my mates, who would accompany me, went on to have families, careers and do very well for themselves. We have Orange Hill School reunions and I see many. Amongst our Alumni are Phil Golding, a professional golfer, who won the French Open, Steve Pankhurst who set up Friends Reunited and sold it for £65 million to ITV and Boz Boorer, who has a stack of gold discs for his work with The Polecats and Morrissey. All of these knocked around the places mentioned. 

When Lucy holds her meetings, the question I have is "What provision will you be making for teenagers and young people". Edgware was a brilliant place and somewhere between about 2002 and now, it all went wrong. We lost the cinema, the football, the nightclub and the pubs. There is no real reason for me ever to go to Edgware. My kids, all in their 20's, have never been with their mates for a night out there. They go to pubs 'in town'. Sadly, many have been spiked, as such places do not have locals looking out for each other. The community in Edgware and the local police, knew that shenanigans went on, but ensured it was never at a level that real harm happened regularly (of course there was the odd incident, but this was rare). Communities are built and they focus around venues where people mix. Cinema's, nightclubs, pubs, cafe's are places where this happens. They need to be affordable. I had a pint in Mill Hill last night and it cost £7.50. This is too expensive for teenagers. You don't stop teenagers from drinking by making it expensive. You just force them to drink cheap tins and do it in anti social ways. 

What have we gained in Edgware since the 1980's? Try as I may, I cannot think of anything. If you can please let me know and I'll add it on here. Just about everything I mentioned above is long gone.

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I've just signed this petition. Will you add your name and share too?
https://t.co/l27xE0WXpa via @38degrees

— Roger Tichborne/Rog T (@Barneteye) May 19, 2023

This is why this is needed

Focus on Edgware - everything you need to know about the most north westerly ward in the Borough

This week, the focus of the Barnet Eye is on Edgware. 

Today we have a look at the history and some of the characters from around Edgware.

For those who are unfamiliar with Edgware, it is the most North Westerly ward in the London Borough of Barnet. Perhaps the biggest claim to fame of Edgware is that it is the end of the Northern Line, so anyone who uses the line, will know of Edgware, even if they've never been there. What not so many people know is that this was not supposed to be the case. If it was not for the actions of a certain Mr Adolf Hitler, then the line would have been extended to Elstree in the early 1930's.

At  the time there were two railways into Edgware, the Northern Line and also a Branch line of the LNER, that had a station and goods depot at the site of what is now the Broadwalk shopping centre. There were plans to convert this into a tube line, all that now remains of this branch is the spur to Mill Hill East from Finchley. Jay Foreman made a fascinating video about the line, which is well worth a watch.



When the underground arrived in Edgware, it caused massive change and development. This picture from @time_nw on Twitter shows just how much the area has changed. This was taken in 1926

Edgware @northernline station from the air in 1926.

The arrival of the London Underground kick-started a massive development of this once sleepy part of North West London, in fact back then, it was still refered to as part of Middlesex. Note too the proposed extension.. pic.twitter.com/48t39BmzAF

— NW London TimeMachine (@time_nw) June 10, 2019

By the 1950's Edgware had become a bustling town centre, with a good selection of shops and other services

The Time Machine has landed. Here we are in Station Road, Edgware in the early 1950s. pic.twitter.com/BFX0HQmClz

— NW London TimeMachine (@time_nw) April 16, 2019

By the 1960's it had become a successful and pleasant suburban town centre

Station Road, Edgware, circa mid 1960s.

How many cars can you name?

(Image via @sainsburyarch ) pic.twitter.com/7KBl9ryBoc

— NW London TimeMachine (@time_nw) September 5, 2019

For many of us who grew up with a great affinity to Edgware, the cinema was the centre of many activities. Although the frontage changed over the years, it was a much loved an appreciated building, which just about everyone who lived locally would have watched films such as The Sound of Music, Gone with the wind, Star wars and the Indigo Jones films. Sadly the cinema got bulldozed and is now a block of flats.

Special request from @Gosbert -

The cinema in Station Road, Edgware, that went by several names over its history, including the Belle Vue, The Ritz and the ABC https://t.co/vk3OkZEJ0m pic.twitter.com/aBq4nlA2g2

— NW London TimeMachine (@time_nw) June 27, 2019

Another important facility was Edgware General hospital, as I was born there, I had a particular affinity for the place. Broken limbs and other ailments warranted many a visit. In the mid 1980's, I spent six weeks in there following a burst stomach  ulcer, so I knew it well. I thought for a time it would be where I both entered and left the planet! The hospital has morphed into Edgware Community hospital, which sadly no longer has and A&E department. Despite the efforts of the then local MP, Sir John Gorst, who voted against his own party to save it, the hospital was closed. His successor, Labours Andrew Dismore was elected on a manifesto of saving it, but this was the first promise he broke. The new hospital has some great facilities, but for locals a trip to Barnet or Northwick Park is not the easiest journey and many still feel bitter about the closure.

Redhill Hospital (now Edgware Community Hospital) from the air, in the 1930s. This Aerofilms photo hangs in the entrance of the current facility. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/cNRAKcCG8G

— NW London TimeMachine (@time_nw) December 7, 2019

As for local businesses, there were and still are some car show rooms, perhaps not quite as glamourous these days.

Model posing in front of Perry's Ford Showrooms, Whitchurch Lane, Edgware, 1966.

Until recently this building was a tile shop, and is now the new home of ClassicCarsLondon. pic.twitter.com/u5iMDxkCfO

— NW London TimeMachine (@time_nw) August 9, 2019

In the late 1980's the former LNER station was redeveloped into the Broadwalk shopping centre. This more or less spelled the end of the thriving high street. Sainsburys moved from one end to a much larger premises in the Broadwalk. Sadly this development was a very soulless and bland design, that never really generated much love.

The Sainsbury's in Edgware, at the time of opening in 1989.

Image via the brilliant @sainsburyarch
https://t.co/vq26sOZl0T pic.twitter.com/5h2X990KeV

— NW London TimeMachine (@time_nw) May 23, 2019are associated with many of the local shops and businesses. There is a rather nice write up about the community in the JC, which is well worth a read. Some of these such as Grodzinski's bakers have been around for well over a 100years. There is also a thriving parish community at the Anglican Church of St Margaret of Antioch on Station Road and St Anthony's Catholic Church, just off the High Street, which has a thriving social club

ST Anthonys, Edgware

Another important part of Edgware was the lively pub scene. Edgware had some marvellous pubs. The biggest and best of these was The Railway Hotel on Station road. A grade II listed building of Mock Tudor design, originally serving the busy local railway stations.

The Railway Hotel, Edgware, in the 1930s and this morning.#railwayhoteledgware pic.twitter.com/m5CWeYE3mN

— NW London TimeMachine (@time_nw) June 11, 2019

The Barnet Eye got together with local historian to make a short film explaining the appalling decline of the building, which shut over 10 years ago and has gone to rack and ruin.



Another pub of note was the Beehive. This great picture of the pub from Kevin Fenaughtys flickr collection brings back many memories. The Beehive was the centre of nightlife for many youngsters. Much favoured by Au Pairs, this attracted many local lads. There was also a lively alternative scene with bikers setting up camp at the back of the pub to deal various illicit substances to the local youth population. Each group had its own little spot in the pub, but all got along with a friendly nod and trouble was rare. Other pubs were The Masons Arms, The White Hart (Latterly The Change of Hart) and the White Lion. All ofthese are now gone. There is one half decent pub left in Edgware, the Three Wishes, over the road from the Beehive, which is now The Zanzibar Indian Restaurant.

There is a nice shot of the White Lion in 1904 here

The laying of tramway tracks outside The White Lion pub, Edgware, in 1904.@EdgwareTownFC played at the rear of this pub, which is why the lion is on the shield.

This is the approximate scene now.

Archive image from Old Edgware in Camera by Quest Books. pic.twitter.com/IPTGRHFjV1

— NW London TimeMachine (@time_nw) January 24, 2020

Around the back of The White Lion was Jingles nightclub, scene of many shenanigans. Another major Edgware Landmark was also at the back of the pub, with the former home of Edgware Town, yet another lost Edgware icon.

More picture's, of Edgware Town's old ground, The White Lion. @EdgwareTownFC @EtfcFans @JubileeSilver pic.twitter.com/rDxdcEoHeF

— Matt Shotter (@Shottersshouts) August 10, 2018

For the record, Edgware Town are now playing at the home of Kingsbury Town.

For us music lovers, Edgware was rather spoiled with two excellent records shops. There was Stephen Seiger's on the corner of Station Road and the High Street (now a fruiterer) and Loppylugs at the other end of Station road, opposite the Nat West bank. Stephen Seiger specialised in Bluesy Jazz and Rock, whereas Loppylugs was for the lovers of Pop and Dance music and later Rock and Metal music.

Still loving the mural next to my desk of the record shop in my old town @KulaStudioLIV #loppylugs #edgware #home pic.twitter.com/ZacwvbwHkN

— Steve Wiseman (@iambrave_stevew) July 24, 2015

Sadly, like many trades, the record shops have long departed Edgware.

There are a few business of note to recall in Edgware. Green Shield Stamps, an iconic 1960's brand were based on Station Road, Edgware

..finally, the HQ of Green Shield Stamps, on Station Road, Edgware, circa 1965. This later became the HQ for Argos, then renamed Premier House. A few years ago it was remodelled into an apartment block.

Image via @age_fotostock

More on Green Shield here https://t.co/0P4WMwqjC8 pic.twitter.com/KTRsTnG87b

— NW London TimeMachine (@time_nw) August 10, 2019

Music Manufacturer Boosey and Hawkes, the UK's top music brand of years gone by also had a factory in Edgware.

Photos of the Boosey and Hawkes factory on Deansbrook Road, Edgware in the 1940s where they manufactured brass instruments.

Images from @HornimanMuseum who hold their museum and archive: https://t.co/kk21onddHF pic.twitter.com/N5Z2n1SehR

— Mill Hill Hist Soc (@MHHistSoc) November 24, 2019

.
Sadly these days, the only factories you read about in Edgware these days, are of a rather different kind

Two drugs warrants executed yesterday by Edgware SNT and other local SNTs. One cannabis factory found and closed and two suspects arrested. pic.twitter.com/C99RIdQrow

— Edgware Police (@MPSEdgwareQA) December 19, 2017

We will finish our tour of Edgware with some of the famous local people to have emerged from Edgware. The former speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow was an Edgware local.  One of my favourites was Tony Currie, one of the best footballers of the 1970's

OTD 1950
Tony Currie was born in Edgware.He played for Sheff Utd Leeds and QPR, he also played 17 times for England
Football Masters loves the maverick players and Tony was one of the very best.
FM will look at his time at Sheffield United #SheffieldUnited #QPR #LeedsUnited pic.twitter.com/VxXTR9lK0I

— Football Masters (@mag_masters) January 1, 2020

Legendary music promoter Harvey Goldsmith was also an Edgware boy.

If you want to have your say on the future of Edgware, why not attend this meeting

One week until our Q and A event about the future of Edgware Town Centre. This is a chance to put questions to the Police, Barnet Council (and their planning team), Ballymore and TfL (who are developing the Broadwalk centre site). You can sign up using the link below 👇 pic.twitter.com/ZVlQsQk1O6

— Cllr Lucy Wakeley (@lucy_wakeley) May 10, 2023

We will finish with a good friend of this blog. Local ace guitarist Boz Boorer. Now touring the world as the musical director of Morrissey, but here on Top of the Pops with fellow local legends The Polecats! Boz is the one in the Pink and Black shirt  playing guitar.

The Barnet Eye Advent Calendar - 9th December

I'm often stopped by locals in Mill Hill as I'm shopping or getting the train, who like to discuss the subjects of the week. I had wondered how this series would be received, with its format of a video or topic of interest and a plug for a local charity. Everyone who I've spoken to has mentioned that it is great to have these jewels of local history highlighted. I've also had a good response to the highlighting of local charities. Thank you

Today our focus is on Edgware. Both of these topics are close to my heart. First we have a Pathe Video of the openiong of the old Ritz cinema in Edgware. In my day it was the Odeon. I hadn't realised until I saw this just what an amazing opening the cinema had. The scenes of Edgware are quite fascinating. It is sad that the cinema was redeveloped not too long ago. I hadn't realied just how magnificent a building it really was! Sad to say that Edgware today is a shoddy shadow of it's former self. 



One of the great things about doing a blog and writing a series like this is that I discover some wonderful people and organisations and hopefully point a few people in their direction. 

One such organisation is the Truecare foundation based in Edgware.  www.truecarefoundation.org.uk

There mission is as follows. one I hope everyone who reads this blog supports.

True Care Foundation

We Are On A Mission To
Help Children in Low Income Households

More than 14 million people in the UK are living below the poverty line and 41% of Londoners can be classed as having a low annual household income. The result of this is 26% of children in the UK are living in absolute low income; with a steady increase since 2013 of those considered to be under relative low income and materially deprived.

This is why True Care Foundation are working to deliver food packages to low income families who struggle to provide their children with meals during the half term when they are able to receive the aid they rely on from schools.

• Reduce the number of low income households suffering hunger in the UK
• Provide meals to low-income households outside Term- time
• Raise funds to help projects/foodbank that are already working in the community
• We support a wide network of food banks and together we provide and support to families locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need.