page_title: New Barnet
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: New Barnet / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Picture of New Barnet prior to 1914
context_page_description: New Barnet is a neighbourhood on the north east side of the London Borough of Barnet. It is a largely residential North London suburb located east of Chipping Barnet, west of Cockfosters, the village of Monken Hadley and north of Oakleigh Park.
  Residential properties include a mix of late victorian villas & terraces, edwardian detached housing, 1950 - 1960s council housing and the redevelopment of land to low storey flats in the 1980s and 1990s. The north edge of New Barnet borders Monken Hadley Common, a Common mostly made up of woods and cut by walking paths.
  The main commercial area in New Barnet is East of New Barnet railway station on East Barnet Road. The high street is dominated by a medium sized Sainsbury's supermarket with parking on top and is surrounded by a cluster of shops and facilities including Fayers, Just Add Water, PureGym, Tesco Express, Majestic Wine, The Party Shop, Bikestrobe, Ink n Toner and Bodens Performing Arts. Several independent Cafes also exist on the High Street.
  A number of office blocks were built in Station Road to the West of the Station in the 1960s & 70s however many have now been converted to flats.
context_section_description: New Barnet owes its conception to the building of the Great Northern Railway in 1850, when a station serving High Barnet was built, but located about a mile away from the town centre of High Barnet, so that this 'new' area quickly saw development: 
  
  In 1876, Handbook to the Environs of London by James Thorne describe New Barnet as one of those new half-finished railway villages that we have come to look on as almost a necessary adjunct of every station within a moderate distance of London.
  New Barnet's growth accelerated at the turn of the 19th Century aided by the speculative developer, E. Fergusson Taylor, who became known as the creator of New Barnet.
  In 1892 a town hall was built for the local board and from 1894 New Barnet formed part of the East Barnet Urban District of Hertfordshire until 1965 when it was transferred from Hertfordshire to Greater London to become part of the newly created London Borough of Barnet. The War Memorial was built opposite the Town Hall in 1921 to remember the 278 men of East Barnet who died in World War 1
  The Town Hall still stands in Station Road but Local government use ended in the early 1990s and the property was sold off for use as a restaurant. In 2006 the building was converted into flats.
  In 2019 a new Leisure Centre in New Barnet was completed by Barnet council including a 25m pool and gym. The Leisure Centre is run by the not-for-profit provider Better.
caption: New Barnet in 1904
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