With all the interest in the current FIFA Women’s World Cup it is satisfying to know that Hornsey hosted the first official women’s football match attended by an enthusiastic crowd of 10,000 spectators. The 23rd March match was between North and South, the North winning 7-1. One of the South team, Emma Clarke, was the first recorded black woman football player. [Read more…] about 1895: Women’s Football makes its official debut in Hornsey
Books and Articles by Janet Owen
1919 – 1920: The Uncertainties
Each month in 2019, using Hornsey Journal extracts, we have looked at the issues facing Hornsey and the country in 1919 and at their impact locally and nationally. The Hornsey Journal extract, 26 December 1919, makes it clear that solutions to these issues were as distant as when the year started and that pessimism about British and global instability had settled over the people of Hornsey like a black cloud. What were these uncertainties? [Read more…] about 1919 – 1920: The Uncertainties
A Hundred Years Since the Opening of the Hornsey War Memorial on 11 November 1921

We may think that we have nothing in common with the people who waited silently and reflectively at the opening of the Hornsey War Memorial in Park Road on 11th November 1921 but that is not so. We are joined by the word ‘pandemic’, not Spanish Flu this time but Covid 19, and how many people waiting patiently the mandatory 15 minutes after their first, second or booster Covid jab in a room off Hornsey Central Neighbourhood Health Centre in Park Road, N8, realise that they are sitting inside the Hornsey War Memorial? [Read more…] about A Hundred Years Since the Opening of the Hornsey War Memorial on 11 November 1921
A Vision of Middlesex
By Janet Owen and John Hinshelwood
This publication, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Hornsey Historical Society, presents a selection of over one hundred and twenty 19th and early 20th Century photographs from the North Middlesex Photographic Society’s survey and record of Middlesex. [Read more…] about A Vision of Middlesex
A Vision of Middlesex-Part One
As the Old Schoolhouse is closed for the time being, we thought we’d share some extracts from HHS publications on over the coming weeks and months. [Read more…] about A Vision of Middlesex-Part One
A Vision of Middlesex-Part Three
As the Old Schoolhouse is closed for the time being, we thought we’d share some extracts from HHS publications over the coming weeks and months. [Read more…] about A Vision of Middlesex-Part Three
A Vision of Middlesex-Part Two
As the Old Schoolhouse is closed for the time being, we thought we’d share some extracts from HHS publications over the coming weeks and months. [Read more…] about A Vision of Middlesex-Part Two
Charlotte Cowdroy (1864-1932): A Headmistress with Trenchant Educational Ideas
This is the second article in our 2022 series – Hornsey Personalities of the Past

Charlotte Cowdroy earned a national reputation for herself as headmistress of the school she owned – Crouch End High School and College (1900-1974), which educated girls between the ages of 6 and 16 with a few staying on a year or two longer. [Read more…] about Charlotte Cowdroy (1864-1932): A Headmistress with Trenchant Educational Ideas
David Grieg (1861 – 1952): Hornsey’s educational philanthropist
This is the third article in our series – Hornsey Personalities of the Past
The capture of a Scottish sea captain by the French, another Scots’ decision to emigrate to Australia and his wife’s concern for her large family – all played a part in the foundation of David Greig Ltd. the first chain of grocery shops in the UK. [Read more…] about David Grieg (1861 – 1952): Hornsey’s educational philanthropist
Enjoying Your Local Space: A Children’s Project About Priory Park
By Jennifer Bell and Janet Owen
The educational pack is targeted at School: Key Stage 2 Y5/6; Key Stage 3 Y7. At Home: 8-11 year olds with their parents. [Read more…] about Enjoying Your Local Space: A Children’s Project About Priory Park