Books and Articles by Janet Owen

Hornsey’s Post War Housing Problem

Preston’s Court, off Hornsey High Street

The opening paragraph of the Hornsey Journal editorial, 7 February 1919 describes the housing shortage which Britain faced in the months after the 11th November 1918 Armistice. How would Hornsey Council tackle this shortage in 1919?

Hornsey’s Proposed War Memorial: The Continuing Story

The ongoing fractious debate and depth of feeling felt over the type of borough war memorial best for Hornsey was highlighted in the first of the series Hornsey in 1919. What happened in the intervening months between January and August 1919? Was Hornsey any nearer deciding on the nature of its borough war memorial? [Read more…] about Hornsey’s Proposed War Memorial: The Continuing Story

Hornsey’s Response to the Treaty of Versailles and to Peace Day

An Armistice had ended the Great War on 11 November 1918. The peace treaty between the Allies and Germany was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly 5 years after Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination triggered the conflict. The other Central Powers signed separate treaties. What was Hornsey’s response to these events and why were the children involved?
[Read more…] about Hornsey’s Response to the Treaty of Versailles and to Peace Day

John Farrer – The Man Who Changed Hornsey

By Janet Owen

The story of a man from rural Cumbria, who trained as an architect and surveyor, and played a vital part in creating a large part of the built environment of Hornsey. [Read more…] about John Farrer – The Man Who Changed Hornsey

Smithfield Square’s Fascinating Past: Part 1

This major building development on a 13 acre site in Hornsey High Street has radically altered the appearance and character of Hornsey Village. What was there before the bulldozers got to work? [Read more…] about Smithfield Square’s Fascinating Past: Part 1

Smithfield Square’s Fascinating Past: Part Three

We consider our bathroom and en-suite facilities and our plumbed-in washing machines to be everyday life necessities, but what happened in Hornsey’s past when many houses lacked these essentials? [Read more…] about Smithfield Square’s Fascinating Past: Part Three

Telling a story of Crouch End using pictures from the HHS archive

This Shared Learning Project with the University of the Third Age (U3A) will produce an exhibition about Crouch End in the past using pictures from the HHS Archive.

The Edmonton Union Workhouse – Still housing the poor in 1919

North Middlesex Hospital, formerly the Edmonton Workhouse, date unknown

For many of us it is a shock to read the Tender (Hornsey Journal 30 May 1919) for the supply of provisions to a workhouse. Surely the workhouse, such a spectre hanging over the lives of the Victorian poor, had gone by 1919? If it hadn’t, why was the workhouse in Edmonton not in Hornsey? When did this degrading system end? [Read more…] about The Edmonton Union Workhouse – Still housing the poor in 1919

The Proposed Town Hall: Background

The iconic Art Deco Hornsey Town Hall in Crouch End opened at the end of 1935. Yet the Hornsey Journal, 19 September 1919, refers to town hall plans on this site then. Why did it take so long to realise these ambitions? Where was the original town hall and why did that building and its location have to change? [Read more…] about The Proposed Town Hall: Background

Books and Articles by Janet Owen

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From Our Archive

Newsletter 145: November 2015

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