Highgate history

Highgate was part of an estate owned by the Bishops of London. The road to the village went round the hill, but it was often impossible to use in winter, and in the 14th century the Bishop of London allowed villagers to construct a road over the hill. The bishop had toll gates erected at either end, to collect a fee from users, and the one at the top of the hill gave its name to Highgate. Legend has it that it was here that Dick Whittington heard Bow Bells and turned again to seek his fortune in London. Pond Square is where there used to be ponds formed from gravel pits in the past. They were filled in during the 19th century. Highgate School was started by Sir Roger Connolly in 1565 on the site of a hermit’s chapel. (Hermits used to survive by taking a hovel or cave near a road and maintaining the road to earn a pittance.) Highgate became attractive to rich Londoners as a place to have a home. The Grove was Highgate’s most fashionable location. Some of the houses still there today were built in the 17th century. Coleridge, J. B. Priestley and Yehudi Menuhin lived there. Queen Victoria was nearly killed on West Hill in 1837, when the horses of her carriage bolted. The landlord of the local pub, the Fox and Crown, finally got them under control, for which he was allowed to put up with the Royal Arms on his pub - rather a meagre reward, I would have thought. Highgate Cemetery was set up in 1839 and quickly became a tourist attraction. The Victorians liked to visit cemeteries and admire the head stones. Karl Marx is buried there.