The London Borough of Haringey ( , same as Harringay)Pupils in local schools at the time the borough was created in 1965 were taught that the new borough's name should be pronounced with the ending sounded as in the endings of Finchley, Hackney or Hornsey - Valerie Crosby, Archivist, Bruce Castle Archives, London Borough of Haringey, 2007 is a London borough in north London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs. Clockwise from the north, they are: Enfield, Waltham Forest, Hackney, Islington, Camden, and Barnet.
Haringey covers an area of more than . Some of the more familiar local landmarks include Alexandra Palace, Bruce Castle, Hornsey Town Hall, Jacksons Lane, Highpoint I and II, and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. The borough has extreme contrasts: areas in the west, such as Highgate, Muswell Hill and Crouch End are among the most prosperous in the country; in the east of the borough, such as in Tottenham or Wood Green, some wards are classified as being among the most deprived 10% in the country.Office for National Statistics Haringey is also a borough of contrasts geographically. From the wooded high ground around Highgate and Muswell Hill, at , the land falls sharply away to the flat, open low-lying land beside the River Lea in the east. The borough includes large areas of green space, which make up more than 25% of its total area.Office for National Statistics
History Toponymy The names Haringey, HarringayHarringay is an area of London within the London Borough Haringey. The two differently spelt words describe different places and they are not interchangeable. and Hornsey in use today are all different variations of the same Old English: Hæringeshege. Hæring was a Saxon chief who lived probably in the area around Hornsey. Hæringeshege meant Hæring's enclosure and evolved into Haringey, Harringay and Hornsey.
In the Last Glacial Maximum, Haringey was at the edge of a huge glacial mass that reached as far south as Muswell Hill. There is evidence of both Stone Age and Bronze Age activity.
Background In the Iron Age and Roman periods, Haringey was peopled by a Celtic tribe called the Catuvellauni, whose extensive lands centred on Hertfordshire and Middlesex. The Romans' presence is evidenced chiefly by the roads they built through the area. Tottenham High Road was part of the main Roman thoroughfare of Ermine Street. There have also been Roman finds in the borough which suggests possible Roman settlement.
In the 5th and 6th centuries after the Saxon invasions the settlement of Haeringehaia was founded; its name coming from the Old English haeringe meaning a "meadow of hares".
Haringey remained a rural area until the 18th century when large country houses close to London became increasingly common. The coming of the railways from the mid-nineteenth century onwards led to rapid urbanisation; by the turn of the century much of Haringey had been transformed from a rural to an urbanised environment.
Administrative history The area of the modern borough broadly corresponds to the two ancient parishes of Tottenham (which covered most of the area) and Hornsey in the south-west. Both parishes were historically in the county of Middlesex, with Tottenham being in Edmonton Hundred and Hornsey in Ossulstone Hundred. Ossulstone was later split into divisions for certain administrative functions, and Hornsey was included in its Finsbury division.
The ancient parishes provided a framework for both civil (administrative) and ecclesiastical (church) functions, but during the 19th century there was a divergence into distinct civil and ecclesiastical parish systems. The ecclesiastical parishes were gradually sub-divided to better serve the needs of a growing population, while the civil parishes continued to be based on the ancient parishes. The civil parish of Tottenham was made a local board district in 1850, with an elected board overseeing public health and responsible for the provision of infrastructure.
Similar local government districts were created for South Hornsey in 1865, and for the rest of Hornsey parish in 1867. The boundary between the Hornsey and South Hornsey districts was adjusted in 1874 to follow the Seven Sisters Road. The Tottenham district was divided in 1888, when its western part was made a separate district called Wood Green.
The four districts of Hornsey, South Hornsey, Tottenham and Wood Green were each reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894. South Hornsey Urban District was abolished in 1900 when it was absorbed into the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington. Hornsey Urban District was incorporated to become a municipal borough in 1903, as were Wood Green in 1933, and Tottenham in 1934.
The modern borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the three municipal boroughs of Hornsey, Tottenham and Wood Green. The area was transferred from Middlesex to Greater London to become one of the 32 London Boroughs. The new borough was given the name Haringey, which was an old name for Hornsey.
Governance
The local authority is Haringey Council. It is usually based at the Haringey Civic Centre on High Road in Wood Green, although the building is closed pending refurbishment as at 2024.
Greater London representation Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly, the borough forms part of the Enfield and Haringey constituency.
Geography See also List of districts in Haringey.
Physical geography Haringey is a borough of contrasts geographically. From the wooded high ground around Highgate and Muswell Hill, at , the land falls sharply away to the flat, open low-lying land beside the River Lea in the east. 60 hectares within the borough are designated as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt.
Haringey shares borders with six other London boroughs. Clockwise from the north, they are: Enfield, Waltham Forest, Hackney, Islington, Camden, and Barnet. It covers an area of more than . Some of the more familiar local landmarks include Alexandra Palace, Bruce Castle and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
Haringey has of parks, recreation grounds and open spaces which make up more than 25% of its total area. They include both smaller local areas and large green areas which provide an amenity for Londoners beyond the borough's boundaries. Local Nature Reserves and a number of conservation areas can also be found in the borough. The borough is also home to five distinct ancient woods. These are Highgate Woods, Queen's Wood, Coldfall Wood, Bluebell Wood and North Wood.
The borough has achieved Green Flag status for 25 of its parks, meaning they are judged to be welcoming, safe and well-managed, with active community involvement.
Amongst the larger open spaces are: Finsbury Park, Alexandra Park, Highgate Wood, Coldfall Wood and the Lee Valley Park.
There are three rivers of note still flowing above ground in the borough. These are: River Moselle The New River River Lea
Demographics
According to the GLA's population projections for 2018, the current population of Haringey is 282,904 residents.
Haringey is the 6th most deprived borough in London, and the 30th most deprived local authority in England (out of 326). Within the borough there are extreme contrasts: neighbourhoods in some of the western wards, such as Highgate, Muswell Hill and Crouch End are among the most prosperous in the country; in the east of the borough, many neighbourhoods are classified as being among the most deprived in the country.
The population grew by 17.7% between the 2001 and 2011 Censuses, and is projected to have grown by a further 11% between 2011 and 2018.
The male to female ratio in Haringey is 50:50. While the age structure is similar to that of London, the borough has a slightly larger proportion of residents aged 20–44, and a slightly smaller proportion of residents aged 65+.
According to the GLA Population Estimate for 2018, 33.6% of the borough's population are White British, 25.9% are "Other White", 8.2% are of Black African heritage, and 5.8% are of Black Caribbean heritage. Haringey is also home to several smaller Asian communities.
44% of the population are Christian, 12% are Muslim and 3% Jewish. The Muslim population is centred in the middle of the borough around Harringay, while the Jewish community is largest on the western edges of the borough in Highgate, Muswell Hill and Crouch End (where members are predominately Orthodox, Reform and Liberal), and in the Seven Sisters ward in the east of the borough which is home to South Tottenham's largest Jewish community, who make up 18.1% of the population of the ward.
Ethnicity Ethnic GroupYear1966 estimations1971 estimations1981 estimations1991 census2001 census2011 census2021 censusNumber%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%White: Total–93.3%205,48585.6%160,09978.1%149,52870.6%142,082 65.6%154,34360.5%150,58157.1% White: British–––––––– 98,028 45.3% 88,424 34.6%84,29831.9% White: Irish–4.3%–––––– 9,302 4.3% 6,997 2.7%5,7012.2% White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller–––––––– – – 370 0.1%2350.1%White: Roma––––––––––––2,0040.8% White: Other–––––––– 34,752 16.1% 58,552 23.0%58,34322.1% Asian or Asian British: Total –1.6%––12,1955.9%19,7539.3% 16,970 7.8% 24,150 9.5%23,0808.7% Asian or Asian British: Indian––––5,8117,689 6,171 2.9% 5,945 2.3%5,8382.2% Asian or Asian British: Pakistani––––1,1411,565 2,046 0.9% 1,920 0.8%2,1620.8% Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi––––1,3553,238 2,961 1.4% 4,417 1.7%4,8191.8% Asian or Asian British: Chinese––––1,6342,407 2,444 1.1% 3,744 1.5%3,8481.5% Asian or Asian British: Other Asian ––––2,2544,854 3,348 1.5% 8,124 3.2%6,4132.4% Black or Black British: Total –5.1%––28,95014.1%36,75417.4% 43,377 20.1% 47,830 18.7%46,46617.6% Black or Black British: African–0.9%––7,8023.8%11,864 20,570 12.0% 23,037 11.4%24,8559.4% Black or Black British: Caribbean–4.2%––17,2758.4%19,958 9.4% 19,879 10.3% 18,087 7.8%16,3396.2% Black or Black British: Other Black––––3,8734,932 2,928 2.4% 6,706 3.9%5,2722.0% Mixed or British Mixed: Total –––––––– 9,846 4.6% 16,548 6.5%18,5567.1% Mixed: White and Black Caribbean –––––––– 3,205 1.5% 4,856 1.9%5,3252.0% Mixed: White and Black African –––––––– 1,551 0.7% 2,609 1.0%2,5741.0% Mixed: White and Asian –––––––– 2,329 1.1% 3,738 1.5%3,9151.5% Mixed: Other Mixed –––––––– 2,761 1.3% 5,345 2.1%6,7422.6% Other: Total ––––3,7465,766 4,232 2.0% 12,055 5.3%25,5559.7% Other: Arab –––––––– – – 2,229 0.9%2,5251.0% Other: Any other ethnic group –––––––– 4,232 2.0% 9,286 3.9%23,0308.7% Ethnic minority: Total –6.7%34,59514.4%44,89121.9%62,27329.4% 74,425 34.5% 100,583 39.5%113,65742.9% Total –100%240,080100%204,990 100%211,801100% 202,204 100% 254,926 100%264,238100%
Religion
Haringey is a religiously diverse borough, with large populations of all major world religions. 2021 census results were as follows: Christianity - 39.3% Islam - 12.6% Judaism - 3.6% Hinduism - 1.3% Buddhism - 0.9% Sikhism - 0.3% Other Religions - 2.3% No religion - 31.6% Not Stated - 8.0%
Immigration This list includes top-15 sources of immigration to Borough of Haringey for 2021 census: #CountryNumber1 9,4652 7,2123 6,3534 5,9055 5,2796 3,7997 3,3578 3,3129 3,15310 3,13611 3,04512 2,86713 2,67414 2,64215 2,380
Public services Housing
There are approximately 114,313 dwellings in Haringey. Of those: 43% are owner occupied; 29% are rented from the local authority or a housing association; and 24% are rented from a private landlord.