Welcome to East Finchley

East Finchley is basking in the limelight these days with its good schools, green spaces, a convenient High Road and, of course, that magic ingredient, an underground station. 

About East Finchley 

There’s one man who sums up East Finchley for most residents – he’s Archie the Archer, the lead statue which adorns the tube station by Eric Aumonier, who was commissioned in 1939 to produce a number of works for the underground – but due to the war Archie remains a one-off. 

East Finchley is the only place to live in the opinion of some local residents, and they are a growing band. In the fifteenth century the area was part of the Bishop of London’s hunting ground known as Finchley Common. A road was built through it, and where there’s a popular route, popular pubs follow – some, like the White Lion, The Bald Faced Stag and The Five Bells, are still with us today. 

We can’t talk about East Finchley without lauding the Phoenix Cinema. This exceptional venue opened in 1912 and is the second oldest continuously running cinema in the country. The first films it showed were about the tragic Titanic ocean liner which had recently sunk – but the Phoenix has survived through difficult times and now has an illustrious list of patrons including, Benedict Cumberbatch, Maureen Lipman, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Michael Palin, Bill Paterson and Mark Kermode. There are many well-known actors living here – and with all its attractions we understand why people are starry-eyed about East Finchley.

FEATURED AREA 

The Victorian High Road (see below) is unusual these days in being a High Road in London with so many independent businesses in so many original shops. This no doubt contributes to the area’s established appeal. 

The fine building occupied by Prickett and Ellis was originally J.Sainsbury of the famous grocery family – didn’t they do well? After the Great War, developers strove to meet the demand for housing by building on any remaining sites. As an example, The Ringwood Estate on the Muswell Hill side provides larger semi-detached and detached houses 

Heading East towards Hampstead Garden Suburb are houses such as these in Vivian Way providing a comfortable family environment.