Place Name
Literal. Straddling Pymmes Brook, this street overlooks the southern edge of Oak Hill Park, a large area of parkland with a wide range of facilities, including an outdoor gym, a bowls green, football pitches, a golf course, three tennis courts, a multi-sports court, and a play area for toddlers. Part of the park became Oak Hill Wood, a Local Nature Reserve in 1997. Oak Hill dates back to at least the 11thCentury, as part of the Monkenfrith estate originally owned by the church. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Henry VIII’s land grab against the Roman Catholics, it was quickly sold off and remained in private ownership until the bulk of the estate – renamed Oak Hill in the late 18thCentury – was bought by East Barnet Council in 1930 following the death of its last owner, Charles Edward Baring Young in 1928. Oak Hill House became the home of Oak Hill College, retaining some of the grounds, while the remainder was designated as Oak Hill Park, established in 1933. The adjacent Monkfrith House existed until demolition in 1937, when the south-east corner of the estate was developed for housing. A monument to Sir Simon Haughton Clarke, owner of Oak Hill in the early 18thCentury, stands in the cemetery of St Mary’s Church, on the opposite side of the park.
