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Place Name
- Hadley was first recorded in 1248 as Hadlegh when the manor was granted to the Benedictine monks of Walden Abbey, in Essex. By 1349 it was Hadele and Hadley Monachorum in 1485 and later becoming Monken Hadley in 1489. and even Munkyn Hadley in 1553. The name comes from two Old English words hæth and lēah meaning the clearing where heather grows. David Mills in A Dictionary of London Place Names writes: “Is marked on the 1887 map and is referred to in the surname of William atta Grene (ie ‘living) at the green’) 1345.” There are five white gates which mark the extent of Hadley Common: the Gatehouse near Hadley church, Camlet Way, The Crescent, Hadley Road, and Cockfosters. They were put there to prevent animals straying. Householders in houses adjoining Hadley Common have stints giving them the right to graze horses and cows but not sheep.
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