Description: Title and credits.

The Tottenham parish plan of Wood Green and surrounding area in 1617 (upside-down); and scan along the New River on that plan (the right way up). Bucolic painting of bargemen manoeuvring a loaded barge on the New River, watched by a young woman (“The New River, Near Myddleton Road, 1870” by C. Yardley). Drawing of well-dressed families in a field, park or common, c. late 1850s - conceivably some of the 200 ladies and gentlemen brought to Wood Green in July 1859 "for the inauguration of a new People's Palace" (artist unknown). Watercolour (“A rural scene at Bounds Green c. 1800” by William Payne) - sheep huddle in the corner of a field near large farm buildings, and a cottage in the background.

The Old Three Jolly Butchers pub (1904) on Jolly Butchers Hill, with small groups of bystanders. Watercolour of H.B Chesser’s Farriers’ on Spouter’s Corner; with a young man standing in the wide-open doorway, a couple of children approaching, and the back end of a horse inside (Chesser’s Forge by J.E Slavery 1921). Watercolour of Green Lanes in 1850: a peaceful country road, leading to pretty thatched cottages, probably Wood Green, in the distance; as bystanders watch a rather indistinct herd being taken up a side lane (artist unknown).

Painting of All Hallows Church, Church Lane, Tottenham in about 1830, seen across a field with a small cluster of sheep, and another of cattle (artist unknown). Mid C19th lithograph (by G.Hawkins) of St Michael’s Chapel of Ease; with a few people on the High Road and by the church gate, and Bounds Green Road stretching away into the countryside.

Engraving of the “Asylum of the Fishmongers’ and Poulterers’ Institution, Wood-Green, near Hornsey” on what is now Wood Green High Road, with a few strollers nearby (Illustrated London News, 26/6/1847). 1858 print of the Printers’ Almshouses (a little further south on the same road); with a couple of cows, a hay cart and a few agricultural workers in the foreground. Two sections of an 1854 engraving of the Printers’ Almshouses, with cattle and strollers. Zig-zag effect.

Late C19th /early C20th: A steam train at Wood Green (Alexandra Palace) Station on Station Road, with the driver and fireman leaning out of the driver’s cab. Front view of Wood Green (Alexandra Palace) Station, with barrow and bystanders. A tree-lined road, with buildings and a few people posing for the camera. The Elms, a large detached house opposite Spouter’s corner, c.1900. A group of lads by the Roundhouse in Town Hall Park on Wood Green High Road. Chitts Hill House, Wood Green High Road, probably in the late 1870s. Nightingale Hall on Finsbury Road (c. 1890).

The first Alexandra Palace (1866-1873), with Rectory Road and Middle Lane in the foreground, and extract of that photo.

Engravings: The second “Alexandra Palace and racecourse” (from The Penny Illustrated Paper, July 1875), showing the busy paths towards the racecourse at the bottom of the hill (not included in this reproduction). The first Alexandra Palace, with a simple animation of consuming flames superimposed. A small group viewing the blazing ruins of the first Alexandra Palace on 9/5/1873 (“The burning of Alexandra Palace, London – sketched from the north”, published in the Illustrated London News 14/6/1873). The destruction wrought by the fire, which continues in the background, as various people examine the ruins (“Interior View of the Ruins”, from the Illustrated London News feature on “Burning of the Alexandra Palace”, 21/6/1873). Closer view of part of that illustration, as two men talk, surrounded by twisted metal. Two couples inside the ruined building, presumably disaster tourists. Photo of the badly damaged exterior of the first Alexandra Palace (1873-4).

The second Alexandra Palace seen (probably) from from the cyclist's track during the 1884 Cyclists' Camp; with marquees, bunting, a couple of spectators and an impeccably dressed dandy on a gentleman’s tricycle.

Sections of an engraving - "The Opening of the Second Palace on 1 May 1875" - showing the crowded, yet still spacious, organ end of the Alexandra Palace Great Hall; the magnificent Grand Willis Organ and huge choir; and the vast surrounding audience.

The crowd at the Alexandra Palace racecourse, with the grandstand initially seen to the right c.1890s. The Entrance to Alexandra Park, from the junction between Alexandra Park Way and Priory Road, as crowds leave the racecourse by foot and in horse-drawn carriages, before 1905.

Alexandra Palace at night, seen across the boating lake. Motion footage (date uncertain) and dramatic still photos (perhaps c.1900) of various types of fireworks exploding, including one photo with Alexandra Palace silhouetted in the background.

June 1889 newspaper article on a “Perilous Parachuting” accident at Alexandra Palace. Cartoonish drawing of a man hanging from a droopy hand-held parachute attached to a balloon. Fanciful illustration of "Messrs Williams and Young's Parachute Race at the Alexandra Palace" on 30 May 1889 (part of the June 1889 article). Dr Barton’s airship in its hangar at Alexandra Park, as crowds mill around below, before its ascent on 22/7/1905. Print of a Cody “war kite” in use, probably during S.F Cody’s 1903 exhibition at Alexandra Palace. A.V Roe adjusting the propeller of his Roe 1 Biplane at Brooklands Aerodrome in 1907.

The Royal Masonic School for Boys on Lordship Lane, with a uniformed man in the pedestrian entrance (late C19th). Sections of a C19th engraving of teenaged boys playing various games (dice, ball, cricket) in a yard - "Boys of the Royal Masonic School at Play" from the Illustrated London News 1/5/1875. Close-up portrait of the uniformed man - perhaps the Headmaster.

Extract of the Tottenham Parish Plan 1619 (the right way up, this time). Extract of a C19th photographic portrait of be-wigged Sir Ralph Littler QC. Wood Green Town Hall on Wood Green High Road in about 1920. Upper part of an engraving of Mrs Catherine Smithies, at home in Earlham Grove House. Extract of an engraving of Thomas Bywaters Smithies, published in the “British Workman” periodical to commemorate his death in 1883. Extracts of the lower part of the engraving of Mrs Smithies: two dogs; a framed bird picture and bound volumes of “Our Four-footed Friends” and “Our Dumb Companions. A copy of “Animal Ways” magazine, probably c.1961. Engraving "Arrival of the Obelisk Bounds Green Road 1879" - hauled by a train of horses, the obelisk commemorating Mrs Catherine Smithies is accompanied by workmen and an eager group of children (with the Fishmonger’s Almshouses and St Michael’s church in the background). The Face of Mrs Catherine Smithies, from the previous portrait. The obelisk and drinking fountain commemorating Mrs Catherine Smithies in around 1900, with a view of the junction between Bounds Green Road and Park Avenue. The obelisk in 1904, looking down Bounds Green Road towards St Michaels’ church in the distance.

Idyllic 1895 engraving of the “Wood Green Cottage Hospital” (an alternative name for the Passmore Edwards Hospital), with strollers in the grounds. Plaque over the doorway of that hospital, recording its opening in 1895 as the Passmore Edwards Hospital. John Passmore Edwards - standing to the right - and other eminent citizens seated under and around a canopy frame, probably at the opening of the hospital.

Jolly Butcher’s Hill in 1904, looking towards St Michael’s church, with quite a few pedestrians, a couple of horse-drawn carts and tram lines faintly visible in the foreground (the Elms was also just to the left, behind the trees of Gladstone Gardens). A Wood Green steam tram in 1890, with driver, conductor and a small band of onlookers. A horse-drawn tram by 353 Hertford Road in Edmonton, with driver, conductor and passengers (1895). Jolly Butcher’s Hill in around 1900, with pedestrians, carts and a horse-drawn tram; as well as the ornamental lanterns of the Nag’s Head pub to the left. Jolly Butcher’s Hill in the late C19th, at the junction between Wood Green High Road and Lordship Lane, with cloth-capped cyclists, pedestrians and horse-drawn trams.

Front page of “The Wood Green Weekly Herald and North Middlesex Advertiser” (late C19th/early C20th). Notices about a band parade in support of the Local Reservists’ Fund and about the War Fund, probably from the Second Boer War (1899-1902). Painting of soldiers marching in Second Boer war uniform, accompanied by enthusiastic supporters (a man, woman and child). Newspaper ad for Dr Tibbles Vi-Cocoa, “prized like gold dust”, with a drawing of a Second Boer War soldier and his rifle.

Advert for cycling lessons at Stanstead House on Tottenham High Road. Drawings of late C19th/early C20th safety bicycles (perhaps from an A.B cycle catalogue), including a ladies safety bicycle and a tandem. Late C19th /early C20th picture of smartly dressed men and women cycling together near a river (perhaps the Thames). The start of a 24-hour professional cycling race at the Wood Green Cycling Track on Bounds Green Road in August 1896. Closer detail of the intent riders, milling crowd and - almost lost amongst them - the man with the starting pistol.

East Terrace of Alexandra Palace, with bystanders c.1901. Picture of the empty organ end of the Great Hall, with extensive seating and bunting. Notice in “The Sentinel” announcing the Grand Re-opening by the Duke of Bedford on 18 May 1901, with a Grand Concert, military band and free fireworks. The crowded Great Hall, with the entrance door and window at the back during "The Dedication of the Alexandra Palace to the Public" at the re-opening (Photo by Rose and Coop in the Sphere 25/5/1901). The orchestra, at the base of the Willis organ, separated from the audience by an impressive balustrade adorned with a row of busts, during the "Opening by the Duke". Newspaper portrait of Councillor Charles Townley. The Willis organ. The ornate Exhibition Hall and display cases, outside visiting hours. The beautifully decorated theatre, outside performance times, and its elaborate ceiling.

A steam train coming into Wood Green and Alexandra Park station – also known as Wood Green (Alexandra Palace) Station - in around 1905, with an atmospheric moving smoke effect in the left corner.

An electric tram passing the Nightingale Hotel, on the junction of the High road and Nightingale Road, in about 1905; and a couple of horse carriages. An electric tram on Jolly Butcher’s Hill, by the junction between Wood Green High Road and Lordship Lane, in about 1910; with pedestrians, and St Michael’s church in the background. Lymington Avenue in 1910, with a large canopied cart to the right, and young people posing for the camera in the road. The Fishmongers’ Arms, on the corner of Trinity Road and Wood Green High Road, in about 1906. Busy Wood Green High Road in about 1905, with the Kings Arms in the foreground.

Riversdale Gardens off White Hart Lane (now behind Highfield Close), probably c. 1906, with a church to the left and the houses of Newnham Road towards the centre.

White Hart Lane School c. 1906: Front of the school behind a row of trees. Young children opening the lids of their desks there, each decorated with a pair of cherries.

The obelisk to Mrs Smithies, with workmen and supervisors, on the occasion of its move to Trinity Gardens in 1904; and the process of re-siting the obelisk.

The packed window display of Bartons drapery store, 26 Wood Green High Road c.1906. Interior of Bartons, with cloth hanging from the ceiling, and attentive assistants behind the counter.

A new electric tram car at Bounds Green with driver, conductors and a couple of others, perhaps at the start of electric tram services there in 1906. Side view of the electric tram from Muswell Hill to Alexandra Palace in about 1905, with well-dressed passengers and driver. Jolly Butchers’ Hill towards St Michael’s church in about 1905, with electric tram wires. Wood Green Tram Depot in the early C20th. Electric tram & horse cart on Jolly Butchers’ Hill c. 1910. Electric tram ascending Jolly Butcher's Hill towards Spouters Corner in the early C20th. The ornate facade of the Alexandra Park Tavern at 94 High Road, Wood Green c. 1910, as an electric tram approaches. Electric tram on the High Road, near the junction with Turnpike Lane c.1905. Electric tram on Station Road c. 1907, with Wood Green Public Library to the right (taken from Lordship Lane).

The High Road entrance of Wood Green Public Library, probably close to its opening on 28/9/1907. Eminent citizens at the Station Road entrance of the library during the opening ceremony. A man carrying a newspaper in the late C19th or early C20th.

The busy entrance to Barratt’s confectionery factory on Mayes Road in the late C19th/early C20th, as horse-drawn carts come and go. Women working in the caramel and toffee room at the Barratt’s factory in about 1950. The varied buildings of the Barratt’s factory in the early/mid C20th.

Cole’s Potteries on White Hart Lane in the 1930s (from the Illustrated London News): A cloth-capped man – probably senior potter Bill Pearson - at work making a pot. Workers removing pots from the drying sheds and putting them into barrows in preparation for firing in the kiln (if I have understood the process correctly).

Some of the buildings of Dovecote Villas and neighbouring Dovecote Hall (in the grounds of 9 Dovecote Villas) on the East side of the High Road, awaiting demolition in 1910; including signs concerning the forthcoming re-development. St Michael’s church at the corner of the High Road and Bounds Green Road, c.1905, with electric trams on both roads. The shopping parade on Myddleton Road, towards the junction with Whittington Road c.1912. The High Street shopping parade, between Nightingale Road and Truro Road, in 1903, with passers-by. Daniel’s Drug Store at 272 High Road, possibly with the owner in the doorway. Edwards & Co. Bakers and Confectioners on Jolly Butchers Hill c.1910; and the Post Office next door, with staff in the doorway (details from same photo).

Advertising Poster for the Lordship Lane Cinematograph Theatre, probably in the early 1910s. The top of a poster announcing the opening of the Wood Green Empire in September 1912. The elaborate façade of the Wood Green Empire on the High Road, probably not long after it opened. Early programme sheets for the Empire, featuring music hall stars Vesta Tilley and Marie Lloyd. Spiral effect.

A group of young men in straw boaters looking at a notice, probably one of the notices of mobilisation posted outside churches and public offices after the outbreak of war on 4/8/1914. Top of a WW1 “Your Country Needs You” recruitment poster. WW1 mobilisation notice from the Recruiting Office at the Tottenham Labour Exchange in Bruce Grove, calling for 100,000 men to sign up. WW1 recruitment poster, calling for 1,000 men to join the local 7th Middlesex Regiment at Recruiting Offices in Tottenham and Stamford Hill, following the air raids that began in 1915.

Picture of a crowd responding to the appearance of an airship in the darkened sky over buildings - one pointing, some running (perhaps the Shutte-Lanz SL-11 airship shot down over Cuffley on the night of 3/9/1916; the Zeppelin L-31 brought down over Potters Bar on 1/10/1916; or the maiden voyage of the R101 airship on 4/10/1930 - passing over Wood Green or environs). The metal skeleton of the R101 airship, which crashed on 5/10/1930 in France. Programme from the Canadian Rink Cinema at 419 Tottenham High Road, featuring “The Wrecked Zeppelin” (probably 1916).

Drawn women’s fashion illustrations: Advertisement for “The New Cuffley Coat” (c.1916). Autumn hat styles – two simply decorated dress hats and a semi-turban (c.1916). Two more picture hats with extravagant bows (c.1916). A heavily-laden pre-war peach basket hat, with rosettes & a swathe of ruched fabric (c.1911). Two blouses with softly-gathered bodices (WW1). Women’s union suit “emancipation” underwear (late C19th/early C20th). Two-tone ankle boots (c.1890s). A loose drop-waisted bridal outfit, cloche hat and veil (c.1923). A shiny evening dress with a long slim skirt, topped by two pleated layers and a shirt-style top, worn with a light mob cap (c.1920).

Alexandra Palace in WW1: Belgian refugees awaiting dinner in a corridor, which is being brought out by a woman to the right (late 1914-early 1915). Great rows of beds laid out for the refugees in the Great Hall, with the Willis organ in the background, and female staff in the centre, dwarfed by the scale of their surroundings. German and Austrian internees in their compound in front of the Palace.

The dedication plaque on the Wood Green War Memorial in Crescent Gardens on the High Road. Men celebrating Armistice Day on the 13A bus on 11/11/1918, seated not only on the open top deck, but also on the bonnet, and standing on the driver’s cabin roof; probably in Fleet Street, Central London. Women and children dancing at Armistice Day celebrations in an East End street. An East End children’s street party to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Diamond effect.

Building in Dovecote Villas, awaiting demolition in 1910, and the beginning of the neighbouring shop (perhaps the original Bartons at No 26 High road). Demolition works along the High Road C.1910; men carrying out those works (one on a ladder); and the more-or-less cleared ground afterwards. Huge queues for the summer sale at the extended Bartons store in the early 1920s, and closer view of queuers. Bartons after the 1925 refurbishment: Inside the smart, open-plan colonnaded shop, outside opening hours, with women’s hats in the foreground. Another hat display there. New glass cabinets and chairs. Women shopping – looking at clothes; and at books. A poster advertising women’s summer outfits at Bartons in the mid-late 1920s, with drawings mainly of lovely 1920s dresses, but also of a bathing suit.

The SoS Service Station sign, which shows that this early repair garage serviced both cars and tractors; and the entrance at 289 High Road, with cars (late 1910s/early 1920s). Drawing of a car - perhaps a 1925 Crosley Saloon.

A billboard fence at the Junction of Green Lanes and Westbury Avenue in 1930, after demolitions in preparation for Turnpike Lane Station; with a title “The Track of the Tube”. The corner of the High Road and Lordship Lane shortly before demolition in 1930. Ranelagh House – a large detached house on the corner on Bounds Green Road and Brownlow Road – in 1930. Underground construction work on the cleared site at Turnpike Lane on 10/10/1930. Workmen sink the preliminary shaft for the underground at Wood Green in October 1930. A new underground tunnel, with officials, probably on breakthrough day. Front of Wood Green Underground Station in 1932, with commuters waiting to cross the High Road.

(Probably) dignitaries greeting Sir Percy Greenaway, Lord Mayor of London, who has just left a stately carriage, while crowds line the street on Charter Day, 20/9/1933. Close-up of Sir Percy Greenaway c.1933. Top of the Charter of Incorporation for Wood Green. The Wood Green Borough Coat of Arms. Choir of 1700 Children in front of the Willis organ in Alexandra Palace on Charter Day. Float at the Charter Day celebrations.

WW2: Auxiliary Fire Engine decorated with information about air raid precautions, outside the Fire Station at 3 Bounds Green Road. Barrage balloon on Wood Green Common. An Emergency Laundry Service van. Emergency Bath Service van at Noel Park. A mobile emergency canteen, operated by members of the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS). Group photo of members of the WVS, in uniform. Rooftops in the evening. Night time c. early1940s: A gas streetlight. Wood Green Library. St Michael’s steeple. Fade to black. Severe WW2 bomb damage in Bury Road on 24/7/1944, with the mouth of an Anderson shelter exposed in the foreground. Severe bomb damage on West Beech Road, seen from Bury Road on the same day (two slightly different extracts of the same original photo). Sections of the Wood Green War memorial dealing with WW2.

Stained glass window depicting St Michael, from the Tower Chapel in St Michael’s Church, Wood Green. Three more stained glass panels, showing Jesus in a central panel, flanked by followers to both sides.

Preparatory photographs for the restoration of St Michael's after WW2: The inside of St Michael’s, with the font and west window at the end of the nave; and “Level” markings. Outside wall, at the base of the stained windows, with white markings. Workman carrying out repairs under the floor of the church. The inside of St Michael’s looking much brighter after redecoration, with the west window at the end of the nave, probably in the 1950s.

The new Civic Centre (1958): Front view. Covered entrance. Book cases inside. Councillor Mrs Joyce Butler MP speaking at the opening ceremony, with the Mayor seated to her left and local dignitaries. Another view of Joyce Butler at that ceremony, with Alderman A.G Kendall to her right; and one of Mrs Butler unveiling the dedicatory plaque, with the Mayor seated to the right.

Dilapidation, probably in the Winkfield Road/Acacia road area in the mid 1950s/early 1960s: Ground floor frontage of a boarded-up house. A broken window. An outdoor privy and basin. Peeling wood. Broken rubbish, including a framed picture, on the ground. Tall grasses waving slightly in the breeze. A broken pushchair lying upside down in a garden. An old tin bowl full of dirty water in the garden, with a flower floating on it.

A workman fills a tip bucket from a concrete mixer, during the construction of the Acacia Road Estate, with the terraced houses of Acacia Road in the background. Workman at the wheel of a tip concrete dumper (largely unseen). Another workman operates the concrete mixer to fill the dumper bucket. The first workman drives the wet concrete in the dumper and tips it out for spreading by two more workmen on the site. Terraced houses on Acacia Road, with six-storey Acacia House at the end. Acacia House entrance sign. A three-storey housing block on Winkfield Road (also part of the Acacia Road Estate). Close up of a balcony in that block.

Commerce Road in the late 1950s/early 1960s, before demolition: Street sign above a tailor’s shop. Row of small shops, with pedestrians, parked van & cars, facing the High Road at the end. Three toddlers running up a paved alleyway, probably behind Commerce Road in the 1960s. Boarded-up Victorian terraced housing – probably off Commerce Road, awaiting demolition. The shop sign for Minerva Football Co. Ltd. Signs on the side of an alleyway, probably for workshops behind Commerce Road. Shop sign for the Aluminium Box and Cylinder Co. Ltd. A housing block under construction in the early 1960s – probably Joyce Butler House or Basil Spence House on Commerce Road. Albert Victoria House on Pellart Grove under construction at around the same date.

The Good Shepherd Mission Building on the corner of Berwick Road and Stirling Road c.1961. The church's bell and cross.

Alexandra Park Library on Alexandra Park Road c. 1961, as a VW Beetle passes by; with the buildings on the corner of The Avenue visible behind. The “Branch Library” sign on the portico entrance, and the Wood Green coat of arms to the side, above.

The new Three Jolly Butchers at Ashley House, 239 High Road c.1960: Pub sign. The front of the Three Jolly Butchers. The Alexandra Park Tavern, looking out of business, with “Sold” signs and possibly a busy fast food stall outside, c.1961. Close-up of “Sold” sign.

Lorries at the back of the ATV production studio, in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Close-up of the ATV logo on a lorry. Two men (one in a workman’s dust coat, the other suited and perhaps in a supervisory role) carry a door out of the studio.

The High Road c.1961, with passers-by and traffic: Macfisheries shop front (97-99 High Road). Lyons Tea House shop front (probably 51-53 High Road), with a new concrete lamp post outside. Bird’s-eye view of A.C Parker’s electrical goods shop, on the corner of Whymark Avenue, with the market stalls of father and son George and Tom Eden outside. Close-ups of radios in the shop window, as women with fashionable bouffant & beehived hair pass by; & of other electrical goods in the same shop. Close-ups of food and fabrics/bedding offers in other shop windows. Top of the art deco tower of Barton’s. The busy High Road around Marks and Spencer (No.46). Shoppers – mainly elderly. The High Road, looking north from just before the junction with Coleraine road, with new Concrete Utilities lamp posts. A concrete lamp post, with fluorescent GEC Z8270 lantern. Bird’s-eye view of the High Road, looking north towards the (hazy) tube station from around 3-4 The Broadway, with buses and other traffic (and new lamp posts).

Shots of older people c. 1961, sitting on benches watching the world go by, reading a paper or strolling at Spouters Corner, one with Willis's garden plant stall in the background. The camera turns to show the view up the High Road. Front view of Wood Green Depot, after its conversion from trolleybus to bus use in 1961, and neighbouring Ashley House at 235-239 High Road. View along the High Road, as the camera turns from Ashley House to the neighbouring Printers’ Almshouses. Exterior of St Michael’s church. The Civic Centre – front view and details, including the Wood Green coat of arms. The beautifully kept King George VI Memorial Garden, with municipal flower beds and buildings at the corners of Ewart Grove in the background. View turning from the Fishmonger’s Arms, on the corner of Trinity Road to look up the busy High Road.

Woodside House, 294 High Road, c.1961: Seen across the lawn in front. An older woman feeds pigeons in the gardens in front of the House, which is undergoing repairs. “Old People’s Centre” sign by the entrance to the Woodside House extension. A group of elderly people enter the Centre. Four men play a table game inside the Centre. Elderly people sit in a long row on comfortable armchairs at the Centre, one smoking.

Busy traffic, including a Dodge Lad lorry, passing Wood Green library c.1961.

Views of Wood Green from the South Terrace of Alexandra Park, or close-by, c. 1961: With the Hornsey Water Works in the foreground, and a train on the railway line in between. From further East along the South Terrace. The spire of St Michael’s church, through the trees. Wood Green and St Michael’s church.

End title.