s tube station, out on its lonely spur, and well away from Mill Hill town centre and the older village and school. Its etymology is pretty guessable. You can't miss the great hill before you, and it only takes the daintiest of intellectual leaps to suppose there was once a windmill on top. Indeed, you can still find an open space called the Mill Field up on the Ridgeway, but no sign of any corn-grinding sails.
Another station whose etymology can be more-or-less guessed. Highgate was the site of a high gate. Specifically, an opening into the hunting lands of the Bishop of London. The name gained further resonance when a toll gate was built here, controlling traffic heading north out of London. The Gatehouse pub is on the site.
London Bridge isn't the only Northern line stop to be named after a span. Archway takes its name from the bridge that carries Hornsey Lane over the A1. The first version opened in 1813, but was replaced at the turn of the 20th century. It has long been a notorious spot for suicides.
Named after the Tufnell family, who developed much of the housing here in the 19th century. Sorry. This one's not very exciting.
You might expect that Kentish Town has something to do with the county of Kent. You would be wrong. What we need to do is find the now-buried River Fleet (hinted at by Anglers Lane) and head upstream. Eventually, you'll reach Caen Wood on Hampstead Heath and the associated Kenwood House. Kentish Town is from the same root, and probably means 'the bed of the waterway'.
Named after Charles Pratt, 1st Earl of Camden, who owned land here in the late 18th century. Camden Place was his seat in Kent, itself named after William Camden who lived in the property from 1609.
T'other terminus of t'Northern line recalls an otherwise forgotten Anglo-Saxon chieftain called Ecgi, associated with a fishing pool (weir or ware) in these parts.
Clearly, some kind of arboreal inferno has inspired this station name. The charred tree above can be found in nearby Watling Park. Trouble is, it's a willow, not an oak. The eponymous tree is long gone, but was first alluded to in 1754 in the name of a field.
The name Colindale sounds topographical — cols and dales are both landscape features. But this particular Colindale takes its name from the Colinn family who owned the land in the 16th century. Whoever hoards the freeholds today must be raking it in. Few areas of London have seen so many new residential developments in the past decade.
Hendon is an Anglo-Saxon name, simply meaning 'high hill' or even 'at the highest hill' (Wikipedia). This seems a little fishy. Nearby hills to the north (Mill Hill), south (Hampstead), east (Finchley) and west (Harrow) are all significantly higher.
The River Brent carries a truly ancient name, pre-dating the Romans. It's a Celtic word that could have various meanings, including 'elevated' or associated with the goddess Brigantia. The river has in turn given its name to the borough of Brent, Brentford and the area of Brent Cross (plus its shopping centre). The 'Cross' refers to a nearby crossroads.
Golders Green was originally Godyere's Green — an open space adjacent to land held by the Godyere family in the 14th century.
The deepest platforms on the network can be found at Hampstead. I give you this fact to compensate for the boring etymology that follows. Hampstead simply comes from the Anglo-Saxon term for homestead. Berkhamsted and Wheathampstead are similar examples.
Frank Skinner once claimed to have bought a house in Belsize Park simply because he liked the naughty sound of its name — the most expensive joke he'd ever made. Sadly, Belsize does not have a lewd etymology. It derives from the 14th century name Bel-assis, meaning 'beautifully situated'. It most certainly is beautifully situated, unless you try and reach it by bicycle, in which case Haverstock Hill will slay you.
What kind of maniac farms chalk? It will grow, but the process takes millions of years. Actually, the name's a corruption of Chalcot Farm, which was the main landmark here 200 years ago. This in turn is thought