Chipping Barnet is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement and is located 10 miles north north-west of Charing Cross.
The word "Chipping" denotes the presence of a market (one was established here at the end of the twelfth century and persists to this day). The second part, "Barnet" means ’the forest land cleared by burning’, from Old English bærnet.
It was the site of the Battle of Barnet in 1471 (more accurately, Hadley), where Yorkist troops led by King Edward IV killed the rebellious "Kingmaker" Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick and Warwick’s brother, John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu. This was one of the most important battles of the Wars of the Roses. Barnet Hill is said to be the hill mentioned in the nursery rhyme "The Grand Old Duke of York".
It is also the site of an ancient and well-known horse fair, whence comes the rhyming slang of Barnet Fair or barnet for ’hair’. The fair dates back to 1588 when Queen Elizabeth I granted a charter to the Lord of the Manor of Barnet to hold a twice yearly fair.
The famous Barnet Market is now over 810 years old.
Chipping Barnet was historically a civil parish of Hertfordshire and formed part of the Barnet Urban District from 1894. The parish was abolished in 1965 and the Chipping Barnet section of its former area was transferred from Hertfordshire to Greater London and the newly created London Borough of Barnet.
It is one of the highest lying town settlements in London, with the town centre having an elevation of about 427 ft (130m).
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Chipping Barnet is a suburban development built around a 12th-century settlement and is located 10 miles north north-west of Charing Cross.
