The name Wood Green derives from ’Woodlea’, a Saxon word meaning ’’open ground near a wood’. In this case it relates to an opening in Tottenham Wood, an extensive area of woodland which formerly covered most of this area. Records suggest that settlement around Wood Green did not start till after the Norman Conquest. The earliest surviving written record of the placename is a reference in documentation dating from 1256, which relates to a grant for Ducketts Manor which used to be located just to the east of the present-day Wood Green High Road.
From the latter half of the 14th century, a number of estates developed around Wood Green, including Ducketts. In the early 17th century, the lord of Tottenham Manor, the Earl of Dorset, conducted a survey of his land. It showed that Wood Green had only sixteen houses and 50 inhabitants.
At around the same time as the survey, the New River was constructed through Wood Green. The proximity of Wood Green to the new watercourse saw several large properties constructed in the area, initially as country retreats for wealthy Londoners. These included Cherson House, Moat Cottage, Wood Green Cottage and the Grange, all of which were situated on the fringes of Wood Green Common and dated from the 17th century. Wood Green House (c. 1780), Chitts Hill House (c. 1805) and Bounds Green House were constructed at the perimeter of the common.
Wood Green’s first inn and recognisable businesses appeared. In 1770 George Chesser established a blacksmith’s shop on the corner of Green Lanes and Lordship Lane (at Spouter’s Corner). In 1781, the Three Jolly Butchers inn was opened on the west side of Green Lanes.
During the first half of the 19th century, the number of people in the area began to increase significantly. The centre of Wood Green’s gravity moved north and east with most development taking place in a triangle directly north of St Michael’s Church. By the time of the publication of the 1869 Ordnance Survey map, Clarence Road, Truro Road, Nightingale Road, Finsbury Road and Commerce Road were all laid out.
The opening of the Great Northern Railway Line station at Wood Green in 1859 encouraged further development. By the end of the nineteenth century, much of Wood Green had been built up.
Wood Green underground station opened on 19 September 1932 as the first section of the Cockfosters extension from Finsbury Park was opened. The station, designed by Charles Holden, is a well-preserved example of the modernist house style Holden developed for London Transport in the 1930s.
When the Cockfosters extension was planned, alternative names for this station — Lordship Lane and Wood Green Central – were considered, but rejected.
