England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Monken Hadley St Mary the Virgin

The Parish

The parish of Monken Hadley lies in the north of Middlesex, indeed it forms part of the (rather intricate) border with neighbouring Hertfordshire. Monken Hadley nowadays is merely a northern extension of the town of Barnet from which it lies about a mile to the north but with housing continuously between the former separate settlements. Despite the proximity to the city of London Monken Hadley retains much of its rural charm being blessed by the open spaces of Hadley Green & Hadley Common making for a popular (if rather expensive) residential area. Formerly Monken Hadley would have been a quiet rural village maintained by arable farming and market gardening for the nearby metropolis. Monken Hadley earned some right to fame during the 15th century being the sight of a major battle of the Wars of the Roses - unfortunately a thick mist caused total chaos and resulted in parts of the Lancastrian army fighting themselves by mistake, a scenario that led to a Yorkist victory; not doubt Monken Hadley was grateful to return to tranquility thereafter. Monken Hadley is drained by a series of small brooks which head northeastwards to merge with the River Lea which heads southwards through east London to join the Thames. Monken Hadley sits on a relatively high patch of ground marking the edge of the Thames valley, it is sited at around 130 metres above the sea and land falls away to both north and south. By the standards of rural Middlesex Monken Hadley parish was very small, it covered a mere 500 acres but still supported almost 1,000 parishioners. There is no specific mention of Monken Hadley in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Mary's church sits on the northern side of Hadley Green Road on the northeastern edge of the former village. The church carries an Arabic script date of 1494 which Pevsner believes is representative of the likely date of the present building. There would have been an earlier 12th century chapel associated with the hermitage for the Abbey of Walden which gives the "Monken" to the village name. The southwestern tower would be relatively unremarkable where it not for the copper beacon which surmounts it which is described as "a unique vestige of the manners of the Middle Ages". The building was extensively altered by Victorian restorations and much else dates from that mid-19th century event. The building sits behind a wooden picket fence with a short row of mature trees screening it from the road and the housing opposite. A pair of wooden gates grants access at the southwestern corner. Unfortunately the site has many trees which markedly restrict photographic angles.