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4
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.
The Borough of Hornsey is 2,874 acres in area, and is
situated to the north of the County of London. On the southeast
the Borough is bounded by the Metropolitan Borough of
Stoke Nevvington, on the south by that of Islington, on the
south-west by that of St. Pancras, and on the west by the Metropolitan
Borough of Hampstead and the Urban District of
Finchley; on the north the Borough is bounded by the Urban
District of Friern Barnet, and on the east by the Urban District
of Wood Green and the Urban District of Tottenham.
The centre of the Borough is about five miles north of
Charing Cross, and there are rail, tube, tram and 'bus services
between the Borough and the Metropolis.
Hornsey is very largely a " dormitory town." Many of its
inhabitants spend their days at work in the City and return
home in the evenings. Speaking generally, the Borough consists
of good house-property, which is occupied by the well-to-do
classes; there is not much poor house-property, and there are
no slum areas, although there are certain districts and roads
in the Borough which would rapidly degenerate were it not for
the constant efforts of the Health Department to keep these
houses reasonably fit for human habitation.
The Assessable Value of the Borough is £690,808, and a
penny rate produced about £2,821 during the past year.
There are no large factories in the district, no offensive
trades are conducted, and there are no common lodging-houses
and no dwellers in tents and vans.
The climate of Hornsey is bracing, and the air is clean
and fresh. The town lies above the smoke of London, and frequently
when the City and West End are shrouded in a pall of
smoke the sky can be seen blue over Hornsey. There are no
flat and low-lying areas in the Borough, and, as the ground is
generally undulating or hilly, the district is well drained and dry,
although the sub-soil is a heavy clay.
The Borough is fortunate in possessing many lovely open
spaces, such as the Highgate Woods and the Queen's Woods:
these undoubtedly add to the amenities and health of the
Borough.