Highgate

Highgate, a parish and suburb in the north of london and the county of Middlesex, is said to derive its name from a toll-bar erected where the great north road passed through the Bishop of London's park. The village stands on a hill 426 feet high, at the base of which may be seen the Whittington Stone, renewed in 1821, and the almshouses founded by the famous Lord Mayor. Many fine mansions were built here in the 16th and 17th centuries, few now remaining. Lauderdale House still exists in the park which Sir Sydney Waterlow has dedicated to public use. The church of St. Michael, rebuilt in 1832, contains a monument to Coleridge, who lived here for many years. The grammar school, founded by Chief Justice Cholmeley in Queen Elizabeth's reign, was reconstructed in 1868. Lower down the hill is St. Joseph's Retreat, a spacious Roman Catholic institution of recent date. The North London Cemetery close by contains the graves of many eminent personages. The Horns tavern used in former days to be the resort of merry-makers, who went through the mock solemnity of being sworn on the horns. Among other celebrities connected with the place are Lord Lyndhurst, Michael Faraday, and Baroness Burdett-Coutts.