Brockley Hill - History

History

Watling Street was constructed during the early part of the Roman occupation. The section running roughly North from Marble Arch runs in a straight line as far as the summit of Brockley Hill, following which there is a double curve to meet the alignment of the next section. The Roman engineers' practice was to use a high point as a sighting-point and clearly Brockley Hill was used in this way. The sandy clay found at the top of the hill was used for the manufacture of pottery during the Roman period, and it was one of the most important potteries in southern Britain in the later first century.

The antiquarian Daniel Lysons noted the long history of Roman finds in the area in his 1795 book The Environs of London: volume 3: County of Middlesex and quoted a country proverb: "No heart can think, nor tongue can tell, what lies between Brockley-hill and Pennywell", which he interprets in terms of finding Roman treasure. Pennywell is in Elstree, some 1,500 metres north of Brockley Hill. What now lies between Brockley Hill and Pennywell includes eight lanes of fast moving traffic, as both the M1 motorway and the A41 Watford Bypass pass through this area.

The Eastern end of the Dark Ages linear earthwork known as Grim's Ditch or Grimsdyke is close to Brockley Hill.

Bricks were made on the Hill in the 18th century.

The first hospital on the site of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital was founded in 1882; the RNOH bought the site and premises in 1920.

In the 1930s an extension of the Northern line of the London Underground was planned to run from Edgware to Bushey Heath with a station called Brockley Hill in a field at the foot of the hill. Brick arches were constructed (their remains are still visible in 'Arches Field') but work was abandoned for the duration of World War II. After the war further major housing development was banned in the area and the station was never finished.