Envision a small settlement. This is Temple Fortune. Its name whispers tales of medieval knights and ancient origins. “Temple” links to the Knights Templar. They held land here long ago. “Fortune” might come from “foran tun”. That means a settlement in front of the main one.
Temple Fortune began as part of Bleccanham estate around 900 AD. Ducksetters Lane once crossed here connecting to Finchley. By the late 1700s Temple Fortune Farm appeared. It stood on the northern side of Farm Close.
The Finchley Road changed everything around 1827. It replaced Ducksetters Lane. A small hamlet began to grow. Hendon Park Row appeared in the 1860s. These small dwellings housed labourers. Most were torn down around 1956.
A dame school and prayer house emerged in the 1890s. Anglican Deaconesses ran them. This evolved into St Barnabas in 1915. By the late 1800s, about 300 people lived here. There was a laundry and a small hospital for children with skin diseases. Brickmaking was the main industry.
A Jewish cemetery opened near Hoop Lane in 1895. The first burial took place in 1897. Golders Green Crematorium followed in 1902. Temple Fortune’s suburban transformation began in 1907.
The Hampstead Garden Suburb brought significant changes. Temple Fortune Farm was demolished. The Arcade and Gateway House were built along Finchley Road around 1911. This established the Hampstead Garden Suburb’s retail area.
The opening of Golders Green tube station was also vital. Horse-drawn omnibuses served the area since the 1880s. Motor buses came in 1907. The tram line of 1910 connected Church End and Golders Green Station. This spurred development west of Finchley Road. A Carmelite Monastery was founded in Bridge Lane in 1908.
The Catholic Church of St Edward the Confessor was built in 1916. The Orpheum Theatre opened in 1930. It aimed to rival the Hippodrome in Golders Green. It later became a large Odeon cinema. Now, Birnbeck Court stands on that site.
St Barnabas church closed in 1994. It reopened as St Mary & Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church in 1996. The Carmelite Monastery became residential in 2007 named Carmel Gate.
Today Temple Fortune is a vibrant area. It is a shopping district for Hampstead Garden Suburb residents. You can find a police station here. Religious buildings still stand including St Edward the Confessor.
Temple Fortune Football Club was founded in 1968. They play at Silver Jubilee Park. Their motto is “Fortune Favours The Brave”. The Temple Fortune Club offers bowls squash and tennis since 1922. Temple Fortune blends history community and modern life. It creates a unique London experience.