Osidge

Coordinates: 51°38′04″N 0°08′32″W / 51.6345°N 0.1423°W / 51.6345; -0.1423

Osidge
Osidge  Osidge shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ285945
London borough	Barnet
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	N14
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
London Assembly	Barnet and Camden
List of places: UK • England • London

Osidge is a district in the London Borough of Barnet, just west of the border with the London Borough of Enfield. It may be defined as the part of postal district N14 that is in Barnet.

Major buildings in Osidge include Ashmole School, Osidge Primary School and Osidge Health Centre.

The two main roads in Osidge are Osidge Lane and Hampden Way, which meet at a roundabout called Hampden Square. Around the roundabout are several parades of shops and the Osidge Arms pub. South and west of this roundabout is a large area of green belt land, crossed by Pymmes Brook and leading down to New Southgate Cemetery. Another road, Whitehouse Way, provided the backdrop to scenes from Mike Leigh’s film Secrets and Lies.

History

The name is Anglo-Saxon, meaning 'hedge belonging to someone named Osa'. It was first recorded in 1176, in a charter from Henry II to the Abbot of St Albans referring to the abbot's woodland property here. The land was sold after the Dissolution of the Monasteries and a large house was built and parkland laid out. A condition of tenure was that the woods should supply faggots for the burning of heretics. In 1652, the house became the residence of the Hadley family. They were associated with four places in the north of Barnet, Hadley Wood, Hadley Green, Monken Hadley and Hadley Highstone, though they obtained their name from these areas, not vice versa.

A notable resident was Sir Thomas Lipton, who moved there in 1893. After his death, most of his 60 acre (243,000 m²) estate was built up, but Lipton endowed his house (which still stands) as a hostel for nurses.

Geography

Education

School meals

Osidge Primary School, which Amy Winehouse previously attended,^[1] achieved prominence in February 2005 when noted chef François Nouaillat, horrified by the quality of the school meals given to his sons, offered to take over the school kitchens. He replaced chicken nuggets and cheap sausages with high-quality beef and free-range chicken at no increase in cost. Unlike Jamie Oliver's attempts to improve food at a school in Greenwich, he believes simple, hearty meals are better than elaborate restaurant-style ones.^{[citation needed]}

Osidge and Southgate

Osidge is not seen as a separate locality by most local residents but is regarded as part of Southgate. However, addresses are occasionally given as Osidge, Southgate. This is technically incorrect, as the area lies outside the pre-1965 Borough of Southgate and the current parliamentary constituency of Enfield Southgate. There are probably two reasons for this confusion. Firstly, they are in the same postal district, N14 (although so too is Oakwood, London). Secondly, Osidge is close to Southgate tube station, though this merely reflects the fact that the station is very close to the boundary of the former Borough of Southgate.

References

1. ^ Husband, Stuart (22 April 2007). "Friends united - Amy Winehouse and Juliette Ashby". The Observer. Guardian News and Media. http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2007/apr/22/features.magazine57. Retrieved 2009-05-28.