duex pain au chocolat, sil vous plait

Today I'll be spending a bit more time in Crouch End. As far as I'm concern, I've always pass this part of London if I'm on my way towards Muswell Hill. I've heard so many good things about it but for some reason, I've never had a chance to really visit there. My initial visit is positive; as long as there is Waitrose and M&S nearby, I know I'll be fine. Who can say no the the fantastic pain au chocolat. I think I'll be happy here because everyone seems to know everyone on the high street and that's something I'm looking for. The local Italian deli-cum-restaurant reminds me of most European al fresco restaurants. A fantastic butcher and a great local fishmonger. Nicholas wine merchant is present, several great local cafe, 3 local patisseries, a few local pubs serving nice ales, a popular comedy club and lots more. Definitely somewhere I could live. Now, let's see what the Brunette has to say.

Crouch End grew up as a hamlet on the old medieval route from London to the north. At this time it was governed as part of Hornsey which became a parish in around 1300. This heavily-wooded area contained farms and villas, one of which was Crouch Hall, probably built in 1681 at the crossroads of what came to be known as Crouch End. It remained rural until around 1880, probably because of the lack of adequate sewerage. Large parts remained in private ownership, inhibiting development. However, the development of the railway changed the area significantly. By 1887 there were seven railway stations in the area. Crouch End became a prosperous middle-class suburb due to an influx of mainly clerical workers who could easily commute to the city. The large old houses were replaced by comfortable middle-class housing and public parks were opened and a number of new roads and avenues, such as Elder Avenue and Weston Park were laid out. The whole area expanded greatly in the late Victorian period and most of its present-day streets were built up in the late 19th century.

By the mid-1930s Crouch End was a solid, middle-class Middlesex borough with a thriving and popular shopping centre that included an Opera House in the middle of Topsfield Parade. Until 1965 it was administratively part of the Municipal Borough of Hornsey and that body's forerunners. In 1965, when local government in London was reorganised Hornsey merged with the Municipal Borough of Tottenham and Crouch End became part of London Borough of Haringey. In the post war years Crouch End reverted to a more mixed social grouping and the London-wide provision of social housing saw the growth of council homes in and around Crouch End into Hornsey Vale (known as Abyssinia) and Hornsey Village itself. Many of the houses in the area lay empty post-war and many were 'bought' cheaply by speculative landlords who then let them out to the growing student populations of the Mountview and Hornsey Art Colleges.

The area became known as a student bedsit land for several decades into the early 80's until gentrification of the area changed the social profile and it became progressively more middle class. Eventually many houses became so highly priced that the working class profile became slowly marginalised and their children unable to afford to live in the area moved away. These social changes could be seen by the changes in the shop types over the period; gentrification brought estate agents en masse until the pace slowed and this was replaced by up market establishments and pavement-type cafes.