Local resident Rebecca Pattni on the changing face of Finchley Central

A row of shops in Ballards Lane, Finchley Central

London’s high streets play a vital role in shaping the social and economic fabric of the city.

With restaurants, independent shops and long-standing family businesses, each high street offers a snapshot of the capital’s diversity. They serve as reminders of why we choose London as our homes.

These shops are more than just places to eat or shop, they reflect who lives there, who arrived before and how communities continue to evolve and Finchley Central’s high street is no exception.

A lively and well-connected pocket of North London, Finchley Central is shaped by a myriad of intersecting cultures.

With Indian, Persian, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Italian and English restaurants lining Ballards Lane, the area feels distinctly local yet unmistakably London. It is a microcosm of the intricate web of the city’s layered cultures and identities.

High streets are the backbone of London’s economy. Over half of all jobs in the capital are spread across 600 high streets, making them essential not only for the community but for employment opportunities. Local shopkeepers and long-term residents consistently describe the community of Finchley Central as inclusive and welcoming, a sentiment reflected in the businesses that have shaped the area for decades.

One resident who has lived in Finchley central for 27 years explained that the diversity of shops mirrors the needs of the different communities represented in the area.

Originally referred to as Church End, Finchley Central is the oldest recorded medieval village in the Finchley Woodlands. During the Norman period, Finchley and Friern Barnet’s large woodland were cultivated to provide fuel and farm pigs for sale in London. By Saxon times, the woodland was cleared and a road connecting Finchley to the north out of London was formed. In the Tudor period, this route served travellers and had many Inns.

The arrival of the Great Northern Railway Line in 1851 transformed the area into a suburban hub, which later led to its inclusion on London Transport’s Northern Line in 1939. The name Finchley Central also only arrived in 1940, when the station was officially named.

Traces of this past still remain today. St Mary’s Church in Hendon Lane has Norman roots while College Farm which once was a celebrated Victorian tourist destination, showcasing the dairy industry stands as a reminder of Finchley’s past and that it has always been shaped by change.

This change is most visible on the high street itself. One resident who has lived in the area for nearly three decades recalled that “it was a major event when the first proper coffee shop arrived in 2002”.

Today, more than a dozen cafes line the street, which is a clear sign of how the area has transformed in the past 20 years. The resident also remembers when “there was more variety of shops and more choice of restaurants”.

The makeup of the high street has shifted alongside migration patterns. Local residents mentioned that in the early 2000s, “there were more Polish and Eastern European shops in the but now, Persian businesses are more prominent.”

Sima’s Grill, a Persian restaurant in Ballards Lane, describes Finchley Central as a very “multicultural area”. The restaurant remarked that 60% of their customers are non-Iranian which demonstrates how food becomes a bridge between communities and cultures.

These shifts reflect the waves of immigration that have shaped and continue to shape Finchley Central. One long term resident who moved to the area in 1974 after fleeing Idi Amin’s dictatorship in Uganda recalls a very different atmosphere. They shared that people were not initially welcoming as discrimination was common and there was only one shop selling Indian food. Today, Indian restaurants and grocers line the streets. “I never want to leave Finchley”, they said.

This viewpoint is shared by longstanding Hindu owned grocer, A to Z, who said that, “20 years ago, the high street was more balanced”. The owner of the restaurant Rani, a Gujarati restaurant that has served the area for 41 years notes that customer loyalty plays a role in shaping Finchley Central, with families returning to the same familiar places.

Finchley’s diversity has been shaped by one of the UK’s largest Jewish populations, as many Jewish people settled in and around the area after the Second World War.

More recent changes followed Poland’s entrance into the European Union in 2004 which led to a large influx of Polish residents seeking better economic opportunities. While Brexit has since altered those migration patterns, their influence remains part of the area’s recent history.

Today, Finchley Central’s high street is largely defined by Persian businesses, reflecting newer cultural additions to the area, a shift which could correlate to patterns of immigration of Iranian Christians fleeing persecution.

Finchley Central is now home to a richly diverse population, with cultures and cuisines woven into everyday life along the high street.

For those of us who grew up in Finchley Central, the area represents more than a collection of shops. It is truly a place where different faiths, cultures and backgrounds do not simply coexist but continue to shape one another. It captures the harmony and diversity that defines the city of London itself.

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