Hadley Wood is an affluent suburb in the north of Greater London, close to the border with Hertfordshire. It appears to be a stand-alone village surrounded by Green Belt land, however, under the Local Government Act 1972 it is part of the London Borough of Enfield, about north of Charing Cross (although it is situated closer to Barnet). History The area in which Hadley Wood resides is part of the historical hunting grounds of Enfield Chase and some of the land that has been part of the estate of the Sovereign since 1399 remains to this day owned by the Duchy of Lancaster. The Act of Disenchasement of 1777 divided Enfield Chase into plots for sale as agricultural leases. Much of the work was carried out by Francis Russell, "His Majesty's Surveyor for the South part of the Duchy" (of Lancaster). As a reward for his good work Russell was allowed to purchase 152 acres of land between Beech Hill and Cockfoster Road, Beech Hill Park, where he built Russell Mansion (later renamed Beech Hill Park Mansion - see image to the right below). After several ownership changes the estate was acquired by Charles Jack, a local farmer, in 1854. In the 1880s Jack negotiated the establishment of a railway station (which introduced the name "Hadley Wood") with Great Northern Railway, and arranged for the Duchy of Lancaster to convert the leases around that into building leases. Charles Jack died in 1896 but the development continued and by 1901 over 60 dwellings had been constructed, however, the estate started to sell some of its interests. Jack's freehold property, Beech Hill Park Mansion, became dilapidated and the site was sold off in the early 1920s, becoming Hadley Wood Golf Club. Hadley Wood sits just east of the village of Monken Hadley (which is now a suburb of Barnet), with the two settlements sharing several features of social life. However, in modern history the two communities are distinct and separate, belonging to different parishes (both civil and ecclesiastical) which in turn belong to different civil Boroughs and ecclesiastical Deaneries. Hadley Wood has always possessed a strong historical link with the suburb of Cockfosters. In civil administration, Hadley Wood was part of the Municipal Borough of Enfield since its foundation in 1850 all the way up until 1965. Hadley Wood became part of the newly created Ward of Hadley Wood and Cockfosters in