[3] Finchley is not recorded in Domesday Book, but by the 11th century its lands were held by the Bishop of London.

In the early medieval period the area was sparsely populated woodland, whose inhabitants supplied pigs and fuel to London.

By the 15th and 16th centuries the woods on the eastern side of the parish had been cleared to form Finchley Common.

[4] The medieval Great North Road, which ran through the common, was notorious for highwaymen until the early 19th century.

Much of the work was carried out and East Finchley station was rebuilt, but the project was halted by the second world war.

Nevertheless, Underground trains began running from central London to High Barnet in 1940, and to Mill Hill East, to reach the army barracks, in 1941.

After the war, the introduction of London's Metropolitan Green Belt undermined pre-war plans and the upgrading between Mill Hill East and Edgware (the 'Northern Heights' project) was abandoned, although the line continued to be used by steam trains for goods traffic through Finchley, until 1964.

Finchley has four London Underground stations, all on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line, which serves the West End and City (financial district).

Although the club is sometimes incorrectly perceived to be exclusively Jewish, it is open to people of every religion and ethnic background.

Finchley Cricket Club (founded 1832), plays in the Middlesex premier league, at Arden Field, East End Road, N3.

[25] Finchley golf club on Frith Lane was designed by five-times Open Champion James Braid.

The artsdepot, a community arts centre including a gallery, studio and theatre, opened in 2004, at Tally Ho Corner, North Finchley.

It was proposed in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria's golden jubilee and opened in 1902 to be Finchley's first public park.

There is also a small nature reserve adjacent to the North Circular Road known as Long Lane Pasture.

The bequest also included Avenue House Grounds, designed by the leading nineteenth-century landscape gardener Robert Marnock.

This has a tearoom, a children's playground, a walled garden and building called The Bothy, a pond and rare trees.

A number of fictional characters have been associated with the area, including: The Monty Python's Flying Circus comedy sketch "The Funniest Joke in the World" is set in Finchley.

In various episodes of the Channel 4 comedy Peep Show Finchley is used as an on-site shooting location.

The 2013 David Bowie song 'Dirty Boys' on The Next Day album makes reference to Finchley Fair.