Temple Fortune

"Temple" derives from the Knights Templar, a medieval Christian military order which held a sub-manor in the area, while 'Fortune' may come from foran tun, a settlement in front of the main one.

Hendon Park Row (c.1860s) is of this period, and consisted of around thirty small dwellings built by a George Stevens, which were, with two exceptions, demolished (c.1956).

A small dame school and prayer house run by Anglican Deaconesses existed in the 1890s and 1900s, which developed to become St Barnabas (1915).

By the end of the 19th century there were around 300 people living in the area, which included a laundry, a small hospital for children with skin diseases.

Temple Fortune Farm was demolished, and along the front of the road, the building of Arcade, and Gateway House (c.1911) established the Hampstead Garden Suburbs retail district.

It was for a long time a huge Odeon cinema, seating over 1,800 people, but a sheltered accommodation building (Birnbeck Court) now stands on the site at 850, Finchley Road.

Having played at numerous venues in the London Borough of Barnet and Harrow, the club currently hosts home matches at Silver Jubilee Park in Kingsbury where a brand-new artificial pitch was laid in June 2022.

In 2018 TFFC celebrated its golden anniversary by holding a commemorative lunch, attended by long-serving members and David Wolff (chairman of the MGBSFL) and a special match at Princes Park, on the very pitch where small-sided games had been played leading up to the formation in 1968.

(Source: Temple Fortune FC website archives, verified by club chairman and TFFC historian Nigel Kyte.

Shops in Finchley Road, Temple Fortune