Hertfordshire Countryside
The County Magazine
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Lost Bridleways of Hertfordshire
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It has been brought to our attention, by one of our viewers, that some of our treasured bridleways could be disappearing. The letter below was received from Lydia Rivlin of
Muswell Hill. If you can be of any assistance, please contact Lydia directly or through our website. Lydia at l.rivlin@btinternet.com or HCM at info@tanspinney.com |
| Dear HCM, I am writing to appeal for anyone who might have information about a bridleway across land in Mill Hill/Totteridge between Partingdale Lane and Totteridge Common. Until very recently I rode a horse kept at the Frith Manor stables in Mill Hill. While there I became acutely aware of the serious dangers faced by riders and horses on the public roads in an area where few motorists know how to behave around equines. There is a very short bridle path by the stables but after that, only tarmac. The result is that there is little to do but stay in the ménage, going round in ever-decreasing circles—boring and discouraging for riders and I should think, maddening for horses who are so confined. Frustratingly, north from Frith Manor there are several dozens of square miles of unbuilt greenbelt land. It is crisscrossed by footpaths but has not a single bridle path despite the fact that it is ringed by riding establishments housing, by my estimate, well over 300 horses. It is without doubt that a horse, a rider or a motorist—or possibly all three—will come to grief quite soon, given the present traffic conditions. With this in mind, I started campaigning for the opening of a bridle path. To establish a bridleway, the Council would have to buy land, which would involve not only a lot of money but potentially a battle with the landowner. This they are reluctant to do, so the riders of the various equestrian centres are stuck gazing longingly, like a troup of shoeless street-urchins in front of a sweetshop, at the fields so close and yet so far beyond their reach. Salvation for all will be found quickly, though, if I can establish prior existence of a bridleway. In that knowledge, the Council would be able simply to re-establish a public thoroughfare. That is why I am so desperate to find maps of the area. I have an ordnance survey map of Mill Hill from 1895 and one of Totteridge from 1898, but they are both inconclusive. I need better maps and early 20th century ones. According to one source from the BHS, part of the problem is that many bridleways were reclassified as footpaths during an overhaul of access rights in the 1950-60s. In the desperate post-war economic situation and its resultant social upheaval the needs of the few and diminishing numbers of horse riders did not interest many council surveyors. If anyone has any information about the area in question, either from old copies of the magazine or from personal memories, I would very much like to hear from you. Lydia Rivlin |