Early history In medieval times the
Hospitallers had a settlement nearby in Friern Barnet probably where Friary Park is now and alongside the old road to London. In 1340 the Bishop of London opened a gate into his park (the Highgate) which enabled a straight road across Finchley Common along the ridge there. The Hospitallers' settlement moved further west and became known as West Town, also known variously as "le Weston" (1398), "Wheston" (1417), and "Whetstonestret" (1439). It was the northernmost settlement in the
Ossulstone hundred. Until the late 19th century its tiny developed area was one of two main settlements in the ancient parish of
Friern Barnet, the other being
Colney Hatch. Friern Barnet remained its ecclesiastical parish and
its civil form was at that time giving way to urban and rural districts, in this case
Friern Barnet Urban District.
The Whetstone John Heathfield of the Friern Barnet & District Local History Society writes that according to the
Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, the stone outside
The Griffin public house commonly known as the Whetstone, is a
mounting block, and if so "it would have been connected to the toll gate erected by the Whetstone & Highgate Turnpike Trust about 1730." An historic legend regarding the whetstone itself tells that the stone was used by soldiers on their march towards High Barnet (approx. 3.5 miles north of Whetstone) in preparation for the battle of Barnet in 1471. He also states that the earliest evidence for the existence of the stone is a photograph taken in 1861 which shows it much closer to
The Griffin than it is now. The stone was moved to its present location when the toll gate was removed in 1863. == Geography ==