The story that Tally Ho Corner was named after coaching stables was thought to be a myth. We've found new evidence to show that it's true.
In the centre of North Finchley, at the junctions of Ballards Lane and High Road, is an area known as Tally Ho Corner. It's the sort of name that inspires joviality, whatever mood you're in, and demands to be said in such a way that you imagine an exclamation mark on the end, like its south-westerly cousin, Westward Ho!
So how did such an upbeat moniker come to be given to this patch of suburban London?
The name has been around since the 1830s, and is said to originate from the Independent Tally Ho coaching company which apparently used to have stables in the area ('tally-ho' being the nickname for a fast, horse-drawn coach).
The company's history is poorly documented, but it appears to have ran coaches between London and Birmingham, a distance of around 110 miles, at a journey time of around 11 hours. We've found adverts as far back as 1826 for the service, which terminated at Charing Cross.
Because it was such a distance, several changes of horse were required throughout the journey. The company's stables at Tally Ho Corner, it's said, were home to 16 horses, and the first change of horse on the journey out of London took place here.
But is that really true?
Some local history sleuthing
In 2014, to celebrate its 10th anniversary, local events venue artsdepot ran an exhibition and history project called Tally Ho: A Place To Meet. Central to the exhibition was the question as to whether the Tally Ho coaching company ever existed at all.
Based on a lack of substantial evidence and the fact that Tally Ho Corner is not far enough from London to warrant a change of horses so soon, the curators leant towards the idea that the coach company was an urban myth. Visitors to the exhibition were left to make up their own minds.
In truth, several different London to Birmingham companies used 'Tally Ho' in their names, including the Independent Tally Ho (from Charing Cross), the Safety Tally Ho (from Ludgate's Belle Sauvage), and the Eclipse Tally Ho (from the Saracen's Head, Newgate). Adverts for the services are easily found in the newspaper archives of the 1820s and 30s.
We've now uncovered evidence of a Finchley connection. The Yorkshire Post published, in 1880, one man's reminiscence of catching the Independent Tally Ho from London in the 1830s. He clearly remembers stopping for a change of horse in either Finchley or Whetstone.
The modern Tally Ho Corner is mid-way between central Finchley and Whetstone, so the description is a neat fit. Another cutting, this time from the Leamington Spa Courier in 1875, recalls a different location, close to the Bald-Faced Stag and where the Highgate and Edgware Railway (Northern line) crosses the road. This must be near East Finchley station. The account calls this "Horne's Stable", which was also associated with the Independent Tally Ho.
We find other accounts of coach stabling in the area. For example, Sherman's coaches changed at the Green Man in Whetstone, and the curiously named Mrs Mountain had stables on the "Barnet side of Whetstone". So we see no reason to doubt that stables for one of the Tally Ho companies shouldn't have been located where Tally Ho Corner now stands.
It makes sense. The route out of London required a long slog up the hill of Archway. Doubtless the horses were fatigued by the time they reached the leveller land of Finchley.
The services are no longer advertised after the 1830s, but the name Tally Ho seems to have lived on in the name of the local pub — still trading today, and possibly the site of the stables. The first mention of "Tally Ho Corner" we can find comes from 1876.
There are no horse coaches today, of course, but the name Tally Ho lingers on in the corner, the adjacent pub, and even on TfL bus services, where it's given an exclamation mark.
Original article by Laura Reynolds with later additions by Matt Brown
