Highgate, in Middlesex, a large and populous village, four miles from London, is situated on a lofty hill, and consequently enjoys very extensive prospects; a new road cut through the hill was opened in 1813; the excavation, removing a portion of the road from this place to Hornsey, an archway was erected by which the road crosses the valley. The new church built here in 1832, an elegant Gothic structure, with a tower and spire, forms, from its elevated position, a striking object to the surrounding country.

Mogg's New Picture of London and Visitor's Guide to it Sights, 1844

see also George Sala in Gaslight and Daylight - click here