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It is believed that the name Maple Cross derives from Maypole Cross. The area was known for hosting maypole dancing in the Middle Age. There is a 1588 recorded complaint from the nearby village Mill End about the noise from the maypole dancing events. Before World War II, this North London area was but a small hamlet that had only a handful of cottages, a pub, and a blacksmith shop. Maple Cross housing was mainly developed to accommodate the people working in nearby localities. A sewage treatment plant was built by the River Colne. The village has 800 council houses built after World War II.
Maple Cross does not have a church. As it always was a small settlement, a church was not built here. This WD3 village is part of the parish of St Thomas in West Hide, a nearby village to the south. This area has two historical buildings. The Cross Inn pub is one of them. Some parts of it were built in the 17th century or even earlier. This listed building is on Denham Way. The pub is now closed and the building was converted into housing. The other historical building is a barn dating from the 17th century. It can be found nearby the Maple Cross road junction.
The Old Shire Lane route runs nearby Maple Cross. This ancient Saxon road formed the border between Wessex and Mercia. It is now the boundary between Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. This area does not have a railway station. It is served by a couple of bus routes. M25 Junction 17 borders this area to the west. The main road, Denham Way, was developed in the 1950s when the Old Uxbridge Road was improved. British rock band Girlschool took inspiration from this area’s name for their 1986 album Nightmare at Maple Cross.