Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

Bulls Cross Bulls Cross is a road and hamlet in Enfield, England, on the outskirts of north London, forming part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. Although it now lies within the ceremonial county of Greater London, prior to 1965 it was in the historic ...

Bush Hill Park Bush Hill Park is an area of Enfield, located to the south-east of Enfield Town, on the outskirts of north London, and historically in Middlesex. Much of the district is a planned suburban estate, developed mainly in the late-19th and early-2 ...

Freezywater Freezywater is a neighbourhood of the traditional broad definition of Enfield, London, Enfield in the London Borough of Enfield, north London. It has a border with Hertfordshire. It is between Bullsmoor to the west, Enfield Lock to the east, Enfi ...

World's End World's End or Worlds End may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature Novels * ''World's End'' (Boyle novel), a 1987 novel by T. Coraghessan Boyle * ''World's End'' (Chadbourn novel), a 2000 novel by Mark Chadbourn * ''World's End'' (Sincl ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...

Waltham Cross Waltham Cross is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, located north of central London. In the south-eastern corner of Hertfordshire, it borders Cheshunt to the north, Waltham Abbey to the east, and Enfield to the south ...

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

ancient parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

St Andrew's Enfield St Andrew's Enfield is a Church of England church in Enfield, London, and the original parish church of Enfield. It is a grade II* listed building with Historic England.parish church. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The east of Enfield, adjacent to the River Lea and

Lee Navigation The Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating the River Lea (also called the River Lee along the sections that are navigable). It flows from Hertford Castle Weir to the River Thames at Bow Creek; its first lock is Hertford Lock and it ...

, is renowned for its industrial heritage. The

Royal Small Arms Factory The Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) was a UK government-owned rifle factory in Enfield (though some parts were in Waltham Abbey), adjoining the Lee Navigation in the Lea Valley. The factory produced British military rifles, muskets and swords f ...

, at Enfield Lock, produced the famous

Enfield rifles Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

. The

Brimsdown Industrial Estate Brimsdown Industrial Estate is located to the east of the residential part of Brimsdown in the London Borough of Enfield. The estate, which lies in the Lea Valley, is bordered to the west by the West Anglia Main Line portion of the Lea Valley Line ...

is home to heavy industry, warehousing and retail, and

Wright's Flour Mill Wright's Flour Mill is located in Wharf Road, Ponders End, Enfield. It is Enfield's oldest working industrial building. History Some of the present buildings date back to 1789 and include the brick Georgian miller's house and offices flanking ...

, at Ponders End, is Enfield's oldest running industrial building. Forty Hall, on the site of the Tudor Elsyng Palace, is in the north, with Enfield Chase, the former royal hunting ground, and

Chase Farm Hospital Chase Farm Hospital is a hospital in The Ridgeway, in Gordon Hill, Enfield, run by the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in a Poor Law orphanage established in 1886. The oldest part of the hospital, ...

, in the west. The New River runs through Enfield from north to south, with the bypassed New River Loop encircling the town centre, through

Enfield Town Park Enfield Town Park is a 9.5-hectare park in the Enfield Town area of the London Borough of Enfield, first opened in 1902. The New River is present at the park but it has been cut off and straightened leaving the water motionless. References ...

.

History

St Andrew's Parish Church, Enfield Town - geograph

In

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

times, the

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

of Enfield was held by Ansgar the Staller, a nobleman and

staller Staller is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Eric Staller (born 1947), American artist who uses light and architecture *George Staller (1916–1992), American outfielder, scout and coach in Major League Baseball *Ilona Staller (b ...

to

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

. The name 'Enfield' most likely came from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''Ēanafeld'' or similar, meaning "open land belonging to a man called Ēana". At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, the manor of Enfield, spelt 'Enfelde', was the property of Geoffrey de Mandeville, a powerful Norman granted large estates by William the Conqueror. A priest is recorded in the Domesday Book as holding about 30 acres of land in Enfield, leading some to believe a priest may have ministered there at

St Andrew's Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

in this period, although the earliest written evidence of the parish church in Enfield was when the parish of Enfield, dedicated to St Andrew, and St Andrew's Church, was endowed to the monastery of

Walden Abbey Walden Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Saffron Walden, Essex, England founded by Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex between 1136 and 1143. Originally a priory, it was elevated to the status of an abbey in 1190. Soon after its foundin ...

in Essex in 1136. In 1303, by

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

, nobleman Humphrey de Bohun and his heirs were granted a licence to hold a weekly market and two annual fairs, one on

St Andrew's Day Saint Andrew's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle. It is celebrated on 30 November (according to Gregorian calendar) and on 13 December (according to Julian calendar). Saint Andrew is ...

and another in September. The village green became a marketplace making the town of Enfield (also known today as Enfield Town), at the core of the parish, a market town. The parish was the largest in Middlesex (if excluding from the parish of Harrow on the Hill its Pinner north-west corner, which broke away in 1766); Enfield measured 12,460 acres in 1831, i.e. .

Notable people, places, and events

The parish church, on the north side of the marketplace, is dedicated to St Andrew. There is some masonry surviving from the thirteenth century, but the nave, north aisle, choir and tower are late fourteenth century, built of random rubble and flint. The clerestory dates from the early sixteenth century, and the south aisle was rebuilt in brick in 1824. Adjacent to the church is the old school building of the Tudor period, Enfield Grammar School, which expanded over the years, becoming a large comprehensive school from the late 1960s.

Enfield Palace

A sixteenth century manor house, known since the eighteenth century as Enfield Palace, is remembered in the name of the Palace Gardens Shopping Centre (and the hothouses on the site were once truly notable; see below). It was used as a private school from around 1670 until the late nineteenth century. The last remains of it were demolished in 1928, to make way for an extension to Pearson's department store, though a panelled room with an elaborate plaster ceiling and a stone fireplace survives, relocated to a house in Gentleman's Row, a street of sixteenth- to eighteenth-century houses near the town centre.

Enfield Market

In 1303, Edward I granted a charter to Humphrey de Bohun, and his wife to hold a weekly market in Enfield each Monday, and James I granted another in 1617, to a charitable trust, for a Saturday market. The Market was still prosperous in the early eighteenth century, but fell into decline soon afterwards. There were sporadic attempts to revive it: an unsuccessful one of 1778 is recorded, and in 1826 a stone Gothic market cross was erected, to replace the octagonal wooden market house, demolished sixteen years earlier. In 1858, J. Tuff wrote of the market "several attempts have been made to revive it, the last of which, about twenty years ago, also proved a failure, It has again fallen into desuetude and will probably never be revived". However the trading resumed in the 1870s. In 1904 a new wooden structure was built to replace the stone cross, by now decayed. The market is still in existence, administered by the Old Enfield Charitable trust.

The Enfield Fair

The charter of 1303 also gave the right to hold two annual fairs, one on St Andrew's Day and the other in September. The latter was suppressed in 1869 at the request of local tradesmen, clergy and other prominent citizens, having become, according to the local historian Pete Eyre, "a source of immorality and disorder, and a growing nuisance to the inhabitants".

The New River

The New River, built to supply water to London from

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, runs immediately behind the town centre through the

Town Park A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

, which is the last remaining public open space of

Enfield Old Park Enfield Old Park was an ancient deer park located in Enfield. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The Domesday Book mentions only one other Park in Middlesex, at Ruislip, and according to Historic England both are therefore considered to be "rar ...

. The Enfield Loop of the New River also passes through the playing fields of Enfield Grammar School, and this is the only stretch of the loop without a public footpath on at least one side of it.

Hothouses

Enfield was the location of some of the earliest successful hothouses, developed by Dr Robert Uvedale, headmaster of both Enfield Grammar School and the Palace School. He was a Cambridge scholar and renowned horticulturalist; George Simonds Boulger writes of Uvedale in the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', 1885–1900, Volume 58:

As a horticulturist Uvedale earned a reputation for his skill in cultivating exotics, being one of the earliest possessors of hothouses in England. In an ''Account of several Gardens near London'' written by J. Gibson in 1691 (''Archæologia'', 1794, xii. 188), the writer says: 'Dr. Uvedale of Enfield is a great lover of plants, and, having an extraordinary art in managing them, is become master of the greatest and choicest collection of exotic greens that is perhaps anywhere in this land. His greens take up six or seven houses or roomsteads. His orange-trees and largest myrtles fill up his biggest house, and … those more nice and curious plants that need closer keeping are in warmer rooms, and some of them stoved when he thinks fit. His flowers are choice, his stock numerous, and his culture of them very methodical and curious.'

John Keats

The poet

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...

went to progressive Clarke's School in Enfield, where he began a translation of the '' Aeneid''. The school's building later became Enfield Town railway station until it was demolished in 1872. The current building was erected in the 1960s. In 1840 the first section of the Northern and Eastern Railway had been opened from Stratford to Broxbourne. The branch line from Water Lane to Enfield Town station was opened in 1849.

Silver Street White House

The White House, Silver Street, Enfield - geograph

The White House in Silver Street – now a doctors' surgery – was the home of

Joseph Whitaker Joseph Whitaker may refer to: *Joseph Whitaker (industrialist) (1789–1870), American iron master and landowner *Joseph Whitaker (naturalist) (1850–1932), English naturalist *Joseph Whitaker (ornithologist) (1850–1936), Sicilian-English ornith ...

, publisher and founder of Whitaker's Almanack, who lived there from 1820 until his death in 1895. (Inscription on Blue Plaque on The White House, Silver Street, Enfield.)

World's first ATM

Enfield Town had the world's first cash machine or automatic teller machine, invented by John Shepherd-Barron. It was installed at the local branch of Barclays Bank on 27 June 1967 and was opened by the actor and Enfield resident Reg Varney.

The Civic Centre

Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield - geograph

Enfield Town houses the Civic Centre, the headquarters of the Borough administration, where Council and committee meetings are also held.

Demography

Neighbourhoods and villages of Enfield include: Botany Bay, Brimsdown,

Bulls Cross Bulls Cross is a road and hamlet in Enfield, England, on the outskirts of north London, forming part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. Although it now lies within the ceremonial county of Greater London, prior to 1965 it was in the historic ...

, Bullsmoor,

Bush Hill Park Bush Hill Park is an area of Enfield, located to the south-east of Enfield Town, on the outskirts of north London, and historically in Middlesex. Much of the district is a planned suburban estate, developed mainly in the late-19th and early-2 ...

, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Highway, Enfield Lock, Enfield Wash, Forty Hill,

Freezywater Freezywater is a neighbourhood of the traditional broad definition of Enfield, London, Enfield in the London Borough of Enfield, north London. It has a border with Hertfordshire. It is between Bullsmoor to the west, Enfield Lock to the east, Enfi ...

, Gordon Hill, Grange Park, Ponders End, and

World's End World's End or Worlds End may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature Novels * ''World's End'' (Boyle novel), a 1987 novel by T. Coraghessan Boyle * ''World's End'' (Chadbourn novel), a 2000 novel by Mark Chadbourn * ''World's End'' (Sincl ...

. The official estimate of Enfield's population is 156,858 as of 2018, counted from 10

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

s that make up Enfield. In the 2011 census, the Town ward (covering areas north from the Southbury Road) was 82% white (68% British, 10% Other, 3% Irish). The largest non-white group, Black African, claimed 3%. The District is also covered by the Chase, Highlands, Grange, Southbury, Lock, Highway, Turkey Street and Bush Hill Park wards. Of these, the Lock ward had the highest minority proportion, 45.1% of its population. Highlands ward had the highest male and female life expectancies from 2009 to 2013, 82.5 and 87.2 years respectively. The lowest was 76.7 years in Enfield Lock, and 81.4 years in Chase, respectively. Enfield Lock is the only ward where most houses were rented, 50.1%. At the opposite end, in Bush Hill Park 78.5% of houses were owned by the household.

Sport

The town is home to two association football teams: Enfield Football Club, formed in 1893, reformed in 2007, and currently based at

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated po ...

; and Enfield Town Football Club, a breakaway club of Enfield F.C. formed in 2001 and currently based at Enfield's Queen Elizabeth II Stadium.

Enfield Town L.F.C. Enfield Town Ladies Football Club are a women's association football club, affiliated to Enfield Town F.C. They are members of the . They play their home games at Enfield Town's Queen Elizabeth II Stadium. In 2016 they reached the final of the ...

is Enfield Town's women's football club, also based at the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium. North Enfield Cricket Club was formed in 1886, and has been based at Clay Hill since 1945.

Transport and locale

Enfield Town is north of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

- the centre point of London - and is about south-west of Cheshunt, south-east of Potters Bar, and east of Barnet.

Nearest places

Rail

At the centre of Enfield Town is Enfield Town railway station, one of three northern termini of the Lea Valley lines to Liverpool Street in the City of London, with services operated by London Overground. On the Enfield Town branch line between Enfield Town and Edmonton Green is

Bush Hill Park Bush Hill Park is an area of Enfield, located to the south-east of Enfield Town, on the outskirts of north London, and historically in Middlesex. Much of the district is a planned suburban estate, developed mainly in the late-19th and early-2 ...

. The Southbury Loop separates from the Enfield Town branch line between Bush Hill Park and Edmonton Green stations, towards Cheshunt. The loop runs through

Southbury Southbury is a town in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Southbury is north of Oxford and Newtown, and east of Brookfield. Its population was 19,879 at the 2020 census. Southbury comprises sprawling rural country areas, ...

and

Turkey Street Turkey Street is a London Overground station on the Southbury Loop section of the Lea Valley lines, located in the Bullsmoor area to the north of Enfield in north London. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between ...

stations in Enfield, at which London Overground services between Liverpool Street and Cheshunt call. The West Anglia Main Line, also one of the Lea Valley lines, runs through Ponders End, Brimsdown and Enfield Lock stations. Services are operated by

Greater Anglia Greater Anglia (legal name Transport UK East Anglia Limited) is a British train operating company owned as a joint venture by Transport UK Group and Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and inter-city ser ...

to Liverpool Street, Stratford, Hertford East and

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated po ...

. Enfield Chase railway station on Windmill Hill, west of the town centre, is on the Hertford Loop line, with services to Moorgate, Hertford North, Watton-at-Stone and

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

operated by Thameslink. Also on this line are Crews Hill, Gordon Hill and Grange Park.

Buses

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...

routes

121 121 may refer to: * 121 (number), a natural number *AD 121, a year in the 2nd century AD * 121 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 121 (Eagle) Sqn * 121 (MBTA bus) * 121 (New Jersey bus) *Road 121, see list of highways numbered 121 *Russian cruiser ...

,

191 Year 191 (Roman numerals, CXCI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Bradua (or, less frequently, year 944 ' ...

,

192 Year 192 ( CXCII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aelius and Pertinax (or, less frequently, year 945 ''Ab urbe condita ...

, 217, 231,

279 __NOTOC__ Year 279 ( CCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Paternus (or, less frequently, year 1032 ...

, 307,

313 __NOTOC__ Year 313 ( CCCXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinianus (or, less frequently, yea ...

,

317 Year 317 ( CCCXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallicanus and Bassus (or, less frequently, year 1070 ''Ab urbe c ...

,

329 __NOTOC__ Year 329 ( CCCXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Constantinus (or, less frequently ...

,

349 __NOTOC__ Year 349 ( CCCXLIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Limenius and Catullinus (or, less frequently, year 1102 ...

,

377 __NOTOC__ Year 377 ( CCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Merobaudes (or, less frequently, year 11 ...

,

456 __NOTOC__ Year 456 ( CDLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avitus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1209 '' ...

, 629, W8, W9, W10, night routes N29 and N279, and non-London routes 610, 611 and 629 serve Enfield.

In Popular Culture

Enfield and its clock tower are important locations in the 2016 young adult novel '' Timekeeper'' by Tara Sim. The Enfield poltergeist (a claim of alleged

poltergeist In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descr ...

activity in Brimsdown, Enfield between 1977 and 1999), was dramatized in the 2016 horror film '' The Conjuring 2''. The story also attracted press coverage in British newspapers, and has been mentioned in books, and television and radio documentaries. The Barclays Bank in the main town was the site of the first cash machine in the world

Citations

General and cited works

* * *

External links

* {{London Districts Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Enfield Market towns in London Major centres of London Places formerly in Middlesex

History

Notable people, places, and events

Enfield Palace

Enfield Market

The Enfield Fair

The New River

Hothouses

John Keats

Silver Street White House

World's first ATM

The Civic Centre

Demography

Sport

Transport and locale

Nearest places

Rail

Buses

In Popular Culture

See also

Citations

General and cited works

External links