Tottenham () is a town in
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nor ...
, England, within the
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation o ...
. It is located in the
ceremonial county of
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 ...
. Tottenham is centred north-northeast 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; ...
, bordering
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
to the north,
Walthamstow, across the
River Lea, to the east, and
Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the ...
to the south, with
Wood Green
Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a maj ...
and
Harringay
Harringay (pronounced ) is a district of north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the New River, where it crosses Green Lanes by Finsbury Park, and Duckett' ...
to the west.
The area rapidly expanded in the late-19th century, becoming a
working-class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
suburb of London following the advent of the railway and mass development of housing for the
lower-middle and working classes. It is the location of
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
, founded in 1882. The parish of
Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...
was granted
urban district
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
status in 1894 and
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
status in 1934. Following the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the area saw large-scale development of
council housing
Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
, including
tower blocks
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...
. Until 1965 Tottenham was in the
historic county of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
. In 1965, the borough of Tottenham merged with the municipal boroughs of
Hornsey
Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood and Alexandra Park to the ...
and
Wood Green
Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a maj ...
to form the London Borough of Haringey.
Tottenham is renowned for its
multicultural
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
, ethnically diverse population. Following an influx of an
Afro-Caribbean
Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...
population during the
Windrush era in the mid-20th century, it became one of the most ethnically diverse areas in Britain. It has more recently become home to an increased population from Africa, Asia, South America and Eastern Europe. At the 2011 census, the population of Tottenham was 129,237.
History
Toponymy
Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
. 'Tota's hamlet', it is thought, developed into 'Tottenham'. The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Toteham'', in the ancient
hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
of
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
. It is not related to
Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden.
The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road t ...
in Central London, though the two names share a similar-sounding root.
Early history
![1619 Tottenham map (full)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/1619_Tottenham_map_%28full%29.jpg)
There has been a settlement at Tottenham for over a thousand years. It grew up along the old
Roman road,
Ermine Street
Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas' ...
(some of which is part of the present
A10 road), and between
High Cross and
Tottenham Hale, the present Monument Way.
When the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086, about 70 families lived within the area of the manor, mostly labourers working for the
Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...
. A humorous poem entitled the
Tournament of Tottenham
The Tournament of Tottenham is a short humorous poem of 231 lines written in Middle English and is dated between 1400 and 1440. There are two known manuscripts for the poem, one Harleian 5306 (H), 1456 in the British Library and the other Ff. II 38 ...
, written around 1400, describes a mock-battle between peasants vying for the
reeve's daughter.
The
River Lea (or ''Lee'') was the eastern boundary between the Municipal Boroughs of Tottenham and
Walthamstow. It is the ancient boundary between
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
and
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
and also formed the western boundary of the Viking controlled
Danelaw
The Danelaw (, also known as the Danelagh; ang, Dena lagu; da, Danelagen) was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The Danelaw contrasts with the West Saxon law and the Mercian ...
. Today it is the boundary between the London Boroughs of Haringey and
Waltham Forest
The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to t ...
. A major tributary of the
Lea
Lea or LEA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Lea River, Tasmania, Australia
* Lake Lea, Tasmania, from which the Lea River flows
* RAAF Base Learmonth, IATA airport code "LEA"
England
* Lea, Cheshire, a civil parish
* Lea, Derbyshire, a set ...
, the
River Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
, also crosses the borough from west to east, and often caused serious flooding until it was mostly covered in the 19th century.
From the
Tudor period
The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in History of England, England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in Englan ...
onwards, Tottenham became a popular recreation and leisure destination for wealthy Londoners.
Henry VIII is known to have visited
Bruce Castle
Bruce Castle (formerly the Lordship House) is a Grade I listed 16th-century manor house in Lordship Lane, Tottenham, London. It is named after the House of Bruce who formerly owned the land on which it is built. Believed to stand on the site ...
and also hunted in Tottenham Wood. A rural Tottenham also featured in
Izaak Walton's book ''
The Compleat Angler
''The Compleat Angler'' (the spelling is sometimes modernised to ''The Complete Angler'', though this spelling also occurs in first editions) is a book by Izaak Walton. It was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot in London.
Walton continu ...
'', published in 1653. The area became noted for its large
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
population and its schools (including
Rowland Hill
Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...
at Bruce Castle.) Tottenham remained a semi-rural and upper middle class area until the 1870s.
Modern era
In late 1870s, the
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...
introduced special workman's trains and fares on its newly opened
Enfield
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)
...
and
Walthamstow branch lines. Tottenham's low-lying fields and market gardens were then rapidly transformed into cheap housing for the lower middle and working classes, who were able to commute cheaply to inner London. The workman's fare policy stimulated the relatively early development of the area into a London suburb.
In 1894, Tottenham was made an
urban district
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
and on 27 September 1934 it became a
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
. As from 1 April 1965, the
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
formed part of the
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation o ...
together with
Hornsey
Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood and Alexandra Park to the ...
and
Wood Green
Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a maj ...
.
An incident occurred on 23 January 1909, which was at the time known as the
Tottenham Outrage
The Tottenham Outrage of 23 January 1909 was an armed robbery in Tottenham, North London, that resulted in a two-hour chase between the police and armed criminals over a distance of , with an estimated 400 rounds of ammunition fired by the thie ...
. Two armed robbers, Latvian Jews of
Russian extraction, held up the wages clerk of rubber works in Chestnut Road. They made their getaway via
Tottenham Marshes
The Tottenham Marshes are located at Tottenham in the London Borough of Haringey. The marshes cover over and became part of the Lee Valley Park in 1972. The marsh is made up of three main areas: Clendish Marsh, Wild Marsh West and Wild Marsh Ea ...
and fled across the Lea. On the opposite bank of the river, they hijacked a
Walthamstow Corporation tramcar, hotly pursued by the police on another tram. The hijacked tram was stopped but the robbers continued their flight on foot. After firing their weapons and killing two people, Ralph Joscelyne, aged 10, and PC William Tyler, they were eventually cornered by the police and shot themselves rather than be captured. Fourteen other people were wounded during the chase. The incident later became the subject of a
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Tottenham was one of the many targets of the
German air offensive against Britain. Bombs fell in the borough (Elmar Road) during the first
air raid on London on 24 August 1940. The borough also received
V-1 V1, V01 or V-1 can refer to version one (for anything) (e.g., see version control)
V1, V01 or V-1 may also refer to:
In aircraft
* V-1 flying bomb, a World War II German weapon
* V1 speed, the maximum speed at which an aircraft pilot may abort ...
(four incidents) and
V-2
The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...
hits, the last of which occurred on 15 March 1945. Wartime shortages led to the creation of Tottenham Pudding, a mixture of household waste food which was converted into feeding stuff for pigs and poultry. The "pudding" was named by
Queen Mary on a visit to Tottenham Refuse Works. Production continued into the
post-war period, its demise coinciding with the merging of the borough into the new London Borough of Haringey.
Riots
*The
Broadwater Farm riot
The Broadwater Farm riot occurred on the Broadwater council estate in Tottenham, North London, on 6 October 1985.
The events of the day were dominated by two deaths. The first was that of Cynthia Jarrett, an Afro-Caribbean woman who died the p ...
occurred around the Broadwater Farm Estate on 6 October 1985 following the death of Cynthia Jarrett. Jarrett was a resident of Tottenham who lived about from the estate, who died of heart failure during a police search of her home. The tension between local black youths and the largely white
Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
had been high due to a combination of local issues and the aftermath of
riots in Brixton which had occurred in the previous week. The response of some of the black community in Tottenham and surrounding areas culminated in a riot beginning on Tottenham High Road and ending in Broadwater Farm Estate. One police officer,
Keith Blakelock
Keith Henry Blakelock QGM, a London Metropolitan Police constable, was murdered on 6 October 1985 during rioting at the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham, north London. The riot broke out after Cynthia Jarrett died of heart failur ...
, was
murdered; 58 policemen and 24 other people were injured in the fighting. Two of the policemen were injured by gunshots during the riot, the first time that firearms had been used in that type of confrontation.
![Bruce Grove Post Office, High Road N17 - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Bruce_Grove_Post_Office%2C_High_Road_N17_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2560665.jpg)
*The
2011 Tottenham riots
The 2011 England riots, more widely known as the London riots, were a series of riots between 6 and 11 August 2011. Thousands of people rioted in cities and towns across England, which saw looting, arson, as well as mass deployment of police and ...
were a series of riots precipitated by
the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old man in Tottenham, by officers of the
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
on 4 August 2011.
Attacks were carried out on two police cars, a bus, a Post Office and several local shops from 8:00 pm onwards on 6 August 2011. Riot police vans attended the scene of disturbances on Tottenham High Road. Later in the evening, the riot spread, with an
Aldi
Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
supermarket and a branch of
Allied Carpets
Allied Carpets was a small retail chain specialising in floor coverings, mainly carpets (80%) and then also laminate and wood flooring and curtains, in the United Kingdom. Following financial difficulties and several changes of ownership, the co ...
also destroyed by fire, and widespread looting in nearby
Wood Green
Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a maj ...
shopping centre and the retail park at Tottenham Hale. Several flats above shops on Tottenham High Road collapsed due to the fires. 26 shared ownership flats in the Union Point development above the Carpetright store – built in the landmark Cooperative department store building – were also destroyed by fire. The triggering event was when a group of over one hundred local Tottenham residents set out to undertake a protest march against the
killing of Mark Duggan, who was shot by police officers assigned to
Operation Trident earlier in the week. The crowd made up of Duggan's family and local community leaders, gathered outside Tottenham police station on 6 August 2011 to protest the failure of the police to provide family members with a formal notice of the killing. The circumstances surrounding Duggan's death were not entirely clear at the time of the riot. On 17 August 2011, the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
and his wife
Duchess of Cornwall
Duchess of Cornwall is a courtesy title held by the wife of the eldest son and heir of the British monarch. The current title-holder is Catherine, wife of William, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall.
Duchesses of Cornwall
Until her husband' ...
visited an emergency center to meet victims of the riots.
Railway history
![South tottenham station 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/South_tottenham_station_1.jpg)
*The
Northern and Eastern Railway
The Northern & Eastern Railway (N&ER) was an early British railway company, that planned to build a line from London to York. Its ambition was cut successively back, and it was only constructed from Stratford, east of London, to the towns of Bi ...
– running from
Stratford to
Broxbourne
Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 I ...
– was opened on 15 September 1840 with two stations in the district:
Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...
and
Marsh Lane.
*The
Tottenham & Hampstead Junction Railway
The Tottenham & Hampstead Junction Railway was a railway line in north London, formed by an Act of Parliament of 28 July 1862, which today is mostly part of the Gospel Oak to Barking line. It was effectively part of an attempt by the Great Easte ...
was opened on 21 July 1868.
South Tottenham station was opened in 1871.
St Ann's Road opened in 1882 but closed after service on 8 August 1942.
*The
Stoke Newington & Edmonton Railway
The Stoke Newington & Edmonton Railway was built by the Great Eastern Railway, under the GER (Metropolitan Station & Railways) Act of 29 July 1864. Construction was delayed due to the financial problems of the GER. Work commenced on the Hackney Do ...
– The section between Stoke Newington and Lower Edmonton opened on 22 July 1872 with stations in Tottenham at
Stamford Hill
Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the ...
(half of the station lies in the borough),
Seven Sisters,
Bruce Grove
Bruce Grove is a ward in Tottenham, enclosed by Lordship Recreation Ground, Lordship Lane, Philip Lane, and the High Road. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 14,483. Nearby Bruce Castle was named after Robert the Bruce.
When Ro ...
and
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...
.
*The
Palace Gates Line
The Palace Gates Line was a short railway branch line in north London running from the main line at Seven Sisters station in Tottenham to Palace Gates (Wood Green) station in Wood Green.
Opening
The line was constructed by the Great Eastern ...
opened in Tottenham on 1 January 1878 with stations at
Seven Sisters and
West Green. Passenger services ceased in 1963 with the line finally closing on 7 February 1965.
*The
Tottenham & Forest Gate Railway
The Tottenham & Forest Gate Railway was a railway line in north London, formed by an Act of Parliament of 1890 and built as joint venture between the Midland Railway and the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway. It officially opened on 1 July 18 ...
opened on 9 July 1894.
*The first section of the London Underground's
Victoria line
The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in south London and in the north-east, via the West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tube map and is one of the only two lines on the network to run completely underg ...
opened on 1 September 1968.
Governance
Parliament
Tottenham is the biggest part of the
parliamentary constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
of
Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...
. The constituency was created in 1885 when the first MP was
Joseph Howard of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. The boundaries were redrawn in 1918, and Tottenham was divided into two separate constituencies:
Tottenham North and
Tottenham South. Since being reinstated in 1950, it has been predominantly represented by MPs from the
Labour Party, with the exception of
Alan Brown who defected to the Conservatives due to disagreement with the Labour Party's defence policy at the time. The current MP is
David Lammy who won a by-election in 2000 following the death of
Bernie Grant
Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant (17 February 1944 – 8 April 2000) was a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Tottenham, London, from 1987 to his death in 2000.
Biography
Bernie Grant was born in Georgetown ...
.
Local government
![Tottenham town hall 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Tottenham_town_hall_1.jpg)
Tottenham was at the center of a local administrative area from the medieval period until 1965. The administrative area developed from a parish in Middlesex into an
Urban sanitary district
Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures:
*Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies
*Rural sanitary dis ...
in 1875, after a local board of health had been established in 1850. It was then divided in 1888 and
Wood Green
Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a maj ...
became a separate authority.
In 1894, Tottenham was reconstituted first as an
urban district
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
, based at
Tottenham Town Hall
Tottenham Town Hall is a municipal building in Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham, London. It is a Grade II listed building.
History
In the 19th century the local board of health met at Bruce Castle. After the area became an Urban district (Gre ...
, then as a
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
in 1934. Under the
Local Government Act 1963, it became part of the larger
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation o ...
. The Tottenham neighbourhood is now one of twenty neighbourhoods in
Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of ...
.
Geography
Its
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
is approximately above sea level.
Sub-districts
Because of Tottenham's long history as a borough, the Tottenham name is used by some to this day to describe the whole of the area formerly covered by the old borough, incorporating the N17
postcode area and part of N15. However, there are differing views as to what constitutes the Tottenham neighbourhood in the present day. Many think of Tottenham today as most of the area covered by the N17 post code, sometimes using the phrase 'Tottenham Proper' to describe it and to distinguish it from the other parts of the old borough.
* North: This area stretches along
Tottenham High Road
Tottenham High Road is the main thoroughfare through the district of Tottenham, in the London Borough of Haringey. It runs from Edmonton in the North (where it becomes Fore Street) to Stamford Hill in the South (where the road becomes Stamford H ...
from the
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
border in the north to
Lordship Lane in the south: districts include
Little Russia
Little Russia (russian: Малороссия/Малая Россия, Malaya Rossiya/Malorossiya; uk, Малоросія/Мала Росія, Malorosiia/Mala Rosiia), also known in English as Malorussia, Little Rus' (russian: Малая Ру ...
and
Northumberland Park.
* Central: Continuing along the high road, the central area includes
Bruce Grove
Bruce Grove is a ward in Tottenham, enclosed by Lordship Recreation Ground, Lordship Lane, Philip Lane, and the High Road. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 14,483. Nearby Bruce Castle was named after Robert the Bruce.
When Ro ...
,
Tottenham Green and
Tottenham Hale wards, as well as Tottenham Hale station and retail park.
* West: To the west of the area are
Broadwater Farm
Broadwater Farm, often referred to simply as "The Farm", is an area in Tottenham, North London, straddling the River Moselle (London), River Moselle. The eastern half of the area is dominated by the Broadwater Farm Housing estate, Estate ("BWFE") ...
and the
Tower Gardens Estate.
* South: Further along the
A10 road until St Ann's Road, including
South Tottenham
South Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, north London.
Location
South Tottenham occupies parts of the N15 and N17 postal districts. It is bordered in the south by Stamford Hill, the west by St Ann's and West Green, the ...
and
Seven Sisters.
Neighbouring areas
*
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
*
Harringay
Harringay (pronounced ) is a district of north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the New River, where it crosses Green Lanes by Finsbury Park, and Duckett' ...
*
Noel Park
Noel Park in north London is a planned community built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries consisting of 2,200 model dwellings, designed by Rowland Plumbe. It was developed as the Noel Park Estate on a tract of land on the edge of north ...
*
Palmers Green
Palmers Green is a suburban area and electoral ward in North London, England, within the London Borough of Enfield. It is located within the N13 postcode district, around north of Charing Cross. It is home to the largest population of Greek Cy ...
*
St Ann's
*
Tottenham Hale
*
Walthamstow
*
West Green
*
Wood Green
Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a maj ...
*
South Tottenham
South Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, north London.
Location
South Tottenham occupies parts of the N15 and N17 postal districts. It is bordered in the south by Stamford Hill, the west by St Ann's and West Green, the ...
Demography
A claim made by MP
David Lammy in 2011, indicated that at that time Tottenham had the highest unemployment rate in London and the eighth highest in the United Kingdom, and it had some of the highest poverty rates within the country.
Ethnic composition
Tottenham has a multicultural population, with many ethnic groups inhabiting the area. It contains one of the largest and most significant populations of
Afro-Caribbean
Afro-Caribbean people or African Caribbean are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern African-Caribbeans descend from Africans taken as slaves to colonial Caribbean via the ...
people. These were among the earliest groups of immigrants to settle in the area, starting from the UK's
Windrush era. The Seven Sisters ward has the largest proportion of Jewish residents among Haringey wards, at 18.1%.
In the 2011 UK Census, the ethnic composition of the
Tottenham constituency, of which Tottenham is a large part, was as follows:
*27.7% Other White
*26.7% Black
*22.3% White British
*10.7% Asian
*12.6% Other/Mixed
Crime
Tottenham has been one of the main hotspots for
gangs
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
and gun crime in the United Kingdom during the past three decades. This followed the rise of gangs and drug wars throughout the area, notably those involving the
Tottenham Mandem
The Tottenham Mandem (also Tottenham Man Dem, TMD, or Man Dem Crew, formerly known as Frontliners or Tottenham Boys) were an organised street gang based in Tottenham, North London, that began on the Broadwater Farm estate prior to the Broadwa ...
gang and various gangs from
Hackney and all of the areas surrounding Tottenham, and the emergence of an organised crime ring known as the
Turkish mafia
Turkish mafia ( tr, Türk mafyası) is the general term for criminal organizations based in Turkey and/or composed of (former) Turkish citizens. Crime groups with origins in Turkey are active throughout Western Europe (where a strong Turkish immi ...
fought other London gangs to allegedly control more than 90% of the UK's
heroin market.
In 1999, Tottenham was identified as one of the
yardie
Yardie (or Yaadi) is a term often used, particularly within the Caribbean expatriate and Jamaican diaspora, to refer to people of Jamaican origin, though its exact meaning changes depending on context. The term is derived from the Jamaican pa ...
s' strongholds in London, along with
Hackney,
Harlesden
Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, North West London.
Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west towards ...
,
Peckham
Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720.
History
"Peckham" is a Saxon p ...
and
Brixton
Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
.
Landmarks and notable places
![Bruce castle 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Bruce_castle_1.jpg)
*
All Hallows Church – This is the oldest surviving building in
Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of ...
and dates back to
Norman times. For more than 700 years it was the original parish church for Tottenham. Presented in 1802 with a bell from the
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
Garrison, which was captured from the French in the
1759 Battle of Quebec, Canada. Adjacent to the church is
Tottenham Cemetery
Tottenham Cemetery is a large burial ground in Tottenham in the London Borough of Haringey, in north London, England. It was opened in 1858 by the Tottenham Burial Board to replace the churchyard of All Hallows' Church, Tottenham which had clo ...
.
*
Broadwater Farm
Broadwater Farm, often referred to simply as "The Farm", is an area in Tottenham, North London, straddling the River Moselle (London), River Moselle. The eastern half of the area is dominated by the Broadwater Farm Housing estate, Estate ("BWFE") ...
– Housing estate completed 1967. Site of the
Broadwater Farm riot
The Broadwater Farm riot occurred on the Broadwater council estate in Tottenham, North London, on 6 October 1985.
The events of the day were dominated by two deaths. The first was that of Cynthia Jarrett, an Afro-Caribbean woman who died the p ...
in 1985.
*
Brook Street Chapel
Brook Street Chapel is a church building in Tottenham, North London. The building was constructed for use as a meeting place for local Christians affiliated with the Plymouth Brethren movement.
History
A group of around eight individuals who had ...
– Non-denominational Christian chapel, established in 1839, and one of the earliest
Plymouth Brethren /
Open Brethren
The Open Brethren, sometimes called Christian Brethren, are a group of Evangelical Christian churches that arose in the late 1820s as part of the Assembly Movement within the Plymouth Brethren tradition. They originated in Ireland before spread ...
assemblies in London that still exists. The church was associated with local notable Christians such as
Hudson Taylor
James Hudson Taylor (; 21 May 1832 – 3 June 1905) was a British Baptist Christian missionary to China and founder of the China Inland Mission (CIM, now OMF International). Taylor spent 51 years in China. The society that he began was respons ...
,
Dr Barnardo
Thomas John Barnardo (4 July 184519 September 1905) was an Irish-born philanthropist and founder and director of homes for poor and deprived children. From the foundation of the first Barnardo's home in 1867 to the date of Barnardo's death, ne ...
,
John Eliot Howard,
Luke Howard
Luke Howard, (28 November 1772 – 21 March 1864) was a British manufacturing chemist and an amateur meteorologist with broad interests in science. His lasting contribution to science is a nomenclature system for clouds, which he proposed i ...
and
Philip Gosse.
*
Bruce Castle
Bruce Castle (formerly the Lordship House) is a Grade I listed 16th-century manor house in Lordship Lane, Tottenham, London. It is named after the House of Bruce who formerly owned the land on which it is built. Believed to stand on the site ...
,
Lordship Lane – Grade 1 listed, it was Tottenham's manor house and dates from the sixteenth century, with alterations by subsequent occupants. It was given the name 'Bruce Castle' during the seventeenth century by the
2nd Lord Coleraine, who was Lord of the Manor at the time. He named it after '
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...
', whose family had been
lords of the manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seigno ...
during the medieval period. The building was purchased by the Hill family, who turned it into a progressive school.
Sir Rowland Hill
Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...
was its first headmaster, and he was living there in 1840 when he, as
Postmaster General
A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...
, introduced the
Uniform Penny Post
The Uniform Penny Post was a component of the comprehensive reform of the Royal Mail, the UK's official postal service, that took place in the 19th century. The reforms were a government initiative to eradicate the abuse and corruption of the e ...
. Now a
local history
Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...
museum, Bruce Castle holds the archives of the London Borough of Haringey.
* 7
Bruce Grove
Bruce Grove is a ward in Tottenham, enclosed by Lordship Recreation Ground, Lordship Lane, Philip Lane, and the High Road. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 14,483. Nearby Bruce Castle was named after Robert the Bruce.
When Ro ...
– The building features an
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
commemorating
Luke Howard
Luke Howard, (28 November 1772 – 21 March 1864) was a British manufacturing chemist and an amateur meteorologist with broad interests in science. His lasting contribution to science is a nomenclature system for clouds, which he proposed i ...
(1772–1864), the 'Father of Meteorology', who named the
clouds
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may com ...
in 1802.
![Smithson house at Tottenham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Smithson_house_at_Tottenham.jpg)
* Chapel Place, White Hart Lane: now the Living Word Temple, it was built in 1826 as a Roman Catholic chapel dedicated to
St Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...
, and founded the eponymous school in Brereton Road. Later served as a clothes factory before being restored to use as a place of worship.
* Clyde Circus conservation area.
*
Downhills Park.
* Edmanson's Close – Previously known as the ''Almshouses of the
Drapers' Company
The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London. It has the formal name The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Dr ...
'', they were built in 1870 and were established through the generosity of three seventeenth-century
benefactors,
Sir John Jolles, John Pemel and John Edmanson.
![BWFE from Gloucester Road 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/BWFE_from_Gloucester_Road_2.JPG)
*
High Cross – Erected sometime between 1600 and 1609 on the site of an earlier Christian cross, although there is some speculation that the first structure on the site was a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
beacon or marker, situated on a low summit on
Ermine Street
Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas' ...
. Tottenham High Cross is often mistakenly thought to be an
Eleanor cross.
*
Lordship Recreation Ground
Lordship Recreation Ground is a public park in Tottenham, London Borough of Haringey. It is over in size. Access is from Lordship Lane and from opposite Downhills Park in Downhills Park Road. It stretches approximately 750m north-south. The Ri ...
.
*
Markfield Beam Engine
Markfield Road Pumping Station, now known as Markfield Beam Engine and Museum or sometimes just as Markfield Beam Engine is a Grade II listed building containing a beam engine, originally built in 1886 to pump sewage from Tottenham towards the ...
.
*
Northumberland Development Project
The Northumberland Development Project is a mixed-use development project that centres around the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which replaced White Hart Lane as the home ground of Tottenham Hotspur. On opening in April 2019, the stadium had a ...
, incorporating a new stadium for
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
.
* Northumberland Row – Erected circa 1740 on the site of the former Smithson seat, previously that of the Hynningham family. The gate piers are possibly from
Bruce Castle
Bruce Castle (formerly the Lordship House) is a Grade I listed 16th-century manor house in Lordship Lane, Tottenham, London. It is named after the House of Bruce who formerly owned the land on which it is built. Believed to stand on the site ...
. The wrought iron gate bears the monogram ''HS'' for one of the two
Hugh Smithsons, both Tottenham landowners and sometime MPs for Middlesex.
*
Tottenham Cemetery
Tottenham Cemetery is a large burial ground in Tottenham in the London Borough of Haringey, in north London, England. It was opened in 1858 by the Tottenham Burial Board to replace the churchyard of All Hallows' Church, Tottenham which had clo ...
– A large cemetery, which makes up part of an open access area of land and habitat, along with
Bruce Castle
Bruce Castle (formerly the Lordship House) is a Grade I listed 16th-century manor house in Lordship Lane, Tottenham, London. It is named after the House of Bruce who formerly owned the land on which it is built. Believed to stand on the site ...
Park and All Hallows Churchyard.
*
Tottenham Marshes
The Tottenham Marshes are located at Tottenham in the London Borough of Haringey. The marshes cover over and became part of the Lee Valley Park in 1972. The marsh is made up of three main areas: Clendish Marsh, Wild Marsh West and Wild Marsh Ea ...
(part of the
Lee Valley Regional Park
Lee Valley Regional Park is a long linear park, much of it green spaces, running through the northeast of Greater London, Essex and Hertfordshire from the River Thames to Ware, through areas such as Stratford, Clapton, Tottenham, Enfield, ...
).
*
Tottenham War Services Institute.
*
Tower Gardens Estate – Previously known as the ''LCC White Hart Lane Estate'', this
"out of county" LCC cottage housing estate was constructed beginning in 1904. The architectural style is said to be inspired by houses in
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
, Belgium. The estate was the home of
Harry Champion
William Henry Crump (17 April 1865 – 14 January 1942), better known by the stage name Harry Champion, was an English music hall composer, singer and comedian, whose onstage persona appealed chiefly to the working class communities of Ea ...
, a well-known
music hall star and performer of the song "
I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am
"I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" (also "I'm Henery the VIII, I Am" or "I'm Henry VIII, I Am"; spelled "Henery" but pronounced " 'Enery" in the Cockney style normally used to sing it) is a 1910 British music hall song by Fred Murray and R. P. Weston ...
".
*
Tottenham Town Hall
Tottenham Town Hall is a municipal building in Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham, London. It is a Grade II listed building.
History
In the 19th century the local board of health met at Bruce Castle. After the area became an Urban district (Gre ...
– A Grade II listed Edwardian building.
Transport
London Underground
The
Victoria line
The Victoria line is a London Underground line that runs between in south London and in the north-east, via the West End. It is printed in light blue on the Tube map and is one of the only two lines on the network to run completely underg ...
passes through Tottenham, calling at
Seven Sisters and
Tottenham Hale. This connects Tottenham directly to
Walthamstow,
the West End and
Brixton
Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
.
The line has its operating depot in the area at
Northumberland Park.
National Rail
There are several railway stations in the area, served by
London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...
,
Greater Anglia and
Stansted Express
The Stansted Express is a direct train service linking London Liverpool Street to London Stansted Airport. It is a sub-brand of Greater Anglia, the current franchise operator of the East Anglia franchise.
History
In 1986, British Rail (BR) e ...
trains.
The
Lea Valley lines
The Lea Valley lines are two commuter lines and two branches in north-east London, so named because they run along the Lower Lea Valley of the River Lea. They were part of the Great Eastern Railway, now part of the ''Anglia Route'' of Network ...
link Tottenham to
Enfield Town,
Cheshunt
Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, ...
,
Hackney Downs
Hackney Downs is a park and an area of historically common land in the Lower Clapton area of the London Borough of Hackney. The name is sometimes also used to apply to the neighbourhood around the park.
Hackney Downs Park
The Downs open space ...
and
Liverpool Street in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
. London Overground trains call at:
*
Seven Sisters
*
Bruce Grove
Bruce Grove is a ward in Tottenham, enclosed by Lordship Recreation Ground, Lordship Lane, Philip Lane, and the High Road. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 14,483. Nearby Bruce Castle was named after Robert the Bruce.
When Ro ...
*
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...
Greater Anglia trains also operate a limited service to Seven Sisters.
The
West Anglia Main Line
The West Anglia Main Line is one of the two main lines that operate out of , the other being the Great Eastern Main Line, which operates services to Ipswich and Norwich via Colchester. It runs generally north through Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Har ...
links the area to Liverpool Street and
Stratford in
the East End. Northbound, Greater Anglia trains link Tottenham to destinations across
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
, including
Hertford East
Hertford East railway station is the northern terminus of the Hertford East branch line off the West Anglia Main Line in the east of England, and is located in the town of Hertford in Hertfordshire. It is down the line from London Liverpool Str ...
,
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
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
. In Tottenham, Greater Anglia trains call at:
*
Tottenham Hale
*
Northumberland Park
Stansted Express services also call at Tottenham Hale, linking the area to
London Stansted Airport
London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London.
London Stansted serves over 160 destinations ac ...
.
South Tottenham
South Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, north London.
Location
South Tottenham occupies parts of the N15 and N17 postal districts. It is bordered in the south by Stamford Hill, the west by St Ann's and West Green, the ...
is on the
Gospel Oak to Barking Line, on the London Overground network.
Buses
Tottenham is well served by many bus routes. They include Routes 41, 76, 123,
149,
192, 230, 243, 259, 279, 318, 341, 349, 476,W3 and W4
Cycling
The area is connected to both
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
cycle networks, with provisions for recreational and commuter cycling across Tottenham.
*
National Cycle Route 1 (NCR 1) - through Tottenham, NCR 1 runs along a north–south axis, following the
River Lea towpath
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport w ...
. To the south, NCR 1 passes through
Hackney Marshes and
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
. The route terminates in
Dover, Kent
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidston ...
. To the north, NCR 1 follows the towpath through
Enfield Lock
Enfield Lock is an area in the London Borough of Enfield, north London. It is approximately located east of the Hertford Road between Turkey Street and the Holmesdale Tunnel overpass, and extends to the River Lee Navigation, including the Enfi ...
towards
Roydon, Essex
Roydon is a village located in the Epping Forest district of the county of Essex, England. It is located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Harlow, 3.5 miles (5.7 km) east of Hoddesdon and 4.6 miles (7.4 km) northwest of Epping, formi ...
. The route terminates in the
Shetland Islands
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the no ...
, Scotland.
*
Cycle Superhighway 1 (CS1) - CS1 begins in Tottenham, on the High Road near the
Tottenham Hotspur stadium
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the home of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in north London, replacing the club's previous ground, White Hart Lane. With a seating capacity of 62,850, it is the third-largest football stadium in England and the ...
. CS1 runs north–south on residential or quiet roads from Tottenham, through
Dalston
Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...
to the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
. Some of the route runs on
segregated cycle track between Seven Sisters and South Tottenham railway stations.
*
Quietway 2 (Q2) - Q2 skirts around Tottenham's south-eastern edge. Running on towpaths, quiet roads and residential streets, Q2 runs unbroken from
Russell Square
Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Museum. Almost exactly square, to the ...
to
Walthamstow.
*
EuroVelo 2 (The Capitals Route) - EuroVelo 2 (EV2) is a long-distance, international cycle route running from
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Russia to
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
, Ireland. The route follows the course of NCR 1 through Tottenham.
The River Lea towpath is a
shared-use path
A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...
maintained by the
Canal and River Trust
The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, th ...
.
Cycling infrastructure
Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except whe ...
in maintained primarily by
Transport for London (TfL) and the
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation o ...
.
Sport
![Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - view from High Road - June 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Tottenham_Hotspur_Stadium_-_view_from_High_Road_-_June_2019.jpg)
Tottenham is the home of
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
. From 1899 until 2017, the club's home ground was
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...
. In 2017, White Hart Lane ground closed and demolition commenced to make way for a new stadium on the same site, known as the
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the home of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in north London, replacing the club's previous ground, White Hart Lane. With a seating capacity of 62,850, it is the third-largest football stadium in England and the ...
, as part of a wider
project for the redevelopment of the area. The new stadium was due to open in September 2018, but was delayed until later in the
2018-19 season. The stadium was opened on 3 April 2019. For the
2017-18 season and most of the
2018-19 season, the club played their home games at
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
.
Tottenham also has two
non-League football clubs,
Haringey Borough F.C. who currently play at Coles Park Stadium and
Park View who play at the
White Hart Lane Community Sports Centre
White Hart Lane Community Sports Centre, also known as the New River Stadium is a rugby league and athletics stadium in Wood Green, Haringey, north London, England that is home to London Skolars rugby league club, Enfield and Haringey Athletic ...
.
Media
The ''
Tottenham & Wood Green Independent'' is a local newspaper published by
Newsquest.
Namesakes
![Tottenham cake](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Tottenham_cake.jpg)
Tottenham cake is a
sponge cake
Sponge cake is a light cake made with egg whites, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most of them do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated ...
baked in large metal trays, covered either in pink icing or jam (and occasionally decorated with shredded desiccated coconut). Tottenham cake "was originally sold by the baker Henry Chalkley from 1901, who was a Friend (or
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
), at the price of one old penny, with smaller mis-shaped pieces sold for half an old penny." The pink colouring was derived from
mulberries
''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...
found growing at the Tottenham Friends burial ground. Originally "a peculiar local invention" of north London, the cake is now mass-produced by the
Percy Ingle chain of bakers. The cake featured on
The Great British Bake Off
''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, att ...
TV programme broadcast Tuesday 17 September 2013 on BBC2.
Notable residents
References
External links
*
Tottenham Civic SocietyTottenham: Growth before 1850 on British History OnlineThe Harris Lebus history website - the furniture factory was once one of the largest local employers at Tottenham Hale, until its closure in the 1960sWorld War Two memories (V2 rocket attack on Tottenham Grammar School)
{{Authority control
Districts of the London Borough of Haringey
Areas of London
History of the London Borough of Haringey
Places formerly in Middlesex
District centres of London