Enfield Wash is an area in the

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London borough in North London. It borders the London boroughs of Barnet to the west, Haringey to the south, and Waltham Forest to the southeast. To the north are the districts of Hertsmere, Welwyn Hat ...

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 ...

. It is approximately located in the area either side of Hertford Road between Ordnance Road/Turkey Street and Bell Lane/Hoe Lane.

History

Enfield Wash was where

Elizabeth Canning Elizabeth Canning (married name Treat; 17 September 1734 – June 1773) was an English maidservant who claimed to have been kidnapped and held against her will in a hayloft for almost a month. She ultimately became central to one of the most fa ...

(later married name Treat; 17 September 1734 – June 1773), an English maidservant claimed to have been kidnapped, held in a hayloft for almost a month and threatened with prostitution. These events became one of the most celebrated English criminal mysteries of the 18th century, and a

cause célèbre A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...

at the time. Magistrate and author

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...

was consulted on the matter. Mother Well's house was opposite the Sun and Woolpack public house, formerly the Sun and Punchbowl. The United society, the first friendly society, began to meet in the Sun and Woolpack inn, Enfield Wash, in 1794. The road crosses Turkey Brook at the Woolpack Bridge, where there was a footbridge from the 17th century, but it was not until 1821 that a proper bridge for carts was provided by the Turnpike Trust that managed Enfield Highway. The road at Enfield Wash, and the settlement, was known as '‘Horsepoolstones’ until the 18th century. Turkey Brook was also known as Maiden Brook and sometimes Wash Brook. According to legend, Bell Lane is haunted by a phantom coach. It is reputed to appear on moonless nights before Christmas, and to travel several feet above the road.

Etymology

Enfield Wash was first recorded in 1675 and on the

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

map of 1822, 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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...

'a place that floods': historically there was probably a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

here where Ermine Street crossed

Turkey Brook Turkey Brook is a river in the northern outskirts of London. It rises in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, and flows broadly eastwards to merge with the River Lea Navigation near Enfield Lock. Etymology The brook is named from the hamlet Turkey S ...

.Mills. A. D. ''Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names'' (2001) pp3,77

Transport and locale

Nearest places

* Enfield Lock *

Enfield Highway Enfield Highway is an area in the London Borough of Enfield, north London. It is roughly located in the area either side of Hertford Road (Enfield Highway) between Hoe Lane and The Ride. Etymology Enfield Highway is marked thus on the Ordnance ...

* Freezywater * Bulls Cross

Nearest railway stations

Enfield Lock railway station Enfield Lock railway station is on the West Anglia Main Line, it is in Enfield Lock in the London Borough of Enfield, London. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between and . Its three-letter station code is ENL an ...

* Turkey Street railway station

Parks and open spaces

On what had been College Farm, Albany Park, Enfield, the park was created circa 1902, probably so named to commemorate Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, the youngest son of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

, who died in 1884. The London Outer Orbital Path (Section 17) follows the course of

which flows west–east through the park.

Schools

Albany School, which was in Bell Lane, adjacent to Albany Park, was opened as a coeducational

secondary modern school A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usuall ...

in 1939, and was converted to a comprehensive school in 1967. It closed in 2009 and a new

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

, Oasis Academy Hadley, was opened by the

Oasis Trust Oasis Charitable Trust, commonly known as Oasis, is a UK-based Christian registered charity. It was founded by the Reverend Steve Chalke in September 1985. Chalke had been assistant minister at Tonbridge Baptist Church, Kent, for four years. He ...

on the site. However, the academy relocated to

Ponders End Ponders End is the southeasternmost part of Enfield, north London, centred on the Hertford Road. Situated to the west of the River Lee Navigation, it became industrialised through the 19th century, similar to the Lea Valley in neighbouring Ed ...

in 2013. In 2015 Ark John Keats Academy, an all through school for pupils aged 4–18 opened on the site.Oasis Academy in NE Enfield
Retrieved 5 February 2009

Politics

Enfield Wash is part of the Enfield North parliamentary constituency. The current MP is the Labour politician

Feryal Clark Feryal Demirci Clark (; ' Demirci; born 6 January 1979) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Enfield North since 2019. Early life Clark was born in Turkey to Alevi Kurdish parents with roots in ...

References

{{LB Enfield Places in Enfield, London Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Enfield