London Borough of Enfield

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For other uses of "Enfield", see Enfield (disambiguation).

Geography
London Borough of Enfield
Shown within Greater London
Status	London borough
Area — Total	Ranked 261st 82.20 km²
ONS code	00AK
Admin HQ	{{{adminhq}}}
Demographics
Population — Total (2005 est.) — Density	Ranked 26th (of 354) 280,500 3,412 / km²
Ethnicity	77.1% White 10.5% Afro-Caribbean 7.8% South Asian 0.2% Jewish
Politics
Leadership	Leader & Cabinet
Mayor	Tony Dey
Executive	Conservative
MPs	David Burrowes Andrew Love Joan Ryan
London Assembly — Member	Enfield and Haringey Joanne McCartney
Coat of Arms

Official website	http://www.enfield.gov.uk/

The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London.

Middlesex University has three campuses in Enfield (Ponders End, Cat Hill and Trent Park campus).

1 History
2 Enfield today
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

Enfield used to be a small market town on the edge of the forest about a day's travel north of London. But as Greater London has grown, Enfield has become a residential suburb with fast transport links into central London.

The current borough was formed in 1965 from the former area of the Municipal Borough of Southgate, the Municipal Borough of Enfield and the Municipal Borough of Edmonton. The armorial bearings of these three boroughs were also merged.

The creature on the shield of the Enfield coat of arms is known in heraldry as an "Enfield" (or colloquially as the Enfield beast), and is used extensively as a logo representing Enfield, particularly by the borough council.

In Roman times, Enfield was connected to Londinium by Ermine Street, the great Roman road which stretched all the way up to York. Artefacts found in the early 1900s reveal that there were Roman settlements in the areas that are now Edmonton and Bush Hill Park.

In 790 King Offa was recorded as giving the lands of Edmonton to St Albans Abbey. The area became strategically important as East Anglia was taken over by the Danes. In the 790s strongholds were built by men loyal to King Alfred the Great, in order to keep the Danes to the south of the River Lea.

After the Norman Conquest, both Enfield and Edmonton were mentioned in the Domesday Book. Both have churches, and Enfield has 400 inhabitants, Edmonton 300. Enfield is also described as having a "parc".

This parc—a heavily forested area for hunting—was key to Enfield's existence in the Middle Ages. Wealthy Londoners came to Enfield first to hunt, and then to build houses in the pleasant surroundings. In 1303, Edward I of England granted Enfield a charter to hold a weekly market, which has continued up to this day.

The Barclays Bank in Enfield was the first place in the world to have an ATM.

Enfield has a history of armaments manufacture—see Royal Small Arms Factory. For example, the Lee-Enfield .303 rifle was standard issue for the British Army for many years.

[edit] Enfield today

A major redevelopment of Edmonton Green including the shopping centre, and adjacent municipal housing over a wide area, started in 1999. This is still on-going through 2005, and is intended to provide new housing, a new leisure centre, a supermarket, and many other civic features.

Currently, Enfield Town centre is undergoing major redevelopment work, scheduled for completion by Autumn 2006. A large extension to the existing shopping centre is being built, under the name PalaceXchange.

Much of the life of Enfield currently centres around the A10 road which has a wealth of retail facilities, a night club and a very large multiplex cinema which draws film goers from miles around. Unusually, this Cineworld cinema also plays host to Jubilee Church on a Sunday morning. Whilst cinemagoers continue to watch movies in the other screens, a growing charismatic church which draws its worshippers from around London hires a couple of screens for its informal worship

[edit] Transport

London Underground services in Enfield

Enfield is served by the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground with stations at Arnos Grove, Southgate, Oakwood and Cockfosters. Suburban National Rail services of First Capital Connect and 'one' also operate on several lines in the borough and serve the following stations: