Winchmore Hill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Winchmore Hill is a district in the Borough of Enfield, North London, in the N21 postal district.
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[edit] Location
Centering on the Winchmore Hill conservation area, Winchmore Hill is a ward of Enfield borough, bounded on the east by Green Lanes (the A105 road), Barrowell Green, Firs Lane and Fords Grove, and on the west by Grovelands Park; in the south it extends to part of Aldermans Hill, and in the north to Vicars Moor Lane and Houndsden Road. Winchmore Hill is 8.9 miles (14.3km) north north-east of Charing Cross.
Once a small village hamlet in the parish of Edmonton, Winchmore Hill now borders with Palmers Green, Southgate, Edmonton, and Grange Park.
[edit] History
Prior to occupation by the Romans, Hertfordshire, Essex and Middlesex were invaded and occupied by the Belgian Catuvellauni tribe. It is believed that this tribe built an ancient hill fort on the mound where Bush Hill Park Golf club HQ now stands.
The earliest recorded mention of Winchmore Hill is in a deed dated A.D. 1319 in which it is spelt Wynsemerhull.
In Old English, 'merhull' translates according the Concise Oxford Dictionary of English place names as 'boundary hill'. It might be speculated that the overall title could mean 'Wynsige's boundary hill'. By 1395 the name had been altered to Wynsmerhull and by 1565 the village was known as Wynsmorehyll, becoming Winchmore Hill by the time it was mentioned in state papers in 1586.
There are many buildings of historical note in Winchmore Hill including St Paul's Church, which was built as a Waterloo church on land donated from the Grovelands estate. The church ceiling was said to be the largest unsupported expanse of plasterwork in Europe until its renovation in the 1960s introduced concealed supports. The original wooden clapboard St Paul's School building can be seen a little further down Church Hill. The remains of the second brick and stone, school building are evident in the walls of the church car park. The current 1960s building is on Ringwood Way, off Station Road.
The oldest pub in the district is probably the Green Dragon - now named Jim Thompson's - on Green Lanes. It is reputed to have started in 1726 on the junction of Green Lanes and Green Dragon Lane. The Victoria County History reveals that by 1752 The Green Dragon was established, although not in it present form. At that time, highwaymen were hanged near to where they were caught, and it is said that
one was caught and executed on a gallows erected by the Green Dragon's front entrance. These gallows were not pulled down for a number of years, which might have prompted the owner to move the pub to its current location at the bottom of Vicars Moor Lane near the end of the 18th century. The original Green Dragon was pulled down in 1892 and the new one was extensively remodelled in 1935.
Reportedly, the Woodman pub near the end of Broadwalk was built in 1727, although there is alsoevidence to suggest it dates from 1820. Before the building obtained a pub licence in 1868, it was private residence.
Numerous local buildings that were constructed between 1770 and 1839 remain today. Near the Dog and Duck on Hoppers Road are some old terraced houses built around 1770. Number 106A Vicars Moor Lane is a distinctive private residence that retains the facade of a chapel. To the east on the same road are a number of residences that were probably built around the late 18th or early 19th century.
In 1865 the Great Northern Railway Company obtained permission to build a new line to run from Wood Green to Hertford through Palmers Green and Enfield. However, in 1869 financial constrainsts forced the company to consider Enfield as the most Northern terminus. Palmers Green and Winchmore Hill were to be the intervening rural stations. The intention was to finish the line to Enfield by 1870 but the terrain was more troublesome than expected and five men met their death while laying the track. The branch opened on All-Fools day 1871, and the first passenger train came through Winchmore Hill creating a new suburb of London town. At first only 16 trains a day left Enfield, mostly for Moorgate.
An electric tramway along Green Lanes from Palmers Green was developed in 1907 helping to further develop the area. The tramway is now long gone, but the wide road remains and the 329 bus follows the tram route from Enfield to Turnpike Lane.
[edit] Winchmore Hill today
At the heart of the area is Winchmore Hill Green, a village green surrounded by shops and restaurants. Of particular note in Winchmore Hill is Grovelands Park which originated as a private estate before being partly being sold to the council in 1913. The part remaining in private hands now contains the famous Priory Clinic, which hosted General Pinochet whilst he was in the UK awaiting charges from the Spanish government.
Winchmore Hill is located in the Parliamentary constituency of Enfield Southgate. It is held by some that, in the 1997 General Election, the incumbent MP Michael Portillo lost his seat in part due to the proposal to build a McDonalds restaurant on the site of the former Century House Conservative club, behind residences in Elm Park Road. This was never built; but the site is now occupied by a Tesco service station and store.
At the 2001 census, Winchmore Hill had 12,225 residents in 4,976 households. 80% of residences were owned by their occupiers. The population was in general rather more elderly than in the rest of Enfield - 38.3% being 45 or over, compared with 35.3% for the borough as a whole. Winchmore Hill also scored higher than average for the borough in terms of employment and health, and had the highest proportion of social class AB of any Enfield ward (35.9% against 22.5% average).
[edit] Railway connections
First Capital Connect provide services on the electrified railway line which runs from Hertford North through Winchmore Hill station into London. This line connects further south to the tube system at Finsbury Park, Highbury and Islington, Old Street and Moorgate, where it terminates. After 22:00 trains run directly to King's Cross from Finsbury Park, rather than stations to Moorgate (the last train back from Moorgate is at 22:26). (Timings from 2007 timetable). The nearest London Underground station is at Southgate which is on the Piccadilly Line.
[edit] External links
[edit] Nearby places
[edit] Famous residents
[edit] Arts
- Thomas Hood, humorist and poet (a blue plaque is on a building in Vicars Moor Lane.)
- Ted Ray, actor
- Louise, singer
- Frank Mann England cricketer.
- Cliff Richard, singer
- Matthew Garber actor
[edit] Sports
- Jo Durie, tennis player
- Jamie Redknapp, footballer
- Richard Hill, England Rugby World Cup winning flanker.
- Kenneth Friar director of Arsenal Football Club
[edit] Other
- Sir Roy Strong, lived here when young
- Leslie Smith , co-founder of Matchbox Toys
- Ross and Norris McWhirter founder editors of the Guiness Book of Records
- Nicholas Kyriacou, astrologist
- Edward Lyne, ITV News reporter (GMTV)
- Valerie Susan Holmes beauty queen
[edit] See also
- Winchmore Hill Resident's Association
- St Paul's Primary School
- St Paul's Church Winchmore Hill
- The Northern Convalescent Fever Hospital, Winchmore Hill
- Southgate Cricket Club
- Winchmore Hill Cricket Club
- Enfield Borough Police History
[edit] Bibliography
- The Cresswells of Winchmore Hill by Peter Hodge;
- A History of Winchmore Hill by S. Delvin;
- Winchmore Hill: Memories of a Lost Village, Cresswell, Henrietta;
- Memories of Winchmore Hill, Horace G Regnart;
- Fond Memories of Winchmore Hill, Alan Dumayne;
- A Look at Old Winchmore Hill, Stuart Devlin;
- Southgate and Winchmore Hill: A Short History, David Pam;
- Dr Cresswell's Winchmore Hill published by the London Borough of Enfield Libraries
