Waltham Cross

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Waltham Cross
Waltham Cross shown within Hertfordshire
Population	10,000
OS grid reference	TL359005
District	Broxbourne
Shire county	Hertfordshire
Region	East
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WALTHAM CROSS
Postcode district	EN8
Dialling code	01992
Police	Hertfordshire
Fire	Hertfordshire
Ambulance	East of England
European Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Broxbourne
List of places: UK • England • Hertfordshire

Coordinates: 51°41′13″N 0°02′08″W / 51.68682, -0.03547

Waltham Cross is the most south-easterly town in Hertfordshire, England, bordered by Greater London to the south and northerly rural Essex to the east. It is located at UK grid reference TL359005, just south of Cheshunt, west of Waltham Abbey and north of Enfield.

The town centre is a bustling pedestrianised shopping district attracting shoppers to the mix of chain stores and independent shops, supermarkets, banks, a covered shopping mall and the department store Fishpools which has been in the town since 1899. A general market is held on Wednesdays and Fridays, plus occasional French and farmers' markets.

The Showgound site which adjoins Waltham Town Lock has been chosen to host the canoeing event in the 2012 Olympics. ^[1]

In the heart of the town centre is one of the three surviving medieval Eleanor Crosses, a striking memorial commemorating the over-night resting place of Queen Eleanor’s coffin on its processional journey to Westminster Abbey in 1290. The memorial is now surrounded by a European-style piazza with space for street entertainment and events.

There is a large bus station, a result of Waltham Cross being on the border of Travelcard Zone 6 where London Buses terminate and link with services for Hertfordshire and Essex. The area is served by two train stations on different lines. Waltham Cross railway station links directly with London Liverpool Street the journey taking approximately 25 minutes or 12 minutes to Tottenham Hale. Theobalds Grove railway station also links with London Liverpool street via Seven Sisters station.

A large printing works has been developed for News International at the Park Plaza site and will soon be responsible for pressing copies of newspapers such as The Sun and The Times, adjacent to the A10 and Junction 25 of the M25 motorway.

Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope lived at Waltham Cross for 12 years between 1859 and 1871 where he wrote twenty-six of his novels and entertained his illustrious London friends. His home was demolished in 1936 and on the general site now stands the 'Moon and Cross', a J D Wetherspoon public house, decorated with a literary theme. Celebrities Cliff Richard, Victoria Beckham and English singer-songwriter and musician Russ Ballard are also from the area.