Ponders End

Ponders End
Tower blocks at Alma Road
The Navigation, Ponders End formerly known as the Navigation Inn from the towpath of the River Lee Navigation
Ponders End  Ponders End shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ35595
London borough	Enfield
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ENFIELD
Postcode district	EN1, EN3
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Edmonton
London Assembly	Enfield and Haringey
List of places UK England London

Coordinates: 51°38′46″N 0°02′46″W / 51.646°N 0.046°W / 51.646; -0.046

Ponders End is a mid-sized commercial and large residential district of the London Borough of Enfield, north London adjoining to its east the Lee Navigation in the mid-Lea Valley. It has a central high street, the Hertford Road and is formed from parts of the north of Edmonton and the south of Enfield.

Wright's Flour Mill here is the oldest working industrial building in the London Borough of Enfield.

Geography

Elevations range from 21 metres (69 ft) to 13 metres (43 ft) above sea level, uniformly dropping from west to east. Two north-south railway lines enclose the residential parts of the area, bounded east and west by estates of warehousing, industrial and commercial use, one of which, Meridian Water area has the much under-utilised Angel Road railway station and is the subject of major reconstruction including 5000 homes and 3000 new jobs and a wide range of community facilities.^[1] The railways are:

• Lea Valley Lines serving all stations to Hertford East via the Southbury Loop.
• West Anglia Main Line stopping services to Bishops Stortford

Its northern and southern limits are along Hertford Road at The Ride and The Boundary pubs (north to south). Its loosely defined east and west limits coalesce around Wharf Road in the west and the Southbury station or Kingsway in the east.^[2]

Etymology

Ponders End is marked on the Ordnance Survey map of 1822. It was recorded in 1593 as Ponders ende meaning the "end or quarter of the parish associated with the Ponder family" from the Middle English ende. John Ponder is mentioned in a document of 1373; the surname is believed to mean a "keeper of, or dweller by, a fish-pond or mill-pond".^[3]

History

All but a southern belt of the district was in Enfield, as the south lay in Edmonton, the parishes becoming a civil and ecclesiastical after a split of functions in the 1860s, which saw the final secularisation of government, the disestablishment of the vestries following the increase in Poor Law Unions in the hundred years before.^[4]

Through the 19th century the area became industrialised, due to its straight road and waterway network up and down the Lea Valley including the 17th century River Lee Navigation.^[4] The first major firm to arrive was Grout, Baylis & Co, who were established in Norwich in 1807 as crape manufacturers, the material being used for widows' weeds. They opened a dyeing and finishing plant in Ponders End two years later. Crape went out of fashion by late Victorian times, and the factory closed in 1894. The buildings were taken over by the United Flexible Tubing Company.

In 1866 the London Jute Works Company established a factory on the Navigation in a desolate area known locally as Spike Island. Many of the new employees came from Dundee, the traditional centre of the jute industry in Scotland. The jute works closed in 1882, to be replaced by the Ediswan factory. Over the years the factory was enlarged, eventually covering 11.50 acres (4.65 ha), and employing many people, notably girls, from the area. Ediswan produced electric lamps, and the factory was colloquially known as The Lamp. They also manufactured appliances for the shipping and aviation industries, mechanical pianos and butter makers.

To the south of Ponder's End Lock a factory making white lead was built in 1893. Further south of that factory, the Cortecine works produced floor-cloth and carpet backing. By 1906 over 2000 people were employed in local factories. Another major industry in the latter years of the 19th century was horticulture. Tomatoes and cucumbers were the principal produce but flowers and fruit were also grown in the many orchards and greenhouses to the north of the locality.^[5] During World War I, a huge munitions factory, the Ponders End Shell Works was built in Wharf Road. The factory building was sold after the war. Further factories were built in the 1930s alongside the newly built Great Cambridge Road.^[6]

Today (2009) little remains of manufacturing and much of the area has given way to warehousing and residential developments. Aesica pharmaceutical manufacturers (formerly Thomas Morson Ltd) ^[7] closed its plant in 2011.^[8] Wright's Flour Mill, the oldest working industrial building in the borough remains, some of its buildings having been constructed in the 18th century.^[6]

On 7 August 2011 Ponders End was the scene of copy-cat riots which spread from Tottenham to neighbouring districts.^[9]

Popular culture

Musician Jah Wobble was inspired to write his (2005) album Mu by his experiences in the Lea Valley and Ponders End.^[10][11]

Ponders End Allotments Club is a track from the (1975) Chas and Dave album One Fing 'n' Annuver.^[12]

Historic buildings

Wright's Flour Mill and the mill stream

• Wright's Flour Mill The oldest working industrial building in Enfield.^[13]
• Ponders End Pumping Station. Built in 1899 by the East London Waterworks Company.^[14] In 1995 the half-timbered building was converted into a public house. The Navigation with Harvester restaurant on the west bank of the Navigation with views towards the grassed embankment of the King George V Reservoir, and close to Ponder's End Lock.^[15]

Nearest places

• Brimsdown
• Enfield Highway
• Edmonton, London
• Enfield Town
• Bush Hill Park
• Chingford

Watercourses

South Marsh, Overflow Channel and the grassed embankment of the King George V Reservoir

• River Lee Navigation
• The Overflow Channel is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) long. Flowing from the River Lee Navigation above Ponders End Lock across South Marsh close to the King George V Reservoir and following the western perimeter of the William Girling Reservoir to merge with the River Lee Diversion at Edmonton.

Angling is allowed on the River Lee Navigation upstream and downstream of Ponders End Lock. Information from the River Lea Anglers Club.^[16]

Nearest railway stations

• Angel Road railway station
• Brimsdown railway station
• Edmonton Green railway station
• Ponders End railway station
• Southbury railway station

Notable people

• James and John Chambers pioneers in South Australia in Stuart expeditions.
• John Hollowbread, footballer
• Christopher Hughes, former Mastermind and International Mastermind winner both in 1983.
• Stephen Mangan,actor.
• Dave Peacock, musician.
• Norman Tebbit, politician

Local newspapers

The local newspapers are as of 2011:

• Enfield Independent^[17]
• Enfield Advertiser^[18]

Politics

After boundary changes in 2010 - Ponders End became one of seven wards which form the Edmonton parliamentary constituency.^[19] The MP for constituency is Andy Love, Labour Co-op who polled 21,665 votes (53.7%) at the General Election held on 6 May 2010.^[20]

Schools

• Secondary schools: Oasis Academy Hadley

• Primary Schools: Kingfisher Hall Primary Academy, St Mary's RC Primary School, Alma Primary School, Southbury Primary School, St Matthew's CoE Primary School,

• Special schools: Waverley School

Higher education

• Middlesex University, Enfield Campus (now closed)
• The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London

Places of worship

• Church of St Matthew, Church of England ^[21]
• Church of Mary, Mother of God, Roman Catholic church ^[22]
• Jalalia Jamme Mosque ^[23]
• Lincoln Road Chapel, Lincoln Road.^[24]
• Ponders End Methodist Church, High Street.^[25]
• United Reformed Church, College Close, High Street.^[26]

Open spaces

• Ponders End Park, formerly Ponders End Recreation Ground and Ryan's Park.^[27]

External links

• Ponders End photographs
• Wrights flour mill
• Ponders End a history
• Ponders End flour mill conservation area

References

London Borough of Enfield Districts Arnos Grove Botany Bay Bowes Park Brimsdown Bulls Cross Bush Hill Park Chase Side Clay Hill Cockfosters Crews Hill Edmonton Enfield Chase Enfield Highway Enfield Island Village Enfield Lock Enfield Town Enfield Wash Forty Hill Freezywater Gordon Hill Grange Park Hadley Wood New Southgate Oakwood Palmers Green Picketts Lock Ponders End Southgate Upper Edmonton Winchmore Hill World's End Attractions Forty Hall and Gardens Millfield Theatre and Arts Centre Capel Manor Myddelton House Gardens Chickenshed Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture Whitewebbs Museum of Transport Parks and open spaces Arnos Park Broomfield Park Durants Park Oakwood Park Pymmes Park Trent Country Park Whitewebbs Park Constituencies Edmonton Enfield North Enfield Southgate Tube and rail stations Angel Road Arnos Grove Brimsdown Bush Hill Park Cockfosters Crews Hill Edmonton Green Enfield Chase Enfield Lock Enfield Town Gordon Hill Grange Park Hadley Wood Oakwood Palmers Green Ponders End Silver Street Southbury Southgate Turkey Street Winchmore Hill Other topics Coat of arms Council Grade I and II* listed buildings People Public art Public transport Schools