THE HISTORY OF ENFIELD

Like many of the outer boroughs of London to the North and West of the Capital, Enfield was originally part of the historic county of Middlesex. The London Borough of Enfield was formed in 1965 by merging Enfield, Edmonton and Southgate. It now sits around 10 miles from the city centre and shares a border with the M25, making it a prime commuter location.

The Borough of Enfield has a strong history with notable historic buildings and also prominence in the manufacturing industry, due to its proximity to the River Lea, early railways and road structures. Historic buildings with architectural importance located in the borough include St Andrew’s Church dating back to the 17th Century, All Saints Church from the 15th Century, Enfield Grammar School from the 16th Century, Forty Hall from the 17th Century, Grovelands from the 18th Century and Broomfield House from the 17th Century.

Interestingly, Enfield was the location of some of the earliest successful horticultural hothouses. In particular, the hothouses in Enfield had particular success with orange trees and myrtle. In fact, Enfield has a strong connection with market gardening and the industry surrounding this pre-World War II, with the Enfield produce being supplied to much of London and the surrounding area. Visitors can still see trees from the historic Enfield orchards in the Willow Estate area of the borough. Enfield Market, now governed by the Old Enfield Charitable Trust, has been running regularly since 1303, with the market square being built in 1632, except for a short time in the mid-1800s. In addition, the world’s first ATM machine was located in the Enfield branch of Barclays bank in 1967.

Looking at the industrial history of the borough, Enfield is home to the former Royal Small Arms Factory located at Enfield lock. This factory produced famous Enfield rifles and was infamous for the production and supply of British military rifles, muskets and swords. Later the world renowned Lee Enfield rifle was produced here and was used during both World Wars. Over time, more than 2 million rifles were made here and over 9,500 people were employed at the factory at its peak. The production of Bricks for building was also prominent in the Enfield area until the 1950s with both red and yellow bricks produced to overcome the shortage of stone suitable for building in London. Enfield Grammar School was built using locally produced bricks and many garden walls in the borough have been made using defective bricks. In 1976, the last known brickworks in the area ceased production.

Whilst poet John Keats was born in Moorgate, he attended the more affordable school in Enfield, than its counterparts of Harrow and Eton. It is thought that the more family feel of Enfield Grammar School encouraged Keats love of poetry, the classics and history.