Winchmore Hill

For the small village in Buckinghamshire, England, seeWinchmore Hill, Buckinghamshire.

Winchmore Hill
Winchmore Hill Location withinGreater London
OS grid reference	TQ315945
London borough	Enfield
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	N21
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Edmonton and Winchmore Hill
London Assembly	Enfield and Haringey

Winchmore Hillis a suburb andelectoral wardin theBorough of Enfield,north London,within theN21postal district. The Winchmore Hillconservation areaserves as the focal point of the district. Geographically, the district is bounded on the east byGreen Lanes(theA105 road), Barrowell Green, Firs Lane and Fords Grove. To the north-west, it is bordered byGrovelands Park.The southern boundary extends to part of Aldermans Hill, while the northern boundary reaches Vicars Moor Lane and Houndsden Road. Winchmore Hill is situated 8.9 miles (14.3 km) north-northeast ofCharing Cross.

History

Once a small hamlet in the parish ofEdmonton,Winchmore Hill bordersPalmers Green,Southgate,Edmonton,andGrange Park.

Prior to theRomaninvasion, the areas now known asHertfordshire,Essex, andMiddlesexwere occupied by theCatuvellaunitribe. It is believed that this tribe built a hill fort on the mound now occupied by Bush Hill Park Golf Club.

The earliest recorded mention of Winchmore Hill is in a deed datedA.D. 1319,where it is spelled Wynsemerhull. According to theConcise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names,'merhull' inOld Englishtranslates to 'boundary hill'. It is speculated that the name might mean 'Wynsige's boundary hill'.By 1395, the name had been altered to Wynsmerhull, and by 1565, the village was known as Wynsmorehyll, eventually becoming Winchmore Hill by the time it was mentioned in state papers in 1586.

Winchmore Hill is home to many buildings of historical significance. The first recorded religious building is the Quaker Meeting House, established in 1688 and rebuilt in 1790. Notable individuals buried here includeLuke Howard,the father of modern meteorology, Alice Hum, founder ofPalmers Green High Schoolfor Girls, and members of the Hoare and Barclay banking families.Samuel Hoare,a founder of the 'Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade',played a prominent role in the campaign against the slavery.

St Paul's Church,was built as aWaterloo churchon land donated from the Grovelands estate, once had the largest unsupported expanse of plasterwork ceiling in Europe until renovations in the 1960s added concealed supports. The original woodenclapboardSt Paul's Schoolbuilding can still be seen further down Church Hill. Remnants of the second brick-and-stone school building are evident in the walls of the church car park. The current school building, constructed in the 1960s, is located on Ringwood Way, off Station Road. Other historical buildings can be see on Wades Hill, leading north from The Green. Notably, there are wooden clapboard cottages and a tall-five story residential building dating back to 1710, reminiscent ofGeorgiantownhouses inLondon's West End.

The oldest pub in the district was likely the Green Dragon on Green Lanes, reputed to have opened in 1726 at the junction of Green Lanes and Green Dragon Lane. TheVictoria County Historyrecords that by 1752, the Green Dragon was established, although not in its present form. Historically,highwaymencaught near the pub were hanged at agallowserected by its front entrance. This gallows remained for years, prompting the pub's relocation to the bottom of Vicars Moor Lane by the late 18th century. The original Green Dragon was demolished in 1892, and the new one was extensively remodelled in 1935. It ceased operating as a public house in 2015, although the building remains as a supermarket.

The Woodman pub, near the end of Broad Walk, reportedly dates back to 1727, though some evidence suggests it was built in 1820. Before obtaining a pub licence in 1868, it was a private residence.

Woodside Houseand Rowantree House on The Green at the end of Broad Walk were built in 1750 and of painted brick. Numerous local buildings constructed between 1770 and 1839 remain today. Near the Dog and Duck on Hoppers Road are old terraced houses built around 1770. Number 106A Vicars Moor Lane is a distinctive private residence retaining the façade of a chapel. To the east on the same road are residences likely built in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century.

The station c.1875.

In 1865, theGreat Northern Railwayobtained permission to build a new line fromWood GreentoHertfordthrough Palmers Green andEnfield.However, financial constraints in 1869 led the company to consider Enfield as the northern terminus, with Palmers Green and Winchmore Hill as intervening rural stations. Despite terrain challenges that led to the deaths if five workers, the branch opened on April 1, 1971. The first passenger train through Winchmore Hill helped transform it into a suburb of London. Initially, only 16 trains a day departed from Enfield, mostly heading toMoorgate.

The Capitol Cinema, designed in theArt Decostyle by Robert Cromie, opened on 29 December, 1929, in Green Lanes. Briefly run by Lou Morris, the cinema was taken over in December 1930 byABC Cinemas,which operated it until its closure on 5 December, 1959. It was demolished the following year. The site was later occupied by the office block Capitol House, occupied by theInland Revenue(demolished by August 2019).

Winchmore Hill in the twenty-first century

At the heart of the area is Winchmore Hill Green, avillage greensurrounded by shops and restaurants. Winchmore Hill also features is own "millionaire's row", Broad Walk, which has been home to many rich and famous individuals.

Of particular note isGrovelands Park,originally a private estate before being partly sold off to the council in 1913. The remaining private section now houses thePriory Clinic,which hostedGeneral Pinochetwhile he was in the UK awaiting charges from the Spanish government.

Winchmore Hill Sports Clubprovides the local community with facilities and teams for cricket, football, tennis, hockey, and table tennis.

Winchmore Hill is located in the ParliamentaryconstituencyofEnfield Southgate.

Demography

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 older than in the rest of Enfield – 38.3% being 45 or over, compared with 35.3% for the borough as a whole.

At the 2011 census, 76% of the ward's population of 13,403 was white (54% British, 18% Other, 4% Irish). The area is also covered by the Bush Hill Park ward which had a population of 13,923. In 2011, the ward was 74.3% White (53.1% British, 16.8% Other White and 3.2% Irish)

In culture

• Argentinian-born composerJuan María Solarewrote in 2001 a piano piece calledWinchmore Hill,dedicated to James MacAonghus (who lives in the district); it was premiered by Dorota Niziol inStuttgarton 28 September 2002, with a choreography by Diana-Maria Sagvosdkina (Studio für BewegungsChiffren) within the frame of the Kulturmarkt Stuttgart.

Notable residents

• Emma Bunton,singer.
• James Caan,entrepreneur
• Alfredo Campoli,violinist, lived at 48, Eversley Park Road.
• Thomas Carte,historian.
• Alan Dumayne,local historian.
• Thomas Hood,poet.
• Frank Ifield,singer.
• Myleene Klass,singer.
• NorrisandRoss McWhirter,born in Winchmore Hill.
• Keith Moon,drummer.
• Louise Redknapp,singer.
• Cliff Richard,singer and film star of the 1960s, lived in Colne Road Winchmore Hill with his family after finding success.
• Elizabeth Sawyer,witch.
• Leslie Smith,businessman.
• Rod Stewart,singer.
• Roy Strong,art historian.
• Melanie Sykes,presenter.
• Sharon Turner,historian.
• Leslie R. H. Willis,engineer.
• Paul Young,singer.
• Clem Cattini,drummer.

Education

While pupils often travel further afield, the following schools are in the area.

State primary

• St. Paul's School (Church school)
• Grange Park Primary School
• Highfield Primary School
• Eversley Primary School

Sate secondary

• Highlands School
• Winchmore School
• Ashmole Academy[1]

Independent middle

• Grange Park Preparatory School
• Keble Preparatory School

Independent secondary

• Palmers Green High School

Transport

Railway

Govia Thameslink Railwayprovide services on the electrified railway line that runs fromHertford NorththroughWinchmore Hill stationinto London. This line connects further south to thetubesystem atFinsbury Park,Highbury and Islington,Old StreetandMoorgate,where it terminates. The nearestLondon Undergroundstation is atSouthgate,which is on thePiccadilly line.

Buses

Bus routes which serve Winchmore Hill:London Busesroutes125,329,London Buses route 456W8,W9,and night routeN29.

Trams

An electric tramway alongGreen LanesfromPalmers Green,developed in 1907, further spurred area development. Although the tramway is long gone, the wide road reminas, and the 329 bus (formerly the 29, and before that the 123) follows the tram route from Enfield toTurnpike Lane.

Nearby places

• Southgate
• Grange Park
• Palmers Green
• Enfield Chase
• Cockfosters
• Edmonton
• Oakwood
• Enfield Town
• Bush Hill Park

Bibliography

• The Cresswells of Winchmore Hill,Peter Hodge.
• A History of Winchmore Hill,S. Delvin.
• Winchmore Hill: Memories of a Lost Village,Henrietta Cresswell.
• Memories of Winchmore Hill,Horace G Regnart.
• Fond Memories of Winchmore Hill,Alan Dumayne,1990.
• 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.
• The Story of Southgate and Winchmore Hill,Walker Round, Wynchgate Press (1906).

External links

• Winchmore Hill statistics, including map(pdf document,London Borough of Enfield,2004)