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Edmonton, Middlesex

Historical Description

Edmonton, an ancient town and parish, and head of a petty sessional division, in Middlesex. The town is built along a slightly raised crest between the Lea river and the New river, on the road from London to Ware, between Tottenham and Enfield, the part nearest Tottenham being called Upper Edmonton, and the part nearest Enfield Lower Edmonton. It includes the ecclesiastical parishes of Southgate and Winchmere Hill, and is divided into the four wards of Bury Street, Church Street, Fore Street, and South Street. It is about 8 miles N by E from St Paul's, London, has stations on the G.E.R. at Silver Street, Angel Road, Church Street, .and the Green, and by means of a northern extension has connection with the main line at Cheshunt. It is in the Metropolitan Northern Suburban Postal District, and has several post, money order, and telegraph offices. The town is well drained, the sewage being treated at Deephams Farm on the principle of irrigation, and it is supplied with water by the New River Company. It is governed by a local board of nine members under the Public Health Act, 1848. In former times it was noted for its market-gardens, and they are still extensive, but owing to the development of railway 'facilities it is rapidly assuming the proportions of a London suburb. The parish church of All Saints is a building of brick and stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of .nave, chancel, and aisles, with a square embattled tower. A iiew south aisle was built in 1889. It contains monuments of the Huxleys and the Myddletons, and three ancient 'brasses. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of London; met yearly value, £346, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's. The ecclesiastical district of St James', Upper Edmonton, was formed out of the parish of All Saints in 1851. The church is a cruciform building of stone in the Early English style. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of London; net yearly value, £297 with residence, in the .gift of the Vicar of Edmonton. The ecclesiastical district of St Mary's was formed in 1883. The church is a building of brick in the Early English style. The living is a vicarage; yearly value, £200, in the gift of the Vicar of Edmonton. There are also two other churches, Baptist, two Congregational, Calvinist, and Wesleyan chapels, a Gospel Union tabernacle, and several mission rooms. There are numerous charities, with an aggregate income of about £900, an endowed school for boys, founded in 1624 by Edward Latymer, and an endowed charity school for girls, founded in 1778. Styles' almshouses, founded in 1679, have an income of about £125, and there are almshouses for threewomen, founded in 1662 by John Wild. The Bell Inn at Edmonton figures in Cowper's poem of " John Gilpin," but the house, though still a holiday resort for Londoners, was rebuilt in 1878. Cowper, Keats, and Charles Lamb resided at Edmonton, and the latter died there 27 Dec., 1834. Mary Anne Lamb, the sister of Charles, died in 1847, and the bodies of brother and sister now lie in the same grave in the churchyard of All Saints Church. At an earlier period Edmonton was famous for " a merry devil" and " a witch," each of whom has been made the subject of a play. The merry devil was a Peter Fabell, who is said to have lived and died in the reign of Henry VII., and who appears to have acquired notoriety by sleight-of-hand tricks; and the witch was an Elizabeth Sawyer, who was put to death for alleged sorcery in 1621. Owen, the author of " Critica Sacra," was vicar; Tillotson, the archbishop, when dean resided at the parsonage; and Dr B. Taylor, the mathematician, was a native. The area of the parish, which is nearly 21 miles in circumference, comprises 7489 acres; population, 36,351.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyMiddlesex 
Ecclesiastical parishEdmonton All Saints 
HundredEdmonton 
Poor Law unionEdmonton 

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Edmonton from the following:


Land and Property

A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Middlesex is online.


Maps

Online maps of Edmonton are available from a number of sites:


Villages, Hamlets, &c

Palmers Green
DistrictEnfield
CountyGreater London
RegionLondon
CountryEngland
Postal districtN9
Post TownLondon

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