South Mimms, Hertfordshire

Historical Description

Mimms, South, a village and a parish partly in Herts. and partly in Middlesex. The village stands near the boundary with Herts, 1¾ mile W of Potters Bar station on the G.N.R., and 3½ miles N by W of Barnet; was anciently called Mymes and Mymmys, and has a post, money order,. and telegraph office under Barnet, a police station, and a good inn. It had in early times a Wednesday weekly market, which was revived in 1851, and it is the head of a petty sessional division. The parish contains also Potters Bar,. Bentley Heath, one side of Hadley, one side of High Street and Union Street, and Chipping Barnet. Acreage in Middlesex, 6301; population, 2966; in Herts, 85; population, 2819. The ecclesiastical parish of St Giles has a population of 910; of Christchurch, 3366; and of Potters Bar, 1509. The manor belonged to the Leuknors, passed to the Scropes and the Windsors, and belongs now to the Marquis of Salisbury. Wrotham Park is the seat of the Earl of Strafford, and is a fine mansion standing in a park of about 250 acres. Dyrham Park is a large mansion in the Classic style standing. in a park of about 170 acres, and is a seat of the Trotter family. Bridge Foot House is a chief residence standing amidst extensive grounds. There is an obelisk commemorating the Battle of Barnet, but it is not thought to mark the actual site of the conflict. The surface of the parish is diversified, and the scenery is beautiful. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of London; net value, £260 with residence. The church was built about the middle of tlw 14th century, is a building of red brick and flint in the Perpendicular style, consists of chancel, nave, N aisle, and, massive embattled western tower overgrown with ivy; was restored in 1868 under the direction of the late G. E. Street, R.A., and contains some ancient monuments, a piscina, andi two old brasses. The ecclesiastical parish of Christchurch. was formed out of South Mimms in 1852. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of London; gross value, £260 with residence. The church is a modern building of flint and stone in the Early English style. The ecclesiastical parish of Potters Bar is noticed, under a separate heading. There are five endowed almshonses, and also groups of almshouses belonging to the Brewers and Leathersellers Company.

Land and Property

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

Maps

Online maps of South Mimms are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Hertfordshire newspapers online:

• Hertford Mercury and Reformer
• Herts Guardian, Agricultural Journal, and General Advertiser
• Watford Observer

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitations of Hertfordshire, 1572 and 1634. Edited by Walter C. Metcalfe, F.S.A. is available on the Heraldry page.