About Enfield
Enfield Painters and Decorators is a proud local business based in Enfield.
Enfield is among the largest boroughs in London. It is London's northernmost borough and is bordered by other London Boroughs including Haringey to the South, Barnet to the West and parts of Hertfordshire to the North and South East.
Enfield’s area post codes include EN1, EN2, EN3 and EN4.
The town of Enfield is predominantly residential with a large shopping centre and many leisure facilities including two cinema complexes. The area has several open spaces, including the River Lea, Enfield Lock and Enfield Island Village.
The borough had a population of approximately 233,000 people at the time of the 2001 census, however, this figure now stands at around 209,000.
Enfield is also known for its large Irish community which has existed since the 19th century. The area around St Andrew's Road in Church Street (known locally as "the Green") hosts two Irish pubs (Fitzpatrick's and O'Neill's) and a Gaelic Athletic Association club called Na Fianna Éireann.
The area is covered by two parliamentary constituencies, Enfield North (contains Church Street) and Enfield Southgate (contains Highbury New Park).
The ancient parish covered the modern-day ecclesiastical parishes of Apsley and Enfield Town; including all or part of Ponders End, Bulls Cross, Maxwell Park, Thornhill, Turkey Street, Waltham Abbey, Southgate, and Palmers Green. Ponders End was transferred to Edmonton civil parish in 1894; it covers the area that now contains Edmonton railway station. Enfield was once a part of the Diocese of London until 1851 when it became part of the Diocese of Rochester. It then split from Rochester to form the Diocese of St Albans in 1877.
The ancient parish was divided into civil parishes by the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Poor Law Unions that had been formed earlier in the century – Edmonton (1850) and Enfield (1858). These, with small boundary changes, continue to have a role in administrative and geographical tradition. There was urban growth between the mid-19th century and 1928 when Enfield Urban District Council (1858–1928) was formed.
The council initially included Enfield Town, Palmers Green, Southgate, Cockfosters and Winchmore Hill; Enfield Wash including Cheshunt were added in 1935. In 1938, the urban district was granted a charter of incorporation which was abolished by the London Government Act 1963, following parish local government reorganisation under the London Government Act of 1899. Enfield's old town grew up along both sides of the Great North Road (now the A10). By about 1850 it had reached northward to Enfield.
The town is also the ancestral home of William Shakespeare. It is believed that his mother, Mary Arden, was born southeast of Enfield on Heronsgate Farm near Great Hallingbury.
It is home to Enfield Town Football Club and plays host to several grassroots organisations including the London Lions boxing club (established in 1949) one of the United Kingdom's longest-running clubs and Enfield Tennis Club who have been operating since 1899.
Enfield has been home to several clubs over the years, although some have now moved out of Enfield Town itself – Enfield 1893 currently play at Winchmore Hill.
Enfield Town used to be home of an ice hockey team called Enfield Flyers who played at the now-demolished Gordon Craig Theatre, however, this club was disbanded in 2016 after finishing 7th in a 12 team league.
Enfield Town was also the home of the (originally named) North London Lions, a professional ice hockey team that played in the Elite Ice Hockey League. After playing at Lea Valley from 1999 until 2011, and then having to play their 2012–13 season at the Barnet Copthall due to being unable to make The Lea due to the 2012 renovation of the stadium, the team agreed to a deal in May 2013 for a permanent return for their home games. The North London Lions were founded in 1999 as Team Enfield and later evolved into the North Stars before eventually settling on its current name in 2004.
The town's local association football club is Enfield 1893 F.C., formed as Enfield Football Club in 1893, which plays at the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium in Delaps Lane.
Enfield also hosts premier league football club Tottenham Hotspur FC's training ground.
Enfield Town is home to several music venues and recording studios including the 130-capacity venue The Cockpit, recording studio Ekkosoundz which was where the Arctic Monkeys recorded their first two albums (Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not) and Humbug, as well as Enfield Town Community Arts College, home to the annual Enfield Music and Film Festival. Musicians who have previously resided in or near Enfield Town include Ian Curtis (Joy Division), Ian Brown (The Stone Roses), Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon (Blur/Gorillaz), Burt Bacharach, Paul Weller, Mick Jones & Tony James (London SS/The Clash) and Charlie Simpson of Busted.
Artists with studios in Enfield Town include Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Four Tet, Bonobo and The Quakers.
Theatre groups with bases in Enfield Town include The Gift Theatre Company founded by director Peter Gill and playwright David Hare.
Enfield has received in previous years one of the highest rates of funding per head from Arts Council England (ACE) for dancing and theatre projects, but a reduction in funding over successive years in 2010 saw this fall to its lowest level since arts grants were first distributed in the 1970s.
There are a lot of primary, secondary and further education schools or institutions in Enfield.
The main secondary schools in the area are:
George Orwell once attended Parkside School and has mentioned it in his novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" saying that he was at a preparatory school near Windsor called Lancing (which is just over the border in Sussex). Although he did not name the school, it was speculated that Orwell had attended Enfield Grammar School, and in 1950 a plaque was placed on the building stating that George Orwell had attended.
The town is also home to three secondary academies:
The oldest grammar school in the area is Walnut Tree Academy (formerly Enfield Grammar School), which can trace its roots back to 1568.
Enfield has many primary schools: Some of the well-known primary schools include St Michael's Primary School (Home of the Enfield Poltergeist), Townway Primary School, St Bernadette's and White Hart Lane Primary. The school which is now Evendons College was originally constructed as a school for children with special needs. It served this purpose until the 1970s when it became an adult education centre before becoming a college in late 1990.
Masefield Primary School has been awarded the prestigious Artsmark Gold Award and Mascot Primary School underwent a major re-development. A large number of primary schools have converted to academies, including St Bernadette's Catholic Primary Academy, White Hart Lane County Primary Academy, Kingsmead Primary Academy, Masefield Primary School, Evendons College and St. Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School.
Enfield Borough Council and its predecessors have been responsible for various improvements, including:
The town's urban district council was granted a coat of arms on 14 December 1954. The design was very similar to the shield of Middlesex County Council, but with three golden bows (instead of two) and an additional crest above. Its motto was "Esse quam videri" ("To be, rather than seem to be"). All of the elements of its coat of arms are derived from Middlesex arms.
Enfield's coat of arms was transferred to its successor authority Enfield London Borough Council in 1965 and altered slightly to reflect local government reorganisation in 1970 (the London Borough of Enfield was formed in 1965 by the merger of Edmonton County Borough and the Municipal Borough of Southgate, with smaller areas from Middlesex County Council). The motto was changed to "Forward, Together".
The main local newspaper is the "Enfield Independent".
"The Voice", the newspaper closely linked to Enfield F.C., is published weekly from its offices in Church Street.
The area covered by the borough has a long online history forum on its website – www.enfieldlocalhistoryforum.com which has a section on the history of the Enfield Town area.
The town has two major media outlets serving both the local and wider community – the "Enfield Independent" newspaper, which is delivered free to homes in Enfield and also online; and EN-TV, an online video news service covering all aspects of local life and national news stories.
The town's main radio station is Heart London, which serves the wider London area. The local hospital and other organisations use a separate Hospital Radio service.
The town is served by Eastway A10 and A110 junctions. The A10 connects the town with the M25 motorway at North Orbital Road. The A10 leaves the town to the east, heading to the A14 road at Barnet. The A110 connects the town with the M1 motorway at junction 7 and Enfield Highway.
Enfield Town is also served by national rail services from 4 railway stations (two of which are in the same building) on 3 different lines:
Enfield Town is served by Enfield Town railway station.
The nearest London Underground and Docklands Light Railway services can be found along the Piccadilly line at Cockfosters tube station, or by changing at the nearby Angel Road railway station for the Hammersmith & City line.
The town is served by many Transport for London bus services running into Central London, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas.
Enfield Town station opened on 9 September 1849 as "Claybury" before being renamed in October 1851 as "Enfield".