Southgate, London

Coordinates: 51°37′54″N 0°07′35″W / 51.6316°N 0.1265°W / 51.6316; -0.1265
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Southgate
Southgate underground station
Southgate is located in Greater London
Southgate
Southgate
Location within Greater London
Population14,454 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceTQ296942
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtN14
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London
51°37′54″N 0°07′35″W / 51.6316°N 0.1265°W / 51.6316; -0.1265

Southgate is a suburban area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Enfield, 8 miles (13 km) north of Charing Cross.

History[edit]

South Point House, where the South Gate once stood.

Southgate was originally the South Gate of Enfield Chase, the King's hunting grounds. This is reflected in the street names Chase Road (which leads due north from the station to Oakwood, and was formerly the avenue into the Chase) and Chase Side. There is a blue plaque on a building on the site of the south gate. A little further to the south was another small medieval settlement called South Street which had grown up around a village green; by 1829 the two settlements had merged and the village green became today's Southgate Green.[2]

Rare survivors of 1930s development: The Southgate Club (built 1889) and adjacent Victorian terrace in Chase Side.[3]

Southgate was predominantly developed in the 1930s: largish semi-detached houses were built on the hilly former estates (Walker, Osidge, Monkfrith, etc.) following increased transport development. In 1933, the North Circular Road was completed through Edmonton and Southgate, and also in 1933, the London Underground Piccadilly line was extended from Arnos Grove (where it had reached the previous year), through Southgate tube station, on to Enfield West (now known as Oakwood). This unleashed a building boom, and by 1939 the area had become almost fully developed.

Governance[edit]

The former Southgate Town Hall, now a housing development

In 1894 an urban district of Middlesex, called Southgate, was created by the Local Government Act 1894. In 1933 the Municipal Borough of Southgate was created. The borough, which had its headquarters at Southgate Town Hall, was abolished in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. Its area then came within the newly created London Borough of Enfield, which also included the areas that had been within the Municipal Borough of Enfield and the Municipal Borough of Edmonton.[4]

Local features[edit]

Within the area is the art deco Grade II* Southgate tube station designed by Charles Holden. The area has several large green parks such as Grovelands Park which covers ninety-two acres and contains the seven-acre former boating lake and adjoining woodland of the adjacent Grade I listed Grovelands House (formerly 'Southgate Grove').[5] In Waterfall Road is Christ Church, built in 1862 by Sir Gilbert Scott; adjacent to its grounds, in Minchenden Oak Garden, stands the Minchenden Oak. Across the road from the church lies the Walker Cricket Ground; a regular Middlesex venue which was first used in 1859 and is named after the cricketer John Walker.

The Southgate Green conservation area contains several notable Grade II listed buildings such as Arnoside House and Essex House, Sandford House & Norbury House, Old House & Essex Coach House, 40 The Green and the Valentine Poole houses. The adjoining Cannon Hill features the early-18th century Arnos Grove House and the High Street features Southgate House.

Southgate station on the Piccadilly line is the nearest tube stop to most of Southgate's residential area. Other stations are at Oakwood (to the north) and Arnos Grove (to the south west).

Demography[edit]

Southgate is a cosmopolitan district. There has been a prominent Jewish community since the early 20th century. There are also many Greek, Greek Cypriot, Japanese, and Turkish families living in the district.[6] As of the 2011 census, White British makes up 45% of the population, followed by Other White at 20%.[7]

Notable residents[edit]

Leigh Hunt
Benjamin Waugh
Amy Winehouse

Politics[edit]

The parliamentary constituency covering the part of Southgate in the London Borough of Enfield is Enfield Southgate (UK Parliament constituency). Until his death in the Brighton bombing in 1984, the constituency was represented by Sir Anthony Berry. In 1997, Michael Portillo, who succeeded Sir Anthony, lost the seat to Stephen Twigg, who after two terms lost in his turn to David Burrowes in May 2005. In the 2017 general election, Bambos Charalambous defeated Burrowes and became the new representative of the constituency.

Education[edit]

College[edit]

Schools[edit]

Primary[edit]

  • De Bohun Primary School[21]
  • St Andrew's CE Primary
  • St Monica's RC Primary[22]
  • Salcombe Preparatory School[23] (Independent)
  • Vita et Pax School (Independent)
  • Walker Primary[24]
  • West Grove Primary
  • Wolfson Hillel Primary[25]
  • Osidge Primary School (in the London Borough of Barnet)

Secondary[edit]

Religious facilities[edit]

Synagogues[edit]

There are four synagogues with Southgate in their name: Cockfosters and North Southgate,[26] Palmers Green and Southgate Synagogue[27] (both part of the United Synagogue), Southgate Progressive Synagogue[28] in Oakwood, and Chabad Southgate.[29] The former Southgate and District Reform Synagogue has now moved to Whetstone, and changed its name in February 2010 to Sha'arei Tsedek: North London Reform Synagogue.

Morris & Co. stained glass at Christ Church, Waterfall Road

Churches[edit]

Christ Church stands near Southgate Green. This was built on the site of Weld Chapel,[30] which was built in 1615 and demolished in 1863. The clock on the church was placed there to celebrate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. The church contains London's largest collection of pre-raphaelite stained glass by Morris, Marshall Faulkner & Co (later Morris & Co).[31] The parish church of St Andrew is on Chase Side. Emmanuel Evangelical Church meets in Ashmole School.[32] Southgate Methodist Church is on The Bourne, near Southgate Underground station. It was built in 1929, replacing a building on Chase Side. It is an active community hub.

Southgate Masonic Centre[edit]

The Southgate Masonic Centre is home to 160 Lodges of which 15 are from Middlesex, along with 5 Chapters. The Centre, a converted church hall, was opened in 1968. The Middlesex Lodges that joined had been meeting in pubs and similar venues and welcomed the opportunity to have their own Centre.

Oak Hill College[edit]

Oak Hill College is a theological college located on Chase Side. It trains both Anglican and Independent students for Church ministry in the UK and overseas.

Southgate Mosque[edit]

Southgate Mosque is located at Southgate House, Southgate High Street. It was founded in 2021 as a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing prayer facilities to the local Muslim community.

Taverns, inns and public houses[edit]

Ye Olde Cherry Tree, The Green.

Because of the age of the former village and its position in a ring of villages one day's travel by coach from London, Southgate had many pubs: within the village centre there were six local licensed premises.[33]

Many were located on Chase Side but some, such as The Bell, The Crown and the Chase Gate Tavern, were demolished as part of 20th Century redevelopment and others have closed more recently; The Waggon (formerly Waggon and Horses) became an Anatolian restaurant in 2013. The Rising Sun was the terminus for a local horsebus service to Colney Hatch (and there to Kings Cross) before the arrival of the railways, whereupon the service switched to the new station in Palmers Green.[33] It was rebuilt in 1932, and substantially renovated in 2008, changing its name to The Sun and later The Maze Inn but was subsequently closed in 2016 and demolished in 2019.[34] The Crown is commemorated in the name of The New Crown on Chase Side.[35] The Hart (formerly The White Hart) is the last long-standing pub in the immediate area, located on the adjoining Chase Road, near Southgate Circus roundabout.

Other notable local pubs are Ye Olde Cherry Tree which overlooks Southgate Green, and The Woodman on Bourne Hill. Former public house The Woolpack on the nearby High Street is now a restaurant.

Local newspapers[edit]

The local newspapers are, as of 2018:

Newspaper Link
Enfield Independent [36]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Southgate Demographics (Enfield, England)". Southgate.localstats.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  2. ^ Byrom, Bertram (2008). Old Southgate and Palmers Green. Stenlake Publishing. p. 3. ISBN 9781840334241.
  3. ^ "Enfield Local Heritage List" (PDF). Enfield Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Edmonton: Local government | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk.
  5. ^ "GROVELANDS PARK, Enfield - 1000395 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk.
  6. ^ "Britain". The Economist. 13 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Southgate – UK Census Data 2011". Ukcensusdata.com. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  8. ^ a b c "Edmonton: Introduction | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk.
  9. ^ "Reed (H.M. Inspector of Taxes) v Clark. [1985] BTC 224 | Croner-i Tax and Accounting". library.croneri.co.uk.
  10. ^ Hare, Augustus J. C. (Augustus John Cuthbert) (17 September 1896). "The story of my life". London : G. Allen – via Internet Archive.
  11. ^ "The Word Podcast #183". The Word. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  12. ^ "Edmonton: Growth after 1851 | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk.
  13. ^ Newby, Herbert (1949). "Old" Southgate. T.Grove. p. 115.
  14. ^ Dumayne, Alan Southgate A Glimpse Into the Past, 1987, ISBN 0951228609, p94-7
  15. ^ "Interview: Ron Moody - The Jewish Chronicle".
  16. ^ Dumayne, Alan. The Old Borough of Southgate, Alan Sutton, 1998, p127
  17. ^ "Paul Scott". 5 May 2012.
  18. ^ "A Walk in Southgate". southgategreen.org.uk.
  19. ^ "Growing up with my sister Amy Winehouse". The Guardian. 22 June 2013.
  20. ^ Addley, Esther (17 August 2007). "The Guardian profile: Amy Winehouse". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  21. ^ ":: De Bohun Primay School ::". Archived from the original on 21 June 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
  22. ^ "St Monica's Catholic Primary School | Strive to succeed in the presence of God". St-monicas.enfield.sch.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  23. ^ "Home – Salcombe Prep School". Salcombeprep.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  24. ^ Visitors. "Home | Walker Primary School". Walker.enfield.sch.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  25. ^ "Wolfson Hillel Primary School – Home". Wolfsonhillel.enfield.sch.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  26. ^ "Cockfosters & N Southgate Synagogue |".
  27. ^ "PGSS".
  28. ^ "Welcome to Southgate Progressive Synagogue, where you will find a lively and friendly community in North London, with a thriving youth culture and an emphasis on family and friends living and learning together". My Website.
  29. ^ "Home". Chabad of Southgate.
  30. ^ "Weld Chapel". www.christchurch-southgate.org.
  31. ^ "Pre-Raphaelite Windows". www.christchurch-southgate.org.
  32. ^ "Emmanuel North London Church | We are reformed and evangelical presbyterian church in Southgate, North London". Emmanuel North London Church.
  33. ^ a b Dumayne, Alan (1998). Southgate. Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7509-2000-9.
  34. ^ Dispatch, Enfield (20 September 2019). "Pub demolitions probed by council".
  35. ^ "The New Crown | Pubs In Southgate - J D Wetherspoon". www.jdwetherspoon.com.
  36. ^ "News, sport and local information for Enfield, Edmonton, Palmers Green, Southgate, Winchmore Hill". Enfieldindependent.co.uk. Retrieved 12 October 2017.

External links[edit]

Media related to Southgate, London at Wikimedia Commons