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Edmonton

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“EDMONTON, a parish in the hundred of Edmonton, county Middlesex, 7 miles N.E. of London.

It is a station on the Enfield branch of the Great Eastern railway. The parish includes Winchmore Hill and Southgate, besides the town of Upper and Lower Edmonton, which two last form one continued line of street, on the main road from London to Hertford and Ware. The town is well lighted with gas, and amply supplied with water, the New River winding through the parish. It is also divided into four wards, called Bury-street, Churchstreet, Fore-street, and South-street. The old highway Ermine Street passed through the parish, and the Lea navigation pursues its course in the immediate vicinity, affording ready conveyance for timber, in which there is a considerable trade. The town is very old, and in Domesday Survey is called Edelmeton. Petty sessions are held here, also a county court, monthly. The Union workhouse is in Upper Edmonton, where is a police station. In the vicinity are many elegant mansions and handsome villas, surrounded by well-planted grounds and parks. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of London, value £1,160, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's. The parish church is an ancient structure, and underwent considerable alterations at the latter end of the last century. It is dedicated to All Saints, and contains several monuments and brasses, some nearly 500 years old, among others there are tombs of the Myddelton and Huxley families. In the churchyard is the tomb of Charles and Mary Lamb. The learned theologian, Dr. John Owen, for some time held this living. The register commences in 1557. There are also the following district churches, the livings of which are perpetual curacies in the patronage of the vicar: St. Paul's, Winchmore Hill, value £200; Southgate, value £300; and St. James's, Upper Edmonton, value £200. The parochial charities are numerous, producing altogether about £1,000 per annum, and are under the management of a Board of Trustees; among the principal are Latymer's school for boys, Stanbridge's for girls, and Wild and Styles' almshouses. The Independents, Baptists, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists have each a chapel; that of the Independents, built in 1850, is an edifice of peculiar beauty. In addition to the endowed schools, there are two National, for both sexes, and an infant school. The Edmonton Poor-law Union comprises five parishes in Middlesex, one in Essex, and one in Hertford. On Bush Hill, in this parish, are the remains of a large circular encampment, supposed to have been the site of a British town, near which Sir Hugh Myddelton had a residence. Bury Hall, the seat of President Bradshaw, retains much of its pristine appearance. Peter Fabell, alias the "Merry Devil of Edmonton," and Dr. Brook Taylor, secretary to the Royal Society, were born here. The village is also celebrated in Cowper's popular ballad of "John Gilpin."

from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

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Description & Travel

Description(s) from The National Gazetteer (1868)]

"EDMONTON, a parish in the hundred of Edmonton, county Middlesex, 7 miles N.E. of London. " (There is more of this description).

"BOUNDS GREEN, a hamlet in the parish and hundred of Edmonton, in the county of Middlesex, 1 mile N.E. of Wood Green, 1½ mile N. of Hornsey, and 2 W. of Tottenham. The New River passes near."

"BURY STREET, a ward and hamlet in the parish , union, and hundred of Edmonton, in the county of Middlesex, 1 mile distant from the villages of Winchmore Hill, Southgate, and Enfield Chase respectively, and 8 miles N. of London. It is situated near the New River. [On a modern street map, Bury Street West is shown running West from the Great Cambridge Road to junction of Ridge Avenue and Bush Hill Road.]"

"BUSH HILL, a small hamlet in the parish of Edmonton, union and hundred of Edmonton, in the county of Middlesex, about half a mile from the villages of Winchmore Hill, Southgate, and Lower Edmonton, and 8 miles N. of London."

"PALMER'S GREEN, a hamlet in the parish of Edmonton, county Middlesex, 3 miles W. of Edmonton."

"SOUTHGATE, (or South-street), a chapelry and suburban village in the parish and hundred of Edmonton, county Middlesex, 8 miles N.W. of St. Paul's, London, and 1 mile from the Southgate and Colney Hatch station of the Great Northern railway. This place derives its name from its situation at the south gate, or entrance to Enfield Chace, once a royal forest. The village, which is built round a green, contains many good houses. The neighbourhood is well wooded, and is traversed by the New River. The chapelry includes the hamlet of Palmer's Green, and the mansions of Minchendon, once a seat of the dukes of Buckingham and Chandos, Culland's Grove, the residence of Sir W. Curtis, Bart., Southgate Grove, with Ionic portico designed by Nash, and Southgate House. The living is a perpetual curacy in the dioc, of London, value £200, in the patronage of the Vicar of Edmonton. The church, originally built in 1615 at the expense of Sir John Weld, of Arno's Grove, has been pulled down and rebuilt. There is besides a new church. The Independents have a chapel. There are National schools situated on the green. In an adjacent field, called "Camp Field," have been found several pieces of cannon, and a gorget belonging to Oliver Cromwell, with his initials inlaid with jewels, now in the British Museum.

"WINCHMORE HILL, an ecclesiastical district and village in the parish and hundred of Edmonton, county Middlesex, 1 mile from Southgate, 2 miles from Edmonton, and 8 N. of St. Paul's, London. The population in 1861 was 1,674. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of London, value £300, in the patronage of the Vicar of Edmonton. The church, dedicated to St. Paul, was erected in 1828 by the parliamentary commissioners. It has an E. window representing in 12 medallions the principal acts in the life of St. Paul. The Calvinistic Methodists, Independents, and Society of Friends have chapels. There are National and infant schools."

"WOOD GREEN, a ward in the parish of Tottenham, county Middlesex, 5½ miles N. of St. Paul's Cathedral, London. It is situated on the New River and Great Northern railway, on which it is a station. In 1861 it contained 3,154 inhabitants. The church is dedicated to St. Michael. Here are the printers' and fishmongers' almshouses."

Description(s) from "The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland" (1868), transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003; intended for personal use only, so please respect the conditions of use.

You can see pictures of Edmonton which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference TQ340928 (Lat/Lon: 51.618082, -0.065882), Edmonton which are provided by:

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Schools

The Royal Masonic School for Boys was established at Lordship Lane, Wood Green in 1857. A new and larger building was opened in 1865. In 1902 the school moved to Bushey, Hertfordshire. The school was for the education of the sons of needy Freemasons, including orphans. Some School Yearbooks survive, and copies are held at the Society of Genealogists. The Yearbook will usually include the name of the sponsoring Masonic Lodge, which is usually that of the father. There is a brief history on Wikipedia.