Enfield, London Borough Genealogy

Guide to The London Borough of Enfield history, family history, and genealogy parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
As with all other London Boroughs created in 1965, Family History research needs to understand that this is a melding of many historic areas. Researchers should plan on using old Middlesex records, as well as referring to the old Boroughs listed below.

The London Borough of Enfield is a London borough in north London, England. The current borough was created in 1965 from the former areas of the Municipal Borough of Southgate, the Municipal Borough of Enfield and the Municipal Borough of Edmonton. The armorial bearings of these three boroughs were also merged. The heraldic beast on the shield of the Enfield coat of arms is known in heraldry as an "Enfield" (or colloquially as the Enfield beast), and is used extensively as a logo representing Enfield, particularly by the borough council.

In Roman times, Enfield was connected to Londinium by Ermine Street, the great Roman road which stretched all the way up to York. Artifacts found in the early 1900s reveal that there were Roman settlements in the areas that are now Edmonton and Bush Hill Park.

In 790 King Offa of Mercia was recorded as giving the lands of Edmonton to St Albans Abbey. The area became strategically important as East Anglia was taken over by the Danes. In the 790s strongholds were built by men loyal to King Alfred the Great, in order to keep the Danes to the east of the River Lea.

Enfield was recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as Enefelde, and as Einefeld in 1214, Enfeld in 1293, and Enfild in 1564: that is 'open land of a man called Ēana', or 'where lambs are reared', from the Old English feld with an Old English personal name or with Old English ēan 'lamb'. The feld would have been a reference to an area cleared of trees within woodland that would later become known as Enfield Chase.

After the Norman Conquest, both Enfield and Edmonton were mentioned in Domesday Book. Both had churches, and Enfield had 400 inhabitants, Edmonton 300. Enfield is also described as having a "parc". This parc—a heavily forested area for hunting—was key to Enfield's existence in the Middle Ages. Wealthy Londoners came to Enfield first to hunt, and then to build houses in the green, wooded surroundings. In 1303, Edward I of England granted Enfield a charter to hold a weekly market, which has continued up to this day. The old market cross was removed in the early 20th century to make way for a monument to the coronation of King Edward VII.

Nearby historically was the palace of Edward VI, where Elizabeth I lived while a princess, including during the final illness of Henry VIII. Edward was taken there to join her, so that in the company of his sister, Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford could break the news to Edward, formally announcing the death of their royal father in the presence chamber at Enfield, on his knees to make formal obeisance to the boy as King. Later Elizabeth held court there when she was queen (this was remembered in the name Palace Gardens that was a street running behind Pearsons department store and is still recalled in the name of Enfield's shopping center).

Cemeteries (Civil)
Lavender Hill Cemetery 72 Cedar Rd Enfield EN2 0TH Phone: +44 20 8363 0608

Southgate Cemetery 175 Waterfall Rd London N14 7JZ Phone: +44 20 8379 3767

Tottenham Park Cemetery 247 Montagu Rd London N18 2NF Phone: +44 1375 891440

Trent Park Cemetery Cockfosters Rd Barnet EN4 0DZ Phone: +44 20 7527 8300

Adath Yisroel Cemetery Carterhatch Ln Enfield EN1 3NS

Strayfield Road Cemetery Enfield EN2 9JE

Enfield Crematorium Great Cambridge Rd Enfield EN1 4DS Phone: +44 20 8363 8324

Western Cemetery Bulls Cross Ride Broxbourne, Goff's Oak, Waltham Cross EN7 5 Phone: +44 1992 717820

New Southgate Cemetery and Crematorium Brunswick Park Rd, New Southgate, London N11 1JJ Phone: +44 20 8361 1713

Parishes
All Saints Church address: Church St London N9 9AT Phone: +44 20 8803 9199

St Thomas' Church address: 2 Sheringham Ave London N14 4UE Phone: +44 20 8245 9152

St Andrew Church address: 18 Silver St Enfield EN1 3EG Phone: +44 20 8363 8676

St Stephen Church address: 56 Village Rd Enfield EN1 2EU Phone: +44 20 8363 2780

St Anne's Church address: Avenue Rd London N15 5JH Phone: +44 20 8211 8710

St Benet Fink Church address: Walpole Rd London N17 6BH Phone: +44 20 8888 4541

St Mary's Church address: Lansdowne Rd London N17 9XE Phone: +44 20 8808 6644

Enfield Chase or St Michaels Chaseside

Christ Church

Jesus Chapel

St Luke

All Hallows Church address: Church Ln London N17 7AA Phone: +44 20 8808 2470

St James' Church address: Hertford Rd , Enfield EN3 5AX Phone: +44 20 8804 1966

Parish Church of St. George Church address: 706 Hertford Rd Enfield EN3 6NR Phone: +44 1992 850944

St Mary Magdalene Church address: Windmill Hill Enfield, Middlesex, EN2 7AJ Phone: +44 20 8363 1875

St Alphege Church address: 445 Hertford Rd London N9 7DH Phone: +44 20 3380 7408

Non Conformists
The following other Christian denominations and religions are also represented in Dundee:


 * All Saints
 * Baptists
 * Evangelical
 * Christian Science
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Community of Christ
 * Greek Orthodox
 * Jehovah's Witness
 * Methodists
 * Presbyterians
 * RLDS Church
 * Revival Christian Church
 * Roman Catholics
 * Seventh Day Adventist

Non Christian populations include:


 * Baha'i
 * Buddhists
 * Hindus
 * Jews
 * Muslims
 * Sikhs

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths, have been kept by the UK government from July 1837 to the present day.


 * Enfield BMD certificates


 * Enfield Council BMD records


 * Enfield records


 * Middlesex Parish Records

Local Histories

 * Enfield Council: walk through history


 * VisionofBritain.org: Enfield


 * British History online: Enfield


 * Enfield through Time by Stephen Sellick


 * Enfield (Britain in Old Photographs) by Alan Dumayne

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Google Maps: Enfield Borough


 * Openstreetmap: Enfield


 * Oldmapsonline: Enfield


 * Hidden London: Enfield Gazetteer

Newspapers

 * The Enfield Independent


 * The London Evening Standard: Enfield Edition


 * The Tottenham Independent


 * Newspaper archive

Occupations
Historically Enfield was a community of mechanical and engineering technicians. For many years, the Royal Small Arms factory was located there, as were a number of other specialty engineering and manufacturing firms.

The world's first solid state circuitry color televisions were manufactured by Ferguson at their now closed plant in Enfield. The first mass-produced dishwasher was manufactured in Hotpoint's now closed Enfield plant. The Barclays Bank branch in Enfield was the first place in the world to have an ATM or cash machine.

However these are all gone, and Enfield is primarily a bedroom city for Greater London. The only real occupations now available locally are in the retail and service areas.

In 2007, Enfield Town center completed a major redevelopment project under the name PalaceXchange while retaining the Palace Gardens Shopping Center. An extension was added to the existing retail area with many new shops, and a second multi-storey car park was built along with a new road layout.

A major redevelopment of Edmonton Green including the shopping center, and adjacent municipal housing over a wide area, started in 1999. This is still on-going, and provides new housing, health facilities, a new leisure center, a supermarket, and many other civic features.

Many local activities are located around the A10 road, on the sites of former industrial enterprises, which has a number of large retail outlets and a large multiplex Cineworld cinema.

Societies

 * London Westminster and Middlesex FHS


 * The Enfield Society

Archives

 * The National Archives: Enfield


 * Enfield Council Archives


 * GENUKI: Middlesex Archives


 * The National Archives: Middlesex

Websites

 * Wikipedia: London Borough of Enfield


 * London Borough of Enfield Council


 * Middlesex County Council history