Tottenham is an area in North London, England, Originally a rural area in the County of Middlesex later an Urban District, it became a Borough in 1934, then a part of London Borough of Haringey in 1965. Tottenham grew up along the old Roman Road, Ermine Street and between High Cross and Tottenham Hale, todays Monument Way.
A rural Tottenham featured in Izaak Walton's book The Compleat Angler published in 1653 [1]. Tottenham remained a semi-rural and upper middle class area until the 1870s. The Great Eastern Railway introduced special Workmans Trains & Fares on its newly opened Enfield & Chingford Branch Lines. Tottenham's market gardens and low-lying fields were then rapidly transformed into cheap housing for the lower-middle and working classes, who were able to commute cheaply to inner London. This fare policy stimulated the relatively early development of the area into a London suburb.
The River Lea that formed the eastern boundary of the Borough of Tottenham to Walthamstow, Middlesex to Essex, was also the boundary of Danelaw. This is now the boundary of the London Borough Haringey to London Borough of Waltham Forest. Tottenham is the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, whose ground at Paxton Road is named White Hart Lane after the site of the original ground.
Districts
- Bruce Grove
- Broadwater Farm
- Harringay the area along Green Lanes was administratively part of the Borough of Tottenham.
-
Seven Sisters gets its name from a circle of seven trees (now replanted) that were planted by a Tottenham resident ca. 1700s on Page Green Common to commemorate his daughters. The Seven Sisters Road was constructed in the 1830s to provide a link across countryside from Tottenham to Holloway.
- South Tottenham
-
Tottenham Green
-
Tottenham Hale
- Tottenham Marshes
-
Tottenham Wood was an ancient woodland area that covered most of the present Wood Green.
- West Green
Sites or Buildings of Historical Interest
All Hallows Church
Tottenham Parish Church which dates back to
Norman times and was for more than 700 years the only church in Tottenham.
Presented in 1801 with a bell from the Quebec Garrison in Montreal, Canada.
Broadwater Farm
Housing estate built 1967, site of Broadwater Farm riot of 1986, in which two people were killed.
Bruce Castle
Now a Local History Museum, was Tottenham's Manor House, named after the father of the Lord of the Manor. It was purchased by Sir Rowland Hill and he was living here when he as Postmaster General introduced the Penny Postage in 1840.[2]
Harringay Arena and Stadium
(Now Demolished). Built on the site of a nineteenth century Pottery and Kiln. The Stadium was opened in
1927 and was Londons first
greyhound racing track.
St Ignatius Church
Built
1905, at the foot of
Stamford Hill, this
Catholic Church dominates the area.
St Annīs Church
Consecrated in
1861, St Annīs church houses the organ on which
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy composed the famous
Wedding March from
A Midsummer Night's Dream .
Erected sometime between 1600-1609 on the site of an earlier Christian cross. Often mistakenly thought to be an Eleanor cross.
Public Transportation
Two London Underground Lines serve Tottenham. The Piccadilly Line opened in 1932 has one station Turnpike Lane in Tottenham. The Victoria Line which opened in 1968 has its operating depot in Tottenham at Northumberland Park and has two stations, Seven Sisters and Tottenham Hale situated within the area. National Rail stations, Seven Sisters, Tottenham Hale, Bruce Grove, White Hart Lane, and Northumberland Park serve the area. The train service is provided by One.
History of the Railways of Tottenham
Running from Stratford to Broxbourne was opened 15th September 1840 with two stations in the district called Tottenham & Marsh Lane.
Opened 21st July 1868. The two stations on this line in the district were opened later. Harringay Park (Green Lanes) in 1880 and St Anns Rd in 1882 closing after service on 8th August 1942.
The section between Stoke Newington and Lower Edmonton opened July 22,1872 with stations at Stamford Hill (half of the station lies in the Borough), Seven Sisters, Bruce Grove, and White Hart Lane in Tottenham.
Opened within Tottenham on1 January 1878 with stations at Seven Sisters and West Green. Passenger services ceased in 1963 with the line finally closing on 7 February 1965.
Tottenham & Forest Gate Railway
Opened 9th July 1894.
Extended through Tottenham in 1932.
Opened on 1 September 1968.
Postal Districts
The former Borough of Tottenham was divided into three London postal district s.
N15 South Tottenham, N17 Tottenham and N4 Harringay (Finsbury Park).
Neighbouring Boroughs & Districts
See also
