Southgate, London

Southgate
Population	12,103
OS grid reference	TQ296942
London borough	Enfield
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	N14
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Enfield Southgate
London Assembly	Enfield and Haringey

Southgate is an area of north London, England, in the London Borough of Enfield. It is located about 8 miles (12.9 km) north of Charing Cross.

Local features

Within the area is the famous circular Southgate tube station (which appeared in the film The End of the Affair) and a variety of shops and restaurants. It also has several large green parks such as Grovelands Park with lakes and sports facilities. The latter park backs on to The Priory hospital , based in Grovelands House, where celebrities often stay to recover from their personal crises, and Chilean ex-dictator, General Augusto Pinochet was treated. In Waterfall Road is the Minchenden Oak, said to be the largest oak tree in England, and perhaps 800 years old .

Nearest places

• Cockfosters and Oakwood to the north
• New Southgate to the south
• Winchmore Hill to the east
• East Barnet to the west
• Osidge to the south-west
• Palmers Green
• Whetstone

Southgate tube station on the Piccadilly Line is the nearest tube station to most of Southgate's residential area. The other stations are at Oakwood (to the north) or Arnos Grove (to the south west).

Famous residents

Famous people to originate from Southgate include Leigh Hunt, the English essayist and writer, who was born here in 1784, and Frederick Hitch, one of the men awarded a Victoria Cross for the defence of Rorke's Drift in 1879. Sir Thomas Lipton also lived here until his death in 1931

The author Paul Scott was born in Southgate and was educated nearby; author/actor Paul Hocker was also born in the area.

Southgate has connections with many people in the arts and showbusiness. The Turner Prize-winning artist Rachel Whiteread was a student at Southgate School. The singer Rachel Stevens from S Club 7 and award-winning jazz singer Amy Winehouse both were born in Southgate and went to Ashmole School on Cecil Road. U.S. wine guru Phillip Silverstone lived in Chase Side and went to Ashmole School. Radio presenter Simon Mayo was also born in Southgate. The singer Alberto Remedios lived in Southgate before emigrating. The actor Ron Moody lives in Southgate at the Cherry Tree. Husband and wife singing coaches David and Carrie Grantlive in Southgate. Also born in Southgate was Turkish Cypriot Kemal Shahin from the reality programme Big Brother 6. Sporting hero Michael Synesi also lives in the area but was born in nearby Wood Green.

The MP for Southgate, David Burrowes, lives here in his constituency, where he was born. His predecessor, Stephen Twigg, was born and raised in nearby Oakwood. Norman Tebbit, former MP for Chingford and close ally of Margaret Thatcher, was also born in Southgate. David Jordan also lived in the Southgate rea.

Chase Side is Southgate's main shopping street.

Politics

Main article: Enfield Southgate (UK Parliament constituency)

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.

History

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.

Becoming separate from Edmonton in 1881, Southgate had a population in 1891 of just 10,970. By 1901 the figure had moved up to 14,993, and by 1911 the figure had ballooned to 33,612, aided by the nearby railway station in Palmers Green.

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.

By 1951, the population had grown to 73,377 - falling by about 1,000 ten years later as many moved to new towns nearby.

Status

In 1894 Southgate was created an urban district of Middlesex by the Local Government Act 1894. In 1933 the district gained further status as a municipal borough. The Municipal Borough of Southgate was abolished in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 and its area was combined with that of the Municipal Borough of Enfield and the Municipal Borough of Edmonton to form the present-day London Borough of Enfield.

Taverns, Inns and Public Houses

Southgate contains many pubs; some are quite old. The Wagon and Horses in Chase Side is one such pub; it was rebuilt in 1900 and again in 1930. The Rising Sun in Chase Side was rebuilt in 1932.

"Ye Olde Cherry Tree" is another pub that is important and famous in Southgate.

Opposite the Southgate Club on Chase Side stood a pub called The Gate, which was closed in August 1909. The landlord, A. Butcher, took the sign with him to the Fishmonger's Arms in Winchmore Hill Road - which apparently read "This gate hangs well, and hinders none. Refresh and pay - then travel on." (The sign no longer exists; though the Fishmonger's Arms was rebuilt in the 1930s.)

In the middle of the 18th century, The Crown on Chase Side was a centre of 'much sport'. A caption in a framed picture of a dog discovered by author Herbert W. Newby reads:

Mr. Earl of the 'Crown Inn', Southgate, Nr London, will produce a retriever puppy not over six months old for £10 or £20 that will perform more tricks than any other dog of nine months old in England. He is a beautiful dog, and very large for his age.

The building was originally a wooden two-storey building with a brick gable-end facing the highway. It was rebuilt in 1895 but has since been demolished. The JD Wetherspoon pub The New Crown occupies a site nearly opposite.

Education

College

• Southgate College

Schools

Main article: List of schools in the London Borough of Enfield

Primary

• De Bohun Primary
• St Andrew's CE Primary
• St Monica's RC Primary
• Salcombe Preparatory School (Independent)
• Vita et Pax School (Independent)
• Walker Primary
• West Grove Primary
• Wolfson Hillel Primary
• Osidge Primary School

Secondary

• Southgate School
• Ashmole School (in the London Borough of Barnet)

Southgate Symphony Orchestra

Formed in 1961 by a group of enthusiasts in New Barnet under the conductorship of Terry Hawes, Southgate College Symphony Orchestra continued as an evening class within Southgate College until July 2005, having become semi-autonomous in 1997. In the summer of 2005, the Orchestra became independent of Southgate College and renamed itself Southgate Symphony Orchestra. An amateur orchestra, it takes players of Grade 6 standard and above, playing concerts around Enfield. Previous performances have included music by Beethoven, Dvořák, and Weber.

Sport

Cricket

Southgate is home to many cricket teams and grounds, but the best and most well known is that of Southgate CC, who play at the Walker Ground on Waterfall Road. Their ground, named after the famous Walker brothers who set it up and played cricket for Middlesex, is overlooked by a church and many trees.

Hockey

Southgate Hockey Club was based at the Walker Ground from 1890 to 1998, when it relocated to Trent Park.

Football and golf

Grovelands Park, Southgate is the training ground of the football team, Romans AFC.

Rugby

Southgate RFC are based at Saracens RFC Ground, Bramley Road.

Religious Facility

Synagogues

There are five synagogues with Southgate in their name,: Cockfosters and North Southgate, Palmers Green and Southgate Synagogue. These two are part of the United Synagogue, also included, but independent, is the Southgate Adeni Synagogue, serving Yemenite Jews of Adeni extraction and other Mizrahi Jews. Chabad Southgate also is included.

Churches

Christ Church stands near Southgate Green. This was built on the site of Weld Chapel, which was demolished in 1861. The clock on the church was placed there to celebrate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. The church is currently (Jan 2008) undergoing renovation. The Parish Church of St Andrew is on Chase Side.

External links

• Schools in or near Southgate
• The Northern Convalescent Fever Hospital, Winchmore Hill
• Southgate Cricket Club
• Southgate Hockey Club
• Southgate Compton Cricket Club
• Southgate Adelaide Hockey Club
• Southgate Rugby Football Club
• Enfield Borough Police History
• Southgate Symphony Orchestra

Bibliography

Herbert W. Newby, Old Southgate. T. Grove, 1949.